The end of Luke’s second book has a bittersweet taste to it. The bitterness comes from the rejection of Paul’s gospel by many of his fellow Jews in Rome, which highlights the power of sin in human hearts. The sweetness comes from the certainty that this gospel will reach many non-Jews and that Jesus’ kingdom will grow to cover the whole world, uniting people of every sort, thanks to the grace of God. But this bittersweet ending is not only for Luke. Many of God’s works in this world have such a taste to them.
Our church service could not take place as usual due to social restrictions. The audio recording above comes originally from a video recording which our pastor made at home. Please note that it includes, at one point, him referring to a diagram which is being displayed on the screen.