If the Christ is the climax of the Bible’s story, the crucifixion, resurrection and ascension are the climax of Christ’s personal story. His death removed our sins and launched the New Covenant. Three days later, He was “declared to be the Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness by His resurrection from the dead” (Romans 1:4). Forty days later, He ascended to reign at His Father’s side (Acts 2:32-36). During the forty-day period, Jesus gave His disciples their marching orders, which we call the Great Commission. Its repetitive imperatives, given at various times and places, prove its priority (Matthew 28; Mark 16; Luke 24; John 20; Acts 1). Clearly, Jesus was looking ahead, even “to the end of the age” (Matthew 28:20). He was setting the stage for events in Acts and the teachings in the rest of the New Testament. The repeated word “all”—all authority, all the world, all nations, all creation, all commands, always— speak of universality and consistency.
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