What a wonderful day it must have been for the Father to welcome His Son back again in heaven, after witnessing both His sufferings and death and the resurrection from the dead. The glorious homecoming of the Son took place on Ascension Day.
The Father sent His Son with a mission
The Father sent His Son with a mission into the world, out of love for mankind, who had fallen due to disobedience to God and made a mess of things.
Jesus came in the flesh in a fallen world and lived among an unbelieving rebellious generation which was spiritually blinded and loved sin and iniquity.
The (religious) leaders and elders of the house of Israel didn’t see in Jesus the brightness of God’s glory, and the express image of the God, whom they served.
Many of them didn’t see Jesus as the Messiah but as a son of Belial.
What Jesus considered holy, they considered unholy. And what they considered holy, Jesus considered unholy.
What Jesus considered good, they considered evil, and what they considered good, Jesus considered evil.
And yet, they both said they knew God and stood in His service, but who spoke the truth?
The sufferings and death on the cross and the resurrection from the dead of Jesus the Christ was the deciding factor and showed who was telling the truth and who was really sent and appointed (anointed) by God.
The world despised Jesus, but God didn’t
The world despised Jesus and esteemed Him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted and abandoned by God. But the Father had not abandoned His willing faithful Son, Who was despised, rejected and killed by the leaders of His house.
All that time, the Father was with Jesus and connected with Him, until the moment that the Father laid the sin and iniquity of the world upon His Son, and made Jesus sin and because of that He was separated from His Father for a short period of time and was placed beneath the angels and stayed in the kingdom of the death (a.o. Psalm 8:5-9, Isaiah 53:3-12, Hebrews 2:7-9).
During His life on earth, Jesus spent much time with the Father. Jesus spoke His words, which were not always pleasant to hear and not always loved by the people, and did His works, which were not always considered as the works of God.
But despite people’s unbelief, the temptations in the flesh, and the criticism, resistance, persecution, and sufferings, Jesus remained faithful and obedient to the will and the word of the Father and finished His work, whereby He would bring many sons (both males and females) unto glory and sanctify them and make them perfect and reconcile them with God.
Thou made Him a little lower than the angels; thou crowned Him with glory and honour, and did set Him over the works of Thy hands: Thou hast put all things in subjection under His feet. For in that He put all in subjection under Him, He left nothing that is not put under Him. But now we see not yet all things put under Him. But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honour; that He by the grace of God should taste death for every man. For it became Him, for whom are all things, and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons unto glory, to make the Captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings. For both He that sanctifies and they who are sanctified are all of one
Hebrews 2:7-11
The world rejected Jesus as King, but God didn’t
The world didn’t consider His works righteous, but God did and accepted His sacrifice and blood.
The world rejected Jesus as King, but the Father didn’t.
The world mocked Jesus as King by putting a crown of thorns on His head and putting a purple robe on Him. But the Father exalted His faithful Son at His homecoming and crowned Him with glory and honour.
The glorious homecoming of the Son Jesus Christ
The Father gave Jesus a crown and the scepter of His Kingdom and placed Jesus, His Son on His right hand on the throne and put Him above all principality, power, might, and dominion and every name that is named (Ephesians 1:20-23, Hebrews 1-2).
The Father put His Name above all name, whereby Jesus acquired the highest place, there is to acquire
Through Jesus’ sufferings and death, He has brought and still brings many sons to glory and sanctify them until the fulness of time.
‘Be the salt of the earth’
