ON ASCENSION DAY

Luke 24:34 "The Lord is risen indeed."

The Apostle John writes: "If anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous; and He Himself is the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for those of the whole world" (1 John 2:1,2).

Jesus went to the Father by the way of bitter suffering and death. He bore our sins to the tree of the Cross. People still need to hear this message today. Christ is the propitiation for the sins of the whole world. The conscience finds comfort in this message. God does not ask us: Are you worthy, are you acceptable? But to the unworthy and unacceptable He gives His own Son to be our righteousness. In this righteousness we are acceptable to Him. Christ has atoned for the sins of all people. No one can exclude himself from this atonement. Jesus has risen from the dead, and after appearing to His disciples during a period of forty days, He ascended into heaven to the right hand of God. There He intercedes for us.

We need a defender. The temptor accuses us - and not without reason, for we are guilty. But the temptor wants to hide Christ's sacrifice from us. He does not object when the Law is preached to us, just as long as the Gospel remains hidden. Through the preaching of the Law he can lead a person to despair. But Jesus comes to our defense. We could not find a better defender. He has conquered the devil, and in addition to this has borne our sins for us. When He gives us His grace, no argument can be presented against this. The heavenly Father has accepted His Son's sacrifice by raising Him from dead. He also gladly hears His Son's prayers of intercession for us. When we in weakness sin, when our conscience accuses us, we are greatly comforted to know that we have a Defender before the Father. When He opens the gates of heaven, no one can close them.