Luke is a beautiful gospel. Poetic and fresh, filled with an abundance of unique material, Luke shares with us a gospel that teaches and fulfills. With Luke, the story of Jesus' life is a complete cycle, from prophecy to birth, from childhood to adulthood, from death to resurrection. Luke tells it all.
Luke begins his gospel by weaving a tale of the messianic birth. He tells us of Elizabeth and Mary and their two miraculous pregnancies. With language that is almost musical, Luke launches us into the story of Jesus from the very beginning of His earthly existence, sharing intimate details about Jesus' mother, His aunt and uncle and His cousin, John. Luke takes great care to prepare the reader for the birth of the Messiah, making sure that all the pieces of the puzzle are in place-the political, the religious, the familial and the prophetic. The infant Jesus is presented to the Lord and is recognized by the righteous and the prophetic. From the very beginning, Luke tells us who Jesus is and why He has come. Jesus is the fulfillment of the prophecies of the Old Testament.
We find the same theme present as Luke concludes His telling of Jesus' earthly life. The disciples are still reeling from Jesus' death on the cross and the empty tomb that they have found. They have met Jesus on the road to Emmaus. And now, they listen as He prepares them for the time when He will be with them no more.
Jesus reminds the disciples that He has already taught them what they needed to know about the scriptures-that He Himself is the fulfillment of the entire Old Testament-the Law of Moses, the prophets and the psalms. I have told you that I am the Messiah, Jesus says. I have shared with you what you need to know.
But Jesus does something new this time-He opens their minds to the scriptures. He makes it possible for them to understand. He gives them what they need to live lives of discipleship without His physical presence.
And as soon as their minds are opened, Jesus reminds the disciples of His passion-He was to suffer and to rise, and because of that, they are now to proclaim repentance and forgiveness of sins to all nations. He is the Messiah, the one who came to save the world. Now the disciples get it. Now they understand. Everything that has happened, everything that He has taught, everything that He has shared. Now it all makes sense. The last piece is in the puzzle and they are ready to say and do what Jesus, the long-awaited Messiah, the Christ, would have them say and do.
We can tell a great deal about what is important to Luke from these final verses of his gospel. Luke's spin is right up front. We already know that Luke feels that Jesus' life has fulfilled all of the Old Testament prophecies. According to Luke, the entirety of the scriptures were pointing toward this very time and place, the time when Christ's purpose would be fulfilled.
Another idea that is important to Luke is that of Jerusalem. That is where the disciples are to stay. That is where all of God's work begins. Jerusalem is the Holy City-the City of God. In Luke's gospel, Jerusalem and it's Temple is the sacred place from which all of God's purposes will be fulfilled. It is the center of all divine activity.
And, it is important to Luke that the work of the Spirit is acknowledged. Yes, Jesus opens the minds of the disciples. He allows them to see the whole picture and to understand how it all fits together. But, they are empowered for ministry-given the power from on high-when they are clothed with the Holy Spirit. It is only because of the Spirit that they are able to fulfill their divine calling. It is by the Spirit alone that the disciples will have what it takes to proclaim repentance and forgiveness-two of Luke' favorite topics.
All of this is accomplished by Jesus' opening the minds of the disciples. They had lived through so much with Him and they were finally ready. And so Jesus gives them what they need to live lives that are faithful to God.
Fulfillment-that is what Luke's gospel is all about. Fulfillment of Old Testament prophecies, fulfillment of God's purposes emanating from the Holy City, fulfillment of the calling of the disciples, fulfillment of Christ's mission on earth. That is Luke.
But Luke is not finished yet. Just opening minds is not enough. He gives His disciples yet another gift. With lifted hands He blesses them. And in their sight, He ascends to Heaven. He completes the story, confirming His identity, signifying the beginning of the Messianic kingdom. To Luke's Greek audience, this is the sign they have been waiting for, for they believe that ascension is proof of divinity.
According to Lawrence Wood in last month's edition of The Christian Century, Luke's story of Jesus' ascension is a love story. It is a story of how love survives loss, of how those who were missing the one that they loved and followed, the one that they tried so desperately to understand, gave them confidence in what they were believing. He gave them understanding and confirmation. He gave them hope and faith in life after death and for a future with their Lord.
I agree with Dr, Wood. This is a love story, but I believe that it begins with chapter one of Luke. What Luke shares with us from Jesus' birth to His ascension is that God is working in our lives. God spent the entire Old Testament preparing for us to meet our Savior, and then God gave Him to us in human form. God loves us so much that He has anticipated our needs and prepared throughout all of time for us to meet the Divine face to face in a way that we could understand. That is Luke's love story-a God who gives us what we need out of love.
God continues to meet our needs each and every day. And God has provided a way for us to remember the living Jesus as we worship and praise together. Today as we celebrate God's gift of communion with our Lord Jesus Christ, may we experience God's great love for us. May we feel the work of Christ within us, opening our minds that we may understand. And may the Spirit of God be with us, empowering us to do the work that has been entrusted to us. Amen.
Peace,
Rev. Cynthia Bacon
Minister
You may email at:
cbacon@heritagemadison.org
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This page was last updated on June 04, 2003.