Why is Jesus' Exaltation in heaven so meaningful for us?

Series: Growing Together in God's Grace 
Third Sunday of Easter  
April 14, 2013

Dear friends in Christ.

In just a few weeks, on May 5 to be exact, we will be celebrating the Ascension of our Lord and Savior.  On that day we will review the account of Jesus’ ascension and how he sent his disciples into all the world to proclaim the gospel to all nations.  However, today, we are getting a sneak preview!  Today we are reminding ourselves of how Jesus died in our place, how he rose again from the dead, how he redeemed us and bought us back from our enemy the devil, making us his own through faith!  But most importantly today we are reminding ourselves of Jesus’ exaltation in heaven and what it means for each and every one of us as his children.  So as we worship this morning, we will focus ourselves on the task of answering the question before us: Why is Jesus’ exaltation so meaningful to us?

Why is Jesus’ exaltation in heaven so meaningful to us?  Well, the Apostle Paul answers that question so very clearly and completely as he writes to the Christians living in Ephesus.  Paul writes, “As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. 2 Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. 3 Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. 4 There is one body and one Spirit— just as you were called to one hope when you were called— 5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism; 6 one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all. 7 But to each one of us grace has been given as Christ apportioned it. 8 This is why it says: “When he ascended on high, he led captives in his train and gave gifts to men.” 9 (What does “he ascended” mean except that he also descended to the lower, earthly regions? 10 He who descended is the very one who ascended higher than all the heavens, in order to fill the whole universe.) 11 It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, 12 to prepare God’s people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up 13 until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.” (Ephesians 4:1–13, NIV84)

In these thirteen verses Paul does indeed tell us many, many reasons why Jesus’ exaltation is so very important to us as Christians, however, the key to what Paul is saying here is to remember Jesus’ words on the cross.  One of the very last things that Jesus cried out was simply, “It is finished!”  Only moments before he gave up his life, Jesus declared that his saving work was completed.  Then, he gave up his life to complete the saving work that he had just declared had been completed.  His followers took his lifeless body and quickly, yet lovingly, buried it in the tomb, thinking that this was the end of Jesus.  However, on the Third Day, Jesus rose again from the dead and began appearing to his disciples to assure them that he was alive and to assure them that his work of salvation had been completed.  Forty days later, Jesus returned to his heavenly home, ascending to heaven to assure each and every one of us that his saving work has been completely completed.  Now, because he has completed his saving work, he has returned to heaven and has been exalted there, ascending higher than all the heavens, as Paul tells us, to fill the whole Universe.  Because Jesus has been exalted to the highest place that heaven affords, we are certain that as Christians, we have been unified by the Spirit of Christ whom he pours out on us through his Word and his Sacrament.  We are certain that we have all been baptized into Jesus’ death by the baptism we received as either children or adults, through which the Holy Spirit came into our hearts, creating, strengthening and sustaining our faith, applying the forgiveness of sins to us.  Because Jesus is exalted in heaven, we know that he is the one who has given “some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, 12 to prepare God’s people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up 13 until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ." (Ephesians 4:11-13, NIV 84)

This is why Jesus’ exaltation is so important to us!  It is so important to us, because now that Christ our Savior has been exalted in heaven, we are confident that he led us, as captives, out of the captivity of our sins.  He called us to faith through the work of the Holy Spirit and made us his own, washing us clean with his blood.  He has called us to serve him with our lives, patiently bearing with one another in love, just as he loved us.  He has called us to serve him in his kingdom in so many different ways, helping in Church, evangelizing, talking to others about Jesus, building up the fellowship of believers.  Because Jesus has been exalted in heaven, we know that his work of redemption is complete, and we know that we are the ones who are to spread that message of salvation to those who do not yet know through our words, and actions, so that many others might know that Jesus is their Savior who is lovingly preparing a place for them in his heavenly kingdom.

This too is why Jesus’ exaltation is so important to us!  Not only does it give us the comfort of knowing all that our Savior did for us to free us from our sins and make us his own, but we also have the comfort of knowing that because our Savior has returned home to his heavenly kingdom, he is right now preparing the very place where we will dwell when he calls us from this life to his exalted side forever in heaven.  This, in fact, is the very thing that Jesus promised his disciples on the night that he was betrayed.  On that night, only a couple of months before he would be exalted he told them, ““Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. 2 In my Father’s house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am." (John 14:1–3, NIV84)

This is the day to which each and every one of us is looking forward!  We are all looking forward to the day when our Savior will finally call us out of this veil of tears to his exalted side in his glorious kingdom forever.  We are looking forward to that day because we know that we belong to our Savior.  We are looking forward to that day because we know that our Savior who returned to heaven will one day come back from heaven to take us to be with him so that we can be where he is.  We know that because he has returned to his heavenly home, he is right now sitting at the right hand of God the Father almighty.  Now, because he has been exalted to the right hand of God the Father, almighty, we take comfort in knowing that not only is he preparing a place for us, but he is even interceding for us, just as Paul tells us in his letter to the Romans, “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, NIV84)  And as John tells us in his first letter, “My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have one who speaks to the Father in our defense—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One." (1 John 2:1, NIV84)  And as Paul again reiterates to a young pastor named Timothy, “This is good, and pleases God our Savior, 4 who wants all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth. 5 For there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, 6 who gave himself as a ransom for all men—the testimony given in its proper time." (1 Timothy 2:3–6, NIV84)

Because Jesus has been exalted to the right hand of our heavenly Father, we know that he is interceding on our behalf.  We know that he is watching over us and ruling everything for the good of his church, working all things for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.  We know that we belong to our Savior, and we know that when the time is right, he will return to judge the world and take us to be with him forever, just as the writer to the Hebrews reminds us, “Just as man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment, 28 so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many people; and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him." (Hebrews 9:27–28, NIV84)

Though we don’t know the time, we are ready.  Though we don’t know the date, we are ready.  We are ready because Jesus has made us ready by calling us to faith.  Jesus has made us ready and assures us that we are ready through his exaltation in heaven.  This is our comfort and our assurance.

This is the comfort and the assurance that we find in Jesus’ exaltation and this is why his exaltation is so important to us.  Though we still have a few weeks until we celebrate our Savior’s ascension to his heavenly home and remember his glorious exaltation, today we have received a sneak peak.  We have set the stage for May 5, when we celebrate our Savior’s ascension, and we have been reminded, just why Jesus’ exaltation is so important to each and every one of us.

Amen.

Pastor David M. Shilling

GraceEvangelical Lutheran Church--Le Sueur, MN

What is Jesus' Humiliation and Exaltation all about?

Series: Growing Together in God's Grace 

Fifth Sunday in Lent  

March 17, 2013

Dear friends in Christ.

It was back in 1881 when Mark Twain’s first attempt at historical fiction was published.  Published first in Canada in 1881 and then in the US in 1882, The Prince and the Pauper, was a story that Twain set wrote about two young boys who are identical in appearance.  One is a pauper, a very poor boy, who lives with and abusive father.  The other is Prince Edward, Son of King Henry VIII and heir to the throne of England.  In the course of the story the two boys meet and wind up trading clothes and changing places.  Thus the young pauper finds himself elevated to the status of prince, while the prince finds himself humiliated to the position of a peasant.

In many ways this is a picture of what Jesus, our Savior did for us.  It wasn’t that he traded places with someone who looked exactly like him.  Instead, he humbled himself and made himself just like we are so that he could free us from our sins.  He humbled himself to free us from our sins, and then when his work on earth was complete, he was once again exalted to the highest place in heaven by his heavenly Father.  But what does all of this mean?  What does the Bible tell us about Jesus humiliation and his exaltation? 

To answer that question, we need to start at the beginning.  We need to start with what the Bible has to tell us about Jesus humbling himself, which is what the Apostle Paul explains in his letter to the Philippians, where Paul writes, “Christ Jesus: who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; (grasped, NIV84) 7 rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. 8 And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death— even death on a cross!" (Philippians 2:6–8, NIV)

Essentially what Paul is telling us is that even though Jesus’ very nature is true God, he did not consider that he had to hang onto his equality with God the Father at all costs.  Instead, he willingly humbled himself; he took on human flesh and blood, and made himself just like one of us.  In doing this, Jesus set aside his divine authority and power and did not make full use of it while he was here on the earth.  Take for example Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane.  He was there with his disciples and he knew everything that was going to happen that night so he went out and met the mob at the entrance.  When Jesus told them that he was the one they were looking for, they all fell over, backward.  But that was all he did.  Had he wanted to he could have had more than six legions of angels at his disposal, but all he did was knock the soldiers backward to show them that he was allowing them to arrest him.  Once they got back to their feet, he allowed them to take him as a prisoner to the High Priest, and in this way Jesus set in motion the events that would lead to our salvation, just as Paul tells us again in 2 Corinthians, “For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich." (2 Corinthians 8:9, NIV84)

During the past weeks of this season of Lent, we have been reminding ourselves of how Jesus did, indeed, become poor for us so that we might become rich by his poverty.  We have been reminding ourselves of how Jesus did, indeed, humble himself so that he might save us from our sins.  But when it comes right down to it, Jesus’ humiliation is not something we save only for the season of Lent.  Rather it is something that we remember each time we confess our faith.  In fact, in just a few minutes, as we take time to confess our faith together according to the Apostle’s Creed, we will confess the very steps of Jesus humiliation here on earth.  We will confess how Jesus humbled himself by being conceived by the Holy Spirit in the womb of the virgin Mary.  He humbled himself by being born in the same way that babies have been born since the beginning of time.  There was nothing special or miraculous about his birth  Though it was miraculous that this baby was true God, born as the Savior of the world, he was also born true man—a helpless baby born in a very lowly way—born in a stable and laid in a manger.  Though we don’t confess it in the creed, we also know about Jesus humble life, how he was tempted in every way that we are, but was without sin.  We know how he suffered under Pontius Pilate where he was mocked and whipped and ridiculed and beaten.  He was crucified like a criminal.  He died!  Our true God, who cannot die, humbled himself and became obedient even to death on the cross so that he could free us from our sins.  Then, when he had died, he was buried in the ground.  Just as we bury those who have died, so also Jesus was buried, just like we will all be buried, one day.

It was in this way that Jesus humbled himself for us.  He came to earth lived as a human being.  He proclaimed the Word of God, taking the message of salvation wherever he went.  He moved purposefully, moving always forward, moving ever closer to the moment of giving his life on the cross.  Yet, while on earth he never made full use of his divine glory, power, or authority.  It was not until after his death that he was exalted once again, and began making full use of his heavenly power and glory.  As the writer to the Hebrews tells us, “But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels, now crowned with glory and honor because he suffered death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone." (Hebrews 2:9, NIV84) Or as Paul tells us, “Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, 10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father." (Philippians 2:9–11, NIV84)  Or as Peter tells us, “But [David] was a prophet and knew that God had promised him on oath that he would place one of his descendants on his throne. 31 Seeing what was ahead, he spoke of the resurrection of the Christ, that he was not abandoned to the grave, nor did his body see decay. 32 God has raised this Jesus to life, and we are all witnesses of the fact. 33 Exalted to the right hand of God, he has received from the Father the promised Holy Spirit and has poured out what you now see and hear… 36 “Therefore let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ.”" (Acts 2:30–36, NIV84)  And again Peter tells us, “God exalted him to his own right hand as Prince and Savior that he might give repentance and forgiveness of sins to Israel." (Acts 5:31, NIV84)

In Twain’s story of The Prince and the Pauper, the prince became a pauper only for a time.  After that he went back to being a prince again.  Now, if you’ve ever read the story it took a bit of doing for the prince to finally return to his rightful position of leadership as the heir to the throne of England.  However, for Jesus it didn’t take all that to do.  Rather, when the time came Jesus began making full use of his divine power and authority, just as we confess in the Apostle’s Creed, “He descended into hell  The third day he rose again from the dead.  He ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of God the Father almighty.  From there he will come to judge the living and the dead.”

Now, I don’t know about you, but when I was younger I thought Jesus descended into hell to suffer there for our sins.  But that is not the case because as we learn from Colossians, “When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your sinful nature, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, 14 having canceled the written code, with its regulations, that was against us and that stood opposed to us; he took it away, nailing it to the cross. 15 And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross. (Colossians 2:13–15, NIV84)

In other words, it was on the cross where Jesus removed our sins and destroyed the power of the devil.  When he cried out, “It is Finished,” we knew his work of salvation had been completed.  Though Jesus died and his body was placed in the grave, the Lord did not allow his body to see decay.  Then, on the third day, Jesus was raised to life by the power of God the Father, and, as Peter tells us, “Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive by the Spirit, 19 through whom also he went and preached to the spirits in prison 20 who disobeyed long ago when God waited patiently in the days of Noah while the ark was being built. In it only a few people, eight in all, were saved through water, 21 and this water symbolizes baptism that now saves you also—not the removal of dirt from the body but the pledge of a good conscience toward God. It saves you by the resurrection of Jesus Christ, 22 who has gone into heaven and is at God’s right hand—with angels, authorities and powers in submission to him." (1 Peter 3:15–22, NIV84)

This was Jesus victory parade!  In the same way that we throw victory parades for Super Bowl champions, World Series winners, and so many others, so also the Bible pictures Jesus’ descent into hell as his victory parade.  He had won the victory over the devil and his evil angels, and now he marched right down the “main street” of hell, so to speak, proclaiming his victory over the devil and all who refused to believe in him.  This, together with the fact that Jesus was raised to life by the power of the Holy Spirit, was the beginning of his exaltation.  This was the beginning of Jesus once again making full use of his divine power and authority. This is our assurance that our Jesus has freed us from our sins. This is our assurance that our salvation is complete in him.  This is our assurance that just as Jesus was raised from the dead, so also will Jesus raise us from the dead, as Paul reminds us, “For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive. 23 But each in his own turn: Christ, the firstfruits; then, when he comes, those who belong to him." (1 Corinthians 15:22–23, NIV84)

What a comfort it is to know that Jesus our Savior who willingly humbled himself to free us from our sins, has now been exalted to the highest place that heaven offers and has been given the name that is above every name.  What a comfort it is for us to know that Jesus, the God-man is exalted forever in his heavenly kingdom where he once again is making full use of his divine authority and power so that he might work in our lives as he leads us on our journey home to heaven.  What a comfort it is to know that in the same way the prince in The Prince and the Pauper did regain his rightful place as King of England, so also our Savior has returned to his throne of Glory.  Though he willingly humbled himself, he did it to redeem us.  When his work of redemption was completed, he was once again exalted to his former glory, demonstrating that he fulfilled his work and that we have salvation through faith in him.  This is what Jesus humiliation and exaltation are all about.  Amen.

Pastor David M. Shilling

Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church--Le Sueur, MN