This coming Sunday is the 3rd Sunday of Easter.  44 He said to them, “These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you, that everything written about me in the law of Moses and in the prophets and psalms must be fulfilled.” 45 Then he opened their minds to understand the scriptures. 46 And he said to them, “Thus it is written that the Messiah would suffer and rise from the dead on the third day 47 and that repentance, for the forgiveness of sins, would be preached in his name to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem. 48 You are witnesses of these things. 49 And (behold) I am sending the promise of my Father upon you; but stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high.” 

The second part of the appearance to the eleven and the others looks both backward and forward. Neither the text of the Emmaus Road story or this account provides any hints at the specific OT texts Jesus points to: “in the law of Moses and in the prophets and psalms…”(v.46). As Jesus “opened their minds” this interlude serves both to bring closure to the disciples’ period of “fear”  by recapping major themes of the Gospel and setting the stage for the coming of the Spirit and the work of the disciples as witnesses in the book of Acts. Verses 44–46 return to the theme of the necessity of Jesus’ death and the fulfillment of Scripture, while in vv. 47–49 Jesus commissions the disciples, promises their empowerment from on high, and outlines the mission that lies ahead. There are three parts of his instructions about what has been written.

• He is to suffer — the messiah.
• He is to be raised from the dead on the third day.
• They are to be his witnesses, going in his name to proclaim repentance leading to the forgiveness of sins to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem.

Green [857] writes:

“Which Scriptures portend messianic suffering and resurrection? One would be hard-pressed to locate specific texts that make these prognostications explicit. Even to attempt to do so would be wrongheaded, however. The point of Jesus’ words is not that such-and-such a verse has now come true, but that the truth to which all of the Scriptures point has now been realized! Even so, Luke does provide direct hints for the scriptural basis of the reversal Jesus has experienced in his life, death, and resurrection, by drawing above all on the psalms and Isaiah in his presentation of Jesus’ passion. Similarly, the proclamation of repentance for forgiveness of sins to all nations is scripturally based, with the Lukan narrative suggesting in this respect the pivotal importance of Isa 49:6. Simeon borrows from this text in Luke 2:32, Paul cites it in Acts 13:47, and it is echoed again in Acts 1:8 (cf. Acts 26:23; 28:28). This scriptural background manifestly portends the mission to all peoples.”

Image credit: Maesta altar piece, Duccio di Buoninsegna, 1308, Museo dell’Opera Metropolitana del Duomo, Siena | Public Domain