Luke 24:45

This is what incarnate Wisdom says: "I dwelt in the highest heavens," in the creation; "My throne is in a pillar of cloud," in the incarnation; "I have walked in the waves of the sea," in the passion; "I have penetrated into the bottom of …

Second, with regard to the infused light of understanding, he adds: Then he opened their understanding, that they might understand the Scriptures: he, I say, opened, because he alone holds the key, according to that passage in Isaiah twenty-two: "I will give him the key …

After having presented Himself to be seen with the eye, and handled with hands, and having brought to their minds the Scriptures of the law, He next opened their understanding that they should understand what was read.

Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures, and he said to them: Because it is written thus, and thus it was necessary for Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead on the third day. He offers himself to be seen with …

When the Lord had calmed and quieted the hearts of the disciples, having assured them of the reality of the resurrection of His body through His words, by allowing them to touch Him, and by partaking of food, then He opened their mind to understand …

Then opened he their understanding,....

Let us observe, firstly, in these verses — the gift which our Lord bestowed on His disciples immediately before He left the world. We read that He "opened their understanding — that they might understand the Scriptures." We must not misapprehend these words. We are not to suppose that the disciples knew nothing about the Old Testament up to this time, and that the Bible is a book which no ordinary person can expect to comprehend. We are simply to understand that Jesus showed His disciples the full meaning of many passages which had hitherto been hidden from their eyes.

THE disciples were gathered together with the doors of the house fast closed, for they were afraid of the Jewish mob. Suddenly HE came, HE who was chief in their thoughts, the Christ whom they had seen dead upon the Cross, whom some of them had helped to bury! There He stood before them and, "they were terrified and frightened." As on a former occasion, on the Sea of Galilee, so now they said, "It is a spirit," and they cried out for fear. The Savior did His best to correct their minds of their mistake.

Let us observe, firstly, in these verses — the gift which our Lord bestowed on His disciples immediately before He left the world. We read that He "opened their understanding — that they might understand the Scriptures." We must not misapprehend these words. We are not to suppose that the disciples knew nothing about the Old Testament up to this time, and that the Bible is a book which no ordinary person can expect to comprehend. We are simply to understand that Jesus showed His disciples the full meaning of many passages which had hitherto been hidden from their eyes. Above all, He showed the true interpretation of many prophetic passages concerning the Messiah. We all need a like enlightenment of our understandings. "The natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness unto him; neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned." (1 Corinthians 2:14.) Pride, and prejudice, and love of the world — blind our intellects, and throw a veil over the eyes of our minds, in the reading of the Scriptures. We see the words, but do not thoroughly understand them — until we are taught from above. He who desires to read his Bible with profit, must first ask the Lord Jesus to open the eyes of his understanding by the Holy Spirit. Human commentaries are useful in their way. The help of good and learned men, is not to be despised. But there is no commentary to be compared with the teaching of Christ. A humble and prayerful spirit, will find a thousand things in the Bible — which the proud, self-conceited student will utterly fail to discern. Let us observe secondly in these verses — the remarkable manner in which the Lord Jesus speaks of His own death on the cross . He does not speak of it as a misfortune, or as a thing to be lamented — but as a necessity .

THE disciples were gathered together with the doors of the house fast closed, for they were afraid of the Jewish mob. Suddenly HE came, HE who was chief in their thoughts, the Christ whom they had seen dead upon the Cross, whom some of them had helped to bury! There He stood before them and, "they were terrified and frightened." As on a former occasion, on the Sea of Galilee, so now they said, "It is a spirit," and they cried out for fear. The Savior did His best to correct their minds of their mistake. He said to them, "Handle Me, and see, for a spirit has not flesh and bones, as you see I have. And when He had thus spoken, He showed them His hands and His feet." He went as far as He well could go to prove that He was a real Man, composed of real flesh and bones. Then they believed, for it was perfectly clear that He had risen from the dead and was in their midst. They had hardly begun to believe that their Lord was really with them before it seemed too good to be true! A wave ofjoy came rolling up and then appeared to be sucked back, again, and they seemed to be sucked back by it. They believed not for joy—they were astounded—they were full of wonder. They did believe, otherwise they would have had no joy, but the very joy swallowed up the thing of which it was born and they did not believe because of the excess of joy! This is an experience which has been very common and I merely take this text, tonight, that I may deal with some persons who have found Christ, and are saved, but who are now troubled because it seems too good to be true. First, then, tonight, I shall speak, if I have the strength to do so, upon the difficulty under which they labored— "They yet believed not for joy." Secondly, I shall speak upon the manner in which our Lord helped them to get over the difficulty.

Then opened he their understanding - Διηνοιξεν, He fully opened. They had a measure of light before, so that they discerned the Scriptures to be the true word of God, and to speak of the Messiah; but they had not light sufficient to enable them to apply these Scriptures to their Lord and Master; but now, by the influence of Christ, they see, not only, the prophecies which pointed out the Messiah, but also the Messiah who was pointed out by these prophecies. The book of God may be received in general as a Divine revelation, but the proper meaning, reference, and application of the Scriptures can only be discerned by the light of Christ. Even the very plain word of God is a dead letter to those who are not enlightened by the grace of Christ; and why? because this word speaks of spiritual and heavenly things; and the carnal mind of man cannot discern them. They who receive not this inward teaching continue dark and dead while they live.