Luke 24:45-48 Then he opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures. He told them, “This is what is written: The Messiah will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, and repentance for the forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things.

I started to write on just verse 45, but then I realized that in Japanese the sentence continues through verse 48. Of course, every bit of it is important! Starting from verse 45, some translations say “He opened their minds,” but the Japanese says, “He opened their hearts.” Intellectual understanding is valuable, but it must not be separated from emotional and spiritual understanding. Such separation happens all too often! The second thing that jumps out at me is that Jesus expresses the Gospel in terms of repentance. Frankly, repentance isn’t a very popular word in a lot of churches! “Come as you are” is a valid invitation, but it must not be with any feeling of “Stay as you are.” There is no salvation without repentance, because “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” (Romans 3:23) Any church that fails to teach repentance is no more than a self-help club, and such things are a total illusion. That’s not to say that we’re always to be picking at ourselves, much less at each other, looking for things of which to repent, but it is to say that salvation depends on the fundamental realization that God’s right and I’m wrong. Without that, there is no grasp of the necessity of God’s grace, and salvation is by grace through faith. (Ephesians 2:8-9) The third thing that speaks to me here is that the apostles were witnesses. That is a whole treatise in itself, but suffice it to say that we are all accountable to share what we have experienced of God and His grace toward us. Truth is of vital importance, but it is seldom persuasive unless it is expressed in terms of experience. If God has been merciful toward us – and He has – then we should tell people about it!

It is that last point I feel I need to focus on personally. As a person with Teacher gifting, I tend to feel that just presenting truth should be sufficient, but it very seldom is. You could say that I have been entrusted with the mysteries of God, but if I fail to express them in terms to which my hearers can relate, they remain mysteries and benefit no one. I need to make it very clear that God’s love for me, which many people seem to recognize, has nothing to do with my abilities but everything to do with who He is, and that He loves the person I’m talking to as much as He does me. I’ve got to remember that I’m not a lecturer, I’m a witness! The Gospel of Jesus Christ is the best news there could possibly be, and I need to treat it that way.

Father, thank You for this strong reminder. I pray that by Your Spirit You would open not only my heart and mind, but the hearts and minds of the people I encounter, so that the lies of the devil may be demolished and people be set free to repent and believe, for their salvation and Your glory. Thank You. Hallelujah!