Before His ascension, Jesus promised to return and to remain with His disciples. Although the world would not see Him, they would experience His incredible presence alongside the Father if they kept His commandments (John 14:15–21). He is not absent from His people; He reigns at the Father’s right hand (Ephesians 1:20–22) and intercedes as our great High Priest (Hebrews 7:25; 8:1–2). His ascension is not a withdrawal but a new mode of presence—He went ahead to prepare a place and remains spiritually connected to His disciples. To the world, He will return just as He ascended (John 14:2–3; Acts 1:11).
Jesus remains with His people through the Holy Spirit. He promised, “I am with you always, to the end of the age” (Matthew 28:20), and said the Father would send another Advocate to be with believers forever (John 14:16–18). The phrase “another Advocate” points to a different kind of presence. Through the Spirit, Christ lives in His church, offering comfort, teaching, conviction, and empowerment, though the world does not see Him. This presence is real and personal, though not visible physically. Jesus did not prioritize His physical body; He willingly submitted it for crucifixion.
Jesus is truly present in His gathered church, in the preaching of His Word, and in the sacraments, where believers meet Him by faith. He is found in the fellowship of His people (Matthew 18:20) and in the breaking of bread and prayer (Luke 24:30–35; 1 Corinthians 10:16). His reign and spiritual presence look forward to His bodily return, when faith will become sight and He will be fully with His people (1 Thessalonians 4:16–17; Revelation 21:3). Consider this for a moment: Jesus is just as present now as He was before the ascension described in Acts 1:11.
The confusion arises from failing to understand the difference between the Son of Man and the Son of the living God. Someone guided by truth knows that Jesus used two forms of identity during His time on earth. Those in the world saw the Son of Man, whom they could not fully relate to as the Son of God, even though the prophecies made that reality clear. To them, Jesus spoke in parables, keeping His messages wrapped in mystery so that ordinary people could not grasp the realities of God’s Kingdom.
The disciples came to Him and asked, “Why do You speak to the people in parables?” He replied, “The knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of heaven has been given to you, but not to them. Whoever has will be given more, and he will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken from him. This is why I speak to them in parables: ‘Though seeing, they do not see; though hearing, they do not hear or understand.’”
“In them is fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah: ‘You will be ever hearing but never understanding; you will be ever seeing but never perceiving. For this people’s heart has become calloused; they hardly hear with their ears, and they have closed their eyes. Otherwise, they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts and turn, and I would heal them.’ But blessed are your eyes because they see, and your ears because they hear” (Matthew 13:10–16 NIV).
The man betrayed by a kiss was not the Son of God but the Son of Man, who would be mocked and spat upon by evil men at the cross. He entrusted His ministry to His disciples and promised to be with them always, to the end of the age. As the Son of Man, Jesus came to serve humanity rather than to be served (Matthew 20:28) and taught His disciples to behave likewise. A servant and a master are fundamentally opposed to one another.
On his way to Damascus, Saul encountered Jesus: “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?” Jesus explained that anyone who helps one of His disciples is, in effect, helping Him (Matthew 25:40). The Son of Man, representing humanity, differs from the Son of God, who is spiritual in nature. Jesus continues to face ridicule much as He did before His crucifixion. His true followers can recognize when He speaks through any of them. The Son of God could not be mocked or spat upon without sinning blasphemy.
“And so I tell you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven. Anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but anyone who speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come” (Matthew 12:31–32 NIV).
The significance of this Scripture is that the Son of Man shares the same weakness as human beings. However, the Son of God is spiritual and cannot be recognized by those of this world. The Jews managed to kill the Son of Man, treating Him as they would anyone from this world. They could not have done so if they had known He was Christ, the Son of the living God, for that would have brought upon them the curse implied by blasphemy.
“If you are the Christ,” they said, “tell us.” Jesus answered, “If I tell you, you will not believe me, and if I asked you, you would not answer. But from now on, the Son of Man will be seated at the right hand of the mighty God.” They all asked, “Are you then the Son of God?” He replied, “You are right in saying I am.” Then they said, “Why do we need any more testimony? We have heard it from his own lips” (Luke 22:67–71).
The Jews believed they were not killing the Son of God but rather the Son of Man. Similarly, Saul thought he was persecuting ordinary humans until his encounter with Jesus, who was accused of blasphemy—a crime punishable by death under Jewish law. Jesus understood this reality and did not resist the process of His execution. The Son of Man had to die for humanity to achieve redemption.
Anyone recognizing themselves as the Son of Man ought to die. Many people, out of ignorance, assume the Jews were more sinful than others, believing that we did not share in their actions. However, the Jews acted according to their understanding, putting to death a man who claimed God’s position while being human. This referred to the Son of Man, representing all humanity. Without recognizing the depth of humanity’s sin, many behave like these people. Now the focus shifts to the Son of God, whom the Jews could not identify.
“Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by man, but by my Father in heaven. And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.” Then he warned his disciples not to tell anyone that he was the Christ (Matthew 16:18–20 NIV).
The passage shows that most people saw Jesus not as the Son of God but as the Son of Man, which contrasted with Peter’s view. Many still believe He is the Son of Man, idolizing Him through false prophets who claim to represent His presence. Peter grasped a truth that could only be revealed through divine means, as Jesus explained when He instructed the disciples to keep that revelation private.
Nevertheless, Matthew 16:18–20 holds the key to exposing falsehood. People generally understand the reality of the Son of Man, who was ultimately killed, but remain unaware of who the Son of the living God truly is. Paul was one such person until he was struck by a blinding light and finally recognized what he had failed to grasp all along.
“Meanwhile, Saul was still breathing out murderous threats against the Lord’s disciples. He went to the high priest and asked him for letters to the synagogues in Damascus, so that if he found any there who belonged to the Way, whether men or women, he might take them as prisoners to Jerusalem.
“As he neared Damascus on his journey, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. He fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him, ‘Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?’ ‘Who are you, Lord?’ Saul asked. ‘I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting,’ he replied. ‘Now get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do’” (Acts 9:1–6 NIV).
Paul’s encounter was with Jesus, the Son of God, recognized by the apostles through Peter in Matthew 16:17. Jesus, the Son of Man, whose second coming is foretold in Scripture, will capture the attention of many in this world. For some, it might be the first time they witness what was revealed to Peter before the crucifixion, though not all will understand—just as Peter and later Paul grasped truths not revealed by flesh and blood.
Paul saw what those around him could not. We know the story of how he became the opposite of who he once was. To Paul, Jesus said, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting.” Since Jesus had ascended to heaven, Paul was not persecuting Him directly but His followers; yet Jesus considered this persecution of Himself. How could Paul persecute the ascended Jesus?
For most people, this is baffling—just as those who crucified Him could not fathom that they were putting the Son of God to death. God’s mysteries remain hidden from those still tied to the world and apart from Him. The ones Paul persecuted were among the fortunate few who realized Jesus was a spiritual presence in their lives, invisible to ordinary eyes.
“I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. Before long, the world will not see me anymore, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live. On that day you will realize that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you. Whoever has my commands and obeys them is the one who loves me. He who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love him and will show myself to him” (John 14:18–21 NIV).
This Scripture was not aimed at ordinary people, but at His disciples, who had been promised the Holy Spirit, which came on the Day of Pentecost. At the start of John 14, He told them not to let their hearts be troubled. These were people still without the Holy Spirit, whom Jesus identified with the true nature of God the Father (John 4:24).
Paul stated that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God (1 Corinthians 15:50). Therefore, aside from impressing those who saw Him only as the Son of Man, it is not accurate to say Jesus still wears the physical body He had before the crucifixion. Although he was one of the eleven disciples, Thomas the doubter was still among those who viewed Him only as the Son of Man. For that reason, Jesus said this to him:
“Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed” (John 20:29 NIV).
If Jesus and His Father dwell in those later persecuted by Saul, why would the disciples be fixated on the second coming? Jesus’ second coming is dependent on a program designed to save humanity. Scripture clearly affirms His coming, yet that miracle would not be extraordinary to those who have received the Holy Spirit. Such an event will astonish ordinary humanity, but not those who have become God’s children.
The key question is how one becomes God’s child while still identifying with the world. Jesus’ crucifixion addressed this very reality. Thomas was among such believers, but having received the Holy Spirit, it is assumed he moved beyond seeing Jesus solely as the Son of Man. Jesus’ death and resurrection opened the way for anyone seeking God’s Kingdom to recognize the insignificance of physical appearance, as compared with spiritual appearance.
Accessing this reality requires repentance and surrendering all worldly attachments. Many cling to material things because they believe physical existence is essential for survival, a message perpetuated by the god of this world (2 Corinthians 4:3–4). While death grants access, suicide for the Kingdom’s sake is unnecessary, as Jesus’ death fulfilled that need. What remains for us is believing in the possibility of life beyond the physical body, as demonstrated by His resurrection, through our trust in everything He taught.
“Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death so that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life. For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly also be united with him in a resurrection like his. For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body ruled by sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin—because anyone who has died has been set free from sin. Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. For we know that since Christ was raised from the dead, he cannot die again; death no longer has mastery over him” (Romans 6:3–9 NIV).
The Son of Man, destined to come on the last day, brings assurance meant to convince ordinary humanity. Yet the Son of God resides in every Christian who has accepted Him as personal Savior. He dwells within every baptized follower of Jesus, and persecuting such people in any way is, in effect, persecuting Jesus, whom many recognize only as the Son of Man. Few realize that our physical nature reflects our enmity toward God, a truth confirmed after the incident in the Garden of Eden (Genesis 3:22).
The tendency to dismiss everything Jesus said stems from the inability to believe He was the Son of God. For many, He is simply the Son of Man, often with a sense of pretension tied to those who claim to follow Him, yet see Him only as the Son of Man. In contrast, Christians hold within them Jesus, the Son of God, unseen by the rest of the world. This is unsurprising, as the world could not truly see Him even as He hung on the cross, dying for humanity’s sins.
“Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty, and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger, and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes, and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison, and you did not look after me.’ They also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?’ He will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me’” (Matthew 25:41–45 NIV).
The carnal mind cannot truly see Jesus, whose reality is the Son of God. Those having seen Him are no longer alive as physical humans. Yet, thank God, even though they are unknown to the world, they have gained life through their belief in Him as the Son of God, confirmed by His resurrection. Believers who are still alive will eventually see their physical bodies perish, just like anyone else. However, their lives, in spiritual condition, have been redeemed through the spiritual gift granted to them at baptism.
Andrew Masuku is the author of Dimensions of a New Civilisation, which lays out standards for lifting Zimbabwe out of its current economic depression and into a model for other nations worldwide. A decaying tree provides an opportunity for a blossoming sprout. Written from a Christian perspective, the book is a product of inspiration, offering relief to those who have witnessed the strings of unworkable solutions leading to the current economic and social decay. Most Zimbabweans should find the book to be a long-awaited providential oasis of hope, in a simple conversational tone.
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