Introduction
Now Jesus “opens their minds to understand the Scriptures,” it says. And to do so, He proceeds to sum up in just a few short words what the Bible is all about. He says: “Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, and that repentance and forgiveness of sins be proclaimed in His name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem.”
There it is! Jesus’ own summary of the Bible! “Thus it is written,” He says. And He is the very Son of God come in the flesh. Jesus sums up in three brief statements what the Bible’s main message is:
First: “Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer.” Now this did not compute. The disciples had not gotten that part. Their expectation of the Christ, the promised Messiah of Israel, did not include the idea that He should suffer. But it was there all the time, in the Old Testament Scriptures–most outstandingly, in the Suffering Servant prophecy of Isaiah 53. There it says of the Lord’s Servant: “Surely He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows. . . . He was wounded for our transgressions; He was crushed for our iniquities; upon Him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with His stripes we are healed.” That is the reason that the Christ should suffer: so He could make atonement for our sins! We could not do it. Jesus did it for us.
Gospel
Now we are at peace with God. Christ has taken our punishment and removed the barrier that separated us from God. That’s why He suffered, and thus it is written.
Secondly, what else is written in the Scriptures? Jesus continues: “and on the third day rise from the dead.” Not only would the Christ suffer, He would also rise from the dead. After all, that was the purpose of His suffering and death, to pay for our sins and thus overcome death for us. Jesus shows that with His own resurrection.
Malady
Remember that death was the curse that fell upon mankind because of our sin, our rebellion against God. “Dust you are, and to dust you shall return.” The whole rest of the Bible, then, is about how God would undertake a rescue mission, to save us from the misery we had brought upon ourselves. And God would do it by sending a Savior, the seed of the woman. So, overcoming death by dealing decisively with sin, and that this would be God’s own doing–that really is the story of the Bible.
Gospel
The resurrection of the Christ is essential to God’s plan. It is the dawning of the new creation, where life now has the upper hand.
And dear friends, this resurrection is for you! Christ has won it for you! You see, you don’t understand the Scriptures until you see your place in it. By trusting in Jesus, you will share in His resurrection victory! And notice, this is a physical resurrection. You will be raised bodily on the day when Christ returns. No more sickness or sorrow or infirmity to cloud the picture. Thus it is written, that the Christ should rise from the dead–and you will too!
Summary of the Bible
So here’s how Jesus has summarized the Bible so far: “Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead.” And now Jesus adds a third point to His summary of what is written. He says: “and that repentance and forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in His name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem.” Jesus says that this too is what is written, that the proclamation of repentance and forgiveness in His name will go out to all nations.”
Application
Think of it: Isn’t that what the Lord told Abraham way back in Genesis 12? “And in you all the families of the earth will be blessed.” In other words, through Abraham’s offspring, through his seed, the blessing of the Lord would go out to all nations. And Jesus is that seed of Abraham in whom all the nations are being blessed.
Proclamation
The blessing comes through the proclamation. The preaching of repentance and forgiveness in Jesus’ name is what does it. God calls us to repentance. We need to give up on ourselves, on the notion that we are good enough to deserve salvation. No, our sins condemn us. Repentance means to acknowledge our sin and our guilt, and to cry out to God for His mercy. And then that mercy, that forgiveness, comes to us in the preaching of the gospel, the good news that God has indeed had mercy on us through His Son. Jesus Christ has won forgiveness for your sins, all of them, by His death on the cross, and He offers you this priceless treasure free of charge in the preaching of the gospel.
Repentance and the forgiveness of sins, the preaching of this life-giving message–this too is what Jesus says is written in the Scriptures.
Reflection
And today this same message comes to you, dear friends. We truly understand the message of the Bible only when we see how God has included us in the picture: That Jesus Christ suffered for you, for your sins and your forgiveness. That Jesus Christ rose again from the dead for you, to show you that God accepted the sacrifice Christ made on the cross, and that because of it, death is overcome and life is now restored. That God is calling you to repentance and to faith in Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. Thus it is written, and this is for you.
Conclusion
And so with that, Jesus our risen Lord has come in our midst, and He has opened our minds to understand the Scriptures.
Amen