NOTE: This is the last online lesson. Next week Sunday School resumes at church in the classrooms.
Lesson 12 – Jesus Ascends into Heaven
Jesus, our risen Savior, ascended to heaven to prepare a place for us there with him.
Opening
In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit
This lesson will use the Bible, the Bible Discovery Guide and the Lesson 12 Leaflet from the Student Pack. The front cover shows how the artist sees Jesus ascending before his disciples. Also paper and pencil or crayons will be needed.
Read the Faith Words on page 4 of the leaflet.
Follow in the directions on How Good a Witness Are You? at the end of the lesson.
Prayer: Dear God, heavenly Father, we gather together to learn more about Your Son, Jesus. Just as Jesus spent time in a home here on earth, we know that He now is at home in heaven, preparing a home for us. SendYour Holy Spirit, so that we may understand Your Word. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.
This lesson is about the event that completed Jesus' work of redemption for His people. Listen to the hymn "All Hail the Power of Jesus' Name".
God Speaks
Read Acts 1:1-11 and Luke 24:44-53.
On the map on pages 2-3 of the Bible Discovery Guide, locate Jerusalem and Bethan.
Follow the directions under Be the Witness on page 2 of the lesson leaflet.
Read Acts 1:6-7 again.
What are the disciples expecting to happen now that Jesus has risen from the dead? They are expecting Jesus to establish an earthly kingdom to allow the Jews to rule their own land.
What does Jesus commission them to do instead? Read Acts 1:8 and Luke 24:44-48. Jesus wants His disciples to be witnesses, to preach to others what they have learned about Jesus Christ and Him crucified.
Especially note Luke 24:44-45; everything that Jesus has done in His earthly ministry fulfilled the Law of Moses, the Prophets, and the Psalms. Jesus "opened their minds to understand the Scriptures" (verse 45). Jesus gives them the ability to finally understand completely that they have witnessed the fulfillment of God's plan of salvation for humankind through His Son, Jesus Christ. What was promised in the Old Testament has been fulfilled through Jesus Christ in the New Testament.
What does Jesus promise that will help the disciples to be witnesses? Read Luke 24:49, and refer to Acts 1:1-8. Jesus promises to send His Holy Spirit to equip the disciples to be witnesses and preach the Good News of the Gospel. Note especially Luke 24:49: "l am sending the promise of My Father upon you”, Acts 1:4:"to wait for the promise of the Father, which, He said, 'you heard from Me'"; and Acts 1:8:"you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you."
Does Jesus leave His disciples alone when He ascends? No, Jesus promises the Holy Spirit.
How will the Holy Spirit come to the disciples? Read Acts 1:4-5. The disciples are told to return to Jerusalem and wait there. They will "be baptized with the Holy Spirit" [Acts 1:5].)
How does the Holy Spirit come to us? We receive the Holy Spirit in Baptism. The same Holy Spirit that equipped the disciples to be witnesses comes to us in water and the Word. We are equipped with faith to believe that Jesus is the Son of God, the promised Savior, and to tell others the same message that the disciples shared.
Do we sometimes feel lonely or like we are without a friend? Are we sometimes sad because we know we have sinned and we feel guilty and ashamed? Everyone feels lonely at times. Everyone, because of our sinful nature, will sin, and most will experience quilt and shame.
Did Jesus leave us alone when He ascended? No
Do you ever wish you could see Jesus, like the people in the Bible who lived at the same time Jesus was on earth? We don't have to see Jesus to know and believe that He is really with us. We may not be able to see Him with our eyes, but He is very much present. How? (Jesus Christ Himself is present in Word and Sacrament and still comes to us today in church in the worship service. Jesus is present in baptizing and teaching, in the preaching of the Gospel, in the forgiveness of sins, and in the breaking of bread, the Lord's Supper. His Word and the Sacraments sustain us until we join Him in heaven where we will see Him face-to-face.
Why did Jesus ascend into heaven? He ascended to prepare our eternal home and has promised to be with us always through His Spirit [see John 14:1-7]. We know that Jesus will come again to take us to His heavenly kingdom.
How do we know Jesus will come again to take us to His heavenly kingdom? When Jesus returns, it will be to take us to be with Him eternally.
We Live
Follow the directions under Witness the Faith on page 3 of the leaflet.
Correct responses are:
- annunciation
- Christmas
- Good Friday
- Good Friday
- Good Friday
- Easter Sunday
- ascension
- second coming.
For the next part the answers are:
Steps (1st sentence) describe Jesus' humiliation (pressing down or destroying someone's dignity). Though true God and true man, He did not always or fully use His divine powers. Steps 2-5 describe His exaltation. Sentence 2, His descent into hell, was not a punishment; it was to declare His victory over Satan to those in hell. It is the first step in His exaltation. Though still true God and true man, He now, fully and always, uses His divine powers. Ascension is one of the steps of exaltation.
God's plan of salvation for us is through the work of His Son, Jesus Christ. Out of His love for us, Jesus chose to do His Father's will--to remain on the cross and suffer and die for our sins. He rose triumphantly from the dead and now exercises fully His divine powers as the Second Person of the Trinity, God the Son.
Think about the beauty and majesty of Jesus' heavenly home from the divinely inspired description we have of it in the Book of Revelation. Read page 12 of the Bible Discovery Guide which is a summary of heaven. Although no one knows exactly what heaven will look like, the bliss of heaven will be fully revealed to us when Jesus takes us to be with Him eternally, where we will be able to see and worship Jesus.
Closing
On page 4 of the leaflet:
- Review the Key Point of this lesson.
- Read the Bible Words.
- Read the Prayer.
Again listen to the hymn "All Hail the Power of Jesus' Name".
Prayer: Lord Jesus, when You ascended, You withdrew Your visible body from the eyes of Your disciples and us. You promised to be with us always. Strengthen and comfort us with Your presence in Your Holy Word and Sacraments. Send Your Holy Spirit to us that we may boldly tell others what You have done for us. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.
