The Lutheran Hour
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"The King Who Reigns"
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Text: Luke 24:36-53
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This week marks an oft-overlooked holiday in the modern church calendar: Ascension Day. Or, as some might call it, “the Feast of Ascension.” I call it an oft-overlooked holiday for the simple reason that the majority of Christians in America do not have a special service on Thursday, 40 days after Easter. And of those that do, fewer still attend a church with a giant feast and festival after the service. I have been a Christian my entire life and no one has ever offered me an Ascension Day gift or cookie. (I don’t know what an Ascension Day cookie would taste like, but if it were left up to me it would be something surprisingly flavorful and yet light and airy.)
To be sure, there are many churches in America that still follow a liturgical calendar and many of them will designate the Sunday before Ascension Day “Ascension Sunday” mostly so they can acknowledge it before Pentecost the following Sunday. And I strongly suspect that if I asked the average regular church attender what the holiday was referring to, they would correctly tell me about Jesus’s Ascension into heaven after Easter, just before Pentecost.
If, however, I were to go on to ask about the how significant a story it was, perhaps get them to sort a bunch of miracles and threw that one in, I do not get the impression that many American Christians would rank it very high on the list. It is, after all, no Christmas or Easter, not even a Pentecost or Epiphany.
And this is where things get interesting. Because while many of us in the modern church may seem to think (if even just to ourselves) that Ascension is perhaps not quite as “significant” as some of the others major church holidays, the early church seems to be in significant disagreement with us. In fact, it does not take much of survey of church history to find that throughout history Ascension was one of the major holidays. We have records of it being celebrated as far back as the fourth century, and in some countries like Germany and France Ascension Day is still a national holiday to this very day.
Which, when you think about it, is really interesting. France and Germany are not countries most Americans think of today as especially churchgoing or religiously vibrant. Both have seen deep secularization in modern life. And yet Ascension Day still remains a public holiday there. And this makes me wonder. What is it about Ascension Day that could be so important, that could have been so foundational to the early church that the celebration of it has left an indelible impression on countries to this very day? What did they know that we are missing?
On the surface, Ascension Day may seem like just another impressive miracle performed by Jesus. His last one. One that modern day movie viewing has made seem like a minor trick in superhero summer blockbuster films. Jesus, like Superman, or Neo in The Matrix, takes off into the clouds. If anything, Jesus’s version seems a bit slower and less impressive, although it does end with Him disappearing at the end. And in a world that is in the midst of tearing itself apart, frankly, Jesus leaving doesn’t seem nearly as important as His coming, or His coming again. If anything, it feels disheartening. Empty. Shallow.
Even the disciples were hoping for something more than this. In Acts, right before the Ascension, they come together and Luke tells us they ask Him, “Lord, will You at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?” He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or the season the Father has fixed by His own authority.” It’s as though they are saying, “Okay, we finally get it. We marched in on Palm Sunday with the crowds expecting You to finally be the King, and we didn’t get it. You spoke to us the night before they crucified You … and we didn’t get it. But now You’ve risen from the dead. You have defeated sin, death, and the power of the devil. You have proved without a shadow of a doubt that You are the promised King, the son of David, the Messiah. Now … now it must be time for You to start reigning. Right? Now it must be time to kick out all the evil of this world and bring in justice, mercy, and Your righteousness … right?”
And in response … it’s a little like Jesus is saying … “Yeah … you still don’t get it.” And then?
He leaves. And the disciples? They do as they’re told. They head back to Jerusalem and wait for the Holy Spirit. And it’s only then that the age of the church really seems to kick off.So, is this just some going-away party for Jesus so He can send the Holy Spirit? If so, why the big fuss? Why the festivals? Why the pilgrimages? Why the big feasts? Because there’s a lot more going on. The disciples had the right idea. Jesus clearly is the King. From the moment He came the kingdom of God came in and with Him. And Easter definitely declares that the King has won.
But if Easter tells us the King has won, then Ascension tells us the King is reigning. And His reign is good.
This truth surprises many. While many Christians are used to confessing on a weekly basis that Jesus “ascended to heaven and there He sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty, from thence He will come to judge the living and the dead,” this picture still seems to them more like a distant king, than an active king reigning in our lives. But let us look a little more closely at the Ascension with a slightly different lens, and we may just walk away with a clearer picture.
The story of Jesus’ Ascension is unique. It occurs twice in the New Testament from the same author. Luke ends his Gospel with the Ascension, and begins his second book, the Acts of the Apostles, with the story again. Almost like a TV show. “Previously on the New Testament ….” We heard a little from Acts a moment ago. Hear now the account from the closing of the Gospel according to Luke.
Since rising on Easter Jesus has been busy. Luke records that after the women found an empty tomb and encountered two angels. Jesus then appeared to two disciples on their way to Emmaus. They are kept from recognizing Jesus, and after telling Him their woes, He proceeds to open Scripture to them revealing, “‘Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and enter into His glory?’ And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself.” It is only with the breaking of bread over dinner and the vanishing before their eyes that the disciples realize it is the risen Jesus they have been with all along. As they run back to tell their tale to the rest of the disciples, they find that Peter has now encountered Him, too.
Luke then concludes his Gospel, writing: “As they were talking about these things, Jesus Himself stood among them, and said to them, ‘Peace to you!’ But they were startled and frightened and thought they saw a spirit. And He said to them, ‘Why are you troubled, and why do doubts arise in your hearts? See My hands and My feet, that it is I Myself. Touch Me, and see. For a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have.’ And when He had said this, He showed them His hands and His feet. And while they still disbelieved for joy and were marveling, He said to them, ‘Have you anything here to eat?’ They gave Him a piece of broiled fish, and He took it and ate before them. Then He said to them, ‘These are My words that I spoke to you while I was still with you, that everything written about Me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.’ Then He opened their minds to understand the Scriptures, and said to them, ‘Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, and that repentance for the forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in His Name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. You are My witnesses of these things. And behold, I am sending the promise of My Father upon you. But stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high.’ And He led them out as far as Bethany, and lifting up His hands, blessed them. While He blessed them, He parted from them and was carried up into heaven. And they worshiped Him and returned to Jerusalem with great joy, and were continually in the temple blessing God.” This is the Word of the Lord.
Notice what Luke does not do here. This is not the flannel graph Sunday school pictures I remember from my childhood. It is not a vivid description of Jesus flying through the air replete with clouds and angels and full of special effects. Instead, it is simple, almost understated. Luke does not dwell on the mechanics of Jesus rising into the sky. Instead, he draws our attention away from where He is going and towards what He is doing. Jesus leaves, teaching, promising, sending, blessing.
Ascension Day is often thought of as the moment Jesus exits the stage, but that is not what is happening at all. Jesus is ascending to His throne. But it turns out His reign looks different from what the disciples, or we, expect.
If I close my eyes and try to picture a king ascending to their throne on coronation day, I see the pomp and circumstance. I see the attendants. I see the king’s stately robes and ceremonial garments. But I do not see the king. I do not actually see his face. He is turned away, facing his thrown, walking towards it.
But that is not the picture Luke leaves us with. Here, in our King, we have Jesus, facing the disciples, hands raised, blessing them. Even as He rises into the air, even as He disappears from view, He continues to face the disciples, and offer a blessing.
Indeed, this seems to be the hallmark of His reign. Jesus comes to bless His people, to redeem them, to bring them into His kingdom, to call them members of His family and make them a part of His mission.
So, what does the reign of Jesus actually look like? It looks like this: He teaches. He opens Scriptures. He makes sense of what once seemed confusing. He promises power for frightened disciples. He sends out witnesses with a message of repentance and forgiveness. And over all of it, He blesses. That is what His reign looks like. Not distance. Not indifference. Not a King who has gone missing. But a living Lord who reigns for the sake of His people.
For many this may sound like a cold comfort. There are real evils in this world. Real evils that have not magically disappeared since Jesus ascended to His throne. Cancer is real. War is real. Injustice is real. Grief is real. Ascension does not ask us to pretend otherwise. It does not tell the suffering person that pain is an illusion or that everything is secretly fine. Instead, it proclaims that the world is not godless territory. Evil is real, but it is not ultimate. Death is terrible, but it is not sovereign. History is frightening, but it is not ownerless. And we know this not because the world looks safe, but because the King bears wounds. The One who reigns over cancer and war and injustice and grief is not untouched by them. He is the crucified and risen Jesus. He has entered our suffering, carried our sin, passed through death, and risen on the other side of it. So, when we say that Christ reigns, we are not saying that pain does not matter. We are saying that pain does not get the throne.
Ascension Day is a reminder that we need not look for earthly kings to save us or solve our every problem. We serve the King of all creation. He who died and rose again. He who reigns at the right hand of God the Father Almighty. He who will transform all of creation upon His return. He who even now is calling others into His kingdom. He who even now works through us, His children, His ambassadors, to announce His forgiveness, mercy, and righteousness to this broken world. Until the day of His glorious return. Amen.
Reflections for May 10, 2026
Title: The King Who ReignsNo reflection segment this week.
Music Selections for this program:
“A Mighty Fortress” arr. Peter Prochnow. Used by permission.
“Crucifer” by Sydney H. Nicholson, arr. Peter Prochnow. Used by permission.
“Up Through Endless Ranks of Angels” by Jaroslav Vajda & Henry Gerike. Used by permission.
“Oh, Worship the King” arr. Henry Gerike. Used by permission.
“Alleluia! Sing to Jesus” courtesy of The Hymnal Project of the Michigan District of The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod.
“Up Through Endless Ranks of Angels” From The Concordia Organist (© 2009 Concordia Publishing House) Used by permission.