Open Our Understanding

Scripture: Luke 24 v 44 - 49: "And he said unto them, These are the words which I spake unto you, while I was yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled, which were written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the psalms, concerning me.
45  Then opened he their understanding, that they might understand the scriptures,
46  And said unto them, Thus it is written, and thus it behoved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day:
47  And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.
48  And ye are witnesses of these things.
49  And, behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you: but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power from on high."


This passage is Luke's record of the resurrected Jesus' final conversation with His disciples before His ascension into Heaven. Jesus suddenly appeared in the midst of them as they were cooking some fish. They thought it was a ghost until He spoke to them and asked for food.

Jesus reminded them of all the words He had spoken to them that were written in the Old Testament concerning every aspect of His conception, birth, life, ministry and death.  He wanted their minds to be opened to understand the scriptures.

If they had been with Jesus daily for the past three years, witnessing every miracle healing, seeing the demons cast out, being part of feeding the 5000, seeing Him die, seeing Him alive again, and yet their minds are still not open?  Then what about us?  

We believe, and Jesus said blessed are those who believe who have never seen Me or any of this.  But do our minds need to be unlocked or unblocked or just opened to truly understand who Jesus really is and what has been changed within us as the New Creation of which He is the first born.  The prototype.

Not just that we understand who He is in the Bible, but who He is right now.  The glorious resurrected Saviour, King of Kings, Lord of Lords, seated at the right hand of the Father, ever making intercession for us before God.

We cannot begin to describe all that He is and does.  Words fail us.  Without Him we would all be forever lost to spend eternity in the unquenchable fires of Hell.  Without a hope of changing our doomed destiny, a wasted existence.  However, He came and did what only He could do as the sinless Lamb of God.

We are moved to tears in movies where the hero sacrifices himself to save the lives of the vulnerable.  We are in awe when a brave man substitutes himself for hostages, putting his life at extreme risk.  We are thrilled when it all works out perfectly and we sleep well at night.

Jesus is the One who sacrificed Himself for every sinner from Adam to the last to ever be born.  He is the Life.  Death could not hold Him, He overcame death and rose up scarred but with a power to save all who ask Him.  The ancient dead souls who believed the prophecies concerning Him, followed Him out of Paradise and were seen visibly in Jerusalem before He took them to His Father.

In all there are 333 prophecies that were fulfilled by the life of Jesus Christ written over a span of 3000 years by many different people. The possibility that Jesus is  who He says He is, is in the multiple trillions. This Jesus is the Son of Almighty God, our Saviour and Redeemer, the Messiah of the Jews, the Hope of salvation for mankind.

It is very important that we understand the scriptures for it is our road map of life. We were lost in the dark on a lonely road before Jesus came into our hearts and shone His light on our path. He put the only right map in our hands, His Word, and gave us the directions for home.

If we read the map incorrectly we will remain lost in a wilderness of false doctrine and confusion of heart, so we need to ask Jesus to open our understanding to read His Word the way it was intended.

He ended this discourse by telling His disciples that He was sending the promise of the Father upon them, which is the power of the Holy Spirit, also known as the Paraclete ie One who comes alongside us to help us through all the twists and turns along our path.

The Holy Spirit conveys our prayers to the throne of God and brings the answers to us, He also helps us interpret and understand clearly the direction we should take. We do best on the road less travelled which is the strait and narrow way. On this path our unique personality is discovered and our relationship with the Father and Jesus grows abundantly.

If we understand the Word of God correctly and have a vibrant personal relationship with Him we will receive many gifts and revelations which can be used to bring others into the beautiful light of Jesus Christ. He enjoys our simplicity and childlikeness rather than our complicated superiority. So be humble before Him and He will raise you up to spiritual heights beyond your imagination.


Prayer: Heavenly Father thank You for Your Word, the Manufacturer's Handbook, please open our minds to the fullest extent to the scriptures so we may perfectly understand Your will for us and obey it. In Jesus' name. Amen.