Daily Devotions
Luke 24:44-53 – Then He [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 and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.” Then He opened their minds to understand the Scriptures, and said to them, “Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, and that repentance for the forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in His Name to all 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.” And He led them out as far as Bethany, and lifting up His hands He blessed them. While He blessed them, He parted from them and was carried up into heaven. And they worshiped Him and returned to Jerusalem with great joy, and were continually in the temple blessing God.
Note to readers: This is an alternate reading from the Three Year Lectionary, and may not match up with the readings your church uses this Sunday.
I wonder why Jesus had them walk all the way out of the city up the Mount of Olives to Bethany. I can think of one practical reason—maybe He didn’t want to go up like a helicopter out of the middle of Jerusalem, with everyone staring! But there’s another possibility, too.
Jesus is sending them out into the world to tell the Gospel story to every human being—to let the whole world know that God Himself came down into our world as a human being, to live and to suffer and die on a cross for our sakes, to set us free from the power of evil. That’s a huge job to do! Now that Jesus has risen from the dead and is returning to God the Father, you could say that He’s setting their feet on the road—helping them take their first baby steps out of Jerusalem into the world.
Of course, they return to Jerusalem the hour after Jesus ascends into heaven, because they’re waiting for the Holy Spirit to come first before they can really get started. Jerusalem is home—at least for now. And we too have our own comfortable places that feel like home, where God nurtures us and helps us to grow up and become mature.
But we can’t stay there forever, can we? Jesus comes to us in our own daily lives and helps us take our own baby steps in God’s mission. As we move out of our own comfort zones, we do it with Jesus leading us and the Holy Spirit filling us, God working through us—so that what we do doesn’t come from us but from God.
WE PRAY: Lord, when You call me to do something I’m uncomfortable about, lead me Yourself, and let me walk in Your footsteps so I know what to do. Amen.
This Daily Devotion was written by Dr. Kari Vo.
Reflection Questions:
1. Have you ever learned a job by imitating someone else?
2. Name one specific responsibility you think God has given you to do in your own daily life.
3. What is your comfort zone? Tell about a time when you had to move out of it to follow Jesus.