And He opened their understanding, that they might comprehend the Scriptures.
Parallel translations
- WEB Then he opened their minds, that they might understand the Scriptures.
- KJV Then opened he their understanding, that they might understand the scriptures,
- BSB Then He opened their minds to understand the Scriptures.
- NASB Then He opened their minds to understand the Scriptures,
- NLT Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Jesus opens the disciples' minds to understand the Scriptures. Spiritual understanding of God's word is a gift Christ grants.
Overview
Just as he opened their eyes at Emmaus, Jesus now opens their minds to grasp the Scriptures. Genuine understanding of God's word comes not by mere study but by the illumining work of the risen Lord and his Spirit. This verse teaches the church's continual dependence on Christ to comprehend his word rightly.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 13
- Acts 16:14A certain woman named Lydia, a seller of purple, of the city of Thyatira, one who worshiped God, heard us; whose heart the Lord opened to listen to the things which were spoken by Paul.
- 1 Jn 5:20We know that the Son of God has come, and has given us an understanding, that we know him who is true, and we are in him who is true, in his Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God, and eternal life.
- Ps 119:18Open my eyes, that I may see wondrous things out of your law.
- 2 Cor 3:14–18But their minds were hardened, for until this very day at the reading of the old covenant the same veil remains, because in Christ it passes away.
- Acts 26:18to open their eyes, that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive remission of sins and an inheritance among those who are sanctified by faith in me.’
- Isa 29:18–19In that day, the deaf will hear the words of the book, and the eyes of the blind will see out of obscurity and out of darkness.
- 2 Cor 4:4–6in whom the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving, that the light of the Good News of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should not dawn on them.
- Eph 5:14Therefore he says, “Awake, you who sleep, and arise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.”
- Exod 4:11Yahweh said to him, “Who made man’s mouth? Or who makes one mute, or deaf, or seeing, or blind? Isn’t it I, Yahweh?
- Job 33:16Then he opens the ears of men, and seals their instruction,
- Luke 24:32They said to one another, “Weren’t our hearts burning within us, while he spoke to us along the way, and while he opened the Scriptures to us?”
- Isa 29:10–12For Yahweh has poured out on you a spirit of deep sleep, and has closed your eyes, the prophets; and he has covered your heads, the seers.
- Rev 3:7“To the angel of the assembly in Philadelphia write: “He who is holy, he who is true, he who has the key of David, he who opens and no one can shut, and who shuts and no one opens, says these things:
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
Christ at the center
Luke shows Jesus the Savior for all — outsiders, the poor, the nations — the one who, on the Emmaus road, opened all the Scriptures to show they were about himself.
How Luke 24:45 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.