August 05 2025

Tuesday August 05

“And You Are Witnesses…”

Luke 24:44-49

44 Then He said to them, "These are the words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all things must be fulfilled which were written in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms concerning Me." 45 And He opened their understanding, that they might comprehend the Scriptures. 46 Then He said to them, "Thus it is written, and thus it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead the third day, 47 and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. 48 And you are witnesses of these things. 49 Behold, I send the Promise of My Father upon you; but tarry in the city of Jerusalem until you are endued with power from on high."

I hope you've enjoyed going through the Gospel of Luke as much as I have. I've learned so much, and it's been a great joy sharing this book with you over these past months. As we finish the book of Luke over the next few days, I get so excited looking at these final verses because God didn't just save us to sit and soak. He saved us and redeemed us that we might go and speak and share that which we've heard, that which we've seen, and that which we have handled with our own hands of the Word of life.

As we read these final verses, Jesus is revealing Himself to His disciples and assuring them that He indeed is risen from the dead, because everything hinges on that. These eleven men, who were uneducated and came from places nobody knew about except as fishermen, were called to change the world. God has given us that commission also. Jesus said in verse 44, "These are the words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all things must be fulfilled, which were written in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms concerning Me.” 

By the way, just before He spoke these words, it says that He ate with them. I believe we're going to eat in heaven. I'm not sure we're going to eat animals, but we possibly will eat fish from the river of life and eat fruit that is growing from the fruit trees growing on the sides of the river coming out from underneath the throne of God (Revelation 22:1-2).

Jesus then “opened their understanding that they might understand the Scriptures”. It's important, if we're going to be the witnesses He wants us to be, that we have an understanding of the Scriptures by the Holy Spirit. In verse 46, He says, "Thus it is written, and thus it was necessary for Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead the third day." That's the essence of the gospel: Christ suffered for our sins and He rose the third day.

Verse 47 continues, "and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem." The gospel being shared starts at home, in our own family, our neighborhood, the neighborhood around our church, our community, and then goes throughout the whole world. Jesus said in verse 48, "And you are witnesses of these things." The word "witness" comes from the Greek word from which we get our word "martyr." You're going to be someone who is willing to die, someone who has died to self, as a living testimony of these things.

Jesus continues, "Behold, I send the promise of My Father upon you, but tarry in the city of Jerusalem until you are endued with power from on high." We cannot do this task of taking the gospel to the ends of the earth without the enduing of the power of the Holy Spirit upon our lives, as the Gospels teach. I love what we read in 1 John 1:1-3, because John, this wonderful disciple, would later write, "That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon and our hands have handled concerning the Word of life." My friend, we have the Word of life in our hands, called the 66 books of the Bible. As we handle them, we handle Jesus. We love Him, we see Him, we hear Him, He speaks to us.

John goes on to write, "The life was manifested, and we have seen and bear witness and declare to you that eternal life which was with the Father and was manifested to us. That which we have seen and heard, we declare to you." My friend, that's what you and I have been called to do as followers of Jesus Christ. These powerful verses remind us that it is God who works in us and through us to do His perfect will and to manifest the wonderful works of God.

Augustine said, "Preach the gospel, and if necessary, use words”. Because it will show up in our lives as those who are crucified followers of Jesus Christ ourselves (Galatians 2:20).  And by the way, it will be necessary to use words.

God bless!