26/05/2022
Good morning brethren
Today is one of the most important days in the Christian calendar, 26 May 2022, "The Ascension Day", " Ascension Thursday" or "Holy Thursday".
This is the day when we remember Christ physically ascending to heaven from Earth. Luke, in Acts 1, relates the story very well, with the conversation between Christ and His disciples before He left.
Acts 1:4-11
4 And being assembled together with them, He commanded them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the Promise of the Father, “which,” He said, “you have heard from Me;
5 for John truly baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.”
6 Therefore, when they had come together, they asked Him, saying, “Lord, will You at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?”
7 And He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or seasons which the Father has put in His own authority.
8 But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”
9 Now when He had spoken these things, while they watched, He was taken up, and a cloud received Him out of their sight.
10 And while they looked steadfastly toward heaven as He went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel,
11 who also said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will so come in like manner as you saw Him go into heaven.”
Three things standing out that makes us, Christians, remember this day every year.
Firstly, it marks the day when Jesus ascended to heaven, taken by the cloud whilst His disciples were watching. Which assures us that Jesus is no ordinary man, but who He always said He was, the Son of God, and the important character in the Triune God.
Secondly, this day marks the beginning of the 10 days leading to Pentecost. It was in this day, after the ascension of Christ, that the disciples went back to the city, to start the 10 day waiting period in the upper room, for the promised Holy Spirit, which Jesus had said to them it will be "not many days from now" (verse 5).
Thirdly, it was in this day when the disciples were plainly told for the first time that Jesus would return in the same manner as He was taken to heaven. Which is the reason why the church is expecting Christ to return on the clouds, the same way as He was taken.
So we, the church, as today's disciples have reason to celebrate this day, because the above mentioned three reasons are the basis of the foundation of the Church. We believe that Christ is the Son of God, which makes Him God. We believe in Pentecost. We believe that Christ is coming back on the clouds.
Even though this day is no longer a public holiday in South Africa, but we still remember and commemorate it as the Church.
God bless you.
T.I.P
