The Fulfilment of Prophecy

Little by little Jesus had revealed the secrets of the Kingdom of Heaven to His twelve special disciples, but they had not understood. ‘Now He took the twelve aside and said to them, “Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and all the things that have been written through the prophets about the Son of Man will be accomplished. For He will be handed over to the Gentiles, and will be ridiculed, and abused, and spit upon, and after they have flogged Him, they will kill Him; and on the third day He will rise.” The disciples understood none of these things, and the meaning of this statement was hidden from them, and they did not comprehend the things that were said’ (Luke 18:31-34).

On the road to Emmaus, the risen Lord Jesus explained the prophecies in the Bible to two of His disciples. ‘And then He said to them, “You foolish men and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken! Was it not necessary for the Christ to suffer these things and to come into His glory?” Then beginning with Moses and with all the Prophets, He explained to them the things written about Himself in all the Scriptures’ (Luke 24:25-27).

Luke tells us in his second letter about what happened between the resurrection appearances and the time when Jesus went up to Heaven forty days later. ‘The first account I composed, Theophilus, about all that Jesus began to do and teach, until the day when He was taken up to heaven, after He had given orders by the Holy Spirit to the apostles whom He had chosen. To these He also presented Himself alive after His suffering, by many convincing proofs, appearing to them over a period of forty days and speaking of things regarding the kingdom of God’ (Acts 1:1-3).

The disciples were listening much more closely now. Jesus had told them that repentance for forgiveness of sins was to be proclaimed in His name to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem (Luke 24:48). They now watched Jesus ascend to Heaven, and then they obeyed the instructions they were given, waiting in prayer together for ten days until the empowerment of the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost. Peter then preached so powerfully, explaining how Scripture had been fulfilled. The people listening were pierced to the heart. Three thousand repented, received Jesus as Saviour and Lord of their lives, and were baptised (Acts 2).

Peter and John were then used by God to bring miraculous healing to a lame man. Peter proclaimed the gospel to the large crowd that gathered (Acts 3). He confidently proclaimed that Jesus had to be received into heaven until the period of restoration of all things, and that God had spoken about it by the mouth of His holy prophets from ancient time. We are living in the time when Jesus is still waiting in heaven for that the time. I don’t want to be foolish and slow of heart to believe God’s holy prophets.