1. Why did Jesus have to leave His followers and return to the Father?

Wouldn't it be great if He stayed with us in His resurrected body, and regularly appeared to us, so that we could see and touch Him? Well, actually His ascension made that possible and far more than that. In stead of occasional physical appearances, He now lives in the hearts of all believers through His Spirit (John 16:7). Every believer has Him very close all the time.

2. What is Jesus doing now at the right hand of the Father?

In His resurrected body, He is at the right hand of the Father. There He intercedes for us (Rom. 8:34, 1 John 2:1), and from there He is preparing His final victory (Psalm 2 and 110). In the meantime we have to take His Good News to each individual on earth, knowing that His Spirit empowers us to fulfill that task (Matt. 28:18, Acts 1:8).

3. Can Jesus be God if He is at the right hand of God?

Those who reject the idea of a Triune God propose that the Messiah is a temporary manifestation of God, brought into existence for the sake of salvation, and that He will be taken up into God again when the cycle of salvation is completed on the last day. Then He will no longer be on the right hand of God, but in God and thus on the throne. Sadly, that implies a heaven without Jesus! Unthinkable!

Psalm 110:4 says, "The LORD has sworn and will not relent, 'You are a priest FOREVER according to the order of Melchizedek.'" The letter to the Hebrews confirms that Jesus is the ultimate High Priest forever (Heb. 7:24). Revelation 1:18 and 21:22-23 reiterates that the Lamb will be with His bride forever.