Solemnity of the Ascension of the Lord (May 16, 2021) Mar 16:15-20

15 And he said to them, “Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation.

All the ends of the earth shall remember

and turn to the Lord,

and all the families of the nations

shall worship before you. PSA 22:28

Rashi

Shall remember and turn to the Lord—The nations shall remember the evil that befell us when they see the good and turn to the Lord.

2 May God be gracious to us and bless us

and make his face to shine upon us,

Rashi

And make his face to shine—To show a laughing countenance, to give dew and rain.

3 that your way may be known on earth,

your saving power among all nations. PSA 67:2-3

Rashi

That your way may be known on earth—To make known that your trait is to benefit your people, and because of this, kingdoms will rejoice and sing praises.

5 These twelve Jesus sent out, instructing them, “Go nowhere among the Gentiles and enter no town of the Samaritans,

6 but go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. MAT 10:5-6

John Gill

But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel—To whom he himself was sent (Mat 15:24). By “the house of Israel” is meant the whole Jewish nation; for though this phrase, when distinguished from the house of Judah, designs only the ten tribes; yet here it intends all the Jews, then living in the land of Judea, among whom there were some of all the tribes: and by “the lost sheep” of this house, are meant either all the people of the Jews in general, who were wandering, and were lost in error and sin, and to whom the external ministry of the gospel came; or rather the elect of God among them, for whose sake particularly the apostles were sent to them. These are called “sheep,” because they were chosen of God, and given to Christ to be redeemed, looked up, sought out, and saved by him; and “lost” ones, not only because lost in Adam, and by their own transgressions, so that neither they themselves, nor any mere creature, could save them from eternal ruin and destruction; but also, because they were made to go astray, and were lost through the negligence and errors of their pastors, the scribes and Pharisees: and this character is the rather given of them, partly to reflect upon the characters of the shepherds of Israel: and partly to magnify the grace of God, in having regard to such ruined and miserable creatures; and also to excite the compassion and diligence of the apostles, to preach the gospel to them: respect seems to be had to (Jer 1:16).

16 Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.

Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, MAT 28:19

17 And these signs will accompany those who believe: in my name they will cast out demons; they will speak in new tongues;

The seventy-two returned with joy, saying, “Lord, even the demons are subject to us in your name!” LUK 10:17

John Gill

The seventy-two returned—The Syriac version adds, “whom he had sent”: these disciples having received orders and instructions from Christ, went as he directed them; and when they had finished their embassy, they returned again to him, and gave him an account of their journey and success.

With joy—With great joy, as read the Syriac and Persic versions; notwithstanding the difficulties that had attended them, reproaches cast upon them, the ill treatment they might have met with in some places, and the labours and fatigues of their journey, and the dangers they had been exposed to:

Saying, “Lord, even the demons are subject to us in your name”—They found the miraculous power conferred on them was greater than they at first imagined, or could collect from what Christ said to them, who only bid them heal the sick (Luk 10:9), but when they came to make use of it they found they had a power of casting out devils; not in their own name and strength, but in the name, and through the power, and by the authority of Christ; and this had thrown them into an ecstasy of joy, and in a sort of a rapture: they express themselves as men astonished at the powers bestowed on them.

The people also gathered from the towns around Jerusalem, bringing the sick and those afflicted with unclean spirits, and they were all healed. ACT 5:16

John Gill

The people also gathered from the towns around—The fame of the apostles’ miracles spread in the towns around Jerusalem; those that were at some distance as well as near, and large numbers of people came from thence,

Jerusalem—Where the apostles were: the Syriac version adds, “to them,” that is, to the apostles; and the Arabic version, “with them”; along with those of the city of Jerusalem, who brought out their infirm persons into the streets to be cured:

Bringing the sick and those afflicted with unclean spirits—With demons, by whom they were not only possessed, but greatly harassed and afflicted: sometimes tearing and convulsing them, and sometimes throwing them on the ground, and bruising them; or into fire and water, of which there are some instances in the evangelists:

And they were all healed—None went without a cure, which served greatly to confirm the gospel preached by the apostles, and to irritate and provoke their enemies, as appears by what follows.

18 they will pick up serpents with their hands; and if they drink any deadly poison, it will not hurt them; they will lay their hands on the sick, and they will recover.”

I will put enmity between you and the woman,

and between your offspring and her offspring;

he shall bruise your head,

and you shall bruise his heel. GEN 3:15

Rashi

I will put enmity—Your sole intention was that Adam should die by eating it first and that you should then take Eve for yourself (Bereishit Rabbah 20:5), and you came to speak to Eve first only because women are easily influenced and know how to influence their husbands; therefore “I shall put enmity.”

He shall bruise your head—Like (Deu 9:21), “And crushed it” which the Targum translates as וְשָׁפִית יָתֵיהּ.

And you shall bruise his heel—You will not stand erect and you will be able to bite him only on the heel, but even at that spot you will kill him. The word תְּשׁוּפֶנוּ is like (Isa 40:24): “He blows (נָשַׁף) on them.” When a serpent comes to bite, it blows with a kind of hissing sound, and since the two words coincide i.e., they sound similar, Scripture used the expression of נְשִׁיפָה in both cases.

You will tread on the lion and the adder;

the young lion and the serpent you will trample underfoot. PSA 91:13

Sanhedrin 95a:2

The Gemara asks: Are these matters comparable? There, in Jeremiah, Nebuchadnezzar is called ari, as the verse refers to him with the term arye, and here, in Isaiah, Nebuchadnezzar is called laish. The Gemara explains that the verses are not contradictory, as Rabbi Yohanan says: There are six Hebrew terms for the lion, and they are: Ari, kefir, lavi, layish, shaḥal, shaḥatz. The Gemara challenges: If it is so that this verse is unrelated to the journeys of Sennacherib, then the places listed in the verse are too few, as there are not ten. The Gemara explains: Averu and Mabara are in fact the names of two separate places.

Behold, I have given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall hurt you. LUK 10:19

19 So then the Lord Jesus, after he had spoken to them, was taken up into heaven and sat down at the right hand of God.

John Gill

So then the Lord Jesus, after he—The Ethiopic version reads, “our Lord, the Lord Jesus”; and both Syriac and Persic read, “our Lord”; which is common in these versions, where the word “Lord” is used:

Had spoken to them—The disciples, the above words, which commissioned them where to go, what to do, and what to say; and what should follow them, for the confirmation of their mission and doctrine:

He . . . was taken up into heaven—In a cloud, angels attending him, and demons led captive by him, and with a welcome into his Father’s presence:

And sat down at the right hand of God—The Ethiopic version adds, “his own Father,” and which is an evidence of his having done his work, and that to full satisfaction; and is an honour never conferred on angels, or any mere creature; and is a peculiar dignity conferred on the human nature of Christ, in union with his divine person; and here he will remain, till his second coming.

A Psalm of David.

The Lord says to my Lord:

“Sit at my right hand,

until I make your enemies your footstool.” PSA 110:1

Rashi

The Lord says to my Lord—Our Rabbis interpreted it as referring to Abraham our father, and I shall explain it according to their words (Mid. Psa 110:1): The Lord says to Abraham, whom the world called “my Lord,” as it is written (Gen 23:6): “Hearken to us, my master.”

“Sit at my right hand”—Wait for my salvation and hope for the Lord. The root ישיבה means only waiting, as Scripture states (Deu 1:46): “So you stayed (ותשבו) at Kadesh for many days.”

At my right hand—At the salvation of my right hand.

Until I make your enemies—Amraphel and his allies.

7 Your throne, O God, is forever and ever.

The scepter of your kingdom is a scepter of uprightness;

Rashi

Your throne, O God—Your throne, O prince and God, shall exist forever and ever, as the matter that is stated (Exo 7:1): “I have made you a judge to Pharaoh.” And why? Because “a scepter of your kingdom is a scepter of uprightness,” that your judgments are true, and you are fit to govern.

8 you have loved righteousness and hated wickedness.

Therefore God, your God, has anointed you

with the oil of gladness beyond your companions; PSA 45:7-8

Rashi

Anointed you with the oil of gladness—Every expression of greatness is depicted by the anointment of oil, as is the custom of the kings.

When the days drew near for him to be taken up, he set his face to go to Jerusalem. LUK 9:51

20 And they went out and preached everywhere, while the Lord worked with them and confirmed the message by accompanying signs.

John Gill

And they went out—After this the apostles went out, from Galilee to Jerusalem; and on the day of Pentecost, they appeared publicly, and preached the gospel in different languages; and after the death of Stephen, and the persecution raised upon that, they went out from Jerusalem; see (Isa 2:3).

And preached everywhere—Not only in Judea, and in the neighbouring countries, but all over the world, in process of time:

The Lord worked with them—Making their ministry useful, for the conviction and conversion of large multitudes, and for the forming and settling abundance of gospel churches, and for the comfort and edification of the saints; all which was done, by the power and grace of Christ, without whom they could do nothing; see 1Co 3:9.

And confirmed the message by accompanying signs—The Arabic version adds “them”; or “which they did,” as the Syriac and Persic versions render it; not by their own power, but, as the latter of these versions adds, “by the help of our Lord”; see (Heb 2:4).

by the power of signs and wonders, by the power of the Spirit of God—so that from Jerusalem and all the way around to Illyricum I have fulfilled the ministry of the gospel of Christ; ROM 15:19