Luke
Primary Scriptures:
Luke 24
Story Summary:
Resurrection of Jesus
Location:
Jerusalem
Time:
Circa 30 AD
Luke started his Gospel talking about the miraculous event of Jesus being born to a virgin, Mary. As a doctor, he must have been very convinced of the truth of that event or he would not have written about it. As hard as that must have been, writing about the resurrection and ascension of Jesus must have been equally as challenging. However, he must have been just as convinced of the truth of those events.
The ascension of Jesus and his future return is historically a standard part of Christian belief. Luke wrote about those two things in Luke and Acts. Without Luke’s writing, how would we know about those two things? Matthew and John do not mention them in their Gospels, and the passage in Mark that mentions the ascension is disputed, and does not mention his return. If it wasn’t for Luke’s accounts we would be left to the relevant passages in the rest of the New Testament for our knowledge of the ascension and future return of Jesus.
Where did Luke get his eyewitness accounts of Jesus’ resurrection? As he traveled with Paul, he most likely spent time with Jesus’ original apostles and disciples. Also, Luke knew that at least five hundred people had witnessed the resurrection, so he likely talked to some of them.
It is best to study all the Gospel accounts of the resurrection and post-resurrection at once, especially using a harmony/parallel account. Each Gospel has something important to add. If you do so, you will probably come away with a timeline of events similar to this: the tomb is visited by women, the stone is rolled away, the tomb is found to be empty by the women, Peter and John visit the empty tomb, Jesus appears to Mary Magdalene, Jesus appears to other women, soldiers report, Jesus appears to two people on road to Emmaus who report to the other believers, Jesus appears to assembled disciples, Jesus appear to the seven while fishing, Jesus appears to the eleven, Jesus makes other appearances, and Jesus ascends to heaven.
As will be found in the remaining books of the New Testament, the first Christians were absolutely convinced of the truth of Jesus’ resurrection and ascension. But the marvelous revelation of Jesus’ return isn’t clearly revealed until Luke’s next book, Acts.
Eyewitness Bible Series
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