The Coronation and the Joy Bomb Text: Luke 24:50-53
Introduction: Not a Departure, But an Enthronement
Modern Christians tend to treat the Ascension of Jesus as a sort of sad but necessary postscript. The resurrection was the great victory, Pentecost was the empowerment, but the Ascension feels like a departure. It is the moment the Master leaves, and the disciples are left to get on with it. But this is to misread the entire event, and to misread it disastrously. The Ascension is not an epilogue; it is the climax. It is not a departure; it is a coronation. It is not the Lord leaving the field of battle, but rather ascending the throne from which He governs the entire war.
If we fail to grasp this, we will never understand the response of the disciples. Just a short time before, they were scattered, terrified, and locked in a room for fear of the Jews. After the crucifixion, they were demoralized and confused. Even after the resurrection, there was a season of bewilderment. But here, at the moment of what we might mistake for Christ's final absence, they are filled with "great joy." This is not the reaction of an abandoned people. It is the reaction of a people who have just witnessed their King take possession of the entire cosmos. They finally understood. The Ascension was the key that unlocked the meaning of everything else. It was the investiture of the King. He was not leaving them; He was going to His command center in order to direct their conquest of the world.
The world sees this as a fairy tale, a man floating up into a sky castle. But the disciples saw it for what it was: the most profound political event in the history of the universe. The man, Christ Jesus, was taking His seat at the right hand of the Majesty on High, given all authority in heaven and on earth. This is the central fact of our age. It is the foundation of our confidence, the source of our joy, and the engine of our mission. What we see in these closing verses of Luke's gospel is the immediate effect of this glorious reality. We see the proper, logical, and necessary response to the reign of Jesus Christ.
The Text
And He led them out as far as Bethany, and lifting up His hands, He blessed them.
And it happened that while He was blessing them, He parted from them and was carried up into heaven.
And they, after worshiping Him, returned to Jerusalem with great joy,
and were continually in the temple blessing God.
(Luke 24:50-53 LSB)
The Priestly Blessing (v. 50)
The scene begins with a deliberate and pastoral action from our Lord.
"And He led them out as far as Bethany, and lifting up His hands, He blessed them." (Luke 24:50)
Notice first that He "led them out." Jesus is still the Good Shepherd, leading His flock. This is not a chaotic or abrupt event. It is an orderly procession, led by the King Himself. He takes them to Bethany, on the Mount of Olives. This is significant. The Mount of Olives was near Gethsemane, the place where His agony began. It is from the region of His suffering that He ascends to His glory. God's geography is never accidental. The place of the cross is the place of the crown. He is teaching them, and us, that the path to glory runs straight through the valley of suffering.
And what is His final act on earth? It is not a last-minute strategy session. It is not a final flurry of commands. It is a blessing. "Lifting up His hands, He blessed them." This is a profoundly priestly posture. This is exactly what Aaron the high priest did after he offered the sacrifice for the people (Leviticus 9:22). Jesus, our great High Priest, having offered Himself as the perfect and final sacrifice, now raises His hands over His people to bestow upon them an authoritative blessing. This is not a sentimental wish. This is not "good luck, fellas." This is an effectual impartation of divine favor. He is conferring upon them the benefits of His finished work. The hands that were pierced for their transgressions are now raised to bless them. This is the permanent posture of Jesus Christ toward His church.
The Perpetual Blessing (v. 51)
The action of blessing is not concluded before He leaves; it is the very action in which He leaves.
"And it happened that while He was blessing them, He parted from them and was carried up into heaven." (Luke 24:51 LSB)
He ascends while blessing them. The blessing is not cut off. It is as though His hands remain perpetually raised over His people from the right hand of the Father. His ascension does not end the blessing; it eternalizes it. He is our High Priest who has passed through the heavens, and He ever lives to make intercession for us (Hebrews 7:25). That intercession is this blessing, flowing constantly from the throne room of the universe down to His people on earth. We live our entire Christian lives under an open heaven, beneath the raised hands of our blessing Lord.
He "was carried up into heaven." This is His coronation procession. As Daniel prophesied, "one like the Son of Man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of Days" (Daniel 7:13). He was not floating away into irrelevance; He was ascending to the throne to receive "dominion, and glory, and a kingdom." The cloud that received Him was not a meteorological phenomenon; it was the Shekinah, the very glory of God. This was His chariot. He was going to take up His position as the absolute monarch of all creation. And the disciples were the eyewitnesses of His investiture.
The Worshipful Joy (v. 52)
The disciples' reaction is the pivot point of the entire story. All their fear and confusion is burned away by the glory of what they have just seen.
"And they, after worshiping Him, returned to Jerusalem with great joy," (Luke 24:52 LSB)
Their first response is worship. Of course it is. What else can you do when you see a man ascend to the throne of the cosmos? They understood that Jesus was not just their teacher or their friend, but their God and King. Worship is the only sane response to reality. All of creation is commanded to worship Him, and the disciples are simply the first fruits of that global worship.
And their worship immediately gives birth to joy. "Great joy." Not mild contentment. Not quiet resignation. Great, explosive, uncontainable joy. Why? Because if your King has just taken over the entire world, you have nothing left to fear. The tyrant has been deposed. The strong man has been bound and his house plundered. Their joy was not a flimsy emotion; it was a robust, theological confidence. They returned to Jerusalem, the very city that had murdered their Lord, the capital of the enemy, not cowering, but with joy. The Ascension turned the world right side up. Jerusalem was no longer the place of defeat, but the place from which they would launch their joyful conquest in the name of the ascended King.
The Doxological Occupation (v. 53)
Their joy and worship are not kept private. They become a public spectacle.
"and were continually in the temple blessing God." (Luke 24:53 LSB)
They went straight to the temple. This was the headquarters of the old covenant establishment that had just conspired to kill Jesus. And the disciples, in a display of breathtaking boldness, essentially occupy it. They are there "continually," making a public nuisance of themselves, "blessing God." Notice the beautiful symmetry. Christ ascended blessing them, and they remained on earth blessing God. The blessed become the blessers. The recipients of grace become the conduits of praise.
This is the church in its proper mode. It is a public, joyful, worshiping, God-blessing community. They are not hiding in an upper room anymore. They have taken the high ground of the temple courts. This is a picture of the church's mission. We are to go into the public square, into the "temples" of our secular culture, and be there continually, blessing God. Our presence in the world is not to be one of cowering retreat, but of joyful, doxological occupation. This constant state of praise and joy was the tinder, perfectly arranged and waiting for the fire of the Holy Spirit to fall at Pentecost.
Conclusion: Living Under a Blessing King
The Ascension is not over. It is the ongoing, present reality that defines our world. Jesus Christ, the man from Nazareth, is seated at the right hand of God. He is reigning now. All His enemies are being made a footstool for His feet, and they are being subdued through the foolishness of the preaching of the gospel.
Because this is true, our lives must be marked by the same characteristics we see in the disciples. First, worship. We must order our lives, our families, and our churches around the central activity of worshiping the ascended King. Second, joy. Christian joy is not an optional extra for the emotionally cheerful. It is a militant duty. It is the glad confidence that comes from knowing that our side wins. This joy is a weapon. It confounds our enemies and testifies to the goodness of our King.
And third, a public presence. We are to return to our "Jerusalem," our hostile and unbelieving culture, not with fear, but with joy. We are to be continually in the public square, blessing God. We are to build, to sing, to work, to feast, and to laugh, all in the name of the Lord Jesus, testifying that He is King. His hands are still raised in blessing. We are the recipients of that unending flow of divine favor. Let us therefore live like it, returning to our posts with great joy, continually blessing the God who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ.