“God’s Right Hand Man”
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord
Jesus Christ. Amen. Our text for the Sunday after the Ascension is from today’s Epistle
Reading in the first chapter of Ephesians. St. Paul writes about Christ’s
Ascension: “[God exerted his mighty power] in Christ when he raised him from the
dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, far above all rule
and authority, power and dominion, and every title that can be given, not only
in the present age but also in the one to come. And God placed all things
under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church.”
You are invited to follow along the sermon outline on the last pages of the
bulletin. The spot on the Mount of Olives at Jerusalem where tradition says that
Jesus ascended into heaven, as recorded in today’s Reading from the Book, of
Acts, is today marked by a very small, octagonally-shaped chapel. It’s sort of
like one of those “tiny house” versions of a church. The whole building
could easily fit inside our sanctuary here. A humble place to commemorate
such a momentous event. As you look out the window above the altar of that little chapel,
across the Kidron Valley, you see perched atop the Temple Mount directly on the
other side, dominating the Jerusalem skyline, the magnificent Dome of the Rock,
an Islamic shrine built on the site of the ancient Temple. Like the
Christian Chapel of the Ascension, the Islamic Dome of the Rock is also
octagonally-shaped. But, it is no tiny house. It is such a massive,
impressive structure that our entire church building could easily fit inside it.
Its outer walls are covered with beautiful mosaics, its impressive dome
shimmering in the sun is gilded with pure gold. Much to the consternation
of the Jewish people it was built on that location because Islamic tradition
says from the rock now housed under the dome Mohammed also ascended into heaven,
not after his death, but during his lifetime, when he supposedly was taken to
heaven to receive the Koran. And so there we have, represented side by side in these two buildings,
the two competing claims of the world’s two largest religions, with about two
billion Christians believing it was Christ who ascended, from the Mount of
Olives, and about one billion Muslims believing that, across the valley, it was
Mohammed who ascended, from the Temple Mount. We live in a world that wants to somehow make these two competing
claims compatible and equally valid. But, neither the Bible nor the Koran,
neither Christ nor Mohammed, will allow that. They each made exclusive
claims that completely rule out the other, and also rule out the claims of every
other religion, too. “I am the way, the truth and the life,” Jesus says. “No one comes to
the Father except through me.” “Salvation is found in no one else,” Peter
proclaims in Acts, “for there is no other name under heaven given to men by
which we must be saved.” So, who is right, and who is wrong? Should we be celebrating
today the Ascension of Christ on the Mount of Olives, or the ascension of
Mohammed from the Temple Mount? If you would look only at those two
buildings in Jerusalem, the humble little chapel dedicated to Christ’s
Ascension, and the massive shrine dedicated to Mohammed’s ascension, you would
probably conclude that Mohammed must be the greater. But, the Apostle Paul
explains in our text why we worship Christ, and not Mohammed, or any other false
prophet or false god: “[God exerted his mighty power] in Christ when he raised him from the
dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, far above all rule
and authority, power and dominion, and every title that can be given, not only
in the present age but also in the one to come. And God placed all things
under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church.”
Jesus’ Resurrection from the dead and Ascension into heaven is God’s way of
proclaiming to the world that Jesus is the only way, the truth, and the life,
and no one comes to the Father except through him. There is a fundamental difference between Christianity and all other
religions. For, all other religions of the world are religions of Law.
Their great founders did not bring a message of Good News from God. They
did not proclaim forgiveness, but only rules and regulations, by which you’re
supposed to earn your own way into heaven—with the threat of eternal damnation
for anyone who doesn’t follow all these rules and regulations they lay down. Jesus, however, did not come to bring us more rules and regulations, so
that we could somehow earn our way into heaven. All the rules and
regulations we need were already given long ago in the Ten Commandments.
But, God demands that we keep his commandments perfectly, without ever once
stumbling or failing; 99.9% isn’t good enough for God, he demands absolute,
total perfection. As James says, “Whoever keeps the whole law and yet
stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it.” Martin Luther
put it this way in one of the hymns he wrote: “It was a false, misleading dream
. . . that sinners could themselves redeem, and by their works gain heaven.” That is why Jesus came down to earth and was made man, for us and for
our salvation. Because you cannot perfectly keep God’s Law, and so earn
your own way into heaven, God so loved the world that he gave his only-begotten
Son, to perfectly keep the Law for you; to earn salvation for you; to pay for
you, by his death, the penalty for all your sins; to bring you the gift of
eternal life by his resurrection from the dead. As Paul says in Romans,
“You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for
the ungodly. . . God demonstrates his love for us in this: While we were
still sinners, Christ died for us. . . The gift of God is eternal life
through Jesus Christ our Lord.” No other religion makes such a claim, no other religion proclaims such
a Gospel, the Good News of free forgiveness for all your sins, earned for you,
by the sacrifice of God himself. “We have been made holy through the
sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. . . For God did not
send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through
him. . . and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from every sin. . .
Everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name. . .
Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved.” The other religions of the world do not bring peace to the heart.
They bring only doubt and fear. “Have I done enough? Have I earned
salvation? Will I enter Paradise?” Only Christ proclaims the Good
News: “I have done enough, for you; I have earned salvation, for you; because I
live, you also will live; you will be with me in Paradise.” Jesus’ Resurrection from the dead and Ascension into heaven is God’s
way of proclaiming to the world that Jesus is the only way, the truth, and the
life, and no one comes to the Father except through him. It may surprise
you that no other religion makes this claim, that its great founder rose from
the dead, and in his body ascended and now lives in heaven. Not Mohammed
of Islam, or Buddha or Confucius, or any other makes this claim. The grave
with Mohammed’s body is at Medina, Saudi Arabia; the remains of Buddha are at
several places in Asia; the tomb of Confucius is at Qufu, China. All of
them remain dead and buried. Among these historic world religions, only Christianity claims that our
great founder is more than a prophet, more than a man, actually God himself, who
came down to earth and was made man, and on the third day rose again from the
dead, ascended into heaven, and sits at the right hand of God the Father
Almighty. “[God exerted his mighty power] in Christ when he raised him from the
dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, far above all rule
and authority, power and dominion, and every title that can be given, not only
in the present age but also in the one to come. And God placed all things
under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church.” That is why today we celebrate the Ascension of Christ. As Paul
says in Romans, “[He] was declared with power to be the Son of God by his
resurrection from the dead.” In many places the New Testament stresses, as we confess in the Creed,
that Jesus “sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty.” Hebrews
says, “After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right
hand of the Majesty in heaven.” Peter says in Acts, “God exalted him to
his own right hand as Prince and Savior.” And Peter says, “[He] has gone
into heaven and is at God’s right hand—with angels, authorities and powers in
submission to him.” What does it mean that Jesus “sits at the right hand of God the Father
Almighty”? In ancient times, there was a prince or prime minister who sat
at the right hand of the king, like Joseph who became the ruler of all Egypt
under the pharaoh. We still have the expression “right hand man,” and the
custom of seating the guest of honor at the right hand of the host. This “right hand man” in ancient times served two functions: he was the
go-between with the king; no one ever spoke to the king directly, but always
went through the “right hand man.” And he would intercede and plead with
the king on behalf of others. That is what Jesus means when he says, “No one comes to the Father
except through me.” That is why we pray in Jesus’ name, as he promised,
“my Father will give you whatever you ask in my name.” As God’s “right
hand man,” Jesus is your go-between. By yourself, you are not worthy to
petition the King of Kings. But, through Christ and faith in him, God
hears and answers your prayers. As Paul says in 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.” In addition to bringing your prayers and requests before God, Jesus is
constantly interceding and pleading on your behalf for what you need most: God’s
forgiveness, grace and mercy. John writes, “If anyone does sin, we have an
Advocate, who speaks to the Father in our defense, Jesus Christ the Righteous
One.” Jesus is like your defense lawyer in the heavenly court, constantly
pleading on your behalf. The Good News is, because Jesus himself already
paid the penalty, God finds you “not guilty.” As Paul says in 2nd
Corinthians, “God was in Christ reconciling the world unto himself, not counting
men’s sins against them.” “[God exerted his mighty power] in Christ when he raised him from the
dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, far above all rule
and authority, power and dominion, and every title that can be given, not only
in the present age but also in the one to come. And God placed all things
under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church.” It is only through Jesus Christ and faith in him that you can worship
the true God, and truly know him. As Paul says in 1st Timothy, “For there
is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus.”
Praying to his Father in today’s Gospel Reading, Jesus himself puts it this way:
“Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus
Christ, whom you have sent.” Jesus’ Resurrection from the dead and Ascension into heaven is God’s
way of proclaiming to the world that Jesus is the only way, the truth, and the
life, God’s only “right hand man,” and no one comes to the Father except through
him. Return to Top | Return to Sermons | Home | Email Church Office
|