Luke 24:44-49 (ESV)

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.” Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures, and said to them, “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 should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things. And behold, I am sending the promise of my Father upon you. But stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high.”

Notice that Jesus didn’t just explain the scriptures to them. He had to open their minds to understand the Scriptures.

And it doesn’t say He increased their intelligence. The problem wasn’t stupidity; it was closed minds. This is an astonishing insight into how sin affects even the greatest Christians. We are closed minded, even toward things we like.

Imagine the thrill of being a disciple in that place and time. You’ve been following Jesus for years. Then you watch Him go through a kangaroo court trial and crucifixion by the Romans. You’re confused and depressed for days, but then He shows up again.

At first, you think it’s just His spirit, but then He shows you, convincingly, that it’s really Him, in the flesh. He’s healthy, despite holes in His hands and feet.

You’re all ears when Jesus says, “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.” Do you really think you’d need to have your mind opened to understand what He says next?

Apparently, the answer is yes.

This is important. We like to think of ourselves as open-minded, but we’re not. No one is.

Our closed-mindedness is particularly hard on one group – pastors. Their job is to figure out how to get through our thick skulls.

So, please pray for your pastors’ sermon preparations. How can they possibly reach people as closed minded as we are?

They can’t; they need God’s help. Ask the Lord to give it to them.

Pray that the Holy Spirit will inspire a great message. Ask the Lord to open your mind to hear it. Pray that you will have a rich time of worship that glorifies God.

Pray that the congregation will take the teaching to heart and put it into action.

The weekly study guides, which include discussion questions, are available for download here:

https://www.ailbe.org/resources/itemlist/category/91-deep-studies