Luke 24:46-53 brings to a conclusion not only the Resurrection narratives but also the whole gospel of Luke. The words and actions narrated in this section continues those events that begin in Luke 24:1 and actually bring to a conclusion the story of the victory dinner of Jesus with the disciples that begin in verse 36. Thus, the resurrection and the ascension are brought together as two episodes on that first day of the week. A brief summary of the events narrated in Luke 24 should put the current selection in its proper context:
Early in the morning of that first day of the week, the women who had seen where Jesus was lain (Luke 23:55-56) go to the tomb and instead of a corpse found two men in shining clothes telling them that Jesus is risen (24:1-7). Dumbfounded and concerned, they tell of their discovery to the Eleven and the other disciples. The apostles who heard the story did not believe but Peter did go to the tomb and went back amazed (vv. 8-12). Meanwhile, two of the disciples on the way to Emmaus met Jesus on the way but were able to recognize him only during the breaking of the bread. These disciples return to Jerusalem, hear the others' tell of Peter's experience with the Risen Lord and afterwards, tell their own story (vv. 13:35). While they were still speaking, Jesus appeared before them, and after having reassured them that he was no ghost, proceeded to dine with them (vv. 36-43). It was during this victory meal that he opened the minds of the disciples to the Scriptures reminding them that His death and rising to life have been written about and had to be fulfilled (vv. 44-45). Thus we come to the present Lucan selection.
Written To Be Fulfilled
“Thus it is written that the Christ would suffer
and rise from the dead on the third day
and that repentance, for the forgiveness of sins,
would be preached in his name
to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem."
There are two affirmations in this statement that is prefaced by "thus it is written" which in Luke is a formula of the correspondence between the will of God and the life of Jesus. The first is about the death and rising of the Christ which has just been fulfilled. This was something that Jesus had already been repeating from the time Peter proclaimed him as the "Christ" (Luke 9:20). And even after Jesus had risen from the dead, he still had to explain to the two disciples going to Emmaus that the events of Good Friday had to be fulfilled so that the Christ can enter into his glory (Luke 24:26).
The second affirmation that is also "written" and had to be fulfilled is that in the name of the Christ, repentance for the forgiveness of sins will be proclaimed to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. This proclamation to the nations will be traced in the second part of Luke's Gospel, the Acts of the Apostles. Through the main characters of the book, Peter and Paul, forgiveness of sins will be proclaimed. Repentance and forgiveness of sins are the integral elements of Jesus' own mission. This he now passes on to his disciples, not as a legacy but as his own work continued in them. (Note the phrase "in His name". The Christ will continue His work with the disciples being, so to speak, his hands and feet.) This work will continue beginning from Jerusalem. Jesus ended his work in Jerusalem; from Jerusalem the work will go forward to all the nations. The book of Acts will close -- not end -- with an image of Paul proclaiming the gospel of forgiveness in the center of the world, Rome, the hub of the nations. In Luke, Jerusalem is the place of salvation; it is from there that salvation will also be offered to all men.
The Christ's suffering, death, resurrection and ascension -- the entrance into His glory -- on the one hand, and the forgiveness of sins on the other, are two sides of the same coin. The act of redemption carried out by Christ saves mankind from the wages of sin, death. But each man will have to claim the salvation wrought in Christ for himself. Thus the need for the proclamation of the Church, the reception of her invitation to repentance through gestures and actions that are recognizable as acts of metanoia, conversion. It is thus that when later, Peter is asked by the Jews "What should we do to be saved?" he answered: "Repent and be baptized (cf. Acts 2:38;16:31-33)."
This second aspect of the work of salvation in Christ, is going to be carried out in the same way as Jesus carried out his ministry of reconciliation: in the power of the Holy Spirit. Just as Christ was "possesed" by the Spirit as he healed and forgave sins, so too, the disciples will carry out their task clothed "with power from on high. (v.49)" Jesus' command that the disciples stay in the city until they are empowered from on high points to the coming of the Holy Spirit which is described in Acts 2.
Journey’s End
The narrative of the Ascension of Jesus concludes the first part of the Lucan gospel. Luke alone gives us two narratives of the Ascension. This first account is presented as the conclusion of Jesus' work, the completion of the journey began in 9:51. The second account is in Acts 1:6-11, a fitting preface to the work of the Church. Luke presents the Ascension from two perspectives, then; there are no discrepancies involved, only differing theological highlights. In the conclusion of the Gospel, the Ascension is "doxological", the element of worship is stressed. In the beginning of Acts, the "missionary/ecclesial" dimension is highlighted and paves the way for the action of Church in history.
After giving his last discourse to his disciples, Jesus leads them outside. The verb used here is the same word used to describe God's action of leading Israel out of Egypt. Thus Jesus' exodus, announced in the Transfiguration (see Luke 9:31) is completed here. He leads the disciples as far as Bethany, the place where Jesus prepared to enter Jerusalem as king (Luke 19:29). It is also from that place that he ascends to his glory as the Anointed King. Luke tells us that the last thing that Jesus does is to bless his disciples. A blessing is chiefly as priestly gesture. Scholars have compared this passage with the one found in Sirach 50:20-21, a description of the High Priest Simon son of Onias blessing Israel at the end of a Temple ceremony
Then he would come down and raise his hands over the whole assembly of the sons of Israel, to give them the Lord's blessing from his lips, being privileged to pronounce His name; and once again the people would bow low to receive the blessing from the Most High.
The image of Jesus making a priestly blessing over the disciples anticipates the theme of the Letter to the Hebrews, where Christ is presented as the High Priest of the New Covenant.
The reactions of the disciple to the ascension of the Lord are three: they worship him, the return with great joy and they continually praise ("bless") God in the Temple. Here, together with the image of Jesus blessing, Luke closes the first part of the Gospel with inclusions: the Gospel ends as it begins. As the Gospel opens with a scene involving a priest in the Temple in Jerusalem, so here, Jesus ascends with a priestly gesture, and the disciples return to Jerusalem and continually praise God in the Temple. An angel announces to the shepherds the birth of Jesus with great joy (2:10) and with great joy also the disciples return to the city. Simeon upon seeing the child declaims his berakah to God (2:28); the disciples also remain in the Temple to literally "bless" God. In all this, we know that the climax of the process of knowing Jesus is reached when Luke tells us that the disciples worshipped the Lord (24:52). It is also the act that Luke wishes to elicit from his readers as these unite with the first disciples in the joy of the Ascension and in praising God.
