Luke 24:44-53

Jesus said to his disciples, “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.” Then he opened their minds to understand the scriptures, 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, and that repentance and forgiveness of sins is to be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things. 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.”

Then he led them out as far as Bethany, and, lifting up his hands, he blessed them. While he was blessing them, he withdrew from them and was carried up into heaven. And they worshiped him, and returned to Jerusalem with great joy; and they were continually in the temple blessing God.

Today is the Feast of the Ascension. We remember Jesus return the Father after his Resurrection today. The text above is the Gospel appointed for the day.

I find  the disciples’ response to Jesus’ words and the miraculous event that they had witnessed interesting. Witness, is in fact, the key to the whole event. Jesus is clear that in light of His return to the Father, there is a call and a sending into the promise of the Father. That promise is not that they be in a great hurry to get to heaven themselves, but rather to be to be witnesses to the wonder. It’s a call to evangelism in the truest sense of the word. The evangel are those who bear the ‘good news’ or gospel of Jesus, namely “that repentance and forgiveness of sins is to be proclaimed in his name to all nations” (see above).

If it’s good enough for the early disciples, I’d say it’s good enough for us.

Can anyone give me a witness?