Easter · The Ascension of Our Lord

Luke 24:44-53

Jesus Appears to the Disciples

May 14, 2026

The Ascension of Christ, Pietro Perugino — **The Ascension of Christ**, Pietro Perugino, 1495-1498Musée des Beaux-Arts, Lyon · public domain

Historic One-Year Lectionary

GospelMark 16:14-20 Alt. GospelLuke 24:44-53

EpistleActs 1:1-11

Old Testament2 Kings 2:5-15

PsalterPs. 110

Overview & Insights

“You are witnesses of these things.” (Luke 24:48)

This passage not only brings Luke’s Gospel narrative, and especially its developing resurrection motif, to a triumphant conclusion, but also prepares for the taking up of the story in Luke’s second volume, Acts. The summary of the gospel message in 24:46–48, the cryptic promise of “power from on high” in 24:49, Jesus’s ascension in 24:51 (more fully narrated in Acts 1:1–11), and the communal life of the believers in Jerusalem in 24:52–53) will be developed in the early chapters of Acts. The story of Jesus is now becoming the story of the Jesus movement. The most obvious difference between these verses and Acts is the lack here of any indication of the passage of time (forty days [Acts 1:3]) between Jesus’s resurrection and ascension. In bringing his Gospel to an appropriately “orderly” (1:3) literary conclusion, Luke apparently feels no need to be pedantic about the chronological data.

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Commentary

Commentary on Luke 24:44-53 Working Preacher

Lectionary commentary keyed exactly to this Ascension pericope.

Luke 24 Commentary Enduring Word

Full chapter commentary including the Ascension narrative.

Commentary on Luke 24 by Matthew Henry Blue Letter Bible

Classic exposition of Christ's final instructions and Ascension.

Background & Word Study

Luke 24:44 Commentaries BibleHub

Aggregates classic commentators on Christ opening the disciples' minds to the Scriptures.

Luke Commentaries & Sermons Precept Austin

Collected verse-by-verse resources on Luke, including the Ascension chapter.

The Church Fathers

Luke 24:44 Patristic Commentary Catena Bible

Fathers on Christ's final teaching before the Ascension.

Sermons & Reflections

Ascension Day, the Forgotten Festival (tag archive) Steadfast Lutherans

Includes a sermon preached explicitly on Luke 24:44-53 and Acts 1:1-11.

Worship & Prayers

Ascension (tag archive) The Lutheran Witness

Articles on how the church observes and prays through Ascension Day.

Podcast

Ascension (tag archive) Issues, Etc.

Lutheran radio episodes on the Ascension of Our Lord.

Art & Music

Art in the Christian Tradition Vanderbilt

A curated image index for this reading across the history of Christian art.

The Ascension, Rembrandt Web Gallery of Art

A classic painting of the scene narrated in this pericope.

Study Hub

Luke 10-24 video BibleProject

Overview video covering the second half of Luke, ending with the Ascension.

Questions preachers ask

How does Luke's Gospel close?

The risen Jesus opens the disciples' minds to understand the Scriptures, tells them repentance and forgiveness will be preached to all nations, promises the Spirit, and is carried up into heaven blessing them.

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