Luke 24:50-53 50And he led them out as far as Bethany, and lifting up his hands he blessed them. 51And it happened while he blessed them, he parted from them and was carried up into heaven. 52And after they worshiped him, they returned to Jerusalem with great joy, 53and were continually in the temple blessing God.
Luke develops these verses more in his next book called Acts of the Apostles. These verses appear to be meant more as a summary and serve as a preparation for Acts 1. The timeframe could be interpreted to be the same day as the previous verses, but Luke seems to be compressing forty days into just a few verses. He was not concerned about the details of Jesus’ other resurrection appearances over a period of forty days. The scene shifts to a new location as Jesus led the disciples to Bethany. Bethany was on the easter slope of the Mount of Olives. Acts 1:12 states that Jesus’ ascension took place on the Mount of Olives.
The focus of this passage is on Jesus’ parting blessing upon his disciples. They could go forth with the mission of witnessing about him (verse 48) with the assurance of his blessing. A blessing in the Bible is a well-wishing prayer on behalf of a person. The word bless (eulogēsen) literally means a “good word.” Blessings were powerful ways to show God’s favor upon people. In this case, the very incarnated and resurrected Son of God blessed his disciples with all they needed to carry out his mission of sharing the good news of God’s love and his offer of forgiveness of sins (verse 47).
As he was blessing them, he was carried up to heaven. The description of Jesus’ ascension is brief and lacks details, which are supplied in Luke’s second volume. The emphasis in these verses is that Jesus gave his disciples a mission and blessed them with all they needed to do that. The Father would supply the power to do this. The emphasis in Acts is on this power being the Holy Spirit.
The final verse of Luke’s Gospel not only gives the response of the disciples but also implies how all followers of Jesus should act upon reading this book. Luke follows his common pattern of three. First, the disciples worshiped Jesus. Luke reveals his high Christology that had undergirded his entire book. There is only one being worthy of worship, and that is God. By worshiping Jesus, the disciples acknowledged his divinity. As monotheistic Jews, it was a significant faith statement and theological advancement to recognize Jesus’ divinity. The disciples may not have worked out a doctrine of the Trinity yet, but they understood enough to realize God’s power and presence in Jesus of Nazareth.
After worshiping, the disciples were filled with great joy. Their joy was more than an emotion, though they had good feelings based on what had taken place. Their joy came from the deep realization that they had seen and experienced the fulfillment of God’s plan for the salvation of the world. They were given the responsibility of sharing this story. They were living in the center of God’s will, which always brings joy and peace. No longer did they have doubt or fear but the confidence that comes with the joy of the Lord working in them.
The finally words of Luke’s Gospel are of praise to God. They returned the “good word” to God that God had given to them. Luke’s Gospel began in the temple, with Zechariah (1:8-9), and it ends in the temple with the disciples. The earliest Christians did not leave temple worship but experienced it in a new way. They saw the fulfillment of the temple in Jesus. The temple was the obvious place to go in celebration of all that had happened. Their eyes were opened to how everything in the Jewish faith led to Jesus.
The Gospel according to Luke is a powerful book that calls its readers to follow Jesus as disciples. The book reveals the person of Jesus as the divine Son of God, miraculously born through a virgin, powerful in word and deed, and faithful to God’s laws but not afraid to confront empty religiosity. His faithfulness to the will of his heavenly Father brought him in direct confrontation with those who had religious and political influence over the people. The lowly carpenter’s son shook up the kingdom of Israel and sent rumbles through the empire of Rome.
Luke’s Gospel confronts the reader with the decision about what to do with Jesus. The invitation to become a disciple of Jesus is supported by historical evidence, miraculous stories, and the personal experiences of men and women who gave up everything to follow the man from Galilee in hope and anticipation. Following Jesus comes at a cost. The cost is different for each person. For some, like Simon, Andrew, James, and John, it meant leaving their families and livelihood. For people like Levi, it meant leaving a profession. Every disciple had to make some form of commitment of putting Jesus first. The result for each one was to experience new life through God’s forgiveness and empowerment. The modern reader of Luke’s Gospel is given the same invitation: “Come, follow me.” In following Jesus, we will find the answer to life’s deepest needs.
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