Luke tells us that while Jesus was blessing his disciples, he withdrew from them and was carried up into heaven” (Lk 24:51). As Jesus blesses them, I wonder if he was saying the words of blessing that God gave to the High Priest in Old Testament times: “The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face shine on you and be gracious to you; the Lord turn his face towards you and give you peace” (Num 6: 24-26).
Jesus ascended as our High Priest into the presence of his Father. He now constantly turns towards his Father interceding for us. And he also turns towards us to bless. Keeping our eyes on this vision of the ascended Jesus, we are sure of ongoing blessing. We know that God has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in Jesus (Ephesians 1:3). And we also know that all these blessings flow to us continually through Jesus. For Jesus is constantly turned towards his Father asking him to bless us. And the same Jesus is also turned towards us to bless.
Ongoing blessing depends on Jesus not on us. We do not ever turn inward despairing because we are not worthy of God’s blessing. Our eyes must be ever fixed on Jesus. He is the one who constantly seeks his Father’s blessing for us. He is the one in and through whom we are blessed. He is also the one who blesses and is himself the blessing in whom all blessings are found. With our eyes fixed on Jesus, we can be fully assured that God’s face is turned towards us so that we might share in his own happiness and pleasure.