P. Derek Overfield PhD Thesis - Research@StAndrews:FullText

described in the Old Testament, that of the Day of
Atonement.
The Son ••• by virtue of his completed
sacrifice ••• has been exalted to the highest place in
heaven".
The emphasis here then is decidedly theological:
the 'ascension' is a state of glorification or of
enthronement rather than an event.
Significant in this
respect is the fact that all three texts make reference,
admittedly not always directly, to a Psalm citation,
namely Ps 109:1 in 1:3 and 12:2 and Ps 8:6 in 2:9.
Thus far we have examined all the NT
ascension texts, that is to say, all the NT texts which
relate to the exaltation of Jesus.
With reference
both to the three categories enumerated at the beginning
of this chapter and to our previous discussion of the
traditions involved in certain texts, we can now begin
to make some concluding statements with regard to the
exaltation motif in the NT.
2.12
1.
Summary
The NT knows of an ascension which was
capable of being witnessed and later described.
The
only texts relevant here are Lk 24:50-53, Acts 1:9 and
'Mk' 16:19.
All three texts seem to depend to a very
large extent on the same basic traditions and, moreover,
in each the ascension serves the same purpose:
it makes the final separation between the historical
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