Being a Christian
involves a different perception of reality than that held by much of society
around us. Not only do many people see
the church as irrelevant, they also see Jesus as being of little consequence. Christians believe that Jesus is not only the
greatest person to ever live, but that he is alive and well today. We believe that he is not only the best known
person in history but that he can be known personally now. We think that ‘Jesus’ is not a swear word but
the name of the living King of kings. We
even think that Jesus is committed to building the community of his people in
this world.
So far in this series
we have seen that Jesus has existed for all eternity and that his earthly
ministry was anticipated in the Old Testament. We have seen that during the
ministry recorded in the Gospels Jesus became fully human while remaining fully
God, and that he died to reconcile a people with God. In this sermon we are thinking about where
Jesus is and what he is doing, now.
Jesus has been given
all authority in heaven and on earth
The risen Jesus
declared to his disciples, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given
to me” (Matthew 28:18). It is on the
basis of this authority that we step out in mission. Indeed we can be confident that this task will
not be in vain. Jesus had earlier
promised, “... I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome
it” (Matthew 16:18). The church is not
an irrelevant society. Christ’s church
is the most relevant of all societies. Despite
the fact that our mission involves opposition, rejection and hardship we are
comforted that Jesus promised his disciples that he would be with them always,
to the very end of the age (Matthew 28:20)—he is with us now!
Jesus has ascended to
heaven
The risen Jesus
appeared to more than five hundred people (1 Cor. 15:6), and was taken up to
heaven before his disciples’ very eyes (Acts 1:9). He ascended in a glorious, physical,
resurrected, human body and will return in the same way (Acts 1:11)—today he
continues to be both human and God.
It is amazing to think
that Jesus has a physical body and that one day we will have a resurrection
body like his (1 Cor. 15). Of course
this leaves us with a big question “how can Jesus have a physical body and yet
be with all of his people?” The answer
seems to be that in a way which goes beyond our current understanding he dwells
with his people and in this world through the person of the Holy Spirit.
Jesus sits at the right
hand of the Father
Having ascended to
heaven he was seated at the Father’s right-hand side. This had been anticipated in Psalm 110, ‘The
LORD says to my Lord: “Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a
footstool for your feet.”’
The right-hand side is
the place of honour and authority. The fact that Jesus sits down demonstrates
that his redeeming work is complete. Yet
he is not inactive. We also read of
Jesus standing at God’s right-hand side (Acts 7:56) and walking among the seven
golden lamp-stands in heaven (Rev. 2:1). At the beginning of the book of Acts its
author, Luke, writes, ‘In my former book [Luke’s Gospel] ... I wrote about what
Jesus began to do and teach until the day he was taken up to heaven ... (Acts
1:1-2a). The implication of this statement is that the book of Acts records
what Jesus continued to do and teach. Indeed
Jesus has continued to be at work to this very day.
Jesus continues to
reign over all
The risen and ascended
Jesus is referred to as being Lord of all (Acts 10:36). Nothing or no-one escapes his authority. The fact that Jesus is alive and rules over
all creation is to be great comfort for us. The world is not out of control, it is under
his control. Jesus is not simply the
Lord of our lives he is the Lord over all things. The stock-market may crash but Jesus remains
on his throne, countries may go to war but they can’t overthrow his rule, our
life may be in a mess but Jesus knows what he is at.
Wonderfully, the
community of those who are born again, the true church, is central to his
working in this world. This is
emphasised by the Apostle Paul who writes God placed all things under [Jesus’]
feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church (Ephesians
1:22).
Jesus is being
worshipped
In the book of
Revelation we see that Jesus is the object of heavenly worship. John writes, ‘Then I looked and heard the
voice of many angels, numbering thousands upon thousands, and ten thousand
times ten thousand. They encircled the
throne and the living creatures and the elders. In a loud voice they sang: “Worthy is the
Lamb, who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength and
honour and glory and praise!” (Rev.5:12).
Notice that their
praise focused on who Jesus is and what he has done. Some of our modern choruses can be weak on
this. They can be songs that are simply
about our feelings rather than Christ’s achievements. We must remember to sing many songs that focus
richly on the cross and exalt our risen Lord.
Jesus gives us access
to the Father
In the Old Testament God’s
presence was seen to be with his people in the tabernacle and then in the
temple. Only one priest, once a year,
was allowed into the Holy of Holies where God’s glory was focused—the High
Priest on the Day of Atonement. Yet when
Jesus died the curtain of the Holy of Holies was torn from top to bottom (Mark
15:38). This symbolised the fact that
because of what Jesus had done on the cross we can have access to God. We no longer need to go to a temple to meet
with God, nor do we need a special priesthood to represent us before God. We
can go to the Father because of Jesus’ past work on the cross and his current
ministry as our perfect High Priest.
As our great High
Priest he continually leads us into the Father’s presence. In the book of Hebrews we read that Jesus now
appears for us in the Father’s presence (Heb. 9:24), and so we have a hope that
follows him there (Heb. 6:19-20). Indeed
we may now have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus,
and so we are told draw near to God with a sincere heart and in full assurance
of faith (Hebrews 10:22). In prayer we
have the wonderful privilege of coming to the Father through the Son.
Jesus continually prays
for us
In the Old Testament
one of the functions of the priests was to pray on behalf of the people. Jesus,
our great High Priest, now fulfils that role. We see this in two wonderful
passages. Therefore he is able to save completely those who come to God through
him, because he always lives to intercede for them (Heb. 7:25). ‘Christ Jesus who died—more than that, who
was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us’
(Romans 8:34). Moment by moment Christ
intercedes for his people. Because of
his prayers we need not have a faith that is deficient and we need not fear
that we will not make it to the end. He
knows what we can handle, he knows what we need and he is committed to our
growth as Christians and our perseverance. Who can condemn us when Christ died for our
sin and continues to intercede on our behalf? Who can defeat us when Christ knows our
weaknesses and is praying for us to have the strength to endure?
Conclusion
Finally, the writer to
the Hebrews encouraged his readers to keep going saying, Let us fix our eyes on
Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith (Hebrews 12:2). Let us too fix our
eyes on Jesus! The risen one who sits at the Father’s right-hand side is the
one whose death made it possible for us to experience God’s forgiveness and
acceptance; he is the one who should cause our hearts to rejoice and be moved
to praise; he is the one who is committed to building his people, the church;
he is the one who will be with us on this difficult road to heaven; and, as we
will see in the next sermon in this series, he is the one who will one day
return is the same way that he left this world.
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