44 He said to them, “This is what I told you while I was still with you: Everything must be fulfilled that is written about me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms.” 45 Then he opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures. 46 He told them, “This is what is written: The Messiah will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, 47 and repentance for the forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. 48 You are witnesses of these things. 49 I am going to send you what my Father has promised; but stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high.” ~ Luke 24:44-49
In v.44-47 of today's text the Lord Jesus reminds His disciples of the theme of all of the Old Testament. And, that theme is the Lord Jesus Christ Himself. For centuries God had told the world of the coming of His Son, the Messiah.
Then, in v.48-49, the Lord Jesus reminds these struggling followers that they have been given this message to be shared with all whom they come into contact. The implications were staggering: they were going to factor in on the eternity of all who would hear this Gospel.
All humans are born with two profound and yet basic needs: to be loved and to love. Of course, we can not do the second without having experienced the first. Our concept of love is of utter importance, because it frames up all things in life for us. Most find themselves so stunted with regard to their understanding of love that they really never get to the second of these two basic needs. Most are trapped narcissists.
Without a biblical understanding of love, we find ourselves ill-equipped to do ministry. We get involved in serving others and we pursue holiness in our own lives, but these pursuits were never meant to be our goals. These are simply means to the goal; and the goal is to proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ, the forgiveness of sin through His name.
In v.44 of today's text we read, "He said to them, 'This is what I told you while I was still with you: Everything must be fulfilled that is written about me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms."'
The Lord Jesus takes these believers back to the Old Testament and explains God's great, vast, and unfolding plan of redemptive history. And this is the beauty of the Scripture. When we put it all together, we get the whole picture. Until they had been taught by the Lord Jesus, these followers had been subject all their life to an inadequate understanding of the Old Testament.
So, the Lord Jesus, in this raptured moment with His faithful few, taught them that Christianity was not a disruption of Judaism. He taught them that Christianity was not a new religion, it was the same great redemptive plan of God throughout history. He taught them Judaism without Christ was a false religion, because Christ is the fulfillment of the Old Testament.
And so, in order to get the gospel in its right context, in order for them to understand redemptive continuity and redemptive history, He emphasized how the Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms all pointed to Him.
In v.45 we read, "Then he opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures." There is an appointed time for everything and we must operate out of this sovereign understanding of God. As indicated here in our text, "He opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures." This indicates that the Lord Jesus is never surprised or daunted by our lack of understanding.
In v.46-47 we read, "46 He told them, “This is what is written: The Messiah will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, 47 and repentance for the forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem."
In Genesis 12, God promised the Messiah would come through the line of Abraham and that He would come through the tribe of Judah, according to Genesis 49. God also promised in 2 Samuel 7 the Messiah would come through the line of David. In Isaiah 7:14, God promised that the Messiah would be born of a virgin. We are told in Psalm 22, Psalm 69 and Zechariah 12 Messiah would be pierced. And, we are told in Psalm 16:10 Messiah would raise from the dead.
The Christ of the gospel history is not the invention of a little group of people in the first century. He is the unmistakable fulfillment of divine prophecy. That’s at the heart and the foundation of the gospel.
In v.48 we read, "You are witnesses of these things." At this point the disciples got it, they understood. This was their eureka moment. And this was part of the energy that prompted them to go out in obedience to His command to share their story with Him in order to bring to an abrupt end to their hearers trek to Hell.
The word used here for "witnesses" is the word from which we get our English word "Martyrs." The testimony of the believer in Christ is not a cheap sell that leaves people wanting more material blessing. It is a heart felt relationship with the God of all creation that positions us to lay down our lives for that which we know is the truth.
In v.49 we read, "I am going to send you what my Father has promised; but stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high."
The Lord Jesus had to restrained these now fortified disciples, even though just a few moments before this, they were shaking in their sandals. After this Bible lesson they were ready to go. But they couldn’t go, because zeal is not enough to accomplish His calling in our lives, we must have the empowering Holy Spirit which they did not have quite yet.
It is at the intersection of our burning hearts with our understanding of the Scriptures plus the indwelling Holy Spirit that we are the witnesses that a lost and dying world needs. in order to see their way out of the clutches of the evil one and into the loving arms of a God who longs to show them His loving embrace.
Christianity is not an intrusion into Judaism, and it is not another religion. It is a personal relationship with the Lord Himself. Judaism without Christ is a false religion, it is a defection from the truth. The death, burial and the resurrection of Jesus Christ is attested by history. And, this is not a religion that was invented by a bunch of first century religious nuts. The record of history is absolutely undeniable.
In 1 Corinthians 15:3, Paul was in Corinth preaching the death of Christ was connected to Old Testament Scripture, and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures. Paul goes on to say that “He appeared to Peter, He appeared to the twelve. He appeared to more than five hundred brethren at one time. He appeared to James, appeared to the apostles. Last, to me. He appeared to me also.” This is history. The Lord Jesus is not some mystical figure.
In v.47 we read, "And repentance for the forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem."
The Christian gospel is this: God is merciful, He will forgive our sins; and that provision came through His Son, Jesus Christ. This was the message given at the beginning of this Gospel. In Luke 1:77, Zechariah prophesied that Messiah would bring forgiveness of sin. The way it started in the book of Luke is the way it ends.
In Acts 2, on the Day of Pentecost, Peter, using Old Testament passages proved the Lord Jesus is the Messiah who died and was raise on the third day. In Acts 2:38, "'Peter said to them, ‘Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins."'
Peter understood Christ was the fulfillment of all of the Scripture. The good news is “God raised Him therefore let it be known to you that through Him, forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you.”
There’s no other message, folks. This is the greatest message of all history. With privilege always comes responsibility to share with others the love of God that He has shared with us. Witnessing is not something that we do for the Lord, it is something that He does through us.
