A Year in Luke/ActsSample

Journeys

We have seen two great journeys over the two books:

1. Jesus' long journey from Galilee to Jerusalem from Luke 9-19. It shows how one might become a disciple of Jesus - you learn along the way! Much of the teaching and parables occurs along the journey. Like the psalms of ascent, growing expectation is building towards a great feast and festival. What many do not realize is that this will involve Jesus instituting a new feast which is his own body and blood, and the festival will be the celebration of his defeat of death through resurrection. Sandwiched in this section is a special parable of a prodigal son who makes a journey of his own to come home to his father’s warm embrace whilst the older brother leaves the party because he cannot accept the family being brought back together. Chief priests take note…
2. Then there are the journeys of the early church. First, the gospel goes out to Judea and Samaria. Then the disciples begin making various journeys further afield. In an incredible twist, the chief persecutor of the early church is on a journey to Damascus when he is knocked off of his horse. Paul then travels to all sorts of places and the book focuses on him as what would seem its main character. Then Paul makes his own journey to Jerusalem and the reader might wonder if he is going to suffer the same fate as Jesus, but this is not a book about Paul, but the gospel going forth through the Spirit; and Paul’s end destination is not Jerusalem, but Rome. So the gospel goes to the center of the world so that it might spread to the ends of the earth.

In the middle of these journeys, we find two disciples on the road to Emmaus, wondering what would happen now that the one they had put all of their hopes in had been killed. Little did they know who would come and walk alongside them on the journey. Their hearts burned within them and their eyes would open in the breaking of bread. Jesus had been with them all along.