ESCHATOLOGY

THE RESURRECTION AND ASCENSION

 Introduction

The death, burial, resurrection, and ascension of

Jesus Christ are the key components of our faith.
As Christians, followers of Jesus Christ, we
affirm the teachings of Scripture that Jesus did
indeed live a perfect life and died a vicarious
death, was buried, raised from the dead, and
ascended to heaven.
 A . RESURRECTION

1. New Testament Evidence

• The Gospels are most clear in presenting the
fact of Jesus’ bodily resurrection from the dead
(Matthew 28; Mark 16; Luke 24; and John 20).
Acts records the apostles’ preaching and
missionary activity as they proclaim the Risen
Christ .
 CONT
• The Epistles are written based on the fact of
Jesus being a living, reigning Savior who is the
head of the church, should be worshipped, and
will come again in great power. And the Book of
Revelation reveals more about Jesus Christ and
how one day He will come again to reign
victoriously over His enemies and be worshipped
forever.
 cont
2. The Nature of Christ’s Resurrection
• Jesus’ resurrected body was unique unlike
Lazarus for example who was raised back to
life but eventually died. Jesus was the “first
fruits” (1 Corinthians 15:20). His resurrected
body is perfect and never will decay or die
again.
Jesus’ resurrected body resembled His earthly
body as the disciples in Luke 24:40-43 saw His
hands and feet and I believe they noticed that
they were pierced and had scars and they watched
as He ate food. Thomas put his hand in Jesus’
pierced side in John 20:27. Luke 24:39 Jesus spoke
to His disciples and said, 39 Behold My hands and
My feet, that it is I Myself. Handle Me and see, for
a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see I
have.” Jesus’ body was transformed, never to
suffer pain, death or decay.
Grudem is careful to explain that we should not
think that Jesus passed through walls but rather He
miraculously appeared to the disciples when the
doors were closed in the same way that Philip
disappeared from the Ethiopian in Acts 8 or when
Jesus suddenly disappeared from the 2 disciples on
the road to Emmaus. He argues that we do not need
to conclude that Jesus’ body became immaterial or
nonphysical “any more than we need to conclude
that the disciples’ bodies became nonphysical when
they walked past the guards (Acts 5:23; 12:10).”
 cont
Jesus’ resurrected body was special as will ours
be as well. His body though physical and
material was perfected and free from sickness
and death.
3. The Father and the Son participated in
Jesus’ Resurrection

• Some biblical texts teach the Father’s

participation as Romans 10:9 and others teach
of Jesus’ direct involvement as John 10:17-18
teaches us. He has power to lay down His life
and power to take it up again. Both the Father
and the Son were involved in this miraculous
event.
 4. Doctrinal and ethical Significance of the
Resurrection
a. Jesus’ resurrection ensures our regeneration.
Read 1 Peter 1:3. Grudem, p. 614, says“In His
resurrection, Jesus earned for us a new life just
like His.” By His resurrection we are born again
and have His resurrection power within us. We
are still in these physical bodies but our spirits
will live forever in a new resurrected body.
 cont
• Ephesians 1:19-20 speaks of the power in us who
believe (Beth Moore wrote her book Believing
God based on this verse).
• This power in us is based on and as a result of
Jesus’ resurrection. This speaks to me how we
should remember who we are and the power that
is in us and how we can do all things through
Christ who gives us the strength according to
Philippians 4:13. We are empowered by the
resurrected Christ to live victorious lives and
minister and serve Him effectively.
 cont
b. Jesus’ resurrection ensures our justification.
We are declared innocent before God because
of Jesus’ resurrection; read Romans 4:25.
Jesus’ death on the cross pays all sin debt for
those who believe. Jesus’ resurrection from the
dead is God the Father’s approval of what
Jesus did on the cross.
• And when we believe on Christ we receive
God’s approval because of in whom we
believe!
c. Jesus’ resurrection guarantees that we will
receive perfect, resurrected bodies as well.
Read 2 Corinthians 4:14. The greatest
description and explanation of our resurrection
based on His is 1 Corinthians 15. Since Jesus
is the first fruits of those that rise from the
dead, we will be like Him. First John 3:2 says
when He comes we will be like Him. First
fruits referred to an agricultural metaphor.
What the first fruit tastes like is what the
remainder of the ripened crop will taste like.
 cont
• Since Jesus’ scars will be noticeable in heaven
in His resurrected body, will our current
physical scars be a part of our final, resurrected
bodies? Grudem states that Jesus’ scars are
unique as they serve an eternal
reminder of His suffering and death for us.
Our bodies will be healed and made perfect and
whole. Does that not excite you?
 cont
• This mortal must put on immortality Paul says
in 1 Corinthians 15:54 and what a blessed
existence this will be! Another of the
wonderful blessings bestowed on us by God
according to His everlasting grace and mercy!
• We should strive to live for Christ every day
because of what He has done for us and how
we will be blessed eternally.
 cont
• The resurrection of Jesus also has practical
application in how we live our lives in the here
and now. Paul closes the great resurrection
chapter in vs. 58 by encouraging the believer
to “be steadfast, immovable, always abounding
in the work of the Lord, knowing that your
labor is not in vain in the Lord.” As we lead
people to Christ and disciple them it has
eternal significance.
 cont

• Paul tells us since we have been raised with

Christ we should seek those things that are
above not things on the earth (Colossians 3:1-
4). Keeping our focus on the resurrected Christ
helps us to not yield to sin. Grudem, p. 617,
writes, “The fact that we have this new
resurrection power over the dominion of sin in
our lives is used by Paul as a reason to exhort
us not to sin anymore.”
 B. Historicity of Jesus' Resurrection

1 .Testimony of Scripture - Eyewitnesses:

– The Disciples and the Gospels (see A.1 above) - 1
John 1-3.
– Paul - Acts 9:1-8; 1 Cor 15:8.
• Others - 1 Cor 15:6.
2 .Attacks on the Resurrection of Jesus:
– Stolen body theory - Matt 28:12-15.
– Swoon theory - Jesus only seemed dead (The Passover
Plot, The Jesus Scroll).
– Islamic view - Someone who looked exactly like Jesus
died, but not the real Jesus, who ascended into heaven.
– Myth ,The resurrection was symbolic or just spiritual.
It was the result of the disciples wanting to see Christ.
"The resurrection itself in not an event of past history.
All that historical criticism can establish is the fact
that the first disciples came to believe in the
resurrection." - Rudolf Bultmann.
 C. JESUS’ ASCENSION

1. Jesus ascended to a literal place.

• After His resurrection, Jesus appeared to the
disciples and preached the kingdom of God for 40
days (Acts 1:3). Then He ascended back to
heaven according to Luke 24:50-51 and Acts 1:9-
11. Jesus left earth to go to another place and that
is heaven. The angles told the disciples that He
would come again just like He left. We cannot see
with our eyes where He went but He went to a
space-time place called heaven.
 cont

• Read John 14:2-3. 2 In My Father’s house are

many mansions;] if it were not so, I would have
told you. I go to prepare a place for you. 3 And if I
go and prepare a place for you, I will come again
and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there
you may be also.
• The Russian cosmonaut who went into space said
he did not see God or heaven anywhere, but that
does not mean they do not exist! It simply means
he did not see God or heaven.
 cont

• 2. Jesus received glory and honor that had

not been His before as the God-Man.
• He had received this glory and honor, as the
eternal Son of God but was not His as the
incarnate God-man. See John 17:5 when Jesus
prayed to the Father before His death, “Father,
glorify Me in Your own presence with the
glory which I had with You before the world
was made.” Now in heaven the angels sing the
song in Revelation 5:12.
 cont
3. Jesus was seated at the right hand of God (also
called His session at God’s right hand.)
• Hebrews 1:3 states, “When He had made
purification for sins, He sat down at the right
hand of the Majesty on high.” He sat down
because of His work of redemption is complete.
He did the Father’s will completely and we are
forever the beneficiaries of His redemptive work.
Jesus sits in the place of authority and He reigns
and rules.
 cont

• And from this position of authority He

received from the Father the authority to send
the Holy Spirit at Pentecost (see Acts 2:33).
Grudem points out that Jesus is not perpetually
fixed there as He is seen standing at God’s
right hand (Acts 7:56) and walking in the
midst of the churches in Revelation 2.
4. Jesus’ ascension has doctrinal implications
for our lives.
• Christ’s ascension to heaven foreshadows our
ascension to heaven to be with Him. Hebrews
12:1-2 spur us on to run the race with
perseverance and look to Jesus who endured
the cross despising the shame and is seated at
the right hand of God.
• Jesus is in heaven and that is where His people
will go. He is the reason for us going and the
One we worship when we get there.
 cont

• Oh happy day! We will sit with Jesus in the

heavenly places according to Ephesians 2:6
and we are granted authority and will
experience this authority more fully in heaven.
Paul says in 1 Corinthians 6:3 that we will
judge angels.
• Grudem closes this chapter on the resurrection
and ascension of Jesus Christ with what
scholars call the states of Jesus Christ.
 cont

• Christ has two states, His humiliation and His

exaltation. In the former are included His
incarnation, suffering, death, and burial, and in
the latter is His resurrection, ascension, session
at the right hand of God, and His return in
power