Luke 24: 36 – 45 Jesus's Last Appearance

Luke 24: 36 – 45 Jesus's Last Appearance

While they were still speaking about this, he stood in their midst and said to them, “Peace be with you.” But they were startled and terrified and thought that they were seeing a ghost. Then he said to them, “Why are you troubled? And why do questions arise in your hearts? Look at my hands and my feet, that it is I myself. Touch me and see, because a ghost does not have flesh and bones as you can see I have.” And as he said this, he showed them his hands and his feet. While they were still incredulous for joy and were amazed, he asked them, “Have you anything here to eat?” They gave him a piece of baked fish; he took it and ate it in front of them. He said to them, “These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you, that everything written about me in the law of Moses and in the prophets and psalms must be fulfilled.” Then he opened their minds to understand the scriptures. And he said to them, “Thus it is written that the Messiah would suffer and rise from the dead on the third day and that repentance, for the forgiveness of sins, would be preached in his name to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things. And [behold] I am sending the promise of my Father* upon you; but stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high.” Then he led them [out] as far as Bethany, raised his hands, and blessed them. As he blessed them he parted from them and was taken up to heaven. They did him homage and then returned to Jerusalem with great joy, and they were continually in the temple praising God.*

Whatever doubts his disciples had about his resurrection are resolved when Jesus appears in their midst. No spirit he, but fully alive in his physical body as evidenced by his wounds and his desire to eat. He ends his time with them with a gift, a challenge, and a promise. The gift is when he opens their minds to the scriptures making everything clear. The challenge is to preach repentance for the forgiveness of all sins to all nations in his name. The promise is that they will be sent the promise of his Father and “clothed with power from on high”. Then he blessed them and was taken up to heaven. Jesus's time on earth has come to an end. He has done everything he can to prepare his followers for the future. The Holy Spirit will do the rest. The way that those disciples and fledgling followers acted in the following weeks and months and years seemed to fulfill every promise – working together to preach the gospel, sharing their resources, doing their best to follow Jesus in word and deed. Perhaps it is as simple as that – preaching the gospel through our words and our deeds, sharing generously what we have been given and loving each other as Jesus loved us. Words to ponder and I think to live by.

This marks the end of my meditations on Luke. It took me longer than I thought but through the process I learned a lot about myself and the scriptures. I thank God for all I learned and look forward to whatever comes next. I am in his hands and happy to be there.