BibleProject | One Story That Leads to JesusSample

Jesus dies right-side-up on a cross, but the whole scene feels upside-down. The Roman cross was for criminals and violent zealots. Jesus remains innocent and anything but violent toward anyone. God’s beloved people who have been longing for centuries for God to send his promised, glorious king now have that King before them. But they choose to destroy him. Everything is flipped.

Yet Luke shows us something surprising. This actually is Jesus’ royal coronation in a sense, and his throne is a cross. In other words, his divine and glorious power is his unbreakable love, not his ability to defeat enemies. Jesus’ Kingdom lives with a different, infinite kind of power.

When Jesus is raised from the dead, everything changes. Loving enemies looks pretty weak when Jesus is dying. Loving enemies looks shockingly powerful when we see that the death those enemies deal has no permanent effect.

Jesus’ resurrection proves the power of God’s love to sustain life. It shows that, unlike previous failed messiahs who promised victorious war, Jesus is the true Messiah who wins the battle differently than anyone expected. Luke envisions Jesus as the one promised through Isaiah’s suffering servant passage (Isa. 53:7), a new kind of Passover lamb (Exod. 12:1-37), and the victorious king who wins by absorbing violence, not by dealing it out.

On the road to Emmaus, two disciples walk beside Jesus without even recognizing who he is. They speak of a great prophet that they hoped would redeem Israel, until the rulers murdered him. Yet they have heard strange rumors that he’s alive.

Jesus explains the Law and the Prophets to them, showing how the Bible is a unified story that has always been pointing to himself. Then, they sit down together for a meal. When Jesus breaks bread, they recognize him—and he vanishes.

Later, Jesus appears to all the disciples and promises power from on high. Then he ascends. At long last, they glimpse what his Kingdom is all about. Joyous, they return to Jerusalem to receive the best gift they can imagine.

Reflection Questions

• Jesus began his mission in the Gospel of Luke by quoting from Isaiah 61—proclaiming good news for the poor, freedom for prisoners, sight for the blind, and freedom for the oppressed. Reflecting on the entire book of Luke, and especially today’s reading, how do you see Jesus fulfilling this mission?
• How does the ending of Luke’s gospel prepare us for his next book? What do you anticipate happening next?