“We will have to revisit those too, I’m afraid.”
“I know,” she said. “But there is still much more to tell before the dark days arose. When Jesus was eight days old, we had Him circumcised and officially gave Him the name that the angel had told me before He was even conceived in the womb.
“And when the days of my purification—according to the law of Moses—were completed, we took Him to Jerusalem to present Him to the Lord and to offer the required sacrifice.
“A man in Jerusalem named Simeon, who was just and devout, told us later he had been waiting for the Consolation of Israel and that it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Christ. So the Spirit led him into the temple, and when we brought in the Child, to do for Him according to the custom of the law, Simeon took Him up in his arms and blessed God and said, ‘Lord, now You are letting Your servant depart in peace, according to Your word; for my eyes have seen Your salvation which You have prepared before the face of all peoples, a light to bring revelation to the Gentiles, and the glory of Your people Israel.’
“As you can imagine, Luke, Joseph and I marveled at those things that were spoken of Jesus. Simeon blessed us and said to me, ‘Behold, this Child is destined for the fall and rising of many in Israel, and for a sign which will be spoken against, that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed.’”
“What did he mean about the sign?”
“He whispered to me, ‘A sword will pierce through your own soul also.’ Believe me, I eventually learned what that meant. But for now, if you don’t mind, I prefer to dwell on the times of blessing.
“Anna, a prophetess, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asherised and o1em">“He told me He was still suffering the effects of a forty-day fast in the wilderness, where the Spirit had led Him so Satan could tempt Him. When He recounted that awful experience, it was as if my heart turned cold within me.”
“Tell me about it.”
“It had occurred some time even before I had tried to see Him in Capernaum. He said He had returned from the Jordan after being baptized by John when He was led alone into the wilderness and ate nothing for forty days. And when they had ended, naturally He was hungry. And the devil said to Him, ‘If You are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread.’
“But Jesus answered, ‘It is written, “Man shall not live by bread alone, but
by every word of God.”’
“Then the devil, taking Him up on a high mountain, showed Him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. And the devil said to Him, ‘All this authority I will give You, and their glory; for this has been delivered to me, and I give it to whomever I wish. Therefore, if You will worship before me, all will be Yours.’
“And Jesus answered him, ‘Get behind Me, Satan! For it is written, “You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only you shall serve.”’
“Then Satan brought Him to Jerusalem, set Him on the pinnacle of the temple, and said, ‘If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down from here. For it is written:
He shall give His angels charge over you,
To keep you,
and,
In their hands they shall bear you up,
Lest you dash your foot against a stone.
“And Jesus said, ‘It has been said, “You shall not tempt the Lord your God.”’
“Now, when the devil had ended every temptation, he departed from Him until an opportune time. Then Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit to Galilee, and news of Him went out through all the surrounding region. And He taught in their synagogues, being glorified by all.
“So He came to Nazareth, and as we talked, I asked if, as had become His custom, He would go into the synagogue on the Sabbath day and stand up to read. Well, of course He said yes, and so this was another of the few times I was able to see Him out among the people.
“In the temple He was handed the book of the prophet Isaiah. And when He had opened the book, He found the place where it was written:
The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me,
Because He has anointed Me
To preach the gospel to the poor;
He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted,
To proclaim liberty to the captives
And recovery of sight to the bli">DURING LUKE’S LAST DAY with Mary, she told him she was going to eschew her customary afternoon nap or at least delay it until he was satisfied that they were finished.
“I do not want to weary you,” he said, “but I do have two more questions if we may repair to the parlor.”
He helped her up and walked her in to her reclining bench before taking his place at his desk.
“I know you have said that you were an eyewitness to little of Jesus’ ministry, yet you seem to have heard an account of all His activities. What stands out to you as epitomizing His message to the world? Was there one act or one parable or one teaching that sums it all up in your mind?”
“Interesting you should ask, because I have always felt that the stories He used to explain the Kingdom were most telling. I recall hearing someone tell of when He passed through Jericho. After He had called out the rich chief tax collector Zacchaeus—You know this story?”
“Yes, the man who was too short to see above the crowd and had to climb a tree to see Jesus.”
“Correct. And Jesus honored him by going to his house. But Jesus was criticized by the people, even though Zacchaeus came to salvation. Yet what struck me about this event, Luke, was what Jesus said in announcing what had happened. He said, ‘Today salvation has come to this house, because he also is a son of Abraham; for the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.’ That was His mission, His purpose.
“And later He told three parables about finding lost things and comparing the kingdom of God to these. Do you have those stories?”
“Yes, of the lost sheep, the lost coin, and the lost son. I plan to include them.”
“Good, because I believe He intentionally emphasized what was most important.”
“And you must do the same, ma’am, if you are up to it.”
She looked away and spoke faintly. “The end, you mean.”
“Yes.”
Mary hung her head and rubbed her eyes. “No mother should ever have to endure that.” And she told him all she remembered of seeing her Son put to death. Luke added this to all the accounts he had amassed, then rolled his scrolls, put away his quills and ink, and folded his desk.
He approached Mary and helped her stand. She embraced him and thanked him.
“I wasn’t certain you would be grateful to be reminded of it all,” he said.
“Make no mistake, Luke, it takes nothing to remind me of every bit of it. It is constantly with me. But so is my hope. You see, I know He arose, and I know He is my Savior too and that I will again see Him. I am most blessed to have been chosen of God to be used as a vessel to bring into the world His only Son, Immanuel, who saved His people from their sins.”
“My plan, sir, is to write it to you in the form of a letter,” Luke said one afternoon as they sat in a small room behind the meeting place. “I don’t know where I will be when I have completed it, but my goal is to be sure that Paul is content with it, and then I will have it copied before sending you the original.”
“I will be honored to read it to the brothers and sisters here, and we will set about straightaway to have it copied many times for distribution to as many churches as possible all around the world. I shall be happy to cover the expense of this myself.”
“You are too kind, master.”
“I am no longer your master, Luke. But I am proud to have once been, and deeply grateful for your introducing me to faith in our Lord Christ.”
A young deacon appeared at the door. “Sorry to interrupt, sirs,” he said, a sealed scroll in his hand.
Theophilus waved him in. “What is it, son?”
“News from John for Dr. Luke, sir,” t
he man said, leaving the scroll and departing.
Luke rose and stepped to where Theophilus could look on as he broke the seal and rolled back the papyrus,
John, an apostle of Christ, to most excellent Luke and the elders of the church at Syrian Antioch:
It is with great heaviness of heart that I have cut short my travels and am on my way back to Ephesus, as word has come to me of the passing of the mother of our Lord and Savior. Gregoriana reports that the blessed lady died quietly in her sleep during the afternoon a fortnight ago. News had also reached me of her great pleasure in meeting and working with you on your account, Luke, which makes me all the more eager to see the results.
Pray for us as we honor this saint whom God chose as a vessel for His great gift. We shall grieve her and miss her terribly, yet we also rejoice in her blessed hope, which we share. Our eulogizing her will also be a celebration of her stellar life and all she has meant to the Ephesian church and to believing brothers and sisters everywhere.
I understand that you are on your way back to our brother Paul, but if emissaries are available to be sent from Antioch for the funeral, be assured we will welcome them with all hospitality.
And do greet Paul for me in the matchless name of our Redeemer and assure him of the prayers of all the saints aware of his dangerous plight.
Now blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that does not fade away, reserved in pto beli height="6" width="1em">It was just past noon when the Roman ship finally docked, and it took more than an hour to board soldiers who would help offload the assorted criminals and those—like Paul—who had been sent to Rome for trial.
It did not surprise Luke to find that Paul was the last to be escorted off the ship, personally guarded by a commander named Julius. Luke wanted to jump and cheer and praise God, but he forced himself to remain just one among the crowd. When Paul espied him, he slowed and the commander hesitated with him.
“I knew if any would be here for me, Luke,” Paul said, “it would be you.”
The commander informed Luke where Paul would be held and when he could see him, and Luke ran all the way back to his own quarters, eagerly getting his scrolls together so he could begin reading to his old friend.
OVER THE NEXT TWO YEARS, as Paul was allowed to rent his own chambers and enjoy occasional visits while the authorities tried to determine his disposition, Luke spent much time with him. They prayed and sang, and while Luke sought to encourage the man, he himself was emboldened just listening to Paul. While he was lonely and, naturally, worried over his own fate, still Paul wrote letters to the churches and shared these with Luke.
It warmed the doctor to see that Paul often told other believers that “only Luke is with me,” and referred to him as “the beloved physician.”
To Luke’s great delight, Paul seemed to have no issues with his account of the history of Jesus. He urged Luke to keep on with it and begged him to bring him more and more of it. “It is as if the Holy Spirit Himself is giving you utterance through your pen,” Paul said, making Luke all the more eager to stay at the task. Paul was most excited about Theophilus’s generous offer to read the manuscript to the church at Antioch and to supervise its copying and distribution around the world.
“You know there is more for you to do, don’t you, Luke, when this is finished?”
“More?”
“Much more. The story does not end with Jesus’ ascension into heaven. Far from it. The beginning of the movement, the very founding of the church, the bravery of the disciples, the preaching of Peter—indeed, all the acts of the apostles—must be documented and recorded. How this will thrill the believers!”
“The Acts of the Apostles,” Luke said. “I know much of the story already.”
“And Peter and I can tell you the rest. I came along in the middle of it, of course, but when he arrives here, Peter will be a great source of information and inspiration for you.”
“When he arrives?”
Paul smiled and showed Luke a scroll from Peter, announcing his intention to join them.
Luke was already full of anticipation. “I had wondered what I would do when my letter to Theophilus was complete. I would write this to him as well, telling him that after covering all that Jesus began both to do and t the prd through the Holy Spirit to his chosen apostles, to whom He also presented Himself alive after His suffering by many infallible proofs, being seen by them during forty days and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God.”
“Yes!” Paul said. “And Peter can tell you, as he has me, that being assembled together with them, Jesus commanded the disciples not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the Promise of the Father, ‘which,’ He said, ‘you have heard from Me; for John truly baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.’
“Then you can move right into His promise that they would receive power when the Holy Spirit had come upon them and that they would be witnesses to Him in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth. Isn’t it thrilling that we are privileged to be fulfilling that prophecy?”
“I can’t wait to get to it,” Luke said. “But I must keep it in abeyance until my gospel is finished. I’m very nearly to the end.”
“Go and finish it, then, Doctor, then make haste to return to me and let me hear it.”
TWO YEARS INTO Paul’s imprisonment in Rome, Luke arrived early one morning with a carefully wrapped original of his scroll and a meticulously made copy.
“I have plenty of time to get this aboard the courier ship,” he told Paul, “but you wanted to see me first?”
“Yes, my friend. I want to hear the very last portion one more time, and then I want to pray over it. This is only the beginning. Once your good sponsor Theophilus has this in hand, he will get it copied, and those copies will be copied, and as these make their way to the churches all over the world, copies will be made of copies until anyone who wants to hear this account will be able to. Meanwhile, you will be hard at work on your and Peter’s Acts of the Apostles, which I believe will be every bit as anticipated and welcomed—perhaps more so because of this.” He held the new scroll in both hands, as if cherishing it.
“Now, read to me of when the resurrected Jesus suddenly appeared to the eleven and those who were with them in the upper room.”
Luke carefully unrolled the copied scroll and found the place. And he read:
“Jesus Himself stood in the midst of them, and said to them, ‘Peace to you.’ But they were terrified and frightened, and supposed they had seen a spirit. And He said to them, ‘Why are you troubled? And why do doubts arise in your hearts? Behold My hands and My feet, that it is I Myself. Handle Me and see, for a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see I have.’
“When He had said this, He showed them His hands and His feet. But while they still did not believe for joy, and marveled, He said to them, ‘Have you any food here?’ So they gave Him a piece of a broiled fish and some honeycomb. And He took it and ate in their presence.
“Then He said to them, ‘These are the words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all things must be fulfilled which were written in the Law of Moses and the Prs thb>Then Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I do not know a man?”
35And the angel answered and said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you; therefore, also, that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God. 36Now indeed, Elizabeth your relative has also conceived a son in her old age; and this is now the sixth month for her who was called barren. 37For with God nothing will be impossible.”
38Then Mary said, “Behold the maidservant of the Lord! Let it be to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her.
Mary Visi
ts Elizabeth
39Now Mary arose in those days and went into the hill country with haste
, to a city of Judah, 40and entered the house of Zacharias and greeted Elizabeth. 41And it happened, when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, that the babe leaped in her womb;
and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. 42Then she spoke out with a loud voice and said, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! 43But why is this granted to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? 44For indeed, as soon as the voice of your greeting sounded in my ears, the babe leaped in my womb for joy. 45Blessed is she who believed, for there will be a fulfillment of those things which were told her from the Lord.”