Explaining Jesus to Muslims
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11. Jesus' Ascension to Heaven

"God said, O Jesus, verily I will cause you to die, and I will take you up to me, and I will deliver you from the unbelievers. And I will place those who follow you above the unbelievers until the day of resurrection." The Quran, Sura 3:55

"But God took him (Jesus) to himself. The Quran, Sura 4:158

Jesus Ascension (Read Acts of the Apostles 1:1-11)

Jesus was crucified on a wooden cross, he died and was buried in a tomb. After three days he rose from the dead and appeared to his disciples on various occasions during a 40 day period. On the fortieth day he went with them to Bethany on the side of the Mount of Olives. While talking to them, he promised he would send them the Holy Spirit, and as he was blessing them he rose up into the air and was taken by God into heaven. The disciples watched him rising into the sky until a cloud hid him from view. Then some angels appeared to them and said that Jesus would return bodily to earth in the same way that they had seen him ascend to heaven.

Jesus' Exaltation (Read Acts of the Apostles 2:1-4, 32-39)

Ten days after Jesus' ascension to heaven, on the day of Pentecost, the promised Holy Spirit descended upon Jesus' disciples. They were filled with the Holy Spirit and power and then preached to the crowds gathered at Jerusalem for the festival. The coming of the Holy Spirit was the birth of the Church, for without the Holy Spirit there is no Church, the true Church consisting of Christians who have the Holy Spirit dwelling in them.

Peter preached to the people and said that God had raised Jesus from death and exalted him to his right side, from where he sent the Holy Spirit to be with his disciples. Jesus' exaltation to the right hand of God was prophesied by the prophet David in Psalm 110.

"The LORD said to my Lord, 'Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet,'"

The apostle Paul describes it in this way:

"Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father."          (Philippians 2:9-11)

And in the book of Ephesians, chapter one, verses 19-23, Paul wrote:
"And his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is like the mighty strength which he exerted in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every title that can be given, not only in the present age, but also in the one to come. And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the Church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way."

Compare that with what the Quran say about Jesus in Sura 3:45

"His name shall be Christ Jesus, the son of Mary, illustrious in this world and in the world to come, and one of those who approach near to the presence of God."

Jesus' Intercession         (Read John 17:1-26)

That Jesus is seated at the right hand of God is mentioned at least eight times in the Injil. His being at God's right hand shows his power to save us and this is further strengthened by the fact that he intercedes and prays for us there. In John chapter 17 Jesus prays for those people who belong to God, he does not pray for the "world", that is the unbelievers who have not put their faith in him. He prays that they would be kept safe from Satan. He prays for their unity, that they might be one in their love for one another and united to Jesus, just as he Jesus is united to the Father. He doesn't only pray for his present disciples, but for all those who will believe in him because of their witness. They are to be one big brotherhood, men and women, old and young, black and white, educated and uneducated.

The apostle Paul says that if while we were still sinners and God's enemies, Christ died for us and reconciled us to the Father, how much more will Christ save us by his life. Just as we intercede for others in our prayers for them, so Jesus is interceding for us. He does not want any born again Christian to be lost, but to be victorious over Satan and sin. Because of Jesus' intercession, nothing can separate the true believer from God's love. This gives the sincere Christian what is called the assurance of salvation - he knows for sure he is reconciled to God and saved, not just hoping. The apostle Paul puts it very majestically:

"If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all - how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. Who is he that condemns? Christ Jesus who died - more than that, who was raised to life - is at the right hand of God and is interceding for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? As it is written: For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered. No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord." (Romans 8:31-39)

Because Jesus is our great high-priest, he is able to save completely those who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them. Read Hebrews 4:14-16:

"Therefore, since we have a great high-priest who has gone through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. For we do not have a high-priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are - yet was without sin. Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need."

Priests are people who are intermediaries between man and the supernatural. When an idol worshipper goes and sacrifices to his fetish, he first goes to the priest who accompanies him to the place of sacrifice. Under the law of Moses, Israelites could only approach God through priests, but when Jesus ascended to heaven, he became our high-priest and so Christians no longer need any priest here on earth. They pray directly to God the Father in the name of Jesus. God created us and he wants us to do his will and to trust him to look after us in every way. He wants us to talk to him daily in prayer about our needs and problems. He wants us to ask him to feed us, to protect us, to give us prosperity and help us in all our activities. He wants us to confess our sins, to praise him, to thank him and to pray for others. Everything is prayed in the name of Jesus and on the basis of all that he has done and is doing for us. Jesus said: "I tell you the truth, my Father will give you whatever you ask in my name."

"There is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus," (1 Timothy 2:5)