Luke 24:44-49 – A Necessity
Jesus shows His disciples the full meaning of many passages in the Old Testament that they have just not understood. Above all, He shows them the true interpretation of many prophesies about the Messiah. We all need a better understanding of God’s Word. Pride and sin cloud our understanding when we read the Bible. We see the words, but we don’t understand them unless God helps us. If we want to understand the Bible, we first need to ask Jesus to open our eyes by the Holy Spirit. A humble and prayerful man will find more in the Bible than those that trust in their own understanding and proudly read it for themselves.
When Jesus describes His own death, He speaks of it as necessary for salvation. Without His death, God’s law could never have been satisfied, sin could never have been forgiven, man could never have been justified by God, and God could never have shown mercy to man. The cross of Christ is the solution of a huge problem. It makes it possible for God to still be holy and yet forgive sin. It makes it possible for man to draw near to God boldly, and to feel that, even though a sinner, he has hope. Christ by suffering as our Substitute, the just for the unjust, has made a way by which we can draw near to God. Let us not speak of Christ’s death as a tragedy but as our only hope of salvation.
Jesus tells His disciples to preach repentance and the forgiveness of sins. Everyone needs to be told that they are sinners, deserving judgement, needing to repent. And they also need to be told that there is hope and forgiveness found in Christ. The disciples have a huge task ahead of them, and they are to begin at home. It is our home, our neighbours, our street, our town, where we are to begin. Let’s get started.
Questions
- How can we better understand the Bible?
- How should we describe Christ’s death to others?
Prayer Points
- Pray for the salvation of family and friends.
- Use prayer points from your congregation.
- Pray for family matters.