Last words are so important.
When my Grandma died, her last words were to Grandpa.
Weeks of pain drawing to a close… She opened her eyes and looked into his and said “no matter what God is good”.
I wasn’t there but her words have gone down the generations as testament to her faith and love of God.
When we say goodbye to those that were love, we hold onto their words forever.
Two thousand years ago – forty days have now passed since Jesus rose from the grave. Yes. Today. The disciples don’t have to stop and think about the number of days. They already know it as since Moses time (sixteen hundred years before that) they’ve been counting off fifty days between the feast of firstfruits and the feast of weeks seven weeks later.
They saw Jesus die at Passover. They saw Him raised to live on Feast of Firstfruits. They also knew the pattern of forties from the Scriptures.
They knew the number of the day.
Jesus takes them to a mountain and says His last words before disappearing into the clouds. He tells them to wait in Jerusalem till He clothes them in Power. Till he sends the Comforter, the Holy Spirit before very much longer.
Then his final words.
“Go into all nations and make disciples”.
The most life impacting words to the hearty of a believer. The culmination… First to the Jew and now to the gentile.
We weren’t there but His words have been passed through the generations. Words deliberately framed by the moment of his leaving. Will we remember them with action?