The Christ will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day,

and repentance for forgiveness of sins will be proclaimed in His

name to all the nations.

Who said these words and where? Jesus spoke them on Sunday evening when He appeared to the apostles gathered on Mount Zion. It was here that Jesus had celebrated the Last Supper three days earlier, on Thursday evening.

The risen Jesus reminds the astonished apostles that He had foretold several times that He would suffer, but also rise from the dead on the third day. Only when this prophecy was fulfilled were the apostles’ eyes opened.

Jesus goes on to say that repentance for the forgiveness of sins will be preached in His name to all nations.

In order to receive forgiveness, we must fulfil one condition: repentance. This involves deciding to fight against sin and strive to break free from its power and the power of our bad habits.

Forgiveness of sins is associated with the name of Jesus and His sacrifice on the cross. Through His suffering and death, He gave Himself as a ransom for our sins. For our part, we must repent. This means confessing our sins to ourselves and to God, and believing in God’s love – that the Son of God, true God and true man, overcame sin and opened the way for us to the kingdom of heaven, to eternal happiness that never ends. The condition for attaining eternal happiness is to repent for the forgiveness of sins. Jesus is the only Saviour and Redeemer. This is the good news for the apostles of Christ, who died and rose from the dead!

Download: Reflection on Lk 24:46-47