Then Jesus opened their minds to understand the Scriptures. (Luke 22:45)
What a glorious promise we have in our passage today! After Jesus rose from the dead, He presented Himself to His disciples and the Master Mind-Opener gave them wisdom and insight so that they could truly understand how all of the Scriptures (which only consisted of the Hebrew Scriptures at that time) were all about Him.
What the disciples had previously believed to be rules and regulations, they now understood as a relationship with their Redeemer. What they had previously observed as the Jewish sacrificial system, they now saw fulfilled in Jesus, the Lamb of God who came to take away the sins of the world. They had previously thought that the Temple in Jerusalem was the center of Jewish life, but now they understood that they were living in the presence of the True Temple of God.
The only way for you and I to understand all of this Gospel truth is for the Master Mind-Opener to open our minds to receive it. When Jesus opens our minds, we are able to come to the Law without any fear and trepidation, for we understand that Jesus fulfilled all of the Law for us. When we read through the prophets and all of the judgments spoken through them to God’s people, we rightly see how our Lord took all of God’s judgment upon Himself in our place as He hung on that cross and died for our sins. When we read through the myriad of promises from God throughout all of the Scriptures, we now see that our Master Mind-Opener is the “Yes” and “Amen” to each and every one of them (2 Corinthians 1:20).
Before the Master opens our minds, we pause with a bit of uncertainty, unsure whether we are free to cry and confess and even confront our God as the psalmists did. But when Jesus opens the mind, our pause is turned into proclamation, because our God has invited us to share everything we are going through with Him in the most raw and real way. In the end, when our minds are fully open to the truths of the Gospel, we see Scripture — all of Scripture — as a single story of God’s unfolding plan of redemption that finds its fulfillment in our loving Lord, Jesus Christ.
Have you had this kind of encounter with the Master Mind-Opener? Does Jesus show up for you on every page of Scripture? Can you feel His presence, regardless of the portion of Scripture you are reading and meditating on? Remember, the Word became flesh and came into this world, not just to save you from your sins, but to bring you into an intimate, personal relationship with Him. Jesus loves you. Jesus cares for you. Jesus wants you to know you can come to Him for anything, day or night, knowing that He is ready, willing, and able to meet you in your deepest place of need. Now that is an open mind that nothing in this world can close!
This is the Gospel. This is grace for your race. NEVER FORGET THAT . . . AMEN!
Grace for the Race 