In the aftermath of the resurrection, Jesus of Nazareth engaged in a decisive teaching ministry with his apostles, illuminating how his life, death, and resurrection fulfilled ancient messianic prophecies. The Gospel accounts, especially Luke 24, describe the risen Christ interpreting Scripture for his disciples and “opening their minds to understand the Scriptures” (ESV, 2008, Luke 24:45). This post-resurrection instruction was not a peripheral event; it became foundational for the theology, hermeneutics, and leadership of the early church. By demonstrating that “everything written about [him] in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms” had to be fulfilled (ESV, 2008, Luke 24:44, 46), Jesus established a continuity between the Old Testament prophetic hope and his messianic mission. The following analysis, informed by recent scholarly literature, examines how Jesus’ post-resurrection teaching on prophecy fulfillment shaped the New Testament. The discussion integrates theological implications (e.g., confirming Jesus’ messianic identity and God’s redemptive plan), scriptural hermeneutics (e.g., the Christocentric reading of the Old Testament modeled by Jesus), and leadership principles (e.g., how these teachings equipped the apostles as leaders and witnesses). Ultimately, the fulfillment of prophecy became a cornerstone of apostolic preaching and practice, with practical implications for faith and leadership today.
Messianic Prophecy in Post-Resurrection Teaching
All four Gospels attest to post-resurrection appearances of Jesus, and Luke provides the most detailed account of Jesus explicating Scripture to his followers. On the road to Emmaus, the incognito risen Christ begins with Moses and the prophets, “interpreting to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself” (ESV, 2008, Luke 24:27). This Christological exposition underscores that the messianic prophecies and patterns of the Old Testament find their culmination in Jesus’ suffering, death, and resurrection. Scholarship affirms that Jesus’ Emmaus teaching exemplifies a Christocentric hermeneutic, treating the entirety of Israel’s Scriptures as ultimately pointing to the Messiah (Davidson, 2021). In fact, Jesus’ “sweeping claim” that all the Old Testament bears witness to him should be taken seriously: far from reading foreign ideas into the text, Jesus and the New Testament writers operated “in continuity with the meaning” of the original Scriptures, revealing their true messianic scope (Davidson, 2021, p. 13).
One theological implication of this instruction is the validation of Jesus’ identity and mission as the fulfillment of God’s redemptive promises. Luke 24:46 records Jesus saying, “Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead” (ESV, 2008, Luke 24:46). Early Christians grappled with the concept of a suffering Messiah, since explicit predictions of a suffering and rising Christ are not obvious in the Hebrew Bible. As Jipp (2010) observes, the question of where Israel’s Scriptures speak of a suffering Messiah has historically been challenging; no single verse plainly states, “the Christ shall suffer and rise on the third day.” Luke does not cite a single proof text; instead, Jesus likely drew on the Law, Prophets, and Writings to show a pattern of the righteous suffering vindicated by God (Jipp, 2010). For example, themes from Isaiah’s Servant (Isaiah 52:13, 53:12), Psalms of the righteous sufferer (e.g., Psalm 22, 16), and the prophetic hope of restoration after tribulation may have formed the composite “Scriptures” that “must be fulfilled” (ESV, 2008, Luke 24:44, 46). Rather than being an arbitrary reading, this approach reflects what Davidson (2021) calls the “original eschatological, messianic hermeneutic” inherent in the Old Testament itself. In other words, the Old Testament, when read in light of the Christ event, genuinely discloses a Messiah who suffers unto glory, just as Jesus taught (Engelbrecht & Schoeman, 2021). The resurrected Christ’s rebuke, “O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken!” (ESV, 2008, Luke 24:25), implies that the disciples’ prior misunderstanding stemmed from failing to grasp this prophetic trajectory of suffering then exaltation (de Villiers, 2011). Luke’s narrative thus portrays Jesus as revealer and interpreter, who “opened their minds to understand the Scriptures” and unveiled “hidden things about himself” already present in the sacred texts (de Villiers, 2011, p. 523). The immediate effect was transformative: the two disciples on the Emmaus road move from despair to joy as “their hearts were burning” when Jesus revealed how the Scriptures pointed to him (Luke 24:32). As one study notes, Jesus intentionally led them from confusion to clarity by explaining “the true meaning of the prophets and Moses,” resulting in their “new and correct understanding” once their figurative blindness was removed (Engelbrecht & Schoeman, 2021, p. 317).
Crucially, Jesus’ post-resurrection scriptural instruction carried authoritative weight. By grounding his messianic claims in Israel’s own Scriptures, Jesus provided his disciples with a robust apologetic and theological framework. This ensured that the early Christian kerygma (proclamation) was not a novel innovation but the continuation and fulfillment of God’s long-standing revelation (Beale, 2020). According to Beale (2020), Luke 24:25, 27:44, 45 serves as a programmatic justification for the Christological focus that permeates the New Testament writers’ use of the Old Testament. The risen Christ taught the apostles to read the Law, Prophets, and Psalms with himself at the center, which did not mean every verse was explicitly messianic but rather that the overarching message of the Hebrew Bible converges on the Messiah (Beale, 2020, pp. 45, 46). Some evangelical scholars debate how far this goes, whether “all the Scriptures” (Luke 24:27) means every individual verse or simply the entirety of the canon in a broad sense (Beale, 2020, p. 45). Regardless, there is consensus that Jesus established a hermeneutical principle: the Old Testament must be read in light of Christ (Beale, 2020; Davidson, 2021). The apostles’ minds, once “opened” by Jesus, could discern in the Torah, Prophets, and Writings the foreshadowings and patterns that corresponded to Jesus’ life and work (Bates, 2010). Indeed, the Gospel of Luke emphasizes that it was necessary for the Messiah to suffer before entering glory (Luke 24:26), tying Jesus’ experience to a divinely ordained pattern disclosed in Scripture (de Villiers, 2011). Theologically, this underscores the sovereignty of God in salvation history: Christ’s death and resurrection were not accidents but the outworking of God’s foretold plan (Acts 2:23, 24; 3:18). Jesus’ post-resurrection declaration “that everything written about me…must be fulfilled” (Luke 24:44) thus imbued the disciples with confidence that their faith in the crucified, and risen Jesus rested on the solid ground of God’s Word (Lawless, 2011). It also meant that any interpretation of Scripture apart from its fulfillment in Christ was incomplete. As one study observes, Jesus’ followers came to see “Christ in all OT Scripture” not by imposing a meaning but by grasping the Messianic meaning intended in the original context of the texts (Davidson, 2021, p. 15). This post-resurrection hermeneutic lesson would soon bear fruit in their preaching and writings.
Apostolic Witness Shaped by Fulfilled Prophecy
Jesus’ instruction about messianic prophecy had a profound effect on the formation of the New Testament and the apostolic witness of the early church. Equipped with a new understanding, the apostles emerged from the resurrection appearances ready to proclaim Jesus as the promised Messiah with scriptural proof. Luke records that Jesus spent forty days with the apostles before the ascension, “speaking about the kingdom of God” (Acts 1:3) and undoubtedly reinforcing how his messianic mission completed the scriptural story. As de Villiers (2011) notes, the revelatory role passed from Jesus to the disciples: having received prophetic insight from the risen Christ, they were commissioned to bear witness to “Scripture in the light of the meaning it has in the life and resurrection of Jesus” (de Villiers, 2011, p. 532). In practical terms, the apostles assumed a prophetic task, not predicting new events, but explaining God’s fulfilled promises, as foundational leaders of the church (de Villiers, 2011). When Jesus tells them, “You are witnesses of these things” (Luke 24:48), it implies they must testify how the Scriptures have come true in Christ (Lawless, 2011). Thus, their leadership and teaching would continuously refer back to what “is written” as the validation of the gospel.
The Book of Acts and the epistles abundantly demonstrate this influence. Peter’s sermons in Acts, for example, are replete with Scripture citations and appeals to prophetic fulfillment. On the day of Pentecost, Peter explains the miraculous outpouring of the Spirit as fulfillment of Joel’s prophecy (Acts 2:16, 21) and proclaims Jesus’ resurrection by quoting Psalms 16 and 110 as prophetic references to the Messiah (Acts 2:24, 36). This bold exposition reflects precisely the kind of scriptural insight the apostles gained from Jesus. Peter asserts, “God foretold by the mouth of all the prophets that his Christ would suffer, he thus fulfilled” (Acts 3:18, ESV). This conviction, that the sufferings and glory of Jesus occurred “according to the Scriptures,” became a core component of the apostolic message (cf. 1 Corinthians 15:3, 4). Indeed, Paul’s summary of the gospel in 1 Corinthians 15 includes the phrase that Christ died for our sins and was raised on the third day “according to the Scriptures,” echoing the early creed that likely arose from the earliest post-resurrection teaching (Jipp, 2010). The apostles did not view the life of Jesus in isolation; they consistently framed it as the fulfillment of God’s ancient covenant promises to Israel (Beale, 2020). In Matthew’s Gospel, this theme appears in formula citations (e.g., “this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet…”), and in both Luke and Acts, it permeates the narrative structure. The unity of Luke 24 and Acts is instructive: Luke’s Gospel ends and Acts begins with the disciples armed with Scripture, based on certainty about the Messiah, which propels them into mission (Lawless, 2011). Modern scholarship underscores that the early Church’s evangelistic preaching was deliberately Scripture-saturated because Jesus had modeled and mandated that approach (Beale, 2020; Davidson, 2021). As Lawless (2011) observes, the Great Commission itself is presented in Matthew as the climax of Jesus’ fulfillment of “the covenants and prophecies of the Old Testament,” now to be heralded to all nations. The risen Christ who possesses “all authority” (Matt 28:18) is explicitly identified as the one to whom the Old Testament pointed, and this fulfilled Messiah is “the center of a message to be carried to the ends of the earth” (Lawless, 2011, p. 114). In short, the apostles’ worldview and ministry were shaped by the conviction that Jesus consummated the story Israel’s Scriptures had been telling.
A concrete example of the effect on New Testament writing is the way Old Testament texts are employed. The apostles, following Jesus’ hermeneutic, read Scripture contextually yet Christocentrically (Davidson, 2021). Recent studies dispel the notion that the New Testament writers twisted or misused the Old Testament; rather, they often expounded the OT in line with its original redemptive trajectory (Davidson, 2021, p. 15). For instance, the author of Hebrews interprets Melchizedek, the priest-king figure in Genesis, as a type foreshadowing Christ’s eternal priesthood, an example of early Christian exegesis that sees Christ in the OT without violating the text’s meaning (cf. Hebrews 7; see Davidson, 2021). This approach is precisely what Jesus instilled: Luke 24:27 mentions “beginning with Moses…” which suggests an overview of the Pentateuch, perhaps highlighting figures like Adam, Abel, Abraham, Moses, and David as anticipations of the Messiah (Beale, 2020). The apostles took this comprehensive view and ran with it. Gregory Beale (2020) notes that the New Testament writers operated with certain presuppositions, one being that the Old Testament is a book about Christ (whether through direct prophecy, foreshadowing, or theological patterns). Luke 24 provided a strong warrant for this presupposition by recounting Jesus’ own interpretive method (Beale, 2020). Consequently, passages like Luke 24:27, 44, 45 are frequently cited in discussions of how the New Testament can validly apply Old Testament passages in what modern readers might consider non-literal ways (Beale, 2020). Jesus authorized a figural or typological reading of Israel’s story, so long as it genuinely flowed from the text’s “Messianic meaning” as intended by God (Davidson, 2021).
One striking development in Acts is the expansion of the mission to the Gentiles, grounded in prophecy. The risen Jesus told his disciples that “repentance for the forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem” (ESV, 2008, Luke 24:47), reflecting the prophetic vision that salvation would reach the ends of the earth (Isaiah 49:6, 52:10). Tabb (2022) shows how Luke, Acts traces the fulfillment of Isaiah 49:6 (“a light for the Gentiles”) in stages: first applied to Jesus himself (Luke 2:32), then to the apostles’ mandate (Acts 1:8), and finally explicitly to Paul and Barnabas as they turn to Gentile mission (Acts 13:47). This indicates the apostles were consciously executing a Biblical mandate revealed by Jesus and Scripture together: the global scope of the gospel was not an afterthought but rooted in prophecy (Tabb, 2022). When Paul and Barnabas quote Isaiah 49:6 in Acts 13:47, they cite “the Lord’s command” from Scripture as the rationale for preaching to the Gentiles, illustrating how prophecy's fulfillment guided the church’s strategy (Tabb, 2022, p. 510). Tabb (2022) emphasizes that the “risen Lord himself is ‘a light for the Gentiles,’ and he continues to shine through his servants” who carry on his mission (p. 516). This continuity between Christ’s prophetic role and the apostles’ mission again stems from Jesus’ own post-resurrection framing of their task. He had taught them that the Messiah’s work was not only to suffer and rise but also to inaugurate the era of worldwide salvation as foretold. The New Testament, especially Luke and Acts, thus portrays the missionary church as operating under the authority of fulfilled prophecy. The apostles’ speeches at the Jerusalem Council (Acts 15:12, 21) even cite Amos 9:11, 12 to validate the inclusion of the Gentiles, a direct application of prophetic Scripture to a pressing leadership decision in the early church. In doing so, the apostolic leaders were following the template Jesus had given to interpret current events and divine actions in light of Scripture’s fulfillment (de Villiers, 2011). In sum, virtually every major element of early Christian preaching, Christ’s atoning death, his resurrection, his bestowal of the Spirit, and the offer of salvation to Jews and Gentiles was anchored in the Old Testament promises now realized (Engelbrecht & Schoeman, 2021; Lawless, 2011). The New Testament documents, written by these apostles and their associates, naturally reflect this orientation. They frequently cite or allude to the Old Testament (over 300 direct quotations and many more allusions), demonstrating that the post-resurrection scriptural instruction was not lost on them but rather became the lifeblood of their message.
Theological and Hermeneutical Implications
Theologically, the post-resurrection focus on prophecy fulfillment reinforces the unity of God’s redemptive plan. It affirms that the God of Israel is faithful, the covenants with Abraham, Moses, and David find their “Yes” in Jesus Christ (cf. 2 Corinthians 1:20). Jesus’ insistence that “everything...in the Law...Prophets and Psalms must be fulfilled” (Luke 24:44) conveys a high view of Scripture’s divine inspiration and reliability (Lawless, 2011). The apostles came to understand that the death and resurrection of Jesus were not a disruption of Israel’s story but its climax (Beale, 2020). This had apologetic value in the early Church’s preaching to Jewish audiences: by appealing to fulfilled prophecy, the apostles could argue that believing in Jesus was the consistent outcome of believing Israel’s own Scriptures (Acts 17:2, 3; 18:28). For Gentile audiences, it situated the gospel in a deep historical and theological context, showing God’s long, range plan for all peoples. Modern scholars note that the New Testament writers remained “true to the Messianic meaning” of Old Testament passages in their original contexts (Davidson, 2021, p. 15). This challenges any notion that the apostles engaged in eisegesis (reading meaning into the text). Instead, under Jesus’ guidance, they exercised exegesis, drawing out the fuller meaning that God had placed in the Scriptures (Davidson, 2021). For example, when Matthew sees Hosea 11:1 (“Out of Egypt I called my son”) fulfilled in Jesus (Matthew 2:15), or when John sees Zechariah’s words fulfilled at the crucifixion (John 19:36, 37), they are operating on the premise that Jesus embodies the story of Israel (Beale, 2020). As Beale (2020) explains, the early church held certain presuppositions, such as corporate solidarity (Christ as representative of Israel) and typology (earlier events prefiguring later ones), which allowed them to legitimately connect Scripture with Christ without violating the original intent. Jesus himself established these principles during those seminal conversations after Easter. This hermeneutical foundation is why later New Testament texts, like 1 Peter 1:10, 12, can say that the Old Testament prophets were actually serving not only their time but the future revelation of Christ, and why Hebrews can claim the law is a shadow of the realities to come in Christ (Hebrews 10:1).
Another implication is the Christological consistency it brought to the New Testament. The post-resurrection teachings ensured that the various authors of the New Testament, writing at different times and places, nevertheless shared a common conviction: Jesus is the promised Messiah in whom all God’s promises find fulfillment. Luke’s high Christology of an exalted, glorious Messiah (Luke 24:26; Acts 2:36) is echoed by Paul’s assertion that Jesus was “declared to be the Son of God…by his resurrection from the dead” (Romans 1:4), both reflecting that the resurrection fulfilled the scriptural pattern of the righteous one vindicated (de Villiers, 2011). Moreover, Jesus’ use of Scripture in those forty days modeled for the apostles how to preach. It is notable that, when faced with theological controversies or ethical dilemmas, the early church leaders consistently appealed to Scripture as the final authority, interpreted through the lens of Christ (e.g., Acts 15:15, 17; 1 Peter 2:6, 8). This demonstrates a theological humility: even the miraculous experience of seeing the risen Christ did not lead the apostles to abandon Scripture, but rather to interpret it correctly. As Peter later wrote, “we have the prophetic word more fully confirmed” (2 Peter 1:19, ESV), indicating that witnessing Christ’s glory made the prophecies even more trustworthy, guiding the church “to pay attention” to them. In essence, Jesus’ post-resurrection instruction equipped the apostles with a hermeneutic of fulfillment, a way of reading the Bible that consistently exalts Christ and edifies the Church.
This hermeneutic carries forward to Christian theology and preaching today. A practical hermeneutical principle derived from Jesus’ example is that Scripture interprets Scripture in a Christocentric way (Engelbrecht & Schoeman, 2021). The early Church’s use of the Old Testament demonstrates reading in context, recognizing literary and historical meaning, yet also hearing the ultimate divine author who orchestrated correspondences with Christ (Beale, 2020). Preachers and teachers can emulate the apostles by showing how Christ fulfills the hopes and themes of the Bible, thereby helping congregations see the unity of Scripture. This is not to force Christ into every verse, but to show how every major thread (covenant, sacrifice, kingdom, redemption) converges in him (Lawless, 2011). The risk of misinterpretation is mitigated by following the pattern Jesus gave, grounding interpretations in the text and in the community of faith’s confirmed insights. Modern Biblical scholarship, as Davidson (2021) notes, increasingly recognizes that the New Testament’s use of the Old Testament was not a mistake or misuse, but rather an often contextual and theologically astute reading consistent with first-century interpretive practices guided by Jesus’ teaching.
Leadership Principles from the Risen Christ’s Teachings
Beyond theology and hermeneutics, Jesus’ post-resurrection interactions impart valuable leadership principles. First and foremost is the instructional and empowerment model. Jesus, as a leader, did not send his followers into the world unequipped; he invested time to clarify their mission and message. As Engelbrecht and Schoeman (2021) highlight, in the Emmaus story, Jesus exemplifies servant leadership by coming alongside confused disciples, asking questions, listening to their concerns, and then guiding them to the truth through Scripture (p. 317). He did not immediately disclose his identity; instead, he patiently “educated them and corrected their understanding” using Moses and the prophets as the source of authority (Engelbrecht & Schoeman, 2021, p. 317). This shows leaders the importance of meeting people where they are, addressing doubts by returning to foundational truths, and illuminating the path forward through God’s Word. The disciples’ hearts “burned” (Luke 24:32) as Jesus taught, an indication that effective spiritual leadership ignites passion and conviction through insightful Biblical teaching. Christian leaders today can draw from this the principle that true and lasting motivation for mission comes from a deep understanding of Scripture and its fulfillment in Christ, rather than from mere emotional appeals.
Secondly, Jesus’ emphasis on prophecy fulfillment gave the apostles clarity of vision and purpose, a critical element for any leader. Once the apostles grasped that the Messiah’s suffering and the global proclamation of the gospel were part of God’s plan, they could lead with confidence and unity. They understood their role in salvation history as witnesses rather than innovators. In leadership terms, this is a call to fidelity: the apostles were stewards of the message, not its authors. Modern leaders in the church similarly are called to guard and transmit the apostolic teaching (cf. 2 Timothy 1:13, 14) rather than replace it. The apostolic era shows that visionary leadership in the church is grounded in looking backward (to God’s promises and mighty acts) in order to move forward. Peter’s leadership in Acts 2, 4, for example, is marked by constant referral to Scripture to explain current events and to chart the path for the community (Engelbrecht & Schoeman, 2021). When the early believers devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching (Acts 2:42), they were essentially devoting themselves to learning Christ in all the Scriptures, as the apostles had learned from Jesus. A practical implication is that church leaders should themselves be continuously learning and teaching how Christ fulfills Scripture, thus rooting their congregations in the grand narrative of God’s work. This approach builds resilient faith communities that see their identity and mission in Biblical perspective, just as the early church did (Lawless, 2011).
Another leadership principle evident in Jesus’ approach is empowering others through understanding rather than through coercion. Jesus did not merely issue commands after his resurrection; he took care to explain why and how his followers would carry out their commission. Luke 24:45 explicitly states, “He opened their minds to understand the Scriptures.” This enlightenment was empowering. Once the disciples understood the scriptural basis for the Messiah’s death and resurrection and the promise of the Father (Luke 24:49), they had the courage and clarity to act, even in the face of opposition. Their leadership following Pentecost reflects this inner transformation from fearful individuals (hiding after the crucifixion) to fearless witnesses. The dramatic change in the disciples, their transformation from despair to bold proclamation, is often attributed to the reality of the resurrection and the filling of the Holy Spirit, but equally important was this educational aspect of Jesus’ post-resurrection ministry (de Villiers, 2011). By grounding their convictions in Scripture, Jesus gave them “something to stand on” that would outlast his physical presence on earth. Leaders today can infer that part of empowering a team or community is to ensure they grasp the underlying purpose and truth behind their mission, not just the marching orders. In the church context, that means cultivating Biblical literacy and a strong theological foundation among members so that their faith is resilient and their witness is knowledgeable (Engelbrecht & Schoeman, 2021). The apostles became effective leaders and disciple-makers largely because Jesus had discipled them in the Word (Luke 24; Acts 1:3). Likewise, pastoral leaders are most effective when they function as teachers of the Word, opening the minds of those they lead to see God’s vision.
Finally, Jesus’ integration of prophecy and mission provides a model for visionary leadership that is both forward-looking and anchored in tradition. The Great Commission (Matthew 28:18, 20; Luke 24:47; Acts 1:8) is essentially a leadership charge to the apostles to carry on Jesus’ work. Jesus presents the commission not in a vacuum but as the next chapter of the story God has been writing. For instance, in Matthew’s account on the Galilean mountain, Jesus ties his universal authority to the fulfillment of Daniel’s Son of Man vision (Matthew 28:18; cf. Daniel 7:13, 14) and then instructs them to make disciples of all nations, echoing the Abrahamic covenant promise that “all peoples on earth will be blessed” (Genesis 12:3) (Lawless, 2011). The implication is that leaders should communicate vision in a way that resonates with their community’s core values and narrative. Christian leaders, in particular, should articulate the church’s mission as part of God’s ongoing mission as revealed in Scripture (Wright, 2006). This fosters unity and continuity: the apostles led the early church to embrace Gentile converts because they could point to Scripture and say, in effect, “this is what God always intended” (Tabb, 2022). When leaders today champion initiatives (whether evangelism, social action, etc.), rooting those initiatives in Biblical theology provides a stable and compelling rationale that can inspire and sustain action.
Practical Implications for Today
Jesus’ post-resurrection instruction about the fulfillment of messianic prophecy left an indelible mark on the New Testament and offers practical lessons for contemporary faith and leadership. The New Testament as a whole can be read as a testament of fulfillment, a collection of writings permeated by the conviction that Jesus is the Christ who accomplished all God foretold (Beale, 2020; Davidson, 2021). For believers today, this provides a deep assurance that Christianity is not a novel invention but the fruition of a divine plan spanning centuries (Lawless, 2011). It encourages Christians to engage the Old Testament with expectation, seeing it as a rich source that “finds its yes in [Christ]” (2 Corinthians 1:20). Practically, pastors and teachers can help their communities discover Christ throughout Scripture, which can enrich worship (as we marvel at God’s faithfulness) and bolster evangelism (as we reason from the Scriptures like the apostles did, showing the credibility of Christ’s claims). Quoting Scripture in preaching, much like the apostles did in Acts, remains a powerful way to let God’s voice speak to people’s hearts (Hebrews 4:12). Furthermore, understanding prophecy fulfillment guards the church against discouragement: just as the apostles took courage that Jesus’ sufferings were not a failure but a fulfillment (Luke 24:26, Acts 2:23, 24), so believers can trust that God remains in control of history, working all things according to his Word.
For Christian leaders, the post-resurrection model underscores the importance of a Biblical foundation in every aspect of ministry. Leaders are called to be teachers of the Word, patiently explaining and applying Scripture so that those they lead can internalize Biblical truth (Engelbrecht & Schoeman, 2021). When challenges or confusion arise, returning to Scripture for guidance (as the early church did in Acts 15) is a sound leadership strategy. It ensures that the community’s direction aligns with God’s revealed will. Additionally, Jesus’ method of walking alongside disciples (literally on the road to Emmaus and figuratively in their journey from ignorance to insight) is a reminder that leaders should mentor and develop others through relationship and the Word. The Great Commission’s emphasis to make disciples of all nations (Matthew 28:19) is inherently a leadership mandate: it calls for multiplying leaders and teachers who will carry Jesus’ teachings to the next generation. In practical terms, this might mean prioritizing discipleship programs, Bible studies, and one-on-one mentoring in our churches, focusing not only on knowledge but on connecting the dots between Scripture and daily life in Christ.
In conclusion, the risen Jesus’ teaching about his ministry as the fulfillment of prophecy was a catalyst that shaped the New Testament’s content and the early Church’s identity. The apostles emerged from their encounters with the risen Lord as confident heralds of a gospel firmly rooted in Scripture (de Villiers, 2011). Their writings and actions modeled a balanced integration of theological depth, scriptural interpretation, and bold leadership. Modern Christians, and especially leaders, stand to gain immensely from heeding these lessons. By anchoring our faith and practice in the fulfilled promises of God, we join the apostles in being witnesses of these things, proclaiming that what God foretold, He has surely brought to pass in Jesus Christ (Luke 24:48; Acts 13:32, 33). This confidence in God’s fulfilled Word can inspire today’s church to engage the world with both humility and boldness, teaching all nations and generations that the crucified and risen Jesus is indeed the long-awaited Savior, “for all the promises of God find their Yes in him” (2 Corinthians 1:20, ESV). Such a church will be marked by deep Biblical literacy, resilient faith in trials (knowing suffering can be redemptive in God’s plan), and visionary leadership that continually points people back to the Scriptures and forward to the hope assured by Christ’s victory. In a world of uncertainty, the fulfilled prophecies about Jesus remain a bedrock for faith, an invitation to trust that God’s Word never fails, and a commission to lead others to that same confident trust.
References
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