This morning I made a comment which provoked a question from a friend of mine. The comment I said was, “When Mary saw Jesus in the garden after His resurrection, Jesus told her, “Do not cling to Me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father; but go to My brothers and say to them, 'I am ascending to My Father and your Father, to My God and your God.’” (John 20:17 [ESV]) Why did Jesus bid Mary not to hold Him or delay Him (as the Greek text implies)? He said this because He had to ascend that same day to present Himself before the Father as the Firstfruits of the resurrection from the dead.”
So the question asked of me was, “Are you saying that Jesus was ascending and descending to Heaven during the 40 days following His resurrection and final ascension which occurred in Acts 1? If so, what about Hebrews 10:10-13?” This is a very good question, so let us take a few moments first of all to examine Hebrews 10:10-13 [RSV]:
10. And by that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. 11. And every priest stands daily at his service, offering repeatedly the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. 12. But when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, He sat down at the right hand of God,
I believe it is possible Jesus could have ascended and descended to and from Heaven during the 40 days from His resurrection to His final ascension. But the only time I believe it is safe to say is certain He ascended prior to Acts 1 would be after His resurrection but before He met with the Apostles later. He was the High Priest of the New Covenant, and as High Priest only He was sanctified to offer the sacrifice to the Father, which in this case was Himself. Had He allowed Himself to be touched prior to His offering of Himself and being accepted as the Firstfruits of the resurrection, then He would have been ceremonially unclean. This is why Jesus said to Mary, “Do not cling to Me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father.” Jesus had just been raised from the dead at that point when Mary arrived on the scene, and I believe He could not be touched by anyone at that point because He had not presented Himself to the Father as the Firstfruits of the resurrection.
Later on after the Father had accepted Him as the Firstfruits, Jesus had no problem with anyone touching Him and, in fact, He encouraged Thomas to do just that in John 20.
Verse 12 of Hebrews 10 is really what my friend was keying in on: “But when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, He sat down at the right hand of God.” I think the context of this passage is the contrast being made between Jesus as our High Priest juxtaposed against the High Priest under the Law of Moses. Sitting "down at the right hand of God" is symbolic of saying the work is finished, it is completed, and nothing more is needed, compared with the daily standing by the priests doing a work that could never have been completed or finished, “For it is impossible that the blood of bulls and goats should take away sin” (Hebrews 10:4 [RSV]). It took the blood of Jesus to be the perfect sacrifice and atonement for our sins, for He is our Passover Lamb (1 Corinthians 5:7). Jesus sitting "down at the right hand of God” in this context does not mean He is literally always sitting. In fact, we see Him standing at the right hand of God when Stephen was being stoned, and we know He appeared to Saul on the road to Damascus. So yes, it is very likely that during those 40 days following His resurrection Jesus was ascending and descending into and from Heaven, which is what He told Mary in John 20:17 [ESV]: “Do not cling to Me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father; but go to My brothers and say to them, 'I am ascending to My Father and your Father, to My God and your God.’”
So the question asked of me was, “Are you saying that Jesus was ascending and descending to Heaven during the 40 days following His resurrection and final ascension which occurred in Acts 1? If so, what about Hebrews 10:10-13?” This is a very good question, so let us take a few moments first of all to examine Hebrews 10:10-13 [RSV]:
10. And by that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. 11. And every priest stands daily at his service, offering repeatedly the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. 12. But when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, He sat down at the right hand of God,
I believe it is possible Jesus could have ascended and descended to and from Heaven during the 40 days from His resurrection to His final ascension. But the only time I believe it is safe to say is certain He ascended prior to Acts 1 would be after His resurrection but before He met with the Apostles later. He was the High Priest of the New Covenant, and as High Priest only He was sanctified to offer the sacrifice to the Father, which in this case was Himself. Had He allowed Himself to be touched prior to His offering of Himself and being accepted as the Firstfruits of the resurrection, then He would have been ceremonially unclean. This is why Jesus said to Mary, “Do not cling to Me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father.” Jesus had just been raised from the dead at that point when Mary arrived on the scene, and I believe He could not be touched by anyone at that point because He had not presented Himself to the Father as the Firstfruits of the resurrection.
Later on after the Father had accepted Him as the Firstfruits, Jesus had no problem with anyone touching Him and, in fact, He encouraged Thomas to do just that in John 20.
Verse 12 of Hebrews 10 is really what my friend was keying in on: “But when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, He sat down at the right hand of God.” I think the context of this passage is the contrast being made between Jesus as our High Priest juxtaposed against the High Priest under the Law of Moses. Sitting "down at the right hand of God" is symbolic of saying the work is finished, it is completed, and nothing more is needed, compared with the daily standing by the priests doing a work that could never have been completed or finished, “For it is impossible that the blood of bulls and goats should take away sin” (Hebrews 10:4 [RSV]). It took the blood of Jesus to be the perfect sacrifice and atonement for our sins, for He is our Passover Lamb (1 Corinthians 5:7). Jesus sitting "down at the right hand of God” in this context does not mean He is literally always sitting. In fact, we see Him standing at the right hand of God when Stephen was being stoned, and we know He appeared to Saul on the road to Damascus. So yes, it is very likely that during those 40 days following His resurrection Jesus was ascending and descending into and from Heaven, which is what He told Mary in John 20:17 [ESV]: “Do not cling to Me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father; but go to My brothers and say to them, 'I am ascending to My Father and your Father, to My God and your God.’”
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