The Ascension of Our Lord
Thursday, May 18, 2023
“Thus It Is Written, Thus You Shall Preach” (Luke 24:44-53)
During the forty days from Christ’s resurrection to his ascension, our Lord met with his disciples on a number of occasions. Jesus was preparing these disciples to be his apostles, his sent-out ones, who would preach and teach and begin to carry out the church’s worldwide mission. So he needed to instruct them, to make it clear to them what their mission would be. And that’s what we find going on in the reading today from Luke 24. Jesus makes clear what the content of their preaching and teaching will be, and he tells them how to deliver that message to people and apply it to their lives. And so our theme today, Jesus saying to the disciples and to us, the church: “Thus It Is Written, Thus You Shall Preach.”