Day 12 of 14
Resurrection and Ascension: The King Takes His Throne
Vindicated, exalted, and ruling now
Scripture Readings
Today's Reading
Read Acts 2:32-36 and Philippians 2:5-11. Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, declares to the crowd: "God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified." Paul writes that God has given Jesus "the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow."
Reflection
On Good Friday, it looked like the kingdom project had failed. The king was dead. The disciples had scattered. The powers of this world had won.
Three days later, everything changed. The resurrection is not simply a miracle — it is a coronation. God raised Jesus from the dead, and in doing so declared to the universe: this is my king. The cross was not a defeat. It was the victory. And the resurrection is the proof.
Peter makes this connection explicitly at Pentecost: "This Jesus God raised up, and of that we all are witnesses. Being therefore exalted at the right hand of God ... Let all the house of Israel therefore know for certain that God has made him both Lord and Christ" (Acts 2:32-33, 36). "Lord" (kyrios) is the Greek word used to translate God's own name in the Old Testament. "Christ" (christos) means "anointed one" — the promised king of David's line. Jesus is both — God's own name-bearer and David's promised heir.
Wright underscores the political implications: "The resurrection is not just proof that Jesus is alive. It is God's declaration that Jesus is Lord — the rightful king of the world. The one who was crucified is now enthroned." In the Roman world, "Lord" was a title claimed by Caesar. For the early Christians to say "Jesus is Lord" was not merely a devotional statement. It was a direct challenge to every competing claim to ultimate authority.
Then comes the ascension — Jesus taken up into heaven, seated at the right hand of the Father. Vaughan Roberts explains: "At the ascension, Jesus takes his seat at the right hand of the Father. He is not absent — he is reigning. The kingdom is not future only. It is present, because the king is on his throne."
Philippians 2 captures the full arc: Jesus, who was in the form of God, emptied himself, became a servant, died on a cross — "therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name" (2:9). The downward journey of humiliation becomes the upward journey of exaltation. The servant becomes the sovereign. The crucified one becomes the cosmic king.
Going Deeper
If Jesus is already Lord and King, why does the world still look so broken? The New Testament's answer is that we live between the inauguration and the consummation of the kingdom. The king is on the throne, but not all his enemies have yet been subdued (1 Corinthians 15:25). How does this "already but not yet" framework shape how you live today?
Key Quotes
“The resurrection is not just proof that Jesus is alive. It is God's declaration that Jesus is Lord — the rightful king of the world. The one who was crucified is now enthroned.”
“At the ascension, Jesus takes his seat at the right hand of the Father. He is not absent — he is reigning. The kingdom is not future only. It is present, because the king is on his throne.”
Prayer Focus
Worship Jesus as the risen, ascended, reigning King. Ask for fresh confidence that he is on the throne — right now — even when the world seems out of control.
Meditation
Peter declared to the crowd: 'God has made him both Lord and Christ.' What changes when you truly believe that Jesus is Lord of everything?
Question for Discussion
If Jesus is already reigning as Lord, why does the world still look so broken? How do you personally navigate the 'already but not yet' reality -- and does your community tend to overemphasize one side of that tension at the expense of the other?