“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.’”(Luke 24:45-49)
Luke has just related the testimony of the two men who met Jesus on the road to Emmaus. These two were so overcome by their meeting with the risen Lord that, as soon as they could, they ran back to Jerusalem to tell the rest of the disciples of their encounter. While they were speaking, Jesus appeared in their midst. At first He gently chastised them for their failure to believe, failure to recall that He had told them exactly what would happen. Then He opened their minds to understand all He had taught, something which He had done with the two on the way to Emmaus.
This is who the world needs today, a person who will open the minds of many to understand the Scripture. That person in our gospel reading was Jesus Himself. And when Jesus talked, people listened. He spoke with power, authority, wisdom, and compassion. He told people what they needed to hear, not what they thought they wanted to hear, not what confirmed them in their sinfulness. Jesus convicted people of sin.
Today the Holy Spirit is the One opening minds to the truth, convicting people of sin, and leading them to repentance and faith in Jesus. And the Holy Spirit does this through the Word of God and through the Church, that is, we who have faith in Christ. As Jesus commissioned His disciples to go and preach the Gospel, so too has He commissioned and empowered us.
And yet most of us Christians these days are just unwilling or afraid to share the good news of the gospel. We respect the rights of others so much that we are willing to sit idly by and watch them go to an eternity in hell. We say nothing so as not to offend sensitive people with even a hint that they may be sinners in need or repentance.
This is precisely the good news they need to hear. And God has called us His disciples to do so. Without our testimony, many people will die in unbelief. Jesus desires we speak the truth of the gospel to all we meet. He has given us His Holy Spirit who will guide and instruct us as the need arises and as we wait on Him and pray.