2026 Easter Devotions
Thursday, May 14
The Ascension of our Lord
Luke 24:44-53
44 [Jesus said to the eleven and those with 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, the prophets, and the psalms must be fulfilled.”45 Then he opened their minds to understand the scriptures, 46 and he said to them, “Thus it is written, that the Messiah is to suffer and to rise from the dead on the third day 47 and that repentance and forgiveness of sins is to be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. 48 You are witnesses of these things. 49 And see, I am sending upon you what my Father promised, so stay here in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high.”
50 Then he led them out as far as Bethany, and, lifting up his hands, he blessed them. 51 While he was blessing them, he withdrew from them and was carried up into heaven. 52 And they worshiped him and returned to Jerusalem with great joy, 53 and they were continually in the temple blessing God.
49 And see, I am sending upon you what my Father promised…
Because it always happens on a Thursday, Ascension Day often gets lost between Sundays. This is unfortunate, because it’s a really important part of the entire story of Jesus.
For many of us, there’s a sort of gray area after Easter. We know that Jesus was Resurrected, and that a bunch of people saw him and talked with him, but then the story falls away. Maybe it’s just too strange to think about Jesus floating away into the clouds with his hands raised in blessing. I’m not sure why that seems stranger than walking out of his own tomb, but it does…
So, why is Ascension Day so important. It’s important because it’s the bridge between Jesus’ physical presence in the world and the entrance of the Holy Spirit on Pentecost. Think of it as a brilliant act of Divine Marketing.
If Jesus had stayed with us physically, he would have been limited by time and space – as we are. The only way for God to continue to be present in the world with all of us at the same time was in the Spirit. Jesus had to physically get out of the way so that God, the Holy Spirit, could join us for the rest of the journey (until Jesus comes back for us).
Prayer: Lord God: Thank you for making sure that we are never left without your companionship in this life as well as in the next. AMEN