(50)  And he led them out as far as to Bethany, and he lifted up his hands, and blessed them. (51)  And it came to pass, while he blessed them, he was parted from them, and carried up into heaven. (52)  And they worshipped him, and returned to Jerusalem with great joy: (53)  And were continually in the temple, praising and blessing God. Amen.

Luke 24:50-53

Explanation:

Bethany is this village on the mount of olives. We see the disciples here with Jesus.  We know and will see in our study of Acts a parallel passage and further things that He said to them. Here he blesses them.  This is a time for goodbye in a sense, though He told them He would be with them, even to the end of the age.  Look at what happened in verse 51

(51)  And it came to pass, while he blessed them, he was parted from them, and carried up into heaven.

Luke 24:51

Jesus ascends into heaven.  We know that He sits down at the right hand of God.  Look at the reaction of the disciples:

(52)  And they worshipped him, and returned to Jerusalem with great joy: (53)  And were continually in the temple, praising and blessing God. Amen.

Luke 24:52-53

So what did they do? They worshipped him. They went to the temple, where this veil was torn from top to bottom. Now, before Jesus was resurrected they were staying in the Upper room. Why were they in the upper room?  We were told they were afraid. Now that Jesus had revealed Himself and His purpose to send them to these disciples, look at where they went.  They went to the temple.  Who was at the temple?  Those who had helped kill Jesus. Their fear was subsided.  Jesus had authorized them to make disciples. Jesus had commissioned them to be on His mission. These men in the temple had killed Jesus, and He had risen again. The disciple’s mindset changed.  What could those in the temple do to them?  Jesus was alive, and Jesus had said, “Because I live, ye shall live also.”

Application

The end of discipleship is sending to the ends of the earth so that the whole earth would know, love, serve and worship Jesus Christ!

Response:

Take some time to worship God today for all that He did, and all that He taught you through this study in the book of Luke.

(46)  And said unto them, Thus it is written, and thus it behoved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day: (47)  And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. (48)  And ye are witnesses of these things.
(49)  And, behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you: but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power from on high.

Luke 24:46-49

Explanation:

(46)  And said unto them, Thus it is written, and thus it behoved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day:

Why was this written?  Why did Christ suffer?  Why did Christ die and rise again from the dead on the third day?  Look at verse 47-

(47)  And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.

Why? What was the reason?

1. So, there could be remission of sins for the repentant!  So, there could be a faith that ultimately and finally saves. What does the scripture say?  “Without the shedding of blood there is no remission of sins.”
2. So, that this message of the Gospel could be preached “in his name”- who’s name?  Jesus!  “For there is no other name under heaven, given among men, whereby we must be saved.”
3. So that this message of the Gospel could be preached “among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.”  Paul said, “For I am not ashamed of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  For it is the power of God to all them that believe, to the jew first and also to the Greek.”

(48)  And ye are witnesses of these things.

These disciples were the witnesses…

…of the person of Jesus Christ– His resurrected body…

…of the prophecy of Jesus Christ – in Moses, the prophets, and the psalms…

…of the purpose for his death, burial and resurrection. – that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.

The purpose of Jesus’s predicted coming, life, birth, death, burial, and resurrection was a missionary purpose. He came to “seek and to save those that were lost.” His purpose in discipleship was so that the end of that discipleship would be “sending”.  He wanted His disciples to witness all the needed to be witnessed so that repentance and faith for the remission of sins in Jesus’ name could be preached to all nations. And He knew that they would need the Holy Spirit’s power to do that.

(49)  And, behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you: but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power from on high.

Not only had he trained them, not only had he died for them and rose again, not only had He made it possible for them to witness these things, He was going to empower them by sending the Holy Spirit to them to accomplish the mission He started and for which He was sending them.

Application:

True, Biblical discipleship always leads to replication.  It always leads to sending.  Until the disciple can replicate- “teaching them to observe all that (Christ) hath commanded”- the discipleship process is not complete. And we know that to truly do that takes the work of the Spirit.

Replication starts with evangelism, but continues with “teaching them to observe all things (He) has commanded” us. We are to make disciples who make disciples.

Response:

How can you be involved in disciple making? Who do you need to share the Gospel with today? Who can you help to follow Jesus in obedience today?

(44)  And he said unto them, These are the words which I spake unto you, while I was yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled, which were written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the psalms, concerning me.
(45)  Then opened he their understanding, that they might understand the scriptures,

Luke 24:44-45

Explanation:

After Jesus showed them his physical body and let the experience seeing him eat and drink, He pointed to His Word for confirmation of what they experienced. He speaks to two sources of revelation to which they would be a witness.

First, He called them to remember the Word He had spoken to them.

Jesus had predicted His death, burial, and resurrection. Jesus had even told them the reason for which He would die and rise again.

(21)  And he straitly charged them, and commanded them to tell no man that thing; (22)  Saying, The Son of man must suffer many things, and be rejected of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be slain, and be raised the third day.

Luke 9:21-22

(31)  And he began to teach them, that the Son of man must suffer many things, and be rejected of the elders, and of the chief priests, and scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again.

Mark 8:31-33

Some of these apostles would be instrumental in writing down Jesus’ prophecy concerning Himself and much more.

Secondly, He called them to understand the Word He had written, by the Spirit, in “Moses”, “the Prophet”, and “the psalms”.

The term “Moses” here was a reference to the Torah, the first 5 books of the Bible written by Moses. The term “the prophets” was a reference to the rest of the Bible not including the last category termed “the Psalms. He was saying that all of the then written revelation of God, the scriptures, pointed to Himself! The Bible is about Jesus! And look at that wonderful phrase about what happened next in verse 45.

(45)  Then opened he their understanding, that they might understand the scriptures,

Talk about an incredible Bible study! Like He had done on the road to Emmaus, Jesus walked through the scriptures and showed Him that the Bible pointed to them. It’s as if they had all of these blanks in their own minds regarding the Old Testament, and once Jesus rose again, all of the blanks begin to be filled in. 

Can you imagine when he took them to Isaiah 53 or Psalm 22 and they thought, “I saw that come true.  I was there!”  Incredible. These disciples were a witness to the resurrected work of God, and to the inspired Word of God.

Application:

Discipleship cannot happen apart from the Word of God. Jesus is the Word. Jesus wrote the Word. Jesus taught the Word. Jesus passed the word on to His disciples. He told His Father in that prayer in the garden, “I have manifested thy name unto the men which thou gavest me out of the world: thine they were, and thou gavest them me; and they have kept thy word.” (John 17:6).

Response:

What is your relationship with the Word of God today?