Day 26: Luke 24

Answers.

Jesus has always been the answer, but we struggle to understand the answer. We shouldn't be surprised, since the disciples were with Jesus, heard Him teach everyday, and still didn't understand all that He taught. In fact, we tend to think that they had it better than we do. They could talk with Him personally, ask questions, even reach out and touch Him. It's not hard to understand how they felt when He was gone. It seemed that He had left so much unfulfilled. Now it appears to be too late.

Just as the disciples came to understand, Jesus is still the answer. He is not bound to our understanding or planning. He wants us to understand, takes great pains to teach us, and works with us in the process.

Our source for understanding and knowing God are the Scriptures. The answer is found there. The Old Testament Scriptures formed the basis for all of Jesus' teachings with the disciples. We see Him using them continuously throughout His ministry. Now, when He encounters some of His disciples bewildered and confused about what is taking place, He directs them to a familiar place - the Scriptures. He begins at the beginning and shows them how all of the Scriptures talk about and point to Him. Later, He appears to another group of the disciples and again, directs them back to the Scriptures. The problem is not that the answers are not available, its that we don't understand them or choose to ignore them.

Jesus answered the problem of our inability to understand. It says here that He opened their minds to understand the Scriptures. No longer is there a veil that clouds our understanding. Jesus has fulfilled the Scriptures and made it possible for us to understand. He took some of these same disciples and revealed His words to them to complete the Scriptures. They composed the New Testament, which further reveal God to us.

In addition, Jesus points to yet another answer that is to come. He says that even as He leaves, He will send a Helper to assist us in our journey to know and love God. The third person of the Trinity, the Holy Spirit, will come. One of His jobs will be to teach us all things, lead us into truth and remind us of the things that Jesus has said (John 14:25-26, 16:5-16). In fact, the work of the Spirit will be so effective, that Jesus says it is good that He goes to the Father, so that the Spirit can come. Now, Jesus is not limited in His work by being present in one body. When the Spirit comes, He will reside in each person that has chosen to follow God. Now we each have personal access to God through the Scriptures and the Spirit.

Now, we have access to the answers.