Jesus' continuing work

Jesus said, “John baptised with water, but in a few days you will be baptised with the Holy Spirit… ” The two men dressed in white said, “This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven”. Acts 1:4-11

Christ Jesus who died – more than that, who was raised to life – is at the right hand of the Father and is also interceding for us. Romans 8:34

Therefore Jesus is able to save completely those who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them. Hebrews 7:25

A couple of weeks ago I wrote about Ascension Day, remembering the extraordinary occasion when Jesus left his disciples and returned to his heavenly home to be with his Father (Acts 1:10-11).

Does that mean that his engagement with planet earth, and with the human race, was finished? You might think so, for from that day to this he has never again been seen on earth. But that would be a mistake, for the New Testament makes clear that he still had three great ministries to exercise.

 The first and most obvious was the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on the infant church in Jerusalem on the Day of Pentecost (Acts 2), just ten days after the Ascension .

Realising how sad they were to know he would be leaving them, he reassured them: “But… it is for your good that I go away. Unless I go away, the advocate will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you…, and you will receive power” (John 16:6-7, Acts 1:8). That’s what I focussed on in that earlier blog, but I ran out of space, so today I want to return to the topic and to highlight the other two areas of ministry…

Second, there is his work of intercession.

In some ways this seems a slightly strange idea. After all, if God is our loving heavenly Father, and if he knows everything about us, what need is there of more prayer in heaven? Perhaps that’s one of those mysteries that it’s not for us to ask. (It’s interesting that in Romans 8:26 Paul attributes the same ministry to the Holy Spirit rather than to Christ, but then attributes it again to Christ in Romans 8:34! Clearly the three Persons of the Trinity – Father, Son and Holy Spirit – have not a scrap of rivalry between them, but work together in perfect harmony for all eternity.)

But the key point is that, though we cannot see him, Jesus hasn’t, so to speak, washed his hands of us. He remains our Saviour and our Friend. In partnership with the Father and the Holy Spirit, he continues to care for us and love us.

Is this a mystery some of us specially need to be reminded of today? Our problems are mountainous; God seems far off; our prayers seem to bounce of the ceiling… We feel discouraged, confused and, perhaps, simply afraid.

Well, let’s spend a few minutes reflecting on this strange but wonderful truth… in heaven Jesus constantly intercedes on our behalf.

So… The first ministry the ascended Christ performed was a one-off event: the gift of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost. The second is ongoing: never-ending prayer for us. 

The third, of course, is another one-off event: his ultimate return in glory.

Those mysterious “two men dressed in white” (Acts 1:10-12) stated very clearly: “This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven”.

If the truth concerning Jesus’ never-ending ministry of prayer for us is only sparsely mentioned in the New Testament, the truth concerning his eventual return in glory couldn’t be more different – it’s easy to find in the Gospels, Acts, the letters and, of course, the Book of Revelation. Jesus is coming back!

The state of our world may sometimes tempt us to despair – wars and rumours of wars; climate change; desperate people willing to risk their lives to find a new home; poverty and starvation; disease; and so we could go on. “Will it ever end?” we might ask.

A good question – and it has a clear answer. For when Jesus returns, all these horrors and miseries will be brought to an end, and the kingdom of God will at last be established “on earth as it is in heaven”, as Jesus taught us to pray.

So we mustn’t lose heart. Our duty as Christians is two-fold: first, to live in expectation of that day; and second, to live such Christlike lives that through our day-to-day presence a little aroma of heaven is spread wherever we go.

Live in the present; but look to the future!

Lord Jesus, thank you that after returning to heaven at the Ascension you poured out the power of the Holy Spirit upon the church. Thank you too that until you return at the end of time you will be praying for us as we seek to walk with you. Please help me to live in daily expectation of that momentous day. Amen.