Three Things

Luke 24:52,53 "And they worshiped Him, and returned to Jerusalem with great joy, and were continually in the temple praising and blessing God. Amen."

We know from Matthew 28 that Jesus' eleven guys, the disciples, went with Him to Galilee to a mountain. When He was there He blessed them, gave them the great commission and was lifted out of their sight. What an experience! To be with the risen Christ, to hear Him challenge you and then to watch Him leave this earth. The disciples' response is what I would expect. Worship, joy, praise, blessing.

Look at each of the responses: Worship. Guess what this reveals? That Jesus is God. I don't care how much people want to get around this fact, but the only individual who is worthy of our worship, or proskyneo, our falling on our faces in adoration is God. Jesus knew this, and Jesus accepted it. Why? Because Jesus was and is God. God in the flesh, who died, who rose, who ascended to heaven. The Disciples knew this and did the only natural thing that they could do was worship Him.

Even though we don't see the risen Christ and did not experience his ascension, we still experience the risen Christ. He works in our lives, He speaks to us, He reveals what He is like to us. Our response should be one thing: Total and complete worship.

Their second response: Joy. Not just a little joy but great joy. The Greek word for great is "mega". Mega joy. Mega gladness. Mega hope. And why not? Jesus was alive and these guys knew it.

I wonder about me…do I have mega joy? My joy should not be in the stuff I have, or the circumstances that surround me, or even in my family. My joy has to be based in a risen Savior. Why? Because a risen Savior proves victory over everything. I mean everything. Every temptation, every sin, every habit, every trial, every difficulty, even death. Mega joy should be a hallmark of the church and Jesus' believers…no matter what.

Their third response: Continually in the temple praising and blessing God. Go figure. These guys wanted to be together, so they did what they knew and got together in the temple and while there they praised and blessed God. They didn't just do this sporadically. They didn't just do this when the weather was good. They didn't just do this when they felt like waking up. They did it all the time. The word continually means constantly. They spent time together and their time together did not center on food or sports or the news. Their time together centered on praising and blessing God. Go figure. They just saw a Man who was crucified, dead and buried…alive, living, breathing, speaking, eating…ascended. I would think that this would energize anyone. And it should. It should still energize us today because we still have that alive, living, breathing, speaking Christ. And what should we do? Continually be together praising and blessing God.