It didn’t end at the empty tomb.
Tonight, as the sun goes down, we begin the 41st day of the Omer, which is the day that Yeshua ascended to the Father—40 days after His resurrection (Acts 1:3). According to the account in Luke, He most likely ascended during the day because the apostles were watching Him; they could see Him as He entered the clouds in the sky.
And after He had said these things, He was lifted up while they were looking on, and a cloud received Him out of their sight. — Acts 1:9, NASB 1995
I remember when I was an altar boy, I was required to serve mass on Ascension Day because it is a Holy Day of Obligation. Since Roman Catholicism celebrates the Messiah’s resurrection on a Sunday, Ascension Day always falls on a Thursday.
I also remember that, after leaving Roman Catholicism to start my Torah walk, I missed the observance of Ascension Day. Of the six Holy Days of Obligation (seven if you include Sunday), the only one I think is relevant for Torah-observant believers is Ascension Day. While the date of this tradition was established by the Church, it is Biblically based.
Yeshua’s resurrection was proof for His disciples that He was, in fact, the Messiah (Acts 2:29-32, 36). However, after He resurrected, Yeshua continued to appear to His disciples for another 40 days.
To these He also presented Himself alive after His suffering, by many convincing proofs, appearing to them over a period of forty days and speaking of the things concerning the kingdom of God. — Acts 1:3, NASB 1995
After these 40 days, on the 41st day of the Omer, Yeshua charges the apostles to “make disciples of all the nations” (Matthew 28:16-20), and then He ascends into heaven. His accession inaugurates the next important part of His ministry in which He takes on the role of our High Priest serving in the heavenly tabernacle where “He always lives to make intercession” (Hebrews 7:25) for us. This is an important aspect of His overall mission and ministry as Messiah. In fact, the apostle Paul includes the intercessory work of Yeshua as a necessary part of our salvation.
...Christ Jesus is He who died, yes, rather who was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who also intercedes for us. — Romans 8:34, NASB 1995
From my observation, Yeshua’s ascension and subsequent intercession are often overlooked, not only by Evangelical Protestant churches, but in Messianic, Torah-observant communities as well. I know that we are not commanded in the Torah to “observe” the ascension event like the Moedim, but I think it would do us good to recognize this date when it arrives, to put into perspective the totality of Messiah’s ministry, not just on Earth, but in the Heavenly realm as well.