Was Jesus’s Ascension a necessary path for the salvation of man?

In the Bread of Life discourse, St. John writes reveals an important sequence after Jesus had proclaimed one final time that his flesh is food indeed and his blood drink indeed, the Jews had disputed Jesus’ claim of the giving of his flesh and blood to eat, but Jesus, undeterred by their unbelief, continued,

He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood abides in men, and I in him. As the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so he who eats me will live because of me. This is the bread which came down from heaven, not such as the fathers ate and died; he who eats this bread will live forever.[1]

Jesus went to great lengths to explain to both Jews and Gentiles the Words of eternal life identified as Jesus' body and blood in the Holy Eucharist. The response from the gathering of disciples, believers, and skeptics alike was somewhat unanimous. This is a hard saying.[2] The question drawn from this statement was, who can understand this, or worse, who could assent to this? Jesus asked his disciples if they were offended by his statements, but before they could answer, he asked, What if you were to see the Son of Man ascending where he was before?[3]

The continuity between the Bread of Life discourse and the Ascension is an important symphonic connection of Christian doctrine because both the nature and substance of the body and blood of Christ and the Ascension reveal the confirmation or elevation of Jesus’ human nature to Divine glory with God the Father in heaven. In describing a foretaste of the Ascension, Jesus reminds those around him that docility to the Spirit is a requirement to receive eternal glory with Him.

In the Acts of the Apostles, St. Luke connects Jesus’ resurrection with his final act as the risen Christ when he ascends body and soul to the throne of God. The Ascension completes Jesus’ initial journey on earth, ascending under his free power, both as a human transformed and as God. The Catechism tells us that

during the forty days when he eats and drinks familiarly with his disciples and teaches them about the kingdom, his glory remains veiled under the appearance of ordinary humanity. Jesus’ final apparition ends with the irreversible entry of his humanity into divine glory, symbolized by the cloud and by heaven, where he is seated from that time forward at God’s right hand.[4]

When Christ ascends to heaven, it reveals the entry of his humanity into divine glory to be seated at the right hand of the Father in heaven. Forty days after his resurrection, those present witnessed the fulfillment of God’s promise to humanity, echoed by the prophet Isaiah.[5] This final act is the sanctified conclusion of the redemptive act of Christ. Christ continues his intercession for us, seated at God’s right hand. St. Paul reminds us that Jesus ascended on high and led a host of captives, and he gave gifts to men.[6] Meaning that Jesus opened the gates of Heaven to just souls awaiting redemption.

The Ascension provides us with the model of how to prepare to be received by our Lord at the end of our earthly life. In his letter to the Colossians, St. Paul provides a way to prepare for the Ascension,

 If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is our life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.[7]

If we desire to rest in the peace of Christ for all eternity, then our heart, mind, intellect, and will must be directed to as St. Paul reminds on the things above and not to things from below. The practice of our Catholic faith must possess a vertical dimension, one that seeks the will of God and avoids the desires of the flesh. When both the Nicene and Apostles Creed make the proclamation that Christ ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father, the Creed reminds us that after the Ascension, Jesus will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead (second coming of Christ) and that his Kingdom will have no end.

The Ascension was necessary because it confirmed why Jesus Christ came to establish a path for eternal life with God in heaven through his death and resurrection. Jesus appeared in his glorified state to his Apostles to confirm everything he had taught them and demonstrate to them how to live according to the law of Christ. The Ascension serves as the final act of Jesus' apparition to the Apostles, reminding them that they shall be his witnesses, and after this last instruction, He ascended to his Father’s throne. As we prepare to celebrate the Ascension of our Lord, let us not lose focus on the things from above and exercise an earnest desire to be at home with our Lord in heaven.