A Shift in Perspective

What if the Ascension isn't about Jesus' absence, but about his new way of being "everywhere at once"?

A reflection on the Ascension, from Acts 1:1-11 & Luke 24:44-end (NIV)

What if the Ascension isn’t about Jesus’ absence, but about His new way of being everywhere at once?

We often associate someone leaving with distance. Because as they move away, we no longer see them, and they become less available to us. If we apply that logic to the Ascension, the day Jesus left us, it should feel like a tragedy. After all, He left a group of confused followers staring blankly at the sky.

But if we look at the whole arc of Scripture, God’s story with humanity, from the dust of Genesis to the throne of Revelation, we discover that the Ascension of Jesus is not an exit and end, but it is the beginning of the widening of God’s love for us all.

To understand why Jesus had to leave us, we have to remember why He came. In the Garden of Eden, God walked with humanity in the cool of the day. Humanity’s failure and sin fractured that closeness, creating a world where God’s presence was localised and restricted. In the Old Testament, God’s presence was often confined to the Tabernacle or the Holy of Holies in the Temple. It was a hidden presence behind a curtain, accessible to only a chosen few.

Then came the Incarnation, Jesus, Emmanuel, God with us, became human. The infinite God took on human form, was born into a family, and lived in a home in Nazareth. While Jesus was on earth, He was perfect, but He was also physically limited. If He was in Galilee, He wasn’t in Jerusalem. If He was talking to Peter, He wasn’t physically standing next to another person in need of His counsel and love.

But in Luke 24, we begin to see the transition. When Jesus reappeared to His friends, the disciples, after His resurrection, it’s recorded that He said (Luke 24:44-45):

“This is what I told you while I was still with you: Everything must be fulfilled that is written about me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms.”

Then he opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures.

Jesus reminds them, and us, of all God had promised would happen to break the power of death. That it had happened, and now something new was beginning. But then Jesus does something surprising: He lifts His hands, blesses them, and disappears.

We often treat the Ascension as a transportation event, but the Bible treats it as a coronation. Acts 1:9 says:

After [Jesus] said this, he was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight.

This isn’t a description of the weather; it’s talking about the glory of God. The same glory of God we witness with the likes of Moses and the cloud that descended over him on a mountainside. In 1 Peter:22 we are reminded that Jesus is the one:

…who has gone into heaven and is at God’s right hand—with angels, authorities and powers in submission to him.

In the ancient world, the right hand wasn’t just a seat; it was the position of power and authority. By going to this seat, Jesus was moving from the localised ministry of a wandering rabbi to the universal ministry of the Cosmic King. As Paul was to write of it later in a letter to the early Church, in Hebrews 4:14:

Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has ascended into heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess.

Jesus, as the great high priest, entered the true Holy of Holies. He didn’t go away; he went to the control room of the universe. Because He is now at the side of God the Father, He is no longer limited by a physical body in one place. He is now available to every person, in every place, and at every moment.

Jesus told His disciples in John 16:7:

…it is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Advocate will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you.

This is the great paradox of our faith. By ascending, leaving us physically, Jesus makes way for the Holy Spirit.

In the Gospels, Jesus was with His disciples. Because of the Ascension and the subsequent events of Pentecost, Jesus is now in His disciples, His followers today. Ordinary people living, working, and journeying through life.

This is why the disciples can return to Jerusalem with great joy (Luke 24:52). They were joyful because they realised they hadn’t lost Jesus; they had gained a new kind of closeness with Him. Jesus the King was on the throne, and the Holy Spirit was about to be poured out, turning these followers into God’s presence, His love, joy, and hope for the whole world.

So, what does this mean for us as we follow Jesus today?

First, it means we need to stop looking at the sky. The angels in Acts 1:11 gave the disciples a gentle nudge:

“Men of Galilee”, they said, “why do you stand here looking into the sky?”

Following Jesus is not about escapism or waiting for our ticket to heaven. It is about realising that because Jesus is at the right hand of God, He is working in our workplaces, our kitchens, and our streets. We follow Jesus the King, who is actively working in our lives and communities right now, often through our imperfect hands and feet.

As we do this, we are His witnesses, just as Jesus commanded us to be:

“…you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” (Acts 1:8)

The command is to be witnesses to the ends of the earth. Because Jesus is everywhere at once, through the Holy Spirit, the mission is everywhere. There is no corner of the globe and no corner of your own life where His light and authority do not reach.

With the Holy Spirit at work in our lives, it gives us ultimate confidence in all that we face. The Bible ends in Revelation with a vision of this same Jesus, the Lamb who was slain, standing in the centre of the throne. The Ascension guarantees that the end of the story is secure. The same Jesus who walked the dusty roads of Palestine is the same Jesus who sustains the stars, and He is the same Jesus who walks with you through the darkest valley (Psalm 23:4).

The Ascension is the moment Jesus stopped journeying beside a few and started being available to all. He did not leave us behind; He went ahead to prepare a place for us (John 14:1-14), whilst at the same time dwelling within us by the gift of the Holy Spirit.

Today, we remember and worship the Ascended Jesus who fills all things in every way (Ephesians 1:23). We do not have to go to Jerusalem to find Him. We only have to accept the gift of the Holy Spirit into our lives, and be taken outward into God’s world in the power of that.

Yes, Jesus is gone from our sight. But today, He has never been closer. Just allow Him to fill your life.

Amen.