#DailyDevotion Jesus The Messiah Has Fulfilled All Thing Written Of Him In The Torah, The Prophets & The Psalms
Saturday after the Ascension
Luke 24:44 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 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 and forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem.
Once Jesus was raised from the dead, he began an intense period of instruction with his apostles. I’m sure he must have told them these things all before during his three year ministry. Yet, now he has fulfilled all things concerning himself written in the Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms. He can review all these things and show them, hindsight so to say, how all these things have been fulfilled. Jesus had to open their minds though for them to get it.
Consequently, unless the Holy Spirit open our minds, we will not understand the scriptures either. It will just be a closed book. We’ll use for all sorts of things other than proclaiming Jesus. While those other things may be in the Bible, they are there to service proclaiming Jesus. Through the proclamation of Jesus the Holy Spirit opens our minds to believe and understand.
And what do the scriptures have to say? One, that the Christ should suffer. Genesis 3:15 tells us the seed of the woman would have his heel struck by the serpent. Isaiah 53 is chunk full of the suffering the Messiah must go through. Psalm 22 and most if not all the places in the Psalms where the Psalmist cries out his complaint demonstrates the Messiah’s suffering and death.
Two, that the Messiah must rise again. When Abraham receives Isaac back on the third day after the Lord commanded his sacrifice tells us of this. Jonah’s coming back from the bowels of the sea on the third day proclaimed this. That the Lord would heal Israel on the third day proclaimed this.
It is written, Psa 45:17 “I will cause your name to be remembered in all generations; therefore nations will praise you forever and ever.” And again it is written, Psa 18:49 “For this I will praise you, O LORD, among the nations, and sing to your name.” So the name of Jesus, the Lord is proclaimed throughout the nations and his name is praised. He has brought the nations to repentance and gave to them the forgiveness won by him by his death and resurrection. He calls us to forsake our old ways and to turn to him to receive light and life. He offers it free to all men of every language, people, tribe and nation. They have come to faith in Jesus and repented of their sins. He offers this gift of repentance and forgiveness to you today.
Heavenly Father, continue to caused the name of your Messiah, Jesus Christ of Nazareth to be proclaimed throughout the earth that all men everywhere may repent of their sins and receive forgiveness, life and salvation in his name. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.