Although we are still in the Easter season, “See, the Lord Ascends in Triumph” tell us about Christ’s bodily ascension into heaven. 40 days after Easter, Jesus told his disciples that the Holy Spirit would come to them and help them to witness to others about him. He then rose up and was taken from their sight.

This hymn triumphantly proclaims Christ’s ascension through both its text and its music. The sturdy and kingly melody accompanies words that describe Jesus as our King, triumphantly riding to the gates of heaven in a chariot. The “Lord ascends in triumph” because he has conquered sin, death, and Satan. He is going to take his place at the Father’s right hand and rule over heaven and earth.

Remember “No Tramp of Soldiers’ Marching Feet” (LSB 444)? We heard the line “Behold, behold your King!” over and over again, but that hymn told us that Jesus did not enter Jerusalem as a king. Now, though, Jesus has accomplished his purpose on earth; he has gone to his death on the cross and has risen again. He ascends into heaven, then, as a great and mighty King. Now, he rides on “the clouds, his chariot” with the “choirs of angel voices” accompanying his royal entrance into the “portals”, the gates, of heaven.

As the Apostles’ Creed tell us, our heavenly King now “sits at the right hand of God, the Father Almighty”. And the last stanza of “See, the Lord Ascends in Triumph” proclaims that “by our mighty Lord’s ascension we by faith behold our own”. As Lutherans, we believe in the resurrection of the body. This means that, like Jesus ascended in his own human flesh into heaven, we too will be taken to heaven in our bodies. We will not be little spirits or souls or even angels floating around up high. No, we will be in our own human flesh that has been perfected.

Jesus has risen from the dead in his body and ascended into heaven in his body. Because he lives, we too will be resurrected and brought to heaven in our own human bodies. What joy that day will bring!

Review questions:

1. Which season of the Church Year are we still in?

2. Which day of that season does this hymn describe?

3. What happened on that day?

4. Can you describe how this hymn says Jesus enters heaven? How is that different from how he entered Jerusalem on Palm Sunday at the beginning of Holy Week? Why is it different?

5. In what form did Jesus ascend into heaven? Was it just his soul?

6. How does Jesus’ resurrection and ascension foretell our own resurrection and ascension?

7. Do people become angels when they go to heaven?