Dearest e-votees-
Today—Thursday, May 17—is 40 days after Easter this year[counting the partial days as they do in the Bible (on the 3rd day He rose again…, etc.)]. Acts 1:3 says that Jesus gave many convincing proofs and spoke about the kingdom of God. He told them to wait in Jerusalem for the Holy Spirit. Acts 1:6-11 has the account of Jesus’ ascension.
There is another account in the 24th chapter of Luke (printed below).
Both of these ascension accounts are part of the assigned lessons for “The Ascension of our Lord.”
May you be blessed this day and may your spirits be lifted.
Peace,
Karl
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44 Then [Jesus] 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, the prophets, and the psalms must be fulfilled." 45 Then he opened their minds to understand the scriptures, 46 and he said to them, "Thus it is written, that the Messiah is to suffer and to rise from the dead on the third day, 47 and that repentance and forgiveness of sins is to be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. 48 You are witnesses of these things. 49 And see, I am sending upon you what my Father promised; so stay here in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high." 50 Then he led them out as far as Bethany, and, lifting up his hands, he blessed them. 51 While he was blessing them, he withdrew from them and was carried up into heaven. 52 And they worshiped him, and returned to Jerusalem with great joy; 53 and they were continually in the temple blessing God.
Jesus talks about fulfilling the law and the prophets and the psalms. The law and the prophets show up together fairly frequently in the New Testament. This verse 44 is the only time that the psalms is folded into that formula.
Jesus fulfilled the expectations of the law revealed to Moses and tended by Aaron and so many who sought to honor God with lives lived in a holy and reverent fashion.
Jesus fulfilled the promises and the exhortations revealed to Elijah and Daniel and Jonah and Amos and all the so many others who sought to honor God by speaking the truth about God’s hopes and God’s concerns.
Jesus fulfilled the psalms—the songs and the prayers and the exultations—revealed through David and Asaph and Korahites and all the others who sought to communicate with God through song and prayer and worship. Jesus had a deep connection with the Psalms. Bonhoeffer writes this in “The Prayerbook of the Bible: An Introduction to the Psalms”: “If we want to read and to pray the prayers of the Bible, and especially the Psalms, we must not, therefore, first ask what they have to do with us, but what they have to do with Jesus Christ.” Part of what the Psalms have to do with Jesus Christ is that he brought them to fulfillment.
Having brought things to fulfillment, it was time for Jesus to go. Knowing this was the last thing he would say to this group of disciples and to us before returning to the place that he left on our behalf he says those things that are most important:
• He came as Messiah and brought salvation through suffering
• He rose victoriously on the 3rd day
• Repentance and forgiveness for all people, beginning in Jerusalem, are found in him
• We are called to be witnesses of these things
• We abide in this call not of our own strength but with power from on high
He left them in a posture of blessing. And they gathered and blessed God.
God, help us bless you this day. Help us bless you in those we encounter—easy to love or not so much—who are fashioned in your image. Help us know the truth of the suffering, death and resurrection of Jesus. Help us live as a forgiving and repentant people. Speak your truth through us—with words and without—all in a way that blesses you and the people. Equip us with your power from on high. Thank you for your undeserved love. Help us love others particularly those we might deem as undeserving. Amen.
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