I picture a cartoon of someone with a "hinged head" where someone else opens it up and puts something in. I'm sure that's not what really happened.
"Then He opened their minds to understand the Scriptures, and He said to them, "Thus it is written, that the Christ would suffer and rise again from the dead the third day, and that repentance for forgiveness of sins would be proclaimed in His name to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem." (Luke 24:45-47)
I'm intrigued by the phrase, "He opened their minds to understand the Scriptures". Even as I read this I wish He would do the same for me! How often I have been perplexed by what I read and yearn for true insight and understanding. And yet I realize that He has indeed opened my mind, and yours, as we read.
There are two key premises essential to understanding the Bible. The first is an understanding that "it is written, that the Christ would suffer and rise again from the dead the third day, and that repentance for forgiveness of sins would be proclaimed in His name to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem." The concept of a suffering Messiah is crucial in understanding the overall message of the Bible.
The second essential key is understanding the "mystery phase" of the Kingdom of God - the presence of an unseen kingdom in the world today in advance of the visible kingdom to come at the return of Jesus. Jesus explains the importance of this truth in Matthew 13:10-17.
With these two key premises in mind the Bible is unlocked to us for our understanding and application; our minds are opened to understand the Scriptures. We are then prepared to participate in taking this gospel out to the peoples of the world.
Perhaps this all seems like a simple three-step process in understanding the Bible once and for all. Actually, it the beginning of the process of a lifetime. Understanding these key premises is merely the doorway to the greatest adventure of all; the door is wide open to us for a lifetime of instruction by Jesus through the instructive power of Holy Spirit (John 14:26). That instruction guides us along in to service and outreach.
I'm thankful for an understanding mind. Perhaps the greater challenge is for a more responsive heart, but that's a thought for another day ...
Steve
"Then He opened their minds to understand the Scriptures, and He said to them, "Thus it is written, that the Christ would suffer and rise again from the dead the third day, and that repentance for forgiveness of sins would be proclaimed in His name to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem." (Luke 24:45-47)
I'm intrigued by the phrase, "He opened their minds to understand the Scriptures". Even as I read this I wish He would do the same for me! How often I have been perplexed by what I read and yearn for true insight and understanding. And yet I realize that He has indeed opened my mind, and yours, as we read.
There are two key premises essential to understanding the Bible. The first is an understanding that "it is written, that the Christ would suffer and rise again from the dead the third day, and that repentance for forgiveness of sins would be proclaimed in His name to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem." The concept of a suffering Messiah is crucial in understanding the overall message of the Bible.
The second essential key is understanding the "mystery phase" of the Kingdom of God - the presence of an unseen kingdom in the world today in advance of the visible kingdom to come at the return of Jesus. Jesus explains the importance of this truth in Matthew 13:10-17.
With these two key premises in mind the Bible is unlocked to us for our understanding and application; our minds are opened to understand the Scriptures. We are then prepared to participate in taking this gospel out to the peoples of the world.
Perhaps this all seems like a simple three-step process in understanding the Bible once and for all. Actually, it the beginning of the process of a lifetime. Understanding these key premises is merely the doorway to the greatest adventure of all; the door is wide open to us for a lifetime of instruction by Jesus through the instructive power of Holy Spirit (John 14:26). That instruction guides us along in to service and outreach.
I'm thankful for an understanding mind. Perhaps the greater challenge is for a more responsive heart, but that's a thought for another day ...
Steve
posted by steve @ 11:29 AM
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