Jesus' ascension was already in view in 9:51. There Luke presented it as the ultimate goal of Jesus' first advent ministry. Jesus' ascension would have happened even if the Jews had accepted Him as their Messiah. Prophecies of His glorious return to the earth fill the Old Testament. We should not view Jesus' ascension as an afterthought, therefore. It was rather the culmination of Jesus' first advent. Luke is the only New Testament writer who described the Ascension, both in Luke and in Acts. Perhaps he did so to stress the significance of the resurrection.529
"With the ascension the Gospel reaches its climax. What began in the temple concludes in the temple with praise to God, and the path of Jesus now reaches its goal. The programme has been established for the second volume of Luke's work in which the church will obey the command of the risen Jesus to take the gospel to all the nations."530
"In Luke's mind the Ascension of Christ has two aspects: in the Gospel it is the end of the story of Jesus, in Acts it is the beginning of the story of the Church, which will go on until Christ comes again. Thus for Luke, as Barrett says, the end of the story of Jesus is the Church, and the story of Jesus is the beginning of the Church'."531
24:50-51 Jesus continued to lead His disciples as their Lord. Bethany stood on Mt. Olivet just east of Jerusalem. As they were walking toward (Gr. pros) Bethany, Jesus stopped and prayed for God's blessing on them. Lifting up the hands to do so traditionally symbolized a priestly transference of blessing from heaven to the recipients below (cf. 1:22, 42, 64, 68; 2:28, 34). Luke described Jesus' ascension (Acts 1:9, 12) as a parting, not a permanent separation. Jesus' ascension is reminiscent of Elijah's (2 Kings 2:11; cf. Acts 1:2, 11). Thus Luke drew attention to Jesus' role as a prophet as well as a priest. He will return as King.
24:52-53 Some manuscripts have the disciples worshipping Jesus. The textual support for this activity here is good. This is Luke's first reference to the disciples worshipping Jesus. The Resurrection and Jesus' subsequent instruction made His deity clear to them.
The disciples returned from the Mount of Olives to Jerusalem joyful because they finally understood and accepted God's program for Messiah and for them (cf. 2:10). Jerusalem would shortly become the birthplace of Christianity. Their constant praise in the temple, the place of prayer, was undoubtedly for the gospel, the good news that God has provided salvation for humankind through His Son (cf. Acts 2:46; 3:1; 5:42).
"The return at the end of Luke to the mood of joyful praise of God that filled the birth stories rounds off the story of Jesus; it also affirms that the joy felt by the devoted Jews who greeted the infant Jesus has been justified by later events, bringing the story to a happy resolution. The joy and praise filling the disciples following Jesus' appearance and departure will continue in the life of the early church, as Acts 2:46-47 indicates."532
These original disciples set all of their subsequent fellow disciples a good example. We, too, should worship, rejoice, and praise God as we eagerly await the fulfillment of all that He has promised.
