He Opened Their Minds

Luke 24:44-49

Then Jesus said to them, ‘These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you—that everything written about me in the law of Moses, the prophets, and the psalms must be fulfilled.’ ⁴⁵Then he opened their minds to understand the scriptures, ⁴⁶and he said to them, ‘Thus it is written, that the Messiah is to suffer and to rise from the dead on the third day, ⁴⁷and that repentance and forgiveness of sins is to be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. ⁴⁸You are witnesses of these things. ⁴⁹And see, I am sending upon you what my Father promised; so stay here in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high.’

I have always loved that state
ment of the gospel writer Luke--he opened their minds. Faith and belief is not simply having knowledge or information about Jesus, it is to have a relationship, to be spiritually enlightened.  

Many of us struggle to share Jesus because we are afraid we are going to be asked something that we don't have the answer to, or that the person we are talking with can quote scripture and we don't have a come back!  Questions can be challenging.  But we are not called to witness to a series of facts, nor must we answer all of the questions people have.  In the book, "We are Witnesses of These Things" Satterlee writes, "We intentionally provide Jesus the space in our hearts, minds, and schedules to make us keenly aware of his abundant life and empower us to witness to him."  

The gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke and John) witness to us by telling the stories of Jesus.  We find similarities in each and differences.  By doing so, we can get a broader perspective of who Jesus is.  There are likely stories that each of us find meaningful, while others may find other stories of Jesus important.  

Without looking in your Bible, what stories of Jesus do you remember?  They don't need to be exact and you don't need to know where they are recorded in scripture.  But what stories about JESUS do you recall?

In the account of the gospels, Jesus does not always respond to people in the same way.  Jesus will respond to what they need.  Sometimes we will be called to witness with words and other times with action--but both are important and inseparable.  We act with kindness in the name of Jesus.  This can get difficult at times, when we are serving in places that prohibit the use of Jesus' name or an outward display of faith.  It's tricky sometimes--but should not always be an excuse not to do this in Jesus name!

Witnessing is often as simple as telling someone about Jesus by one of his parables or teachings, and why this is a meaningful story to us.  

For instance, one of the most meaningful portions of scripture for me and how I live my life can be found in John 17.  Here Jesus is praying before his arrest and crucifixion.  He prays for himself.  He prays for those he is leaving behind--his disciples, family, followers.  And then he prays for those who will believe because of their words--Jesus prays for us.  I find it very meaningful that before his death, he lifts us up in prayer.  And his prayer is one of unity--that we may be one as he and the Father are one--united in relationship.  I strive to live out my calling, my faith, my life striving for this unity--it isn't easy sometimes, but I do try!

This week I'm interested in the stories of Jesus that are meaningful to you.  Please share!

Do you have a favorite gospel?  What makes it your favorite?

Choose someone in the gospels who Jesus interacts with.  Imagine you know that person--they may be a friend, a family member or a coworker.  Consider what you might say to them afterward and how you might respond to their witness of the event.