i

May 19 Daily Devotional

Ascending and Blessing

Frans Bakker

And it came to pass, while he blessed them, he was parted from them, and carried up into heaven. —Luke 24:51

Bible Reading

Luke 24:49–53

Devotional

When we consider the ascension of the Lord Jesus Christ, we are not only called to realize the fact of His ascension, but also the manner in which He ascended. For the latter is not less important than the former. The Lord ascended while He was blessing His disciples. He descended to this world under the curse. He now ascended from this world with a blessing. What a great difference there is between His coming and His going!

The work of the high priest was to intercede for the sins of the people and bless them. When he finished his ministry of reconciliation in the sanctuary, then as a conclusion he would give a blessing to the people. In our text, we see the eternal High Priest, who finished His work as Surety and leaves His people behind with a blessing that He earned for them. Looking at His blessed hands, we can observe that He earned God’s blessing, for in those hands are the scars of the cross. His hands bear the scars of the curse. But He changed the curse into a blessing. His hands speak for themselves, for in them we see the God-man who descended under the curse and who also arose from the curse. His hands were stretched out on a cross to bear man’s curse. Now He again stretches out His hands, but this time it is to bless.

Jesus said farewell to His church and laid His blessing upon them. This farewell was not really a farewell for His church. It was only creating a distance. The scars in His hands were the evidence that they were grafted into the palms of His hands. Now from heaven He would continue to hold on to them with His blessing. This is the only comfort for sinners, who are only worthy of condemnation.

 

From The Everlasting Word by Frans Bakker, compiled and translated by Gerald R. Procee. Reformation Heritage Books and Free Reformed Publications, 2007. Used by permission. For further information, click here.

 

CONTACT US

+1 215 830 0900

Contact Form

Find a Church