#DailyDevotion The Gospel In A Nutshell

Mark 9:30 [The disciples] went on from there and passed through Galilee. And [Jesus] did not want anyone to know, 31 for he was teaching his disciples, saying to them,  “The Son of Man is going to be delivered into the hands of men, and they will kill him. And when he is killed, after three days he will rise.” 32 But they did not understand the saying, and were afraid to ask him.

Here we see of most importance the main Christian teaching. The whole of scripture is about unpacking what this statement of Jesus means. The disciples didn’t understand it at the time. They were afraid to ask. Jesus would later unpack it for them. Unfortunately, when Jesus does unpack it the gospel writers don’t record it. It would we for the epistle writers and acts to fill out the teachings of Jesus as to what this short statement from Jesus means.

 

We have this from Luke: Luk 24:44-47 “Then he 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 and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.”  (45)  Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures,  (46)  and said to them, “Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead,  (47)  and that repentance for the forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem.”

 

If you ever wondered why we should focus on the Old Testament more we also have this from Acts: Act 28:23 “When they had appointed a day for him, they came to him at his lodging in greater numbers. From morning till evening he expounded to them, testifying to the kingdom of God and trying to convince them about Jesus both from the Law of Moses and from the Prophets.”

 

Paul writes, 1Co 15:3-5 “For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures,  (4)  that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures,  (5)  and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve.”

 

So what we see here is that God, the Lord of the Old Testament, became man, became the atoning sacrifice for our sin, he died our death and rose again that in his death and resurrection all mankind may reconciled to God and be raised on the last day even as he has risen from the dead. Now we are called to trust this statement that we might receive the benefit of it namely eternal life. Now we are called to set aside our old way of life given us by Adam and to live a new life in Christ which thinks about the other person and value them as Jesus has valued us. There is so much more packed into Jesus’ statement we have a lifetime to meditate on it, trust it, and live it.

 

Heavenly Father, open our minds that we may understand all that Jesus has revealed to us in his word that faith may be created in us, strengthened, and renewed every day of our lives that we be living testimonies of his life, death and resurrection. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.