Then opened he their understanding, that they might understand the scriptures. -- Luke 24:45 (KJV)
You can finish reading a chapter and realize you have been answering a different question from the one it raises. Perhaps you were looking for advice about a decision. The passage was telling you something about Jesus, and you scarcely noticed.
Luke 24:44–45 gives us a reason to slow down. Jesus reminds His disciples of words He had already spoken while He was with them. What was written concerning Him had to be fulfilled. He names the law of Moses, the prophets, and the psalms. Then He opens their understanding of the Scriptures.
Concerning Him
Jesus directs them across the scriptural witness to Himself. He does not invite them to find a private message hidden behind the words. The things written concerning Him are fulfilled in Him, and He enables His disciples to understand what they have read.
The next verse makes the subject concrete: Christ would suffer and rise from the dead the third day. That is the immediate context for this opened understanding. Luke is describing an encounter with the risen Lord here; the promised power from on high is still ahead in verse 49.
We should be careful with our own claims to insight. A connection that moves us may still misunderstand a passage. Reading the surrounding verses, attending to the speaker, and accepting correction help us hear what Scripture actually says.
Reading With Help
Asking Jesus for understanding belongs alongside that care. We can come to a familiar passage ready to learn, without treating familiarity as proof that we have understood it. We can also admit confusion without abandoning the work of reading.
Is there a passage you keep using to support an opinion without allowing it to question that opinion? Read it again in its setting. Ask what it says about Christ before rushing toward what you want it to say about you.
The disciples needed Jesus' help with words already given to them. He gave that help. We can ask Him to teach us, with the Bible still open before us.
