“Open Our Minds, Too!”

Scripture: Luke 24:44-53

Here is a truth that the world will never quite understand: Jesus’ strength was never in his flesh – it was focused totally in his Spirit. People of the earth are totally different. We are told, and we believe, that while spiritual strength is important to our lives, that we must also be physically and intellectually and mentally prepared to take the steps that are necessary each and every day. But the reality is that while spiritual power will see us through any trial, every other mighty attribute will eventually fail us.

Anglican Bishop John Taylor wrote:
The Holy Spirit is that power which opens eyes that are closed, hearts that are unaware and minds that shrink from too much reality.... Vision and vulnerability go together.
--J. V. Taylor, The Go-Between God, (New York: Oxford University Press, 1972), 19.

Whether we like it or not, vision and vulnerability are the finest gifts of the Spirit that we will ever receive.

Read Luke 24:44-45

Over and over, Jesus tried to teach the people what God was all about, and few, at best, ever got it. The Pharisees relied on their intelligence to understand God, and it failed them – it was only when the Pharisee Nicodemus let go of his human knowledge that he was able to follow Christ. The Militant sects of Judaism wanted Messiah to be a physically powerful king, and expected him to lead them in a rebellion that would overthrow Rome – and it never happened. Jesus taught that it was the meek who would inherit the earth (Matthew 5:5), not the powerful. The early church tried to incorporate philosophy into the faith, to show that Christianity wasn’t just for the low classes, the intellectually inept – and their efforts never discovered the fullness of Christ.
It is only when we let go of all the power of earth, when we open our eyes and hearts and minds to Christ, when we surrender to the working of the Spirit, that we can begin to understand what Jesus would have us know.

And what does he want us to know?

Read Luke 24:46-49

A rabbinical story tells of the moment Adam first opened his eyes. He looked at creation, and he said to God, “This is utterly fantastic!”
“I know”, said God.
“But tell me”, Adam asked, “what is the meaning of it all?”
God, taken aback, replied, “You mean it has to have meaning?”
“Of course”, Adam answered.
And the Lord was heard to say as he sauntered off, “Well, I am sure you will think of something.”
--As told by Herb Miller, Connecting With God: 14 Ways Churches Can Help People Grow Spiritually (Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1995), 49.

Isn’t this strange –Jesus “opens the scriptures” to his friends, to help them grasp the meaning of his word for them, and not a word about who God is, not a word about why creation, not a word about the future of earth, not a word about heaven.
But he does give us 3 truths for our lives.

1. “The Christ had to suffer and rise from the dead on the third day.” The inclusion of this spiritual truth might seem odd at first, but it is the basis for all that God is and for all that Christ stands for. When our hearts are closed to the trials and tribulations that God endured on our behalf, nothing else will make any sense. It is foolishness, senseless, and useless.

But when we claim this truth as the basis for our salvation,
when we accept that this unselfish act comes straight from the love of God for each of us, when we see this prophesy in the light of reality, it is only then that the truth of God in Jesus Christ can have a purpose in our lives.

2. “repentance and forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.” Once we can see who Jesus truly is, we can begin to live out the mission that he has planned for us. And the mission? Leading the world to an understanding of the purpose of Christ – to bring salvation to all who would believe. And please notice that he said will, not should!

But before salvation, there must be forgiveness, and before forgiveness, there must be repentance, and before repentance, a claiming of the power of Christ, and before Christ, an understanding of his power over our sin, and before admitting our sin, we have to accept God’s law and call. Without this in its entirety, his mission becomes one of futility, and our lives can never move beyond this worldly existence.

And the second part of this statement is that it all begins in Jerusalem but t can’t remain there! The mission can never end until the message has been carried to all the nations of earth. And we can see the word “nations” in several lights. It can mean countries, or regions, or people who are related in some way, or areas of thought, or any number of other meanings. The point is that the gospel of Jesus Christ has to be carried to the ears and hearts and minds of every person on earth, and that requires a focused and concerted effort on the part of every Christian.

3. “I am going to send you what my Father has promised; but stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high.” 2 more bits of advice – first, the gift of the Father, which is the Holy Spirit, will arrive very soon, and second, you aren’t to begin the mission until you are prepared though the presence of the Spirit in your life. Earlier, Jesus had told his followers that the Counselor would be coming (John 14:15-21), but not until he had left the earth. And without this “Spirit of Truth”, how can we preach Jesus in a way that reflects him in a true sense? The Spirit is coming, and we can do nothing without him.

And what will he bring? Why must we wait? 1 Corinthians 12:1-11 and Galatians 5:22-25 are 2 prominent passages that speak to the impact of the Spirit on our lives. And I think that 1 Corinthians 12:3 speaks directly to the point – “no one can say ‘Jesus is Lord,” except by the Holy Spirit.” We can do nothing without the Spirit, and no one receives the Spirit except through Jesus Christ.

Read Luke 24:50-53

And he blessed them and left them, and their entire lives turned around. Once when they thought that Jesus had died, they were left in a state of confusion and fear and disarray, But now, with their eyes opened, and hearts aware, and their minds filled with the fullness of God’s plan, they could, at last, rejoice and worship and most importantly, obey.

Christ opened the minds of his closest friends, and the result was that the world would never be the same again. The glory of God would begin to spread from Jerusalem to all of Judea to the known pagan world to the new world, and it continues to spread into all of the cracks and crevices of hearts that have yet to be filled. And the promise would be fulfilled – “you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” (Acts 1:6-9)

And the promise continues to be fulfilled today in all who will believe, but until we accept the charge to be witnesses for Jesus Christ, we are not living out his call on our lives. The disciples lived as witnesses in joy and celebration, regardless of where their witness took them and regardless of what it brought to them in life.

Are we prepared to have our eyes and hearts and minds opened to the glory of God? Are we ready to be his witness wherever that may take us? And are we rejoicing and worshiping as true disciples of the Living God?
Only you can answer the question. Pray “O Lord, open my eyes, too”, and you will answer well.