Lenten Midweek IV
Adventures with Elijah: Elijah Taken
to Heaven
March 18, 2026
Text: 2
Kings 2:1-14; Luke 24:50-53
The time had come. Elijah knew it. He was now to be taken into heaven. Elisha knew it, too, and did not want to let
him go. But it must happen this way. This is God’s plan. “Please stay here, Elisha. The LORD has sent me… well… on.” Three times the Prophet tries to shake his
spiritual son. Nothing doing. It is profoundly moving, Elisha’s loyalty to
his spiritual father, Elijah. Like that
of Ruth to her mother-in-law, Naomi. “I
will not leave you” (2 Kings 2:2; ESV).
And so, together, they go on.
Coming to the Jordan, Elijah rolls
up his mantle. And to the sons of the
prophets looking on from afar, the sight of it must have been
unbelievable. A repeat of the Jordan River
miracle when Joshua and the Israelites crossed over on dry ground. But to Elijah and Elisha… well, it seems like
just another day at the office. Elijah
strikes the river with his cloak, and the waters part. And the prophets walk on.
And now, the heart wrenching truth. I’m leaving, Elisha. Ask what I shall do for you before I am taken
from you (v. 9). Ask what you can do
for me? Don’t go! How about that?! But it isn’t up to Elijah, and it isn’t up to
Elisha, because this belongs to the hidden, omnipotent, omniscient will of
God. The absolute, divine will. The will of God that is good. The will that brings about what is best for
us. The will that brings about our
salvation.
So… “Please let there be a double
portion of your spirit on me” (v. 9).
That is, give me the inheritance of the firstborn son. Only let it not be earthly property, but a
spiritual inheritance. Ah, that’s a hard
one. It isn’t up to me, Elisha. And it isn’t up to you, either. The LORD will do what He will do. But “if you see me as I am being taken
from you, it shall be so for you, but if you do not see me, it shall not be so”
(v. 10).
Then, all at once, the horses and
chariots of fire, dividing the two prophets, one from another. And Elijah, caught up in the whirlwind. Taken up to heaven. Alive.
Such a thing had only happened once before, when Enoch walked with God
and was no more, for God took him (Gen. 5:24).
“My father, my father!” Elisha cried, and then, this strange
saying, “The chariots of Israel and its horsemen!” Which seems to be a reference, not to the
fiery angelic beings transporting Elijah, but to Elijah himself, who in his
life and ministry had been the strength of God’s people, and their great
hope. But now he was taken away.
Elisha tore his garments in
grief. But then something fell from
heaven. What was it? Elijah’s mantle. His yoke of office. Like the yokes of oxen we heard about last
week (1 Kings 19:21). Like the stole and
chasuble of the pastor. The burden borne
by the LORD’s beast, His man. What does
it mean? Elisha was an eyewitness of
Eljah’s ascension. He’d seen it after
all, hadn’t he? And now, he… Elisha…
is to take up the mantle, the prophetic office.
He will now lead the sons of the prophets. He will speak the LORD’s testimonies before kings
and will not be put to shame (Ps. 119:46).
He will say the things Elijah said.
He will do the things Elijah did.
And as Elijah’s firstborn spiritual son, a double portion of the
prophetic spirit will rest upon him.
Lest there be any doubt, behold the
grief-stricken Prophet as he cries out once more: “Where
is the Lord, the God of Elijah?” (2 Kings 2:14). And as Elijah had done, Elisha strikes the
Jordan with the rolled-up mantle. It is
like the staff of Moses, with which he struck the Red Sea. And the waters are parted, and the ground is
dry, and God’s Prophet reenters the Land.
To preach.
We see in this episode, a profound
foreshadowing. Of the ongoing prophetic
office, certainly, right up until John in the midst of the Jordan, who dressed
like Elijah, and preached like him, too.
Jesus said of John, that “he is Elijah who is to come” (Matt. 11:14). That is, John, too, bore the mantle and
prophetic spirit of Elijah.
But even more, this episode of
Elijah being taken into heaven foreshadows the ascension of our crucified and
risen Lord Jesus. Look at the parallels. The Lord had accomplished His saving
mission. Born into our flesh. Under the Law, fulfilling the Law, for us. Bearing our sins on the cross of
Calvary. Suffering our death. Buried in our tomb. Now risen from the dead, and appearing to the
disciples. The time had come, and Jesus
knew it. And so, He gathers them, His
Apostles, His men.
They behold Him, this band, this
school of the prophets (so to speak). They
want to cling to Him. They don’t want to
see Him go. Why not stay, Jesus, and
rule the world right here, in Jerusalem?
Restore the Kingdom to Israel, and bring all nations under Your reign? That sounds pretty good to us, too, doesn’t
it? But it isn’t up to us, and it isn’t
up to them. This belongs to the hidden,
omnipotent, omniscient will of God. The
absolute, divine will, that is good, and in love for us, always brings about
what is best for us, the things that accomplish our salvation.
So, He lifts His hands in
blessing. And while He blesses them… and
us (He never puts down His hands)… He is carried up into heaven. He is taken from our sight. And we may be tempted to tear our clothes,
and cry out with Elisha, Where is the Lord, our God in human flesh?
But as He ascends, the disciples see
Him go. They are eyewitnesses. And, once again, something falls from
heaven. Though, in this case, it is not visible. Nevertheless, what is it, but the
mantle?! The mantle of the Lord. And it isn’t given only to one, but to Twelve! The Eleven faithful, and Matthias to
come. And then, as to one untimely born,
the Apostle Paul. And to the Church. To us.
The Apostles will carry on the work of the Lord. They will say what He says, and do what He
does. What is the book of Acts, but the
continuation of our Lord’s earthly ministry, only now through the ministry of
the Lord’s disciples? And the preaching
goes on, to this very day. In this very
place. At this very hour.
And the Spirit… Not just a double portion, but the Holy
Spirit of God, proceeding from Father and Son, poured out on the Church at
Pentecost. The mighty, rushing
wind. The tongues of fire. The miraculous preaching of Jesus in the
languages of the world.
That Holy Spirit is poured out upon
you, in all His fulness, in the gifts the Lord Jesus bestows on His
Church. Your Baptism into Christ. The Word of Christ, ringing in your ears. The Holy Supper of our Lord’s body and
blood.
And this is the amazing thing about Jesus’
ascension into heaven. He is not gone
from us. He is with us in the
gifts. To the end of the age, as He
promised long ago (Matt. 28:20). And who
else is with us, but Elijah, whose own bodily ascension was a type of that of
our Lord? And Elisha, himself. And all the saints. Because, in the gifts of Christ, and particularly
in the Supper… heaven comes down. And we
are enveloped in it. With angels, and
archangels, and all the company of heaven.
The chariots of fire and the angelic horseman. It is all present, right here, right
now.
And this is just the foretaste. The Day is coming, and that right soon, when
we will take our permanent place in the heavenly host. Bodily so, on the Day of Resurrection. And, think about this. Your loved ones who have already crossed over
Jordan… those who died in Christ, and so live… they have already taken their
place.
Now, you miss them. You grieve for them. You wish they had never had to go. It is the Lord’s mysterious will, once again. But you know… you can be with them, even
now. In fact, you are, here, in
this place. Because the closer you are
to the Lord, the closer you are to them.
And there is nowhere closer to the Lord than here, kneeling before the
Mercy Seat, the holy Altar. Where you
find Jesus Himself, feeding you with Himself, for your forgiveness, life, and
salvation..
Where is the Lord, the God of
Elijah? You know. You know.
He is right here. Right here with
you. And with Him, all who are in
Him. You can’t see it. But you believe it. Because the mantle has fallen. The ministry of the Word. The Spirit is poured out. The waters are parted, and here is the
Promised Land. It all comes together in
the body of Jesus, does it not? So,
take, eat. Take, drink. The time has come, and you now it. The Lord, the God of Elijah, is right here for
you. In the Name of the Father, and of
the Son X,
and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
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