Rejoice The Lord is King!

And He led them out as far as to Bethany, and he lifted up His hands, and blessed them. And it came to pass, while He blessed them, He was parted from them, and carried up to heaven. And they worshipped Him, and returned to Jerusalem with great joy: And were continually in the temple, praising and blessing God. Amen.                -Luke 24:50-53

It is May 29, 2025. I am afraid too many of us are unaware of the significance of this date, yet it is by far one of the most important in the history of the world.

Today is Ascension Day. The date changes annually, like Christmas, Resurrection Day, and Pentecost, but it is always 40 days after our celebration of the resurrection of the Messiah. It’s the day our Lord Jesus Christ ascended into heaven. It’s a day much neglected in our generation. This is evidenced in the number of churches failing to remember and celebrate this event important enough to find expression in both the Apostles’ and Nicene Creeds.

We see in our text that this took place from the Bethany side of the Mount of Olives, that as Christ blessed His disciples He was carried up into heaven, and that great joy and worship followed. This is a basic history of the ascension (Luke gives more details in Acts 1:1-11), but what is the importance of this event?

Christ’s ascension was far more than a change of location—merely going up into heaven. It was His coronation as the King of kings and Lord of lords, His return to glory and taking His place at the right hand of the Father—a position of honor, power, joy, and majesty, as Head over the church and all creation (see Ps. 2:6; 16:11; 45:7; 72; 89:4,13,27,36; 110; Mt. 28:16ff; Eph. 1:20-23; Phil. 2:7-9; Heb. 2:7-9; 10:21; 1 Pet. 3:22). Like the disciples, we should enter into the joy of Jesus with continual worship and praise. Though Christ is away physically, He is always present with us by the Holy Spirit. He has left, but promises to come again to judge the living and the dead. In this we in Christ will, without shame or fear, rejoice to behold His appearing. We serve the risen and reigning Lord whose kingdom shall have no end. All of this and more is what we celebrate on Ascension Day.

May we no longer be negligent to celebrate this day; it ought to be one filled with rejoicing. And though this event is past, its effects are ever present, so each day is one of participating in Jesus’ joy and exaltation. Our lives must be lived in the brightness and warmth of this truth concerning the Son. May we never forget that we don’t simply serve a King, President, or Emperor, but The King; and not only are we His subjects, but His friends. This should profoundly influence everything we do.

Abraham Kuyper succinctly sums up the glory of this day: “There is not one square inch in the whole domain of our human existence over which Christ, who is sovereign over all, does not cry, ‘Mine!’”

Rejoice the Lord is King!