Day 40: Ascending into His Likeness

BLESSING FOR COUNTING THE OMER:

Baruch ata Adonai, ELOHEYNU melech ha-olam, asher kiddeshanu bidvarecha

v’tzi-va-noo al sifeerat ha-omer.

Blessed are you, O Adonai our GOD, King of the universe Who has sanctified us by your Word and commanded us concerning the Counting of the Omer.

Today is forty days, which is five weeks and five days of the Omer.

Today is the 40^th day in the counting of the Omer, a day of great significance for followers of Messiah Yeshua. It is the day our Master ascended to the heavenly realm to inaugurate the ultimate Tikkun Olam (repair of the world) and inaugurate the conditions for the Messianic Era (Yemot HaMashiach).

The disciples inquired of Yeshua in Acts 1:6, “Lord, will You at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?” How did Yeshua respond? Acts 1:7-8, “And He said to them, ‘It is not for you to know times or seasons which the Father has put in His own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.’”

The ascension of Yeshua inaugurated the disciples' mission to do their part in repairing the world by telling them that they would be His witnesses. To be an effective witness, one must receive the power that comes upon them from a foundation of humility, and for a "foundation" to be firm, it must be built on trust, not just data. By withholding the timeline, Yeshua forces the disciples’ foundation to shift from calculation to commitment.

When Yeshua said, “You will be my witnesses”, he wasn’t merely saying that they would tell everyone about His resurrection. It goes without saying that they would certainly repeat the greatest miracle ever recorded in human history. The Hebrew word for witness is the noun עֵד (ed). It is derived from the verbal root עוּד (ud), which means "to return," "to repeat," or "to do again." In the context of following Yeshua, a witness is not merely someone who recounts a historical fact; they are someone who repeats the life of the Master. To be His witness is to replicate His ways, His teachings, and His character.

By operating on the foundation of humility, we can effectively make a difference in the world around us by imitating the life and teachings of Yeshua. The Ascension of Yeshua teaches us that true discipleship requires the Master to step out of our physical sight, forcing us to step into His likeness. It demands the humility to operate by the Spirit rather than by sight, and it provides the authority necessary to be a witness—willing to pay any price to replicate the ways of the Kingdom to the ends of the earth. Happy Ascension Day!