“[Jesus Christ] was crucified, died, and was buried; He descended to hell. The third day He rose again from the dead. He ascended to heaven and is seated at the right hand of God the Father almighty.” It is difficult to speak of the ascension of Christ without also touching on the debate over the descending of Christ. Christ went to the prison of spirits to proclaim the truth of the Gospel (1Pet. 3:18-20) so that Jesus may preach to those who are already dead (1Pet. 4:6). Christ was not abandoned there to decay as if He was being punished for sin (Ps. 16:10; Acts 2:31) because He lived without sin and was therefore there to accomplish the purpose of filling all places with His glory (Eph. 4:10). While scripture does not put forth enough evidence to solidify this doctrine, it also does put forth enough to allow for it as a plausible option.

His ascension was a fulfillment of what He prophesied; Jesus foretold of His ascension into heaven (Jo. 6:62; 14:2; 12; 16:5; 10; 28; 20:17). After Jesus resurrected, He spoke with a wide variety of people before ascending into heaven. First Jesus appeared to Mary (Jo. 20:11-28), then to both Mary and Mary Magdalene (Matt. 28:9-10), then to Cleopas and another man on the way to Emmaus (Luke 24:13-22), then to Peter (Luke 24:34; 1Cor. 15:5). Second, Jesus appeared to Thomas and the disciple (Jo. 20:26; 31; 1Cor. 15:5), then again to the disciples (Jo. 21:1-5), then again to the disciples (Matt. 28:16-20), then to over 500 followers at the same time (1Cor. 15:6), then to James (7), then to the apostles (8).

After resurrecting, Jesus came to be with His disciples (Jo. 20:17; Mark 16:19), gave them final instructions (Matt 28:16-20), blessed them (Luke 24:50), and while blessing them He ascended into heaven (Acts 1:9; Jo. 20:17; Luke 24:51) to sit at the right hand of the Father (Acts 2:33; Jo. 17:5; Mark 16:19) with authority over all (1Pet. 3:22). Jesus descended far below, and ascended high above (through heaven [Heb. 4:14]) in order to fill all places with the glory of God (Acts 9:3; 5). All that was done was orchestrated by God the Father (Eph. 1:20; 1Tim. 3:16; Heb. 1:3; 4:14; 9:24; 1Pet. 2:23).

Jesus Christ died (1Pet. 3:18; Rev. 5:9), which fulfilled God’s purpose for the Son (Mark 10:45; Matt. 20:28). Christ died publicly (Matt. 27:29; 39; 50; Mark 15:11; 20; 29; Luke 23:27; 36; 48; Jo. 19-20), so that God could demonstrate His righteousness through the propitiation of Christ (Rom. 3:25; 1Jo. 2:2; 4:10). Forgiveness of sins is the subtracting, or putting away, of sins so that they are no longer held against us. In the final moments of Christ’s life He cried out loudly, yielding up His Spirit into God’s hands (Matt. 27:50; Jo. 19:30) and breathed His last breath (Mark 15:37; Luke 23:46). The validity of Christ’s death is found in the Roman soldiers first observing that He was already dead (Jo. 19:33), and then piercing His side with a spear from which blood and water released from His body (Jo. 19:34). 

The resurrection is the most important feature of truth to grasp, because without the resurrection, faith is obsolete (Rom. 10:9; 1Cor. 15:17). Before He even went to Jerusalem, Jesus prophesied not just His death, but also His resurrection (Matt. 16:21), and even went so far as to prophesy what He would do after resurrecting (Mark 14:28). Jesus prayed not to die, but died anyway; after He died though, God raised Him to life (Heb. 5:7). After resurrecting, Jesus appeared to a large amount of individuals in varied locations, fulfilling what He prophesied He would do after resurrecting (1Cor. 15:5-8).

The proof of the resurrection is found in a two-fold declaration. First, the stone was rolled away (Matt. 28:2; Mark 16:4; Luke 24:2; Jo. 20:1), which showed Jesus’ body was not in the tomb (Matt. 28:6; Mark 16:6; Luke 16:3; Jo. 10:6). Second, the Angels of the Lord declared Christ had risen (Matt. 28:2; 6; Mark 16:6; Luke 16:4; Jo. 20:12) to Mary and to others (Matt. 28:1; Mark 16:1; Luke 24:10; Jo. 10:1; 6). The proof of Jesus’ Lordship is solidified in His resurrection; because it confirms what He said about whom He is, and validates His other prophesies about the future. If any one of the Roman soldiers guarding the tomb by royal decree (Matt. 27:60; 65; Matt. 28:14), who had been paid off by the chief priests (Matt. 28:12) and assured of their pardoning from the governor (Matt. 28:14), had the truth that contradicted the Messiah-narrative then why remain quiet and not expose it? The exposé of this flaw would have killed the Messiah-narrative within a generation.