Christ’s ascension is an emphatic Amen signalling the end of His earthly ministry. His saving work is now complete and He returns to heaven to sit at the right hand of the Father.

As this astonishing event unfolds, let’s consider Jesus’ final gesture: “He lifted up His hands and blessed them.” His last act on earth is not a rebuke for the disciples’ past doubts, nor a final command, but an outpouring of grace. What a comfort to know that Jesus departs with words of favour, assuring His disciples (and us) of His infinite goodness. How wonderfully gracious is the character of our Lord in His dealings with us!

Then notice the disciples’ surprising reaction to Jesus leaving. Less than six weeks earlier, Jesus’ death had plunged them into despair. Now, as He disappears from their sight, they are not overwhelmed, but filled with “great joy.” Why? Because they have understood that this is not abandonment, but an enthronement. By ascending to heaven, Christ does not distance Himself from humanity; rather He takes humanity with Him into eternity, opening the way for all who follow Him and preparing a place for us.

Finally, Luke shows us a community waiting, worshipping continually in the temple. They await the coming of the promised Holy Spirit (verse 49) who, upon descending, will empower them to carry the Gospel to the ends of the earth. Today, that same Spirit dwells within us. Are we as passionate as they were about continuing this

mission? Let us praise the One who reigns, who blesses us and who sends us!

Let’s look at the question He asks in verse 38:

“Why are you troubled, and why do doubts rise in your minds?

We all have doubts and questions.

When Jesus said ‘Peace be with you’, it is a reminder that He doesn’t desire for us to be anxious, troubled, or have doubts. With Him, we can rest assured that His Spirit is with us to help us understand and to guide us on the best path for us and help us return to the right path when we stray or stumble.

Later, in verse 45, Jesus ‘opened their minds so they could understand...’ which I think is vital information for us. There are things that we will likely never fully understand this side of eternity (and we probably won’t care on the other side).

Jesus did as He promised, and sent the Comforter, the Holy Spirit. When Jesus asks, ‘why are you troubled’, lift your head, pray, and be reminded that He is with us. We may not ‘see’ Him as the disciples did, but He is here and the source of our peace.

This is one of the eleven recorded appearances of the Lord Jesus after His resurrection. Two people are walking along, perhaps returning home after the astounding events of that first Easter weekend, feeling dejected, disappointed and confused.

But then “Jesus Himself came up and walked along with them.” How beautiful are those nine words! It was “Jesus Himself.” This is now the resurrected Son of God, the Mighty Conqueror of sin and death and all the wrong in the world, and yet He comes to them gently and humbly as “Jesus Himself.”

He “walks along with them,” going at their pace, listening to them and explaining the events of the past few days. He doesn’t speak of the magnificence of what He has just accomplished or boast about the greatest act in history which He has just achieved. He simply explains, from the Old Testament, that the tumultuous events they had seen were part of God’s plan and had to happen.

This is the same Jesus who comes alongside each of us today and walks with us and explains things to us. He is our Lord and our God, Creator of the universe and Saviour of the world, yet He is also the “friend who sticks closer than a brother,” walking beside us, listening to us and bearing patiently with us. May our hearts truly “burn within us” as we think of Him.

People often say, “We all have our cross to bear,” usually meaning a personal burden or hardship. At Easter we see what it truly means.

Simon of Cyrene unwillingly becomes the first to ‘take up his cross and follow Jesus’ (Luke 9:23). How did he feel - resentful, afraid, confused? And yet this unexpected encounter seems to have borne fruit in his family’s life (Mark 15:21). What began as an imposed burden became a life-changing moment. Have there been times when following Jesus led you down a hard road? Is God permitting this to draw family or friends to Christ?

Beside Jesus hung two criminals. One hurled insults. The other, hearing Jesus pray, “Father, forgive them,” realised his need. In a moment of revelation, he feared God, confessed his sin, declared Jesus’ innocence and kingship, and pleaded, “Jesus, remember me.” The reply was golden and certain: “Today you will be with me in paradise.”

On what basis does this promise and forgiveness rest? At the cross, the ‘Chosen One’ (v.35) became the forsaken One (Matthew 27:46) for our sins. “Save yourself,” they taunted. Yet the irony is wonderful: the Man who would not save himself - saves others. Thank Jesus for His salvation today.

Jesus calls us to take up our cross. He practised what he preached. “When Christ calls a man, He bids him come and die” (Dietrich Bonhoeffer).

Take time to read or sing, ‘When I Survey the Wondrous Cross’ - and follow Him.

I have one question in my mind after reading this passage: why did the crowd choose Barabbas rather than Jesus?

I stand beside Pilate and listen to him saying he can find “no fault” in Jesus. He has done nothing wrong – nothing worthy of death. The perfect man.

I stand in the crowd rubbing shoulders with people who may have listened to Jesus’ teaching; who may have shared in the bread and fish supper when Jesus fed 5,000 people; who may have even known someone who Jesus had healed; surely no-one who had themselves been healed, and I ask myself again, why did they choose Barabbas, a murderer and freedom fighter?

Then I ask myself:

I pray for courage to always choose Jesus and to walk the narrow way with Him.

In these verses we see Judas betray Jesus with a kiss. As a result, the trust is broken between Jesus and one of His disciples. Judas’ greed takes over, and he is willing to sell out one of his friends. We see how greed, amongst other things, can easily get in the way of our relationship with Christ.

This passage is a reminder of how, on the outside, people may appear to love and follow Jesus, but in reality they are far from Him. Our relationship with Christ shouldn’t change depending on who we are with or whether we are behind closed doors.

Even though Christ experienced so much pain from the betrayal of Judas, He doesn’t become bitter. He forgives him, and His unfailing love shines through. This passage reminds us that although we fail Christ everyday and make so many mistakes, we are still forgiven and loved. We should live our lives in the same way, as 1 Pet 2:21 says, “For God called you to do good, even if it means suffering, just as Christ suffered for you. He is your example, and you must follow in his steps.” It is important to remember this in difficult times where we are faced with a similar situation: we should forgive as we have been forgiven, and love those who may have hurt us - just like Jesus, who died on the cross for us, has done.

In this passage we read about Judas agreeing to betray Jesus and the last supper. Jesus knew every detail of how this meal would unfold, and in this moment He was fulfilling the law and prophets.

Passover is the holy week that Jewish people celebrate God’s liberation of them from slavery and invited them into a covenant relationship with Him, the Father.

Jesus uses the symbols of the Passover meal to reveal the purpose of His coming death; the bread was representative of His body and the wine was representative of His blood. He did this to demonstrate the new covenant relationship that would come through of His death on the cross.

This new relationship is an invitation into a new family. It doesn’t depend on our ethnicity or who our ancestors were, but on our belief and trust in God.

We can be continuously encouraged by this invitation knowing that we have been chosen to be adopted into God’s own family.

Wars, and turmoil, and earthquakes... oh my!

We may think that the time of Jesus’ return has come - and it’s possible as we don’t know when it will happen - but, through the generations since Jesus walked on this earth, there have been many times of war, famine, earthquakes and turmoil.

The verse that is a highlight here for me is Luke 21:28

28 When these things begin to take place, stand up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.”

We have no need to live in fear, though the news is always full of things that are frightening, because our redemption is near. God’s love for us is all-encompassing. When trial and tribulation comes, He is with us and His promise to us is that we will not perish, even in death.

When we pray “without ceasing” and live for Jesus today, everyday, we can rest assured that we will see Him face to face and live eternally with Him.

Where darkness seems to permeate and rule, the light of Christ breaks through and gives hope to all who respond to it.