Thematic Bible: Where jesus Christ ascended to


Thematic Bible



Jesus said to her, "Do not hold on to me, for I have not ascended to the Father yet [Note: Apparently Jesus was discouraging Mary from embracing Him in worship as was done in Matt. 28:9, and thereby causing a delay of when the rest of the disciples would learn of His resurrection], but go to my brothers and tell them [I said] 'I am [about] to ascend to my Father and to your Father, and to my God and your God.'"

So then, after the Lord Jesus had spoken to them He was taken up to heaven, where He sat down at the right side of God.

Then He opened their minds [miraculously ?] so they would understand the Scriptures. And He said to them, "This is what was written: The Christ [i.e., God's specially chosen one] will suffer, and [then] rise again from the dead on the third day. And [the need for] a change of heart and life in order to receive the forgiveness of sins [from God] will be preached in Jesus' name [i.e., by His authority] to people of all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. read more.
You apostles are [to be] witnesses of these things [i.e., they were to give their testimony of these truths. See Acts 1:8]. And look, I [am going to] send upon you apostles what my Father promised [i.e., the Holy Spirit. See John 14:26]; but you should wait in the city [of Jerusalem] until you are clothed with power from above." [Note: This promise was fulfilled when the apostles were immersed in the Holy Spirit. See Acts 1:4 - 2:4]. Then Jesus led His apostles out [of Jerusalem] until they came near to Bethany [Note: This was a village fewer than two miles east of Jerusalem]. [There] He raised His hands and asked God's blessing on them. And it happened, as He was blessing them, that He left them and was taken up to heaven.

And no one has gone up to heaven except the One who has come down from heaven, [even] the Son of man. {{Most translations do not contain the added words "who is in heaven"}}. And [just] like Moses lifted up the snake [on the pole] in the wilderness [Num. 21:9], so the Son of man must be lifted up [on the cross]

Now it was before the Passover Festival [was to begin] and Jesus knew that the time had come for Him to leave this world and return to the Father. Those [living] in the world, whom He had loved, and who were His own [disciples], He continued to love [dearly] to the very end [i.e., of His life on earth]. The devil had already filled the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon's son, with the desire to turn Jesus over [i.e., to the Jewish authorities]. During the [Passover] meal, Jesus, who knew that the Father had given Him complete authority, [also] knew that He had come from God and was [about] to return to God.

But [God's] unearned favor was given to each one of us, according to the gift allotted [to us] by Christ. Therefore, it says [Psa. 68:18], "When He ascended on high [i.e., to heaven], He led a procession of captured prisoners [behind Him] [Note: This originally referred to God leading His people in triumph over Israel's enemies, but here is applied to Christ], and gave gifts to [various] people." (But what does "He ascended" mean if not that He also [first] descended to the lower parts of the earth [i.e., to the earth below]? [Note: Of the three principal interpretations given to this verse: a) Christ descended to earth, b) Christ descended to the grave, c) Christ descended to Mary's womb. The first is to be preferred. See John 3:13; 6:38, 62]. read more.
The One who descended [i.e., from heaven to earth] is the same One [i.e., Christ] who also ascended high above the all the heavens, so that He could fill the entire universe [with His presence]).

This water prefigured immersion [into Christ], which now also saves you, not by removing dirt from the [physical] body, but [by serving] as an appeal [or, "pledge"] to God for a clear conscience through the raising of Jesus Christ from the dead. He has [now] gone to heaven, and is [seated] at the right side of God, where the angels and [other] authorities and powers have been subjected to Him.