The announcement of the New Testament gains no faith unless it has the prophetical testimonies of the Old Testament by which it is lifted from the earth and flies. Victorinus (c. 280 A.D.)
The establishment of the Church is not a sudden or unexpected act, but really begins with the calling of the twelve (see Matthew 4:18-22,9:9,10;10:2-4, Mark 3:13-19, Luke 6:13-1). Throughout the earthly Ministry of Christ, the teaching of the twelve and His other committed followers represents at least as significant a part of Christ's purpose as the establishment of His credentials as the Messiah to the world at large. In fact, without the establishment of those who would carry on in His absence and in His name, even the sacrifice of the Cross would lose it's significance: with no believers, there is no belief.
Keeping in mind that Luke's Gospel and the Book of the Acts of the Apostles constitute two parts of the same book, Luke's record of the events following the Resurrection focus on Jesus' continued education of His followers. He is, to borrow a phrase, giving the "the rest of the story."
The Sunday of the Resurrection begins for
the women who came to the tomb (Mary Magdalene, Mary, the Mother of James the Younger, and Salome, as recorded by Mark) with a gently chiding lesson* taught by the angels at the tomb:
"Why do you seek the living among the dead? He is not here, but is risen! Remember how He spoke to you when He was still in Galilee, saying, ‘The Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again." (Luke 24:5-7)Even in the midst of miraculous events, time is taken to cement the significance of those events in the understanding of Christ's followers.
Christ's approach is the same. On the road to Emmaus (Luke 24:13-32) that same day, the first appearance recorded by Luke of the risen Lord is deliberately shrouded until after the teaching is finished. It seems Jesus was making certain that the content of His lesson was not lost on Cleopas and his companion by His shocking appearance. Likewise, Luke makes certain that the time Jesus spent teaching His followers is recorded (Luke 24:44-49) in anticipation of a time when the Church would be teaching others.
It was of vital importance that He "opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures" as it was to the nation of Israel that the Gospel was first presented. To our own detriment we have lost much of that urgent need to connect the life and person of Christ to the Old Testament, but for the early church it meant survival. The Jewish mind was (and still is among the faithful) so steeped in the Old Testament revelation of God, that any attempt to talk about Jesus outside of the Scriptural context would be meaningless. It appears that this task was so fundamental and common to the early church that twice (24:27 & 24:45) Luke doesn't even mention the detailed content of the teaching, but is intent on establishing the origins of that teaching.
As will become evident in our reading of Acts, this fundamental understanding of all that is written in "the Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms" (24:44) becomes the cornerstone of the church's teaching and preaching of the Gospel.
*I can't help but notice the similarity of the wry sense of humor displayed by the angels to that of Jesus. Perhaps they had been hanging out with Him a lot...
