Thursday | Luke 19-24

Luke 19-24

The Gospel of Luke was written with the intent of providing clear evidence and order to the life and ministry of Jesus.  Luke was a physician, a man of science, and he writes with a precise purpose in mind. He desires to assure any reader of the validity of Jesus’s claim to be the Son of God beyond any doubt. 

Doubt is an easy companion to any believer. We suffer from a short memory of God’s grace and the miracles are seen in our own lives, let alone to the glorious history of God’s work within the world. The nickname for the disciple Thomas was “Doubting Thomas” and how relatable that is for so many. Luke combats doubt through the evidence he gathered throughout his life. His writing conveys quiet confidence, a boldness of assurance that is appealing to the youngest and wisest of believers alike. 

Luke’s account of Holy Week is clear and detailed. Holy Week was the climax of the ministry of Jesus and Luke allows the reader to become absorbed with the intricate details of Jesus’s proclamation of deity and work of redemption. It is clear, confident, bold, assured, joyous, content, and awe-inspired as we see in Luke 24:45-47.

“Then he opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures. He told them, ‘This is what is written: The Christ will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, and repentance and forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things.”

Luke has no doubt of the Truth of Jesus. Spend today meditating on Luke’s account of Holy Week and your own confidence in its veracity. Do you find yourself doubting the truth you see before you? Or maybe you believe but doubt that such grace actually touches you individually? Doubt happens in us all but does not allow it to overshadow the work of the Holy Spirit in your life. You are a child of God who actively benefits from the sacrifice of Christ on the Cross. A sacrifice Jesus went to willingly and lovingly for you! Praise God for such a gift and the confidence we have in it.