CHRIST IN THE SCRIPTURES

"And beginning at Moses and all the Prophets, He expounded to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself". (Luke 24:27)

Having rebuked the two disciples for their spiritual dullness, the Lord Jesus opened up the Word of God to them. At this point, the travelling disciples were still unaware of the stranger’s true identity. They kept whatever thoughts they might have had about the stranger to themselves.

The two disciples listened as the Lord Jesus systematically explained the scriptures to them. Jesus showed just how the Hebrew Scriptures perfectly prepared the way for Him to come minister, teach, heal, be betrayed, suffer, die, and resurrect. The Lord showed them how the prophets had foretold all the events of His life. What happened to Jesus was nothing new and unexpected.

The Lord began the scriptural exposition from ‘Moses and all the prophets.’ That means He made references to the Law of Moses with all of its services and ceremonies. He also pointed to all the Old Testament’s messianic prophecies. Luke does not indicate which passages the Lord chose, but he states that the teaching involved ‘all the scriptures.’ That means Jesus did not simply point to isolated verses. Instead, He painted a complete picture of Himself on the canvas of the Old Testament.

Later, when Jesus met with His other disciples, He took time to give them similar Biblical expositions regarding Himself. Those explanations formed the message of the New Testament writers. The message that the Apostles preached from the day of Pentecost onwards gave meaning to what Christ accomplished for us through His life, death and resurrection.

Today, as we read the Old Testament, we must study it in the light of who Christ is. The two disciples had a wrong view of what the Old Testament taught, and so it clouded the way they saw the Lord Jesus. If we also approach the Old Testament as those two disciples did, we cannot recognize the Lord’s presence amongst us.