After the Benediction
Luke 24:36-53
“Good-bye” usually means separation. Friends may say “Good-bye” when they are heading home from our house. Our children may say “Good-Bye” when they are heading back to school after spring break. God-byes have been said in hospitals, at funeral homes, beside graves. They are the conclusion to phone calls. But regardless of why or when or where, these good-byes all mean separation. After Jesus left His disciples and this earth, they “worshiped him and returned to Jerusalem with great joy” (Lk. 24:52) That was a good-bye from Jesus to His people that was what it was originally intended to be: “God be with ye.” It was His benediction over them, and so their worship followed the benediction. This is what His ascension makes possible still today.