By Mike Chaffin
Now it came to pass, while He blessed them, that He was parted from them and carried up into heaven. And they worshiped Him, and returned to Jerusalem with great joy, and were continually in the temple praising and blessing God. Amen. Luke 24:51-53
The last words in Luke compliment Matthew and Mark’s last words quite nicely. These three books, called the synoptic gospels, give us Jesus earthly ministry from three viewpoints. Each of these reveal Jesus is the Son God who died for our sins and rose on the third day to defeat death and make a way for us to get to heaven.
Matthew tells us what Jesus wants us to do. Mark confirm the Apostles followed those orders. Luke leaves us with Christ’s followers doing just what they, and we, should be doing daily, praising and blessing God.
But Luke puts an exclamation point on his message with the very last word, amen. Amen means ‘So It Is’.
Luke is considered an impeccable historian. The accuracy of his reporting on historical events in the book have been proven out through archeological evidence. But we know we can trust God’s word. When Luke finishes writing about Jesus earthly ministry, he caps off the message with, ‘So it is’. It’s as strong a finish. The facts are the facts, and the story is true.
We finish our prayers with amen. If you haven’t realized it, you are confirming your prayer is going to happen. Our prayers should end with “in Jesus’s name amen.” When they do, we are saying “In Jesus name so it is.” It is a statement of faith the prayer is answered.
Prayer: Lord thank you for the gospel of Luke that puts an exclamation point on your life’s story here on earth. You came down as a baby, to live a sinless life and experience everything we experience. You showed us how we should live and then sacrificed yourself for our sins so we can be forgiven when we repent of our sins and accept you as our Lord and Savior. You defeated death when you rose from the dead, and you gave us the promise of eternal life with you in Heaven. Thank you, in Jesus’s name amen.
