Read the Old Testament TOO

Luke 24:27 NLT Then Jesus took them through the writings of Moses and all the prophets, explaining from all the Scriptures the things concerning himself.

This is part of the post-resurrection story. Jesus walks with the men to Emmaus. They don't recognize him until later. They walk the journey from Jerusalem to Emmaus. They are downcast and obviously sad. Jesus, who they did not recognize, knows of their sadness and begins telling them the "rest of the story", one that they probably already knew but didn't associate with their present circumstances. He explained Jesus death and resurrection, using scripture as points of reference, confirming that the scripture that they'd always been taught was indeed relevant and being fulfilled in their time and place.

When Jesus was explaining scripture to these two men, there was no "Old Testament" or "New Testament", only scripture. Much scripture that they knew had probably been passed to them orally, perhaps on scrolls. But there was no "Bible" as we know it. Today, a lot of people don't read or study the Old Testament. For some reason they think it is irrelevant, or has no value, or whatever. But from this text in Luke, we can see that the Old Testament is used to support the claims of who Jesus is.

We need to know the Old Testament to understand why Jesus needed to die and be resurrected, to understand how we KNOW Jesus was and is who he claimed to be. Without the Old Testament, we can only speculate. There have been other "holy" people. How do we know they are The Christ? for that matter, how do we even know that there was a need for "The Christ"?

The Bible has a lots of genealogy. Why? Read the Old Testament and you'll find out. What does God promise? Read the whole Bible, or parts, or books that compile verses of promised to find out. Does the Bible apply to your life today? You will find something for you personally when you read the Bible regularly. That is guaranteed.

I wrote and gave a talk recently about Christian growth through study. One of the points I made is that Jesus studied. (when they found Jesus in the temple as a boy) Jesus studied so we should too. This passage tells us that the Old Testament is also important study material. You don't find a lot on Moses in the New Testament but volumes in the Old Testament. Notice that Jesus mentioned Moses in this passage. In another passage he refers to Jonah - also a book in the Old Testament.

Here is a challenge. Read the Old Testament. Look for Jesus on every page. While He may not be on every page, He is there a lot more than you think. Open your eyes to the gift of the Old Testament as well as the New Testament. You will be richly blessed when you do.

God, Thank You for the Bible. I ask that You continue to teach and touch me with Your word. Amen.

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