Mark’s Gospel ends with the declaration that “the Lord Jesus” was “taken up into heaven and sat down at the right hand of God” (Mark 16:20). This phrase, taken from Psalm 110:1, underscores the identity of Jesus as the messianic high priest whose enthronement at God’s right hand initiates the outward motion of the kingdom of God. Mark therefore follows this statement with a description of the apostolic ministry: “they went out and preached everywhere, while the Lord worked with them and confirmed the message by accompanying signs.” We should pay close attention to the specific words used here: it was the “Lord Jesus” who was taken into heaven and enthroned at God’s right hand, as it is the Lord who works in and through the apostolic proclamation to bring His enemies to His footstool. While Christian liturgics often honors the Savior as the “Lord Jesus”, this phrase is only, by my count, used twice in the gospels- here in Mark 16:20 and in Luke 24:3 when the women did not find the body of the “Lord Jesus.” Especially given the reference to “the right hand of God” from Psalm 110:1, we should see in the use of the word “Lord” another reference to this text. Jesus, having been raised up from death, is taken into heaven as Lord of the World. In scriptural theology, Heaven is not the place of absence from Earth. Heaven is rather the governing body of earth. The creation of the heavens both preceded and formed the archetype for the shaping of the earth. As such, the ontological principle “as above, so below” finds its ultimate root in the order of creation.
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