Faithful on Fridays Blog

Scene Fourteen

As promised last week, let’s discuss the ending of Luke’s unique gospel. On His physical walk to Emmaus, Jesus spiritually walked these two chosen men through the Old Testament showing them where they pointed to Himself. Only God can multitask like that; in a 2 hour journey explain how He fulfilled the Law of Moses, the Prophets, and the Psalms? Did time stand still? What Old Testament passages did He point to? As a Bible teacher, I have so many questions. Then at lunch their eyes were supernaturally opened, Holy Spirit illumination burned in their hearts, and they finally recognized Him. He wasn’t simply a prophet or teacher anymore: He was the long-awaited, promised Messiah.

I can only imagine the thoughts circling in Luke’s mind as he recorded these events, and yet they weren’t finished yet. The resurrected Christ, in physical form, appeared to the Eleven disciples and at dinner He encouraged them to believe. Their strong faith would be needed to proclaim the gospel of the Kingdom around the world, but also be martyred for that faith. They had to positively ‘get it’, understand it in their hearts, and the veils over their minds removed as the Spirit ignited that kind of faith. Many around the world today are suffering martyrdom for their faith in Christ; faith that burns in their hearts and is empowered by the Spirit to stand strong. It’s available to us as well; faith in what Jesus accomplished on the cross in our place: death, resurrection, forgiveness, and the power of the Holy Spirit for our ministries. Your ministry may be your family right now, maybe witnessing at work, in your neighborhood, or to your friends. It may be a specific ministry within your church, wherever it is, you still need ‘spiritual empowerment from on high’ (Luke 24:49).

After blessing them, He ascended back into the heavens to remain there until the Day of His Return: His mission was finally, 100% completed, and the church was born. Although it seems like this is the end of Luke’s gospel, it’s actually only the first part of the sequel. He also wrote the Book of Acts giving more detail into His Ascension, the mission of the church, and the Kingdom of God. Luke documents the early church’s birth, growth (after Pentecost, ch. 2), and progression. Acts is like Luke: Part Two where he records more apostles, more followers, more teachers, more prophets, and more Spirit-empowered ministry. They all learned through experience how to do ministry, to be Spirit-filled, prayer-led, and open to the supernatural. True for us, as well.

Walking along with Peter, John, and Paul Luke had first hand knowledge of what the Church, this new movement of Christ, would look like and affect people. He accompanied the Apostle Paul toward the end of his life and was mentioned among Paul’s closest friends. Well done, Luke. This Gentile/doctor was used mightily by God as he gave a unique perspective for us to ponder.