Our Lord was “taken up to heaven and sat down at the right hand of God (Mark 16:19).  It was then that the disciples began to worship Him, as recorded by Mathew and Luke.  Resurrection was enough to make them believe that Jesus, their so-called rabbi, was divine, but Ascension made them convinced that Jesus was truly God.  He was among them but not of them; He’s God-incarnate in human flesh. Not only did He deserve, but He was also rightly to be worshipped.

In his book, Jesus Through Middle Eastern Eyes, Kenneth E. Bailey relates a story about worship.  Near the end of the Civil War, when the city of Richmond, Virginia fell to the northern army, Abraham Lincoln insisted on visiting the still burning southern capital.  Out of the blue a former slave who felt immense gratitude to the president for abolishing slavery, ran toward him, fell on his knees, and kissed his feet.  Surprised and embarrassed, President Lincoln told him, “That’s not right.  You must kneel to God only and thank Him for liberty.”  Even though Lincoln had a big part in abolishing slavery, he knew that it was God who made liberty possible. He’s just a tool in God’s hand. Hence, he did not deserve to be worshipped, God did.

Jesus deserves to be worshipped because He is the Son of God in human flesh.  His dwelling on earth was temporary; His dwelling in heaven is permanent.  His rightful place is at the right hand of God not at the right hand of men, but to fulfill His Father’s holy mission He willingly placed Himself next to men, even next to criminals.  So, worship Him.  Every time we walk in and sit on this pew, remember that we are in the presence of God Almighty.  When we sing songs to Christ and hear the message from the Bible, worship Him.  And when we pray both for us and others in need, worship Him.  Like the former slave, we, too, are freed slaves, set free by the Blood.

Pastor Paul