A Glimpse of Ascension Day
Scripture Reading — Psalm 110
The Lord says to my lord, “Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet.”
This coming Thursday will mark Ascension Day on the calendar of the church. Forty days after Easter Sunday, Jesus ascended into heaven, leaving his disciples to do the work of his church on earth. In today’s psalm reading, we have a glimpse of that day from King David, who wrote this psalm.
Jesus is in the genealogy line of King David. About 1,000 years before Jesus was born in Bethlehem (David’s hometown), David gave thanks and praise to God as he wrote this psalm.
Jesus links himself to this psalm in the gospel of Matthew. He asks the religious leaders and teachers, “Whose son is the Christ (or, Messiah)?” They all answer that the Christ is the Son of David. Jesus then asks how that son can be called a lord over King David. To back up his point, Jesus quotes Psalm 110:1, which they know is a prophecy of the Messiah, who would one day sit at God’s right hand. The teachers are silent. They don’t know how to answer. (See Matthew 22:41-46.)
The answer is in the fact that Jesus has always been with God the Father. He has always been the Son of God, even before he became the Son of David. As Colossians 1:17 puts it, “He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.”
Isn’t it amazing and humbling that the triune God was working out this story from the beginning of time?
God of time and eternity, thank you for your faithfulness to us day after day. May we rejoice that Jesus is the Lord of life, now and forever. Amen.
About the author — Julius T. Medenblik
Rev. Jul Medenblik is a former attorney who was called to pastoral ministry and became the founding pastor of a church in New Lenox, Illinois. He is currently serving as president of Calvin Theological Seminary, Grand Rapids, Michigan. Jul and his wife, Jackie, are blessed with a son, Joshua, and a daughter, Julianne.
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