Articles
The Gospel in Action
Reading: Luke 24:36-53
The gospel of Luke ends with Jesus appearing to his disciples following his resurrection. In doing so, he both offered the substance to reestablish their faith and prepared them for the work of spreading his good news to the world over. Jesus summarized the gospel messages thusly: because Christ died and was miraculously raised to life, “repentance for the forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem” (v. 47). He then added, “You are witnesses of these things” (48).
What qualified the apostles to bear witness to the gospel plan of salvation? They saw the resurrected Christ with their own eyes, even touching his physical body. He went so far as to eat in their presence to convince them that he was truly arisen. In addition, he “opened their minds to understand the Scriptures” (v. 45), which all predicted this grand plan of God’s design. And Jesus assured them of a promised Helper, the Holy Spirit Himself, who would guide the apostles into all the truth (49; see John 16:13). And they were even there to witness his ascension as he returned back up into heaven.
For disciples today, Jesus offers the same substance on which we base our faith, and he too calls us to work in spreading the gospel to all people. While we are not first-hand witnesses of these events, we have the evidence of those eyewitnesses’ records, that we “may have certainty concerning the things [we] have been taught” (Luke 1:4). We certainly have the Scriptures, both Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms, and also the inspired apostles carried along by the Holy Spirit of promise (see 2 Peter 1:19-21). And we can attest to the goodness of God in our lives as we have followed Jesus in obedience, telling others of His great love and call to redemption and forgiveness of sin. In this way, followers of Jesus today become living examples of His gospel in action.
