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Day 358

Luke 24:44-53 "THE GOSPEL IN A NUTSHELL"

Day 358 – Luke 24

Text: Luke 24:44-53

THE GOSPEL IN A NUTSHELL

If we were to try and summarize the Gospel to the barest minimum, what would be the essential elements? Let’s consider what the Lord Jesus Himself proposed,

“Thus it is written,
and thus it was necessary for the Christ to suffer
and to rise from the dead the third day,
and that repentance and remission of sins
should be preached in His Name to all nations,
beginning at Jerusalem.”
Luke 24:46-47

The Disciples must have a very clear idea as to the task that Jesus was giving to them. Just three years ago, Jesus had invited a small group of people to become His Disciples. Swiftly the years had sped, and all too soon the years of training were over. They were trained to become fishers of men.

They were going to be sent out as preachers of the Word of God. They must know the essential component parts that make up the Gospel! They must also be deeply convinced that the Gospel they proclaimed was steeped in the written Scriptures of the Old Testament.

Did the Disciples understand their task? Did they understand the implications of being entrusted with the Gospel? The Apostle Paul certainly did. He also presented the Gospel in a nutshell in his opening words of the epistle written to the Church at Rome.

“Paul, a bondservant of Jesus Christ,
called to be an apostle, separated to the Gospel of God,
which He promised before through His prophets
in the Holy Scriptures, concerning His Son Jesus Christ our Lord,
who was born of the seed of David according to the flesh,
and declared to be the Son of God with power
according to the Spirit of holiness, by the resurrection of the dead.”
Romans 1:1-4

If we were to list the main points, we would have the following:-

1. The Gospel must be presented as something that came from God Himself.

2. The concept of the Gospel may be traced back to the Scriptures themselves.

3. The Central Person in the Gospel of God is none other than the Lord Jesus Himself.

4. He put on flesh, suffered and died for the sins of man. However, God raised Him from the dead. If a sinful man should repent from his sins, he would find forgiveness or remission of his sins from God.

5. He was indeed the Son of God! His life and resurrection more than proved that He was the Anointed One, the Messiah!

“YOU ARE WITNESSES OF THESE THINGS” Luke 24:48

The Lord Jesus then went on to challenge the Disciples to be His witnesses! They were witnesses indeed! The Disciples were not unfamiliar with this work. They had been on short trips to preach the Gospel on previous occasions.

Jesus sent out His twelve disciples with these words,

“Then He called His twelve disciples together
and gave them power and authority over all demons,
and to cure diseases.
He sent them to preach the Kingdom of God
And to heal the sick.”
Luke 9:1-2

On another occasion, Jesus sent out seventy other disciples to preach the Gospel. This was what He said to them,

“After these things the Lord appointed seventy others also,
and sent them two by two before His face into every city
and place where He Himself was about to go.
Then He said to them,
‘The harvest truly is great, but the labourers are few;
Therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send forth
Labourers into His harvest.
Go your way, for I send you out as lambs among wolves…’ “
Luke 10:1-3

Once again, Jesus the Risen Lord was sending His Disciples out to preach the Gospel. This time, they would have to bear witness of an important fact. They must proclaim powerfully and with great conviction that Jesus had to suffer according to the Scriptures. However, they must also proclaim that God raised Him from the dead, according to the Scriptures! They must all testify that they were all witnesses!

People may not believe in them. They may even be laughed at! They themselves had struggled with believing in the resurrection of Jesus. They must know that this particular point of the Gospel would be hard to proclaim. Nevertheless, they must dare to say that they were witnesses of the resurrection of their Saviour. They must proclaim that they had seen the Risen Lord and had been commissioned by Him to preach the Gospel of salvation!

THE SAME CHALLENGE TO BE WITNESSES FOR THE LORD TODAY

What Jesus said to His Disciples was something that was taken most seriously. The Disciples became very successful in their efforts to be witnesses for the Lord. They were so deeply impacted by what they had been taught by the Risen Lord, that their lives were wonderfully changed – forever!

A careful reading of the Lord’s Word compels us to believe that we have the same great commission. We are to reach the world with the glorious Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ! How seriously are we taking the command of the Lord Jesus to be His witnesses?