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The Road to Emmaus#1 all about JesusLuke 24:13-35

13 That very day two of them were going to a village named Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem, 14 and they were talking with each other about all these things that had happened. 15 While they were talking and discussing together, Jesus himself drew near and went with them. 16 But their eyes were kept from recognising him. 17 And he said to them, “What is this conversation that you are holding with each other as you walk?” And they stood still, looking sad. 18 Then one of them, named Cleopas, answered him, “Are you the only visitor to Jerusalem who does not know the things that have happened there in these days?” 19 And he said to them, “What things?” And they said to him, “Concerning Jesus of Nazareth, a man who was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people, 20 and how our chief priests and rulers delivered him up to be condemned to death, and crucified him. 21 But we had hoped that he was the one to redeem Israel. Yes, and besides all this, it is now the third day since these things happened. 22 Moreover, some women of our company amazed us. They were at the tomb early in the morning, 23 and when they did not find his body, they came back saying that they had even seen a vision of angels, who said that he was alive. 24 Some 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.” 25 And he said to them, “O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! 26 Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and enter into his glory?” 27 And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself.

28 So they drew near to the village to which they were going. He acted as if he were going farther, 29 but they urged him strongly, saying, “Stay with us, for it is toward evening and the day is now far spent.” So he went in to stay with them. 30 When he was at table with them, he took the bread and blessed and broke it and gave it to them. 31 And their eyes were opened, and they recognised him. And he vanished from their sight. 32 They said to each other, “Did not our hearts burn within us while he talked to us on the road, while he opened to us the Scriptures?” 33 And they rose that same hour and returned to Jerusalem. And they found the eleven and those who were with them gathered together, 34 saying, “The Lord has risen indeed, and has appeared to Simon!” 35 Then they told what had happened on the road, and how he was known to them in the breaking of the bread.

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The two figures drag their sandalled feet along the dusty path; their heads are hung, their shoulders are slumped, and they speak in low voices that crack with emotion. “We thought he was someone else. We expected him to save us, and he died instead. We expected him to defeat our enemy; to release us from Roman rule and set us free. Instead, he was crushed. Didn't he claim to be the Christ?”

The irony is crystal clear in the men’s reflection over a ‘failed’ Jesus; “We had hoped that he was the one to redeem Israel, but obviously not, for he was condemned to death and crucified,” they say. The beautiful truth is that Jesus was the one who redeemed not just Israel, but His chosen people of every nation, tribe, people and language, through being condemned to death and crucified, because in that, He endured God’s wrath and punishment meant for us, and died our death.

After being with Jesus for 3 years, and witnessing the Gospel first-hand, they thought Jesus was merely a prophet who would defeat the Romans, whenever Jesus was the son of God who would defeat the greater enemy of sin, set them free from a greater bondage, and save them in a greater way.

And in the middle of their confusion and hopelessness, the man Himself, the God-man, comes alongside them, graciously tells them how stupid they are for not knowing who He was and is, and again, shows them Jesus and His gospel.


Jesus’ sermon is about “the things concerning himself.” He goes to “Moses and all the Prophets,” which refers to the entire Old Testament (since it was written by them). Yes, He preaches a sermon on Himself from all of the Old Testament.

Jesus shows them Jesus in the Old Testament. He points to himself over and over again from Genesis 1:1 to Malachi 4:6

The characters, the events, the history, the prophecies, the laws, the covenants, the objects, the psalms, the proverbs - they are the vibrant colours and shapes that all form a beautiful picture of who Jesus is. They spell out His name and preach His gospel.

You cannot read the Old Testament any other way. It would be like reading a book ignorant to the central character and oblivious to the author. It doesn't make sense, it’s meaningless and irrelevant. There is no story without the hero and the author. And in the same way, there is no story without Jesus.

“You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me, yet you refuse to come to me that you may have life… For if you believed Moses, you would believe me; for he wrote of me.” (John 5:39-40, 46)

“Then he said to them, “These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you, that everything written about me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.” Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures, and said to them, “Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, and that repentance and forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things.” (Luke 24:44-48)

The Bible is all about Jesus. The Scriptures - the Old Testament - ‘bear witness about’ Jesus. Moses, the writer of much of the Old Testament, ‘wrote about’ Jesus. Understanding Scripture is understanding that the authors wrote ‘about [Jesus] in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms.’

The Gospel is found in the Old Testament; they wrote about Jesus suffering and rising from the dead, enabling repentance and forgiveness in Him, for all people.

Tim Keller said that “Every text in the Old Testament points to Jesus.”

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How is the Old Testament all about Jesus?

1. Jesus is the true and better *Bible character*

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IGFtfqgBQkM

Biblical evidence: - “Behold, something greater than Jonah is here… Behold, something greater than Solomon is here.”

(Matthew 12:38-42) - The Pharisees ask, “Are you greater than our father Abraham, who died?” and Jesus’ answer is an

emphatic yes. (John 8:53-58) - Adam “was a type of the one who was to come.” (Romans 5:14) - “Jesus has been counted worthy of more glory than Moses.” (Hebrews 3:3)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IGFtfqgBQkM


2. The Historical Narrative of the Bible leads to Jesus

Matthew 1 begins, “The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham” and is followed by a rather long and seemingly boring list of the ancestors of Jesus. All of these people were part of the one story of the Bible - the story of Jesus saving His people. Their lives were planned by God and their offspring were purposed by God to lead to one person, Jesus. It’s mind-blowing that God directed history to foreshadow Jesus. Furthermore, what grace that Jesus’ ancestors are broken, messy and sinful people, that God still used, for his own glory.

David Murray wrote, “Jesus Christ is the towering figure of world history. As such, he casts a bright shadow not only forward over all post-Bethlehem history but also backward over all Old Testament history that led up to him. He is the person to whom and from whom all history flows.”

3. Jesus gives us the ability to imitate these characters.

What lessons have we previously been taught from Old Testament stories? “Obey God like Noah.” “Follow the 10 commandments that God gave to Moses.” “Be brave and defeat your ‘giants’ like David.”

We’ve been taught all along that the Bible is about us and what we must do, when it’s about Jesus and what He has done (Tim Keller). If we take a works-based approach to Bible stories and try to be like Noah/Moses/David without the context of Jesus, it won’t work. Failure to imitate them will lead to hopelessness and regret; success in following their example will lead to pride and further legalism.

Jesus’ grace must be at the centre of our efforts; though the stories are primarily about him, there are still lessons to draw out. But “we can only apply a moral or lesson to our own lives because of Jesus. Until Jesus shows up, it doesn’t help or apply to me.” (Mark Beattie). As a response to His Gospel, and by His Spirit in us, we can be like Abel and Enoch and Noah and Abraham and Moses and Ruth and David and Esther and Daniel when they, according to Hebrews 12, pleased God by faith.

4. Jesus fulfils Old Testament prophecy

Matthew 5:17. “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfil them.” Over and over again in the gospel of Matthew, a phase like this occurs - “This was to fulfil what was spoken by the prophet,” for the author is telling his Jewish readers, ‘this is the Jesus you read about in the Old Testament.’ 1 Peter 1:10-11. “Concerning this salvation, the prophets who prophesied about the grace that was to be yours searched and inquired carefully, inquiring what person or time the Spirit of Christ in them was indicating when he predicted the sufferings of Christ and the subsequent glories.” The prophets, by the Holy Spirit, prophesied (‘predicted,’ ‘foretold’) salvation by grace, made available by the suffering and the glorification of Christ.

5. The Law points to Jesus

Hebrews 10:1 calls the law “a shadow of the good things to come.” Romans 3:21 explains that the Law and the Prophets bear witness to the Gospel.

- The Law points to Jesus’ perfection & holiness. - The Law makes us painfully aware of our own sin (“through the law comes knowledge of sin” -

Romans 3:20) and so points us to Jesus, for it causes us to seek the only remedy, Himself.


- Animal sacrifices had to be made when the law was broken, and this points to the sacrifice of the Lamb of God; we broke the law and He endured our punishment. Galatians 3:13. “Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us - for it is written, cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree”

- The perfect standard laid out in the Law points to the righteousness ascribed to us by Jesus- because of His death, God sees us as perfect and blameless.

- Jesus gives us the power to obey the commandments, though imperfectly. In John 14:15, Jesus says, “If you love me you will keep my commandments.”

6. Jesus embodies Old Testament objects

- For example, Jesus is the true Temple - the true meeting place between God and man. He said of Himself in Matthew 12:6, “I tell you, something greater than the temple is here.”

- Jesus is the true manna, sent by God to a starving and dying people lost in the wilderness. He is “the bread that comes down from heaven, so that one may eat of it and not die.” (John 6:50).

7. Events in the Old Testament are about Jesus

- The Sabbath is about Jesus, the “lord of the Sabbath.” (Luke 6:5). It points to Jesus and the rest that He gives those who are exhausted from trying to earn salvation. Hebrews 4:9-10; “So then, there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God, for whoever has entered God’s rest has also rested from his works as God did from his.”

- Passover is about Jesus. A lamb’s blood is shed, which causes death to pass over them. They are released from slavery and set free. Is this about the Israelites being delivered from Egyptian slavery or Christians being delivered from sin and made alive?

8. The Old Testament Covenants promise Jesus

- To Adam & Eve, God promised to send someone to defeat the serpent. (Genesis 3:15) - To Noah, God promised escape from the flood of His wrath, for His bow pointed up to Jesus.

(Genesis 9:13) - To Abraham, God promised an heir who will bless all the nations. God provided the sacrifice and

gave His only son, our blessing. (Genesis 22:14-18) - To the Israelites, God promised that He is the Lord their God and He will dwell with them (Exodus

20:2). This is a promise made to people who have already been rescued and yet continue to sin, so by ‘keeping the covenant’ and obeying the commands, they are not earning their freedom, but responding with joyful obedience. He promises forgiveness through sacrifice and bloodshed. This is what the Gospel looks like.

- To David, God promised a King who will reign over His kingdom forever (2 Samuel 7:12-13) - To us, God promised a new covenant - “Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I

will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah.” He promises to be our God, and us His people; He promises to forgive our iniquity and forget our sin. (Jeremiah 31:31-34). Jesus said at the Last Supper, ‘this is the new covenant in my blood.’ According to Hebrews 7:22, Jesus is “the guarantor of a better covenant.”

9. The Psalms sing of Jesus

Everywhere in the Psalms, Jesus’ name is praised. The twenty third Psalm is one of the most famous; the first verse says, “The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.” Who is my shepherd? Jesus. He said in John 10:14, “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.” Why shall I not want? Because Jesus is all that I need, He is joy personified.


10. The Proverbs quote Jesus

One of the most prominent themes in Proverbs is wisdom; it was written by the wisest man after all. Proverbs 2:4-5 reads, “if you seek [wisdom] like silver and search for it as for hidden treasures, then you will understand the fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of God.” Wisdom is knowing Jesus and His Gospel. Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 1:24 that “Christ crucified” (the two-worded Gospel) is the power of God and the wisdom of God. Seek after wisdom, in other words, pursue Jesus, for He is the greatest treasure.

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“Have you understood all these things?” They said to him, “Yes.” And he said to them, “Therefore every scribe who has been trained for the kingdom of heaven is like a master of a house, who brings out of his treasure what is new and what is old.” (Matthew 13:51-52)

We are scribes being trained for the kingdom of heaven, bringing the treasure - Jesus - out of the Bible, from what is new and what is old - the New and Old Testament.

We are walking along the Road to Emmaus, the journey of discovering Jesus in the Old Testament. He draws near and walks with us, and our hearts burn within us.

Sally Lloyd Jones writes, in ‘The Jesus Storybook Bible:’

“Now, some people think the Bible is a book of rules, telling you what you should and shouldn't do. The Bible certainly does have some rules in it. They show you how life works best. But the Bible isn't mainly about you and what you should be doing. It’s about God and what he has done.

Other people think the Bible is a book of heroes, showing you people you should copy. The Bible does have some heroes in it, but (as you’ll soon find out) most of the people in the Bible aren’t heroes at all. They make some big mistakes (sometimes on purpose). They get afraid and run away. At times they are downright mean.

No, the Bible isn't a book of rules, or a book of heroes. The Bible is most of all a Story. It’s an adventure story about a young Hero who comes from a far country to win back his lost treasure. It’s a love story about a brave Prince who leaves his palace, his throne - everything - to rescue the one he loves. It’s like the most wonderful of fairy tales that has come true in real life!

You see, the best thing about this Story is - it’s true.

There are lots of stories in the Bible, but all the stories are telling one Big Story. The Story of how God loves his children and comes to rescue them.

It take the whole Bible to tell this Story. And at the centre of the Story, there is a baby. Every story in the Bible whispers his name. He is like the missing piece in a puzzle - the piece that suddenly makes all the other pieces fit together, and suddenly you can see a beautiful picture.

And this is no ordinary baby. This is the Child upon whom everything would depend. This is the Child who would one day - but wait. Our Story starts where all good stories start. Right at the very beginning…”


Questions

1. What do you think of the Old Testament?

2. Read verses 19-21 again. What is wrong with their description of Jesus? Do you see the irony here?

3. What is Jesus’ ‘sermon’ about? Where does He go, what text does He use? What is strange about this? (Verse 27)

4. Take Harry Potter out of “Harry Potter.” What are you left with? Forget Aslan in “The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.” How would the story play out?

5. Read John 5:39-40, 46, Luke 24:44-48. What do you learn?

6. Who is your favourite Old Testament character? Have you ever seen Jesus in them? In what ways are they like Jesus? What is your favourite Old Testament story or event? Can you see how it points to Jesus?

7. Jesus’ ancestors are broken messy people that God still used for His glory. How is this relevant to you?

8. Why does Matthew constantly remind his readers about prophecy being fulfilled through Jesus?

9. Thousands of years before Jesus was born, God told His people, through the prophets, about Jesus, his life and his death. What does this tell us about God?

10. Contrary to our expectation, the Law is not the opposite of the Gospel. Can you see the good news in the Law?

11. What lessons have you previously been taught from Old Testament stories? How are these wrong? How are these right?

12. What are the problems with trying to be like Noah, Moses, David or another character without the context of Jesus?

13. What is the right way to approach the morals and lessons learned in Bible stories?

14. What do you now think of the Old Testament? What is the Bible really about?

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