What does the ascension mean for us?
This year (2022), Ascension Day is May 26. On May 29, many churches will celebrate Jesus' ascension from earth to the Father's right hand in heaven (see Luke 24:50-51; Acts 1:1-2 ). What does the ascension of Jesus to heaven mean for us today? "The Ascension" by Rembrandt (public domain via Wikimedia Commons) In the book Royal Priesthood , T.F. Torrance notes that Jesus ascended "in the fulness of His humanity," remaining "bone of our bone and flesh of our flesh" so that in union with him, we are "bone of His bone and flesh of His flesh ( Eph. 5.30 )" (p. 43). Torrance exhorts the church to take this truth seriously: If Jesus Christ is not risen in Body, then salvation is not actualised in the same sphere of reality in which we are, and we are yet in our sins ( 1 Cor. 15.17 ). If Jesus Christ is not ascended in the fulness of His Humanity, then we have no anchor within the veil and there is no hope for us men and women of flesh and bl