The Ascension of Jesus (2 of 4)
Series: The Study of the Book of Acts
Scott Maze
Acts 1:1-11
There are three events in the life of Christ that get an awful lot of publicity. There are the birth of Jesus, the death of Jesus, and the resurrection of Jesus. We have recognized holidays for each of these: Christmas, Good Friday, and we have Easter. But the Ascension of Jesus is neglected by comparison. You'll never find a Happy Ascension card in the Hallmark store. The Ascension of Jesus is the reason you cannot see Jesus with your physical eyes today. Jesus takes the elevator up toward heaven. For at the Ascension of Jesus, Jesus transfers from earth to heaven.
In contrast to our neglect, the ascension of Jesus has drawn the attention of artists for centuries. I want to show you three paintings in all.
Painting #1 - Ivory Ascension Jesus
Here is one done in ivory from around 400 AD - possibly the oldest depiction we have of Jesus' Ascension. Look at the top - is getting a ''hand up'' - Does Jesus needs help getting to heaven? Some of these leave me with more questions than answers. Or, is Jesus climbing up to heaven here? I'm not sure. In searching for these paintings, I even found one portrait where you could even make into a shower curtain!
Painting #2 - ''Feet Only'' Jesus
This is from the early 1500s and it's now at the Met in NYC. I loved this one... all you see is Jesus' feet! What a vivid imagination of this artist.
Painting #3 - ''No Jesus Here'' Jesus
Here's our last one: you will not find Jesus here because this painting simply shows the angels talking to the apostles. Jesus' absence from the painting is more suggestive to me. Despite all these paintings, people don't take the Ascension very seriously in our day. Sadly, most of us believers haven't given it the thought we'd give the same attention that we would the remodeling of our kitchen.
Today Scripture
''''In the first book, O Theophilus, I have dealt with all that Je ...
Series: The Study of the Book of Acts
Scott Maze
Acts 1:1-11
There are three events in the life of Christ that get an awful lot of publicity. There are the birth of Jesus, the death of Jesus, and the resurrection of Jesus. We have recognized holidays for each of these: Christmas, Good Friday, and we have Easter. But the Ascension of Jesus is neglected by comparison. You'll never find a Happy Ascension card in the Hallmark store. The Ascension of Jesus is the reason you cannot see Jesus with your physical eyes today. Jesus takes the elevator up toward heaven. For at the Ascension of Jesus, Jesus transfers from earth to heaven.
In contrast to our neglect, the ascension of Jesus has drawn the attention of artists for centuries. I want to show you three paintings in all.
Painting #1 - Ivory Ascension Jesus
Here is one done in ivory from around 400 AD - possibly the oldest depiction we have of Jesus' Ascension. Look at the top - is getting a ''hand up'' - Does Jesus needs help getting to heaven? Some of these leave me with more questions than answers. Or, is Jesus climbing up to heaven here? I'm not sure. In searching for these paintings, I even found one portrait where you could even make into a shower curtain!
Painting #2 - ''Feet Only'' Jesus
This is from the early 1500s and it's now at the Met in NYC. I loved this one... all you see is Jesus' feet! What a vivid imagination of this artist.
Painting #3 - ''No Jesus Here'' Jesus
Here's our last one: you will not find Jesus here because this painting simply shows the angels talking to the apostles. Jesus' absence from the painting is more suggestive to me. Despite all these paintings, people don't take the Ascension very seriously in our day. Sadly, most of us believers haven't given it the thought we'd give the same attention that we would the remodeling of our kitchen.
Today Scripture
''''In the first book, O Theophilus, I have dealt with all that Je ...
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