The one thing people know about Jesus is that he died and then came back. One minute he became dead. Then he wasn’t.

Christians throughout history have made a big thing out of this. I mean, it is a pretty awesome story.

But I think, in a sense, we’ve overstated it.

We act like the death and resurrection is the story. As in the whole story. Or the only parts that matter. We make it the central gravity of God’s work in the world so nothing makes sense without it.

This is totally dumb.

Don’t get me wrong, this is certainly important. But it is only part of the story. It isn’t the story, the whole story, the essential story.

Think of it as the killer scene, the stunning climax, the part of a movie people can’t stop talking about. Stunning cinematography, clever choreography, and a brilliant plot twist combine to make a unique and utterly unforgettable cinematic moment. Totally transformative filmmaking.

It’s a scene.

A scene set up by lots of character development, a serious plot, and an incredible cast. All of it built on a big, romantic, and encouraging story of love, discovery, and a will to learn.

We are taken in from the introduction, through the rising action, to this, the climax, when we believe our hero has died and is suddenly thrust into an improbable sequence of resurrection and an empty tomb.

And then…the conclusion. At least to part one. This is the role of the Ascension. Not simply to wrap things up in a bow, though it does try to do just that. But it brings us from the climax to the end. It isn’t just the hero dueling the enemy, but the resolution that evil will not win, nor can the hero stay.

The Ascension is a predictable twist. But it is also how the story necessarily ends. Not in the resurrection, but in the going away, the sharing of responsibility, and the offering of our transformation.

This is why Christians care about who Jesus was before his death—because we’re called to be that for the world after it. And why the Jesus story is more than the death and resurrection. Because we’re part of a rich, complex, and ever-expanding story.