The Old Testament Makes Sense Because of Jesus!
If you were able to travel back in time and spend one day with Jesus, what would you choose to go witness? At the top of my list would be the road to Emmaus and Jesus’ first appearance to his disciples in Luke 24. Not only would it be INCREDIBLE (to put it lightly) to see the resurrected Jesus first appearing to his closest friends, but I would be fascinated to hear how Jesus would choose to talk about the scriptures with his disciples after his death and resurrection!
After joining two men walking on the road toward Emmaus, Jesus told the two individuals who didn’t know they were talking to the risen Christ, “‘O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and enter into his glory?’ And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself.” (Lk 24:25-26) After reflecting on that moment, the two men told one another, “Did not our hearts burn within us while he talked to us on the road, while he opened to us the Scriptures?” (24:32)
Later, after appearing the disciples in the upper room, Luke writes, “’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.” (24:44-45)
Just like the details in a good novel coming together after reading the whole story, it would be special hearing Jesus share the spoilers of the biblical story. Getting to hear Jesus teach the scriptures from his own mouth to an awestruck audience holding onto every word he said would be a once in a many lifetimes’ experience!
Yet, in many ways, we do have this! God has taught us through the Holy Spirit! The Holy Spirit has inspired 27 books in the New Testament to open our eyes to the treasures all throughout the Bible and to give us a clearer picture of Jesus. This is something we should prize and adore! And he doesn’t stop there. The scriptures are alive and active and speak to us directly today through the work of the Holy Spirit until the day when God will teach us face to face!
I recently had a conversation with someone about different methods of biblical interpretation. How do we make sense of difficulty understanding passages in the old and new testaments? The words of one of my seminary professors regularly ring in my head, “We must interpret scripture with scripture.” In other words, we need to see how the Bible uses and interprets itself to help us understand how to accurately interpret the Bible. This means we need to know more than just common Bible verses or Sunday school stories. To understand the one, unified story offered to us, we need to see it as a whole.
I’m so thankful to be a part of a church family that does not avoid hard passages but seeks to teach Christ through all of scripture! If you are interested in diving deeper to see how the Bible connects to itself, there are many resources you can pull from, but one of my current favorites is a podcast called “Bible Talk” by 9Marks. If you are someone who prefers listening to podcasts over reading content, this might be worth checking out.
Jacob Abrahamson
Youth Pastor