Following the ascension of Christ in Section 33 [of “Messiah,”] which cites Psalm 24:7–10, [the following] sections outline the effect of Christ’s exaltation to heaven. This impact begins in heaven, but flows downhill, if you will, to impact all creation. On earth, the Messiah is bringing his kingdom by way of his Spirit and his Word through the instrumentality of his body, the Church.

When I teach eschatology, I spend most of my time outlining the ascension—its Old Testament expectation, its New Testament fulfillment, and its eschatological implications. Along the way, this biblical theological entry into the ascension leads me to consider passages like Psalm 2, Psalm 68, Psalm 110, and Daniel 7, all of which play a crucial role in developing a doctrine of the ascension in places like Ephesians 4, Hebrews 1, and the whole book of Revelation.

In studying Handel’s Messiah, I have been pleasantly surprised and encouraged that this biblical-theological reflection on Jesus Christ does much of the same. In fact, what I argue in class is that if twenty-first century evangelicals built their eschatology on the ascension, it would resolve—or begin to resolve—a host of eschatological errors. Or at least, it would put them on the right path to understanding the inauguration of Christ’s kingdom. Such is the polemical argument that I make in class with respect to the ascension and eschatology.

Yet, polemics aside, the ascension is a doctrine that should make our hearts sing and our souls pray. Because Christ ascended to heaven, the believer has confidence to enter the spiritual battlefields of earth. Indeed, as Psalm 110 suggests, with Christ enthroned in glory, he now sends forth his Spirit to save and his armies to march. Jesus is bringing salvation and judgment upon the world, and ardent Christians should not only argue this point theologically, we should sing about it doxologically. And singing about the ascension of Christ is what we have in Handel’s Messiah, as we come to Sections 34–43. In what follows, I want to meditate on these sections and the biblical texts they recite.

While other contributors to this month’s theme have engaged the music of Handel, and the way Handel connected Jennens’ lyrics to song, my contribution will be more canonical. I will attempt to stay in my lane and focus on the biblical theological connections I see in the given texts, and how their arrangement produces a theological message. And specifically, as it comes to the ascension of Christ, we will consider four results from Christ’s exaltation:

1. The angels worship the Messiah (Sections 34–35)
2. The church is being built by the Messiah (Sections 36–37)
3. The message of salvation in the Messiah is going throughout the earth (Sections 38–39)
4. The judgment of nations by the Messiah has commenced (Sections 40–43)

Following the ascension of Christ in Section 33, which cites Psalm 24:7–10, these sections outline the effect of Christ’s exaltation to heaven. This impact begins in heaven, but flows downhill, if you will, to impact all creation. On earth, the Messiah is bringing his kingdom by way of his Spirit and his Word through the instrumentality of his body, the Church. And thus, we who are the body of Christ should give praise to our head for the work he is doing. And wonderfully, Handel’s Messiah gives us a soundtrack to do that.^[1] Still, that soundtrack is only as good as our understanding of the verses in view (cf. 1 Cor. 14:15). And so as we come to the highpoint of Handel’s Messiah, the Hallelujah Chorus, in Section 44, we need to understand the effect of the ascension that leads to that glorious doxology.^[2]

The Worship of Angels (Sections 34–35)

In Hebrews 1:5–6 we have the exaltation of Christ over and above the angels starting off section 34. Citing Psalm 2:7 and Deuteronomy 32:43 (LXX),^[3] respectively, the author of Hebrews begins his exaltation of the Son with a comparison between the Son and the angels, who are called “sons of God” in places like Genesis 6:2, 4; Deuteronomy 32:8, and Job 1:6; 2:1; 38:7, as well as the aforementioned Deuteronomy 32:43.^[4] While debate exists over the term “sons of God,” there is no debate as to what “angels” mean in Hebrews or Handel’s Messiah. It is plain: the risen and exalted Christ receives the worship of angels, when he enters into realms of glory.

A George Guthrie frames it, “The chain quotation at [Hebrews] 1:5–14 builds overwhelming biblical support for the superiority of the Son of God to the angels.”^[5] In Messiah, we find the something similar. With the preceding choral arrangement of Psalm 24:7–10, a text which the early church regularly interpreted with respect to the ascension, we are ready to see the effect of Christ’s ascension.^[6] And the first effect of Christ’s ascension is that the angel’s worship the exalted Son.

In a style that would impress (or inspire) Charles Jennens, the author of Hebrews arranges seven Old Testament citations that serve to identify the glory of the ascended Christ. Indeed, while Hebrews 1–2 stress Christ’s humanity, it is not Christ’s state of humiliation that is in view. Rather, it is the enthroned Son who is on display. In Hebrews 1:3–4, the text alludes to Psalm 2:8 in verse 3 (“whom he appointed the heir of all things^”) and Psalm 110:1 in verse 4 (“he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high^”). And with Christological skill, the next ten verses (Heb. 1:5–14) proceed from Psalm 2:7 to Psalm 110:1.^[7]

In context, the chiastic argument looks something like this:^[8]

[A] The Son is greater than angels (Heb. 1:5) – Ps. 2:7 and 2 Sam. 7:14

[B] The Son receives praise from angels (Heb. 1:6) – Deut. 32:43 or Ps. 97:7

[C] The Son is served by heavenly angels (Heb. 1:7) – Ps. 104:4

[C1] The Son receives his earthly throne (Heb. 1:8­–9) – Ps. 45:6–7

[B1] The Son renews creation (Heb. 1:10–12) – Ps. 102:25–27

[A1] The Son is greater than angels (Heb. 1:13–14) – Ps. 110:1

In reading these verses, we don’t know if Hebrews 1:5–14 was sung by the speaker, but we have good reason to believe it was preached.^[9] And drawn from the Psalms, there is a rich lyrical quality to these selected verses. Together, they make a simple point: The Son who was made a little lower than the angels (Ps. 8:5 cited in Heb. 2:7), has now been exalted to the right hand of God (Heb. 1:3, 7). Accordingly, all creation, angels included, have been put under his feet (cf. Eph. 1:22–23). And for those elect angels who abide in God’s heavenly temple, they offer the Son ceaseless praise. As Athanasius puts it in a sermon on Psalm 24.

The angels of the Lord who followed Him upon earth, seeing Him arise, announced His coming to the Virtues of heaven, so that they might open their gates. The Powers were filled with amazement at seeing Him in the flesh. That is why they cried, ‘Who is this?’ astounded by this mysterious order of salvation. And the Angels rising with Christ answered them, ‘The Lord of Powers, He is the King of Glory who teaches the great mystery to those who are in heaven: that the King of Glory has won the victory over the spiritual enemy?^[10]

Glory, hallelujah! The ascension is truly worth singing loud for all to hear, as Messiah does. Yet, if there is occasional singing on earth—in the church or the choral halls where Messiah is performed—there is ceaseless praise in heaven. And that praise changed key with the ascension of Christ.

Indeed, before Christ came into the world, the heavenly host gave praise to God in the precincts of heaven (see Isa. 6:2–3), but now such praise is magnified. It is magnified because the incarnate Son is seated on the throne, a mystery which the angels could not previously foresee.^[11] Such praise is also is amplified, however, because the angels are joined by the saints made perfect. This is confirmed when we read Hebrews 12:22–24, where the angels are joined by the assembly of the firstborn surrounding the throne of God.

Wonderfully, in Hebrews 1:5–6 we find an introduction to angelology that leads us to the ascended Christ. Yet, that is only one aspect of the ascension. As Hebrews 2:16 clarifies, “It is not angels that he helps, but he helps the offspring of Abraham.” Indeed, in Hebrews the message about angels is not for angels, but for the people of faith (Abraham’s seed). And the same is true in Messiah. While the first effect of the ascension is the praise of angels, the second effect is the redemption of the saints and the formation church.

The Formation of the Church (Sections 36–37)

Next, Messiah moves from heaven to earth. Or, more precisely, the ascension of Christ to heaven results in the blessing of God’s people on earth. As Jennens cites Psalm 68, he takes up two verses. The first is Psalm 68:18, which is partly cited in Ephesians 4:8, “Thou art gone up on high; thou hast led captivity captive, and received gifts for men: yea, even for thine enemies, that the Lord God might dwell among them.” The second is Psalm 68:11, which seems to apply to Ephesians 4:11, “The Lord gave the word: great was the company of the preachers.”

Together, these two verses present the formation of the church by way of Christ’s victory and the preaching of that good news. In the first place, Psalm 68:18 describes the people whom the Lord receives in his ascension. In the context of the Psalm, David looks to a day when God, as victorious king, will defeat his enemies (Ps. 68:1–2), such that the righteous (Ps. 68:3) and all those who have been saved by God (Ps. 68:4–6) can sing his praises. In this setting, Psalm 68:7–35 recount God’s procession, coming from the battlefield (Ps. 68:7–14, 19–23), up the mountain (Ps. 68:15–18), to the place where he will sit in his sanctuary (Ps. 68:24–35).

Rightly, Messiah interprets Psalm 68 as taking place when Christ, after winning victory on the cross, ascends to the right hand of the Father, leading a train of captives in his wake. And we know this fulfillment of Psalm 68 brings us to the ascension, because of the way Paul cites Psalm 68:18 in Ephesians 4:8. In that Prison Epistle, Paul alludes to Psalm 110:1 in Ephesians 1:22–23, as he prays for the saints to receive the help of Christ under whom all things in creation were placed. This prayer is based upon the ascension. Next, Paul highlights Christ’s work of salvation (Eph. 2:1–10), which results in the construction of a new temple (Eph. 2:19–22), wherein believing Jews and Gentiles can enter into the sanctuary offering praise to God. Importantly, this temple access continues in Ephesians 3:12, where Paul explains the mystery of the Gentiles approach to God (Eph. 3:1–13), which results in another prayer (Eph. 3:14–21). And all of this is to set up the life saints have as the temple of the Holy Spirit (Eph. 4:1–16).

It is in this temple context, with priestly overtones, that the saints—who have been placed in God’s temple—are called to build up the body of Christ in love. While Paul mixes metaphors—in the same way that Jesus mixes metaphors between body and temple (John 2:19–21)—he helps us to see that Christ who has received all the people for whom he died (see Isa. 53:10–12) has given them to the church, in order to see the temple grow throughout the earth. Accordingly, Paul takes Psalm 68:18 and changes the word “receive” to “give,” because the ascension is no longer in the future. Rather, the victorious procession has come, Christ has received his redeemed people, so that now he can give them to his church for their upbuilding. Still, there’s something else to see—namely, that the church will not be built by gifting alone. It must be built by preaching.

In Ephesians 4:11, the need for a preacher is observed in what Paul says with respect to apostles, prophets, evangelists, and pastor-teachers. These four servants of the Lord are necessary for bringing the life-giving message of Christ to those dead in sin (see Eph. 2:1–3). And they are equally necessary to equip the saints for the work of ministry (Eph. 4:12) in the temple-body that is being built up in Christ (Eph. 4:13–16).^[12]

This is how the church is formed in the New Testament. And in Messiah, the same logic applies. For after citing Psalm 68:18, Jennens adds Psalm 68:11, with language that approximates the KJV, but not modern English versions. The chorus in Messiah sings, “The Lord gave the word: great was the company of the preachers.” In this arrangement, the church comes by way of the word proclaimed by a great company of preachers.^[13]

Read More