What Is Ascension Day and Why Do Christians Celebrate It?

"No one has ascended into heaven except He who descended from heaven, the Son of Man." ~ John 3:13

Ascension Day 2024

This year, Ascension Day will be on Thursday, May 9, 2024.

When Did Jesus Ascend into Heaven?

Dan Graves explains where the Bible mentions Jesus' ascension and the once-in-a-while event we call Holy Thursday:

Forty days from the day he rose from the grave, Jesus ascended into heaven. Here is how Luke described the event:

Therefore, when they [the disciples and the risen Christ] had come together, they asked Him saying, "Lord, will You at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?"

And He said to them, "It is not for you to know times or seasons which the Father has put in His own authority. But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and in Samaria, and to the end of the earth.

"Now when he had spoken these things, while they watched, He was taken up and a cloud received Him out of their sight..." (Acts 1: 4-9 New King James Version).

Because the date of Easter varies from year to year, the celebration of the Ascension moves with it. It always falls on the fortieth day from Easter and, since Easter always falls on a Sunday, Ascension Day always falls on a Thursday; it is frequently called "Holy Thursday." Whenever Easter falls on April 5th, Ascension Day falls on this day, May 14. The last time that happened was in 1953 and the next time will be in 2015.

Ascension Day celebrates Christ's exaltation. While on earth, he was a servant. Now in heaven, he is the ruler and Lord of all. By entering heaven as the representative of mankind, he completed the work of our salvation and guarantees the eventual glorification of all who love Him.

Just as Jesus went up in the clouds, he will return the same way. Again Luke described the scene:

"And while they looked steadfastly toward heaven as He went up, behold two men stood by them in white apparel, who also said, 'Men of Galilee, why do you stand gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will so come in like manner as you saw Him go into heaven.'"

This is the great hope of all Christians. For just as Jesus went into heaven, so will all Christians. Those who are dead will rise first; those who are living will be caught up to meet him in the air, according to Paul, writing to the church at Thessalonica. This is called the rapture. With this hope in mind, Christians sometimes conclude their meetings with the words, "Come Lord Jesus."

("Possible Date for Christ's Ascension" by Dan Graves previously published on Christianity.com on April 28, 2010)

Traditions of Ascension Day

Because the date of Easter varies from year to year, the celebration of the Ascension moves with it. It always falls on the fortieth day from Easter and, since Easter always falls on a Sunday, Ascension Day always falls on a Thursday; it is frequently called "Holy Thursday."

Ascension Day celebrates Christ's exaltation. While on earth, He was a servant. Now in heaven, He is the ruler and Lord of all. By entering heaven as the representative of mankind, He completed the work of our salvation and guaranteed the eventual glorification of all who love Him.

Just as Jesus went up in the clouds, He will return the same way. Again Luke described the scene:

"And while they looked steadfastly toward heaven as He went up, behold two men stood by them in white apparel, who also said, 'Men of Galilee, why do you stand gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will so come in like manner as you saw Him go into heaven.'"

What Does Jesus' Ascension Tell Us about Jesus' Humanity?

Randy Alcorn discusses how the ascension highlights the way in which Jesus was fully God and fully human:

One remarkable thing about the ascension is that it affirms Christ’s physical body went into Heaven following his resurrection. This is what the creeds call his “self-same body,” stating that likewise our self-same bodies will be restored in our resurrection. Some Christians imagine that Christ shed himself of his humanity and returned to being a completely spiritual being when he went back to Heaven. But this is false. The ascension creates a paradigm shift. The truth is not that Jesus became a baby at Christmas, and then 33 years later came the resurrection and ascension and then he stopped being a man. The resurrection demonstrates the incarnation is not temporary. But still, it could be wondered if having defeated death in the resurrection, when it came time to going back to Heaven, Christ might have said, “time’s up, no sense in being a man any more” and shed himself of a body and retake the form (or lack of form) inherent in being the second member of the Trinity.

He could have “dissolved” or “disappeared,” but instead, he physically ascended to a place from which he will physically return to earth in the same physical body. So Jesus became a man (first coming, incarnation), defeated death and assumed his eternal body as a man (resurrection), and went back to Heaven as a man (ascension) and will return as a man (second coming; and as our firstfruits raising our self-same bodies as bodies like his). He will reign over the New Earth as the God-man. He has become a permanent member of the human race.

So if you’re ever wished you could walk the earth with Jesus, like his disciples did, good news...if you know Him, you will. You will have a new (raised) body, and it will be a New (raised) Earth, but it will really be you, it will really be Jesus, and it will really be Earth. No sin, no death, no curse. I will be me without all the bad parts, and the Earth will be Earth without all the bad parts. (New bodies are not non-bodies and new earth is non-earth, no more than a new car is a non-car.)

As Job said, “I know that my Redeemer lives, and that in the end he will stand upon the earth. And after my skin has been destroyed, yet in my flesh I will see God; I myself will see him with my own eyes—I, and not another. How my heart yearns within me!” (Job 19:25-27)

(Taken from "Why do you seldom hear about Christ’s ascension?" by Randy Alcorn, Eternal Perspective Ministries, 39085 Pioneer Blvd., Suite 206, Sandy, OR 97055, 503-668-5200, www.epm.org. Previously published on Christianity.com on September 1, 2010).

What Is The Importance of Jesus' Ascension?

Brian Hedges explains three key things we all need to know about Jesus from his ascension:

1. The ascended and enthroned Christ pours out his Spirit on the church.

Jesus had told his disciples that it was good for him to go away because only then would he send them another Helper, the Spirit of truth (John 16:7-16). And that’s exactly what happened on the Day of Pentecost, ten days after Jesus’ ascension. The Spirit descended on the church with power, inaugurating a new age in the history of salvation.

That’s why Peter connects Jesus’ exaltation and the outpouring of the Spirit in Acts 2:33:

Being, therefore, exalted at the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, he has poured out this that you yourselves are seeing and hearing.

2. The ascended and enthroned Christ applies the blessings of salvation.

Having accomplished redemption through his suffering on the cross, the risen and exalted Christ now applies the salvation he has won, by granting the gifts of repentance and forgiveness of sins.

As Peter says in Acts 5:31:

God exalted him at his right hand as Leader and Savior, to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins.

3. The ascended and enthroned Christ cares for his suffering people as they bear witness to him.

We see this in Acts 7 when Stephen becomes the first martyr of the Christian church. 

But he, full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. And he said, “Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.” (Acts 7:55–56)

All of this should give us great encouragement! When feeling weak in ourselves, Luke reminds us that the exalted Christ has given us his Spirit, who equips us with the power, boldness, and courage we need to accomplish our mission.

This is the great hope of all Christians. For just as Jesus went into heaven, so will all Christians. Those who are dead will rise first; those who are living will be caught up to meet Him in the air, according to Paul, writing to the church at Thessalonica. With this hope in mind, Christians sometimes conclude their meetings with the words, "Come Lord Jesus."

(Excerpted from "3 Reasons for the Ascension of Christ and its Importance Today" by Brian Hedges)

Learn more about the Bible Story of the Ascension of Jesus

Dan Graves' Bibliography:

1. "Easter Sunday Dates." http://users.chariot.net.au/~gmarts/eastcalc.htm
2. Gibson, George M. The Story of the Christian Year.  Nashville, Abingdon Press, 1945.
3. Wynne, John J. "Feast of the Ascension." The Catholic Encyclopedia.  New York: Robert Appleton, 1907.

Photo credit: ©GettyImages/Rastan

This article originally appeared on Christianity.com. For more faith-building resources, visit Christianity.com.