The Jesus Journey Series

• Human beings are foolish, not in the sense that they are intellectually deficient but in their rejection of God’s lordship over their lives The entire natural world bears witness to God through its beauty, complexity, design, and usefulness. No one should complain that God has left insufficient evidence of his existence and character; the fault is with those who reject the evidence (Crossway Bibles. (2008). The ESV Study Bible (pp. 2158–2159). Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles.).

Having rebuked them for failing to know the significance of the Old Testament’s teaching regarding Messiah’s suffering, Jesus—the one to whom that teaching pointed (John 5:39)—personally tutored them in a true understanding of it. Luke notes in verse 27 that “Beginning with Moses and all the prophets, He interpreted/explained to them in all the scriptures the things concerning Himself. That teaching would undoubtedly have included such things as the Protoevangelium (Gen. 3:15); Abel’s and Noah’s sacrifices; the ark, which pictures Him as the true ark into which sinners enter and sail safely through the waters of divine judgment; the ram offered as a substitute in place of Isaac (Gen. 22:13); the Passover lambs, which pictured Him as the final sacrifice (Ex. 12; cf. 1 Cor. 5:7); the manna (Ex. 16), which pictured Him as the true bread from heaven (John 6:32–35); the five main offerings in Leviticus (burnt, grain, peace, sin, and trespass), of which He is the fulfillment; the Day of Atonement, where He is pictured by both the sacrifice on the altar and the scapegoat that bore away sin; the rocks that provided water in the wilderness (Ex. 17; Num. 20), which pictured Him as the source of spiritual provision for His people (1 Cor. 10:4); the prophet of whom Moses wrote (Deut. 18:18–22; cf. Acts 3:22), who was the Messiah; the one hanged on a tree, cursed by God and taken down before sunset (Deut. 21:22–23), and hated without a cause (Ps. 69:4). He would surely have pointed out the details of His crucifixion given in the Old Testament (Pss. 22; 41:9; 69:21; Isa. 50:6; Zech. 11:12–13; 12:10; and especially Isa. 53); and Daniel’s prophecy of the seventy weeks (Dan. 9:24–26), which predicted the exact day of His triumphal entry. Jesus also would have explained the prediction of His resurrection given in Psalm 16:8–10 (cf. Acts 13:34–37). Therefore, it is reasonable to believe that our Lord, in interpreting in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself, showed how the entire Old Testament, in various ways, pointed to Himself. (cf. Acts 10:43. (Hendriksen, W., & Kistemaker, S. J. (1953–2001). Exposition of the Gospel According to Luke (Vol. 11, p. 1065). Baker Book House).

Illustration: John Wesley had his own Emmaus Road experience through the hearing of Scripture. Here’s how he describes it. “I went very unwillingly to a society in Aldersgate Street where one was reading Luther’s preface to the Epistle to the Romans. About a quarter before nine, while he was describing the change which God works in the heart through faith in Christ, I felt my heart strangely warmed. I felt I did trust in Christ, Christ alone, for salvation, and an assurance was given me that He had taken away my sins—even mine—and saved me from the law of sin and death.” The words Wesley heard were three times removed. The speaker was reading Luther’s commentary on Paul’s Epistle to the Romans. Yet Jesus was there. The Scriptures all point to the One who is our companion on the Emmaus Road (Larson, B., & Ogilvie, L. J. (1983). Luke (Vol. 26, p. 350). Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Inc.).