The Ascension - Matt 28:16-20; Mark 16:15-20; Luke 24:50-53

While still in Galilee, “the eleven disciples went away… into a mountain where Jesus had appointed them. And when they saw him, the worshipped him: but some doubted.” It’s interesting to me that just as an aside, Matthew says “but some doubted.” Did some doubt that Jesus was resurrected before they saw him? We know that they all saw him while in Jerusalem before they ever went back “a fishing” in Galilee. I guess my question is who doubted what? Maybe it was the people of Galilee that didn’t believe that Jesus was resurrected when the disciples told them, assuming that they did.

Whatever it was, Jesus taught them several important truths while there, the first being that “all power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.” This seems to be pretty obvious, which made me wonder why he said it. It’s obvious to me because we are 2,000 years out from this event and the Lord has enabled miracles of great magnitude during that time. What does it mean for Jesus to have all power? It seems to me that it means that every single priesthood key was given from the Father to Christ. I don’t think that that means that Heavenly Father gave up the keys that he has, but I think it just means that He gave Jesus his own set. I also think that it means that instead of only doing the will of the Father, Jesus is now capable of running the show. While Jesus was the same being after the atonement as he was before, what he went through and experienced and what he understood afterward gave him the capacity to hold and wield all the priesthood keys.
The IM points out that while on the mountain, “the Savior said, ‘All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.’ He spoke these words as a resurrected, glorified Being. The Doctrine and Covenants helps us understand that Jesus Christ did not possess ‘all power’ when He was born into mortality, but that He received it later. This power included power over life and death, power to be resurrected, power to exalt, power to execute judgment, power to destroy Satan, and power to rule in the heavens.” One of the most interesting teachings in my life came when I found out that Jesus had not been born knowing all things and possessing all power. I had always thought that he was just bon with everything, but because He was not and gained knowledge and understanding and power through his obedience and study, I came to understand that I too can grow just like Jesus did until I am worthy o the same privileges. It was a very “freeing” lesson for me.
It’s kind of like Jesus is saying, “the gospel is now under new management,” and instead of just teaching the Jews around you, “go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.” Let’s remember that at this point, the gospel is very restrictive in their preaching. In Old Testament times, Jews typically did not allow converts, so while it might have been possible in very few and special circumstance, outsiders usually couldn’t convert Judaism, and that’s just how it was. So if Jesus was telling his disciples to “go out and preach the gospel to the whole world, he meant go out beyond the normal boundaries that they are familiar with. The IM says, “The Savior commissioned His disciples to take the gospel to ‘all nations.’ This verse is the culmination of many indications throughout the Gospel of Matthew that the gospel would eventually go forth to the Gentiles.”
This must have been such a shock to the disciples because they had grown up believing that they were superior to everyone else because they were Jews and that they would be saved because Abraham was their father. This shift from “Jews only” to “everyone” would have stripped away the argument that Jews were some how special because of their heritage. Clearly Jesus’ disciples made the mental adjustment because they did take the gospel to the world, but I would imagine that it would have been something they might have had to work through.
Preaching the gospel to everyone is not enough, “go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost.” The people need more than to just to hear the gospel, but they also need to accept it and to make covenants with God. The IM says, “The Greek phrase translated as ‘teach all nations’ implies that the Apostles of the Lord were to find and baptize disciples of the Savior in all the nations. Receiving baptism is one of the requirements of becoming a disciple.” This is a valid argument in our day as well and debates the merits of being a “hearer of the word only” verses being a “doer of it also.”
But then being baptized isn’t enough either. We can hear the word and accept it, but then we must work to be better people. Jesus tells the disciples this, saying, “Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you.” The IM says, “Matthew 28:20 refers to additional teaching after a person is baptized. The writings in the rest of the New Testament consistently describe the baptism and instruction of converts.” Hear the gospel, accept the gospel, learn more and grow spiritually. These instructions take the disciples next steps from going back to caring for their families, to preaching the gospel, to committing people to the gospel and baptizing them, to teaching them and molding them into disciples themselves. It’s a very thorough process.
There are also going to be lots of concerns that the disciples have, going into to far away countries, preaching to hostile people, but Jesus comforts them promising, “these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast our devils; they shall speak with new tongues; They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.”
This is similar to what was told to the missionaries setting out to preach the gospel to the Native Americans as recorded in the Doctrine and Covenants times. The IM notes, “the Savior promised His disciples that as they went forward with faith to peach the gospel, miracles would follow their efforts, for miracles will always follow those who believe.”  If we are sacrificing for a cause, even if it is the cause of Christ, sometimes there can be frustrations or discouragements, but if we are sacrificing for a cause and witnessing incredible events as a direct result, it makes it easier to endure those sacrifices. The miracles performed are not meant to convert because we know that’s not how it happens, but they would strengthen the testimony and resolve of those who already believe.
Miracles aren’t just something that happened way back in the Bible only, they happened when the Savior promised them to the missionaries almost 200 years ago, and they happen now. The IM quotes Elder Spencer W. Kimball as testifying, “We do have miracles today- beyond imagination!” The IM also quotes President Dallin H. Oaks as teaching, “Many miracles happen every day in the work of our Church and in the lives of our members. Many of you have witnessed miracles, perhaps more than you realize… Most of us are acquainted with miracles that have occurred in our personal lives and the lives of those we love, such as miracles involving births and deaths and miraculous healings. All of these are fulfillments of the Lord’s modern promise to ‘show miracles, signs, and wonders, unto all those who believe on my name.’” I believe in miracles and see them frequently, and I am grateful for that.
All these instructions or “commissions” to the disciples might seem like a lot, especially considering that less than a month ago, most of the disciples didn’t understand the nature of Christ’s sacrifice or even that he was going to have to make one. That’s a lot to process in such a short period of time. But Jesus reassured his disciples, “and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world.” The IM says, “The Savior promised to be with His followers always, a promise that must have been of great comfort to them. President Thomas S. Monson promised that as we serve the Lord, He will be with us: ‘Whatever our calling, regardless of our fears or anxieties, let us pray and then go and do, remembering the words of the Master, even the Lord Jesus Christ, who promised, ‘I am with you always, even unto the end of the world.’’”
The IM sets the scene, saying, “After the resurrected Jesus Christ spent time in Galilee and gave the Apostles their great commission, He went back to Judea and led his disciples to Bethany, on the east slope of the Mount of Olives, and blessed them there.” And while he blessed them, “he was received up into heaven, and sat on the right hand of God.” The IM quotes President Hugh B. Brown as commenting, “We believe that the greatest story ever told in all the annals of history, is the story of the atonement of Christ. The record of his resurrection ad ascension, without which the atonement would not have been complete, is the climax to that story, and now, two thousand years after the event, it is still central and pivotal in all true Christian thought.”
I imagine I would have been so disappointed to see the Savior leave, I mean, honestly, even now thinking about it, it’s not a joyous concept for me. I equate it with abandonment, which I know that it’s not, but living this life is so hard and I really just wish Jesus would come back already. I guess I was raised with the whole “Jesus is going to come again at any moment,” so I’ve been anxiously waiting for his return, and I think that that’s how the people that He left in Palestine felt. I think that they thought that he was coming back within their life time, and then to realize that it not only wasn’t in their life time, it is literally 2,000 years later and he’s still not back. 2,000 years! If we consider that our lives are much less than 100 years, it just seems like we’ve just been trudging on, hoping for the best. Then when I consider all the horrific things that have happened from the ascension until now, it’s pretty bleak. I know that I’m supposed to be more upbeat about everything, but I’m just tired.
 Anyway, is it significant that Jesus didn’t just “ascend” into heaven, but that he sat “on the right hand of the Father?” The IM answers by quoting President Joseph Fielding Smith saying, “Showing favor to the right hand or side is not something invented by man but was revealed from the heavens in the beginning… There are numerous passages in the scriptures referring to the right hand, indicating that it is a symbol of righteousness and was used in the making of covenants.” Clearly no one is saying that the right hand is good and the left hand is bad literally, but it is a symbolic gesture indicating the closeness of Jesus and Heavenly Father, personally and in the salvation of all man kind.
With Christ gone out of the midst of them, the now Apostles “were continually in the temple, praising and blessing God.” The IM notes, “After Jesus ascended into heaven, the disciples returned with joy to Jerusalem. There, they stayed continually in the temple, praising God. Luke’s Gospel begins and ends in the temple- with Zacharias and Elisabeth in the temple, then with Mary and Joseph in the temple, and then, after the Savior’s Resurrection, with the Apostles and other disciples continually in the temple.” Apparently, the disciples didn’t share my pessimism and exhaustion and good thing too because then nothing would have gotten done.
Finally, Mark testifies that after the Savior ascended into heaven, the disciples “went forth, and preached every where, the Lord working with them, and confirming the word with signs following.” And with that we are done with the four gospels. I started my study of the New Testament on September 1, 2016, so it’s taken over two years to study the mortal ministry of the Savior. It has been intense and profitable, and I’ve learned a lot. But now that we are going into what happened after Christ ascended, I am going into uncharted territory. I had listened to Jesus the Christ four times before I started the New Testament so I had some idea about what was going on, but I have absolutely no idea about what happened afterward, so it will be interesting to see, and I’m really excited.