Luke 24:7 "The Son of Man must be delivered over to the hands of sinners, be crucified and on the third day be raised again."
This scripture was one that I was led to time and time again. Forgetting it's importance but literally being led back to it when I forgot it. "The Son of Man..." I read, already understanding what the rest of the passage was going to explain, "must be delivered over the hand of sinners, be crucified and on the third day be raised again." A process in which Jesus was to go through for the sake of mankind.
After Jesus was crucified and laid in the tomb, the women who prepared spices and perfumes for Jesus's body went back to the tomb to find that He wasn't there. Two angels appeared to these women in the tomb and asked them, "Why do you look for the living among the dead?" He is not here; He has risen! Remember how He told you, while He was still with you in Galilee: 'The Son of Man must be delivered over to the hands of sinners, be crucified and on the third day be raised again.'"
The very next line after Luke 24:7, 24:8 read, "Then they remembered His words." The women forgot His words for some time, not keeping them in mind after He had said them. They remembered because they forgot the significance of what He said in the first place. I think this is still the case with many Christians today, maybe even more so. We have forgotten the importance of Jesus's crucifixion and resurrection. But why did these two events happen and why are they still just as significant as they were 2,000 years ago when they occurred?
After the women went on to tell the apostles, who all but Peter were reluctant to believe them, about the tomb being empty, Jesus appeared to two believers who were having a conversation with each other but were purposely kept from recognizing Him. He asked them what they were talking about and they stood still, with their faces down and one of them asked, "Are you the only one visiting Jerusalem who does not know the things that have happened there in these days?"
They were referring to Jesus's crucifixion and the tomb being empty, not knowing who they were talking to. They went on to explain how Jesus was a prophet who was sentenced to death and how they had hoped that He was the one who was going to redeem Israel, according to the Old Testament prophecies, and how the tomb was empty but Jesus was not there.
Then in Luke 24:25, Jesus replied to them and said, "How foolish you are, and how slow to believe all that the prophets have spoken! Did not the Messiah have to suffer these things and then enter his glory?" The two believers that Jesus confronted doubted the power and reality of God. They weren't sure if Jesus was really the one who was going to redeem Israel.
Jesus rebuked them for their doubt. Jesus then allowed the men to recognize Him but vanished before they could say a word. They were in shock, they no longer had doubt and went to tell the apostles and other believers Who they had saw.
What message was the Lord trying to send? Well, when He appeared in front of His disciples, they were frightened by His sight and He told them, "Why are you troubled, and why do doubts rise in your minds? 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."
Luke 24:44-49
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." Then he opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures. He told them, "This is what is written: The Messiah will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day and repentance for the forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things. 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."
The significance of Jesus's crucifixion and resurrection is that God, in the flesh, chose to die for us so that we may have life. What does this mean? This means that we receive an abundance of forgiveness and grace for all of the wrongdoings that we've done, or sins that we've committed against others, ourselves, and above all, Him. There's no limit to His forgiveness. We should be encouraged in knowing this: We don't have to continue to live in guilt and shame because our God died and rose again specifically so that we may be free from this, as well as the sin that we were so ashamed of in the first place.
Acts 2:38
Peter said to them, "Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
The reason we're even able to repent of our sins to this day is because of the crucifixion and resurrection. Not only are we able to repent because of the crucifixion and resurrection, but we're also given the gift of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit offers power and guidance throughout our lives.
We know that we are not alone in this walk as a Christian because this omnipresent God of ours gives us His Spirit in order to live a more holy and righteous life each and every single day. In this guidance that the Holy Spirit gives us, He also gives discernment, strength, and wisdom. As Jesus opened His disciples' minds to understand the Scriptures, He gives all believers the ability to understand the Scriptures and it's eternal wisdom as well.
As we live in the Spirit (the Spirit of God), we experience a transformation. We are no longer the same selfish, self-serving, malicious and immoral beings we once were, but live and act in a way that is pleasing to the Lord. That's not to say that we won't make mistakes along the way, because it doesn't, but we must always keep in mind that this is because of our own failings, not God's. God's Spirit is always within our reach, it's when we fail to reach out or even listen to Him and His Word that we make these mistakes; That's why it is so important to stay in the Spirit and always be mindful because the moment we put the armor of God down, we become vulnerable, ever-increasing the chance of falling into sin.
The reasons for the significance of the crucifixion and resurrection still stands. We are given the gifts of repentance, the Holy Spirit, and transformation due to God giving us His Holy Spirit. Without the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus Christ, receiving those gifts would be impossible. But because these events did in fact happen, we can know that these gifts are all within our reach, but it's up to us to reach out and trust in Him and His mighty power.
John 3:16-17
"For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that everyone who believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him."
