Luke 24:44-47 says,
“44 Now He said to them, “These are My words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all things which are 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 He said to them, “Thus it is written, that the Christ would suffer and rise again from the dead the third day, 47 and that repentance for forgiveness of sins would be proclaimed in His name to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem.”
In this passage we see that Jesus Christ is the fulfillment of the Old Testament Scriptures. Our Lord reminds the disciples of this in verse 44 that the Law of Moses, the Prophets, and the Psalms are all pointing to and speaking about Him. There was confusion among the disciples about how Jesus as the Christ fulfilled the whole of the Old Testament. The disciples’ hope for redemption was still imbedded in the false idea that Jesus as Messiah would come to be their political liberator from the oppression of Rome. With Christ’s death, this earthly hope had been dashed. We can be thankful that the Lord did not leave His disciples in confusion! Jesus appeared to them on several occasions to eliminate any doubts about His resurrection and to further clarify the work that His disciples and His Church were being called to do. Here in this passage, we see the Lord appearing to His disciples and then opening the minds of the disciples to properly understand the message of the Old Testament. As we dig deeper, the meaning of Christ’s words clarifies how the Lord Jesus Christ came in fulfillment of the Scriptures. The Lord clearly shows us that it is His death and resurrection which are the basis for our salvation and the forgiveness of our sins (Luke 24:46,47). As we look at the witness of the whole New Testament, both faith and repentance are called for when embracing the Gospel. In the case of this passage when repentance is mentioned but not faith, certainly faith in the Lord Jesus Christ is implied and included. We are to repent from our sins and unbelief and trust in the Lord. Repentance means to turn away from sin and turn toward God in full trust in Him for our salvation. Repentance is a gift from God which He gives to us at the beginning of our life in Christ. Repentance is a gift from God but thereafter a command from God that we are to obey daily (Acts 2:37-39). Repentance and good works flow out from our faith in the Lord Jesus. In Matthew 3:8, John the Baptist tells those listening to him, “Therefore bear fruit in keeping with repentance.” This message of the Gospel is to be heeded by each of us. We are reminded also that this same message is to be proclaimed to all nations.
In remembrance of our Lord’s resurrection, let us walk in the resurrection life that Christ has given us. Repent, believe, and bear fruit!
