Further proof of the Risen Savior's reality: V. 41. And while they yet believed not for joy, and wondered, He said unto them, Have ye here any meat? V. 42. And they gave Him a piece of a broiled fish, and of an honeycomb. V. 43. And He took it and did eat before them.
V. 44. And He said unto them, These are the words which I spake unto you while I was yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled which were written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the Psalms, concerning Me. V. 45. Then opened He their understanding, that they might understand the Scriptures, V. 46. and said unto them, Thus it is written, and thus it behooved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day; V. 47. and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. V. 48. And ye are witnesses of these things. V. 49. And, behold, I send the promise of My Father upon you; but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem until ye be endued with power from on high.
Unbelievers from joy: lifted out of the depths of despair, doubt, suspicion, and fear to the very pinnacle of glorious assurance, the reaction proves too much for the weakness of the disciples. They stood there huddled together in wonder and amazement, not knowing whether they dared credit the evidence of their senses or not. Just as a great light which suddenly bursts upon a person in the depths of a dark dungeon blinds him for some time, makes him unable to use his eyes, so it was with the disciples at this time. And therefore Jesus makes use of all patient kindness toward them, giving them time, above all, to get their bearings, and to let the truth gradually penetrate into their understanding. He asked them whether they had anything eatable at hand, and they brought Him a piece of cooked or broiled fish and of a honeycomb.
The fact of His eating before them restored the former sense of nearness to them, and they were now ready to listen to Him. Jesus now repeated the sermon of the afternoon, telling them that His suffering and death was in full accord with the words that He had told them while He was with them, while the old relation obtained between them. Not once, but repeatedly He had pointed to the nearness of His Passion, emphasizing incidentally that this was taking place in fulfillment of the Old Testament prophecies, which were to be found not only in the books of Moses, but also in those of the prophets and in the Psalms. The entire Old Testament points forward to the work of Jesus in the redemption of the world.
And Jesus was not satisfied with a general statement, but proceeded to open up their mind and understanding, thus enabling them to get the meaning of Scriptures. Once more He emphasized the necessity of the Passion and of the resurrection in accordance with the Scriptures. They had had some idea of the light before, they had believed the Scriptures to be the true Word of God, and they knew that the Messiah was therein promised; but they now learned to apply the Scriptures to their Lord and Master, they understood the work of the Messiah; they made the proper application of the words of the Old Testament to the facts before them.
And that was only the first part of the Messiah's office, that was His personal activity by which He procured redemption for all men. This salvation must now also be brought to men by means of the preaching of repentance and remission of sins. First must come the acknowledgment, the free and full confession of sins; then comes the full and free forgiveness of sins.
And this preaching should be done, by God's will and according to His prophecy, among all nations. Beginning at Jerusalem indeed, in the midst of God's chosen people, but going out from there, the preaching of the Gospel should reach all nations, it should cover the earth. To bear witness to these facts, to testify of the things that they had seen and heard, that was the special office with which He entrusted them. The death and resurrection of Jesus Christ are the basis of all Christian preaching; without these topics as a foundation there can be no real Gospel proclamation.
But this ministry, which was thus once more solemnly given into their care, cannot be carried on properly in, a man's own strength; and this was true above all in those early days of Gospel-teaching. For that reason Jesus gives the apostles the assurance that He will send the promise of the Father upon them, that He will carry out the prophecies which expressly refer to the sending of the Spirit, Is. 44, 1; Joel 2, 28.
But until that time would come, until the special pouring out of the Spirit upon them would take place, they should quietly and patiently remain at Jerusalem. For they would surely be clothed, be invested, with power from on high. They would receive strength in such unusual measure that they could and should wear it like an armor in doing the Lord's will and in waging His battles.
It is a consolation which should serve for the comfort also of the faithful preachers of the Gospel in our days. The Spirit is in the Word which they proclaim, and that Spirit will both give them strength and exert His power through the Word.