Friday, April 13, 2018
Bible lesson
Luke 24:27
And beginning at Moses and all the Prophets, He expounded to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself.
As I have written before, I sometimes feel robbed by what the Gospel writers left out of their written account of the life and times of Jesus. This is especially so when it comes to conversation details. Mind you, I am satisfied that the Holy Spirit has preserved for us in the Bible all that is necessary for faith, life and godliness. But I am still always wishing we had more dialogue and detail.
One place where this is so is in the account by Luke of the resurrected Jesus catching up with two of His followers on the road to a place called Emmaus. We are not exactly certain who these guys were, although we know that one was named Cleopas. But their identity is not really important now. What’s really important is the Bible lesson they received from the resurrected Jesus himself.
Let’s look at the background. This seven-mile walk seems to be taking place sometime in the evening of the Sunday that Jesus was raised from the dead. These guys were disappointed and dejected over what had happened that weekend. Jesus, their hoped-for Messiah, was killed by the powers that be. There were also rumours of a resurrection, but they had no proof.
Thomas is the one who gets the bad rap but Cleopas and his companion were no different. “And certain of those who were with us went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said; but Him they did not see.” Luke 24:24. They were clearly concerned that Jesus wasn’t actually seen by them.
Well, as a matter of fact, it seemed like many other disciples also wanted convincing proof of the resurrection to satisfy the doubts that harboured. This is clearly suggested in Jesus’ actions later on,
“But they were terrified and frightened, and supposed they had seen a spirit. And He said to them, “Why are you troubled? And why do doubts arise in your hearts? Behold My hands and My feet, that it is I Myself. Handle Me and see, for a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see I have.” When He had said this, He showed them His hands and His feet. But while they still did not believe for joy, and marveled, He said to them, “Have you any food here?” So they gave Him a piece of a broiled fish and some honeycomb. And He took it and ate in their presence.” Luke 24:37-43.
However, back to our story on the walk to Emmaus. The two companions, having expressed their profound heartbreak to the resurrected Jesus whom they did not recognise, were given a sharp rebuke. Jesus actually called them foolish. His categorisation was based on what they should have known, given that they were Jews who attended temple and synagogue where the scriptures were taught.
Jesus argues that all the Prophets, and for that matter, all of the Old Testament, speaks directly to the coming of the Messiah who must suffer death and rise again to save. And then beginning at Moses He gives them a Bible lesson that takes them through all of the scriptures from Moses to Malachi.
This is where I want more detail like, which stories did Jesus choose to make the point. What were the references and how did He interpret and expound on them. Well, we don’t have that detail, but we do have the scriptures and we could go back and work our way through.
Jesus could well have referenced Psalm 16, for example, which speaks of the hope of those who are faithful to God and that the Messiah would be victorious over death, “For You will not leave my soul in Sheol, Nor will You allow Your Holy One to see corruption.” Psalm 16:10. Or He could have used Isaiah 53:4-6 “Surely He has borne our griefs And carried our sorrows; Yet we esteemed Him stricken, Smitten by God, and afflicted. But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, And by His stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; We have turned, every one, to his own way; And the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.” Or Daniel in the lions’ den, or the three Hebrew boys in the fire, we don’t know.
This encounter should cause us though to reflect on our own bible teaching, especially how we teach the stories of the Old Testament. I have been through a lot of Sunday Schools in my time from various denominations. The same for Vacation Bible School and Bible Clubs. I, therefore, have heard many Bible stories from the Old Testament told over and over and from various angles. Hardly have I ever heard these stories interpreted or expounded to point directly to Jesus.
When these two guys discover that they were actually walking, talking, and eating with the resurrected Jesus the get up and hurry back to Jerusalem to declare to the other disciples that they had encountered the risen Jesus and now had convincing evidence to prove His resurrection. At this point, Jesus puts in another appearance and gets right back to teaching the Old Testament to show that it all points to Him and His suffering, and His resurrection.
“Then He said to them, “These are the words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all things must be fulfilled which were written in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms concerning Me.”” Luke 24:44.
We should be careful how we teach the Old Testament and what we seek there.
Think on these things:
- If you grew up in Sunday School which are the stories that stick with you today?
- Reflecting on those stories, can you see how they point to Jesus and His mission?
- If you have to tell about Jesus from the Old Testament which story would you choose?
Prayer focus:
Let us pray today that we would see Jesus revealed as we study the scriptures.
In His Grace
Pastor Alex