To Have an Open Mind

 DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO LUKE

  TO HAVE AN OPEN MIND

Luke 24:36-53

36 While they were still talking about this, Jesus himself stood among them and said to them, "Peace be with you."  37 They were startled and frightened, thinking they saw a ghost. 38 He said to them, "Why are you troubled, and why do doubts rise in your minds? 39 Look at my hands and my feet. It is I myself! Touch me and see; a ghost does not have flesh and bones, as you see I have."  40 When he had said this, he showed them his hands and feet. 41 And while they still did not believe it because of joy and amazement, he asked them, "Do you have anything here to eat?"  42 They gave him a piece of broiled fish, 43 and he took it and ate it in their presence. 44 He said to them, "This is what I told you while I was still with you: Everything must be fulfilled that is written about me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms."  45 Then he opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures. 46 He told them, "This is what is written: The Christ will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, 47 and repentance and forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. 48 You are witnesses of these things. 49 I am going to send you what my Father has promised; but stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high."  50 When he had led them out to the vicinity of Bethany, he lifted up his hands and blessed them. 51 While he was blessing them, he left them and was taken up into heaven. 52 Then they worshiped him and returned to Jerusalem with great joy. 53 And they stayed continually at the temple, praising God.

NIV

One more of the last things that Luke made sure we are to understand. Before we get to the last thing, we should stop momentarily and consider that Jesus opened their minds. These were men, the eleven that had been with him from the beginning. They had seen everything, all the healings, those three he raised from the dead, Lazarus, the little girl, and that young boy being carried to a tomb. They heard all his teaching, every sermon he ever preached, yet now he opened their minds. Had they not understood before exactly who he was? Peter made it clear when he answered the question, “Who do you say I am?". Yet their minds had yet been opened to the truth of God. It is interesting that until our minds were opened, we did not understand anything about the truth of God. There are people today who have some idea about God, but their minds are still closed to the truth about Jesus being the Son of God who came to take away all our sins and make us holy and blameless in the sight of God. They do not understand because their minds are closed just as ours were before Jesus opened our minds so we could see the truth and accept him as our Lord and Savior. Interestingly, some of those who have a closed mind to the truth accuse us of having a closed mind to their ideas of the truth which, of course, are false truths. Their idea is that science rules the world, or evolution forms the universe, and all who live in it, cannot save them, or open their minds. Jesus is the only one who can open a mind and save a person from the penalty of sin, death, both the first and the second death. How blessed we are that Jesus opened our minds so we could understand all that he has told us, through all the holy scriptures he has inspired men to record and assemble into one volume of the truth, the whole truth. Then, just as those eleven and the rest of the one hundred and twenty that were in that room who received that power from on high, we too have received it, but that is for the “One last thing”. For now, let us revel in the truth that our minds have been opened.