No Misconceptions

Bible study with the risen Christ! Is it any wonder we’re told the disciples' hearts burned within them when Jesus opened their minds to understand the Scriptures (Luke 24:32). From the Law of Moses, the Prophets, and the Psalms, Jesus explained many things they had not previously understood. Let’s explore two of these truths.

First, the Messiah "must suffer and rise from the dead the third day." The popular idea was that when David's offspring, the Messiah, came he would "remain forever," not die (John 12:34). This was apparent when Peter rebuked Jesus when He was teaching the Twelve that He must go to Jerusalem and suffer at the hands of the religious leaders. Second, "repentance and remissions of sins would be preached in His name to all nations." The popular idea was that the focus of the Messiah's mission was Israel, not the nations (Acts 1:6). This truth was made plain when the Holy Spirit sent Peter to Cornelius’ house. From then on it was clear to Peter, and the leadership in Jerusalem, that God was no longer a respecter of persons; and the way of salvation had been opened to the Gentiles through Christ’s meritorious work on the altar of the Cross, and the Father’s acceptance of the sin debt payment fulfilling His holy demand that sin be punished. The recognition of the validity of the sacrificial transaction was the Father’s resurrection of the Son and the seating of Him at the Father’s right hand in heaven.

Therefore, Jesus "opened their minds" to see that the death and rising of the Messiah was taught throughout their Scriptures (our Old Testament), and that it was for all nations. What a revelation! A crucified and resurrected Messiah for all nations! Their minds were opened. Their hearts burned. They must tell their families, friends, neighbors, and the world! The Apostle Paul’s entire ministry was involved with the spreading of this truth to the entire Mediterranean world of his day. It was in a non-Hebrew, Gentile context, that Paul addressed his thirteen epistles.

O Lord, deliver us from popular misconceptions. Open our minds to understand our Bibles. Give us the courage to share what we are taught with our brothers and sisters in the family of God. Only You can ignite our hearts to tell our world, "Jesus is the Savior, the only Savior, for all sinners!"