You Are Witnesses

YOU ARE WITNESSES

a prayer to open

Open my eyes and help me to see you.

Open my heart and help me to know you.

Jesus, my Lord and my God.

Jesus himself was suddenly standing there among them. “Peace be with you,” he said. But the whole group was startled and frightened, thinking they were seeing a ghost!

“Why are you frightened?” he asked. “Why are your hearts filled with doubt? Look at my hands. Look at my feet. You can see that it’s really me. Touch me and make sure that I am not a ghost, because ghosts don’t have bodies, as you see that I do.” As he spoke, he showed them his hands and his feet.

Still they stood there in disbelief, filled with joy and wonder. Then he asked them, “Do you have anything here to eat?” They gave him a piece of broiled fish, and he ate it as they watched.

Then he said, “When I was with you before, I told you that everything written about me in the law of Moses and the prophets and in the Psalms must be fulfilled.” Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures. And he said, “Yes, it was written long ago that the Messiah would suffer and die and rise from the dead on the third day. It was also written that this message would be proclaimed in the authority of his name to all the nations, beginning in Jerusalem: ‘There is forgiveness of sins for all who repent.’ You are witnesses of all these things.

“And now I will send the Holy Spirit, just as my Father promised. But stay here in the city until the Holy Spirit comes and fills you with power from heaven.”

Then Jesus led them to Bethany, and lifting his hands to heaven, he blessed them. While he was blessing them, he left them and was taken up to heaven. So they worshiped him and then returned to Jerusalem filled with great joy.

Luke’s account ends with Jesus being taken up to heaven. Before Jesus went, he ensured that the disciples knew three specific truths. First, he was no mere spirit—he rose from the dead in his body, and that mattered because of what it said about what awaited all humans. Second, he showed them he had fulfilled the Scriptures, proving he indeed was the Messiah they had been waiting for and he had come to inaugurate the Kingdom of God. Third, he instructed them to be his witnesses to the world. He had equipped them to do just that, and they would soon be empowered by the Holy Spirit to do what was beyond their ability alone. How might our lives be changed if we reminded ourselves of these same three truths regularly?

• Why do you think it was important to Jesus for his disciples to touch him and see him eat something? How do you think this influenced the way the disciples later shared what they had experienced?
• What does today’s passage reveal to you about Jesus?
• What are two or three truths God has revealed to you about Jesus through the book of Luke? What has become solidified in your heart? What are you still wrestling to understand or believe?

Father, thank you for speaking to me through the Scriptures and for the ways you have grown my faith and understanding. Thank you for the moments I have encountered you and become more aware of your presence. Please continue to open my eyes to the truth of who you’ve revealed yourself to be in Jesus. May your will be done in and through me. Amen.