By Jonathan Keller
Jesus ascended to heaven many centuries ago. The disciples waited for ten days before the Holy Spirit was poured out on them and continued to be poured out on all peoples, even to this day. As the Holy Spirit is at work in believers all across the world, what exactly is Jesus up to in heaven?
The Reformed tradition speaks of Jesus as having three “offices” or roles: prophet, priest, and king. As a prophet, He reveals to humanity the will of God that pertains to our salvation. As a priest, He stands as a mediator between God and us, making a way for us to know God and continuing to pray for us day in and day out. As a king, He rules and defends all of His kingdom, including His people as His subjects. As the eternal Son of God, He was doing these things before He became man, while He was on earth, and now even after He ascended into heaven.
In this moment, Jesus is up to quite a lot! He continues to send His Spirit during sermons and Bible readings so that His people might know the will of God for their salvation. He continues to pray for His people, not offering Himself many times but only once. In a sense, Jesus is our Great Prayer Partner, always knowing how to pray for us and when best to pray for us. Finally, He continues to rule His people, advancing against the corruption of our flesh by washing us through His Word. He also defends His people daily, not allowing the forces of the evil one to conquer them nor allowing death to have its sting against them.
In other words, as we pray and read Scripture each day, the Son of God is hearing and working with His own body for our good. Though He is away from us spatially, Jesus is quite close to us in how His works continue to work for our good and His glory!