GOD’S WORD FOR YOU
LUKE 24:22-27
The Emmaus disciples continued with their remarkable news:
22 More than this, some of the women of our group amazed us. They went to the tomb early in the morning, 23 but did not find his body. They came back and said 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 they did not see him.”
By this point in their account, we wonder why they had been sorrowful at all. There was a report of the empty tomb, verified by some of the apostles. There was also a vision of angels and their message that Jesus was alive! What more news was necessary than angels declaring him to be alive? Jesus wondered the same thing; he spoke without allowing them to continue any further.
25 He said to them, “How foolish you are! How slow your hearts are to believe all that the prophets have spoken! 26 Did not the Christ have to suffer these things and to enter his glory?” 27 And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself.
Jesus’ task had always been to do this, “to suffer these things and to enter his glory.” Many people wonder what Jesus’ Bible study was like as they traveled together the rest of the way down that road. One point that the inspired text makes is that Jesus cited Moses and all the prophets, and in fact, all the Scriptures. The doubled use of the word “all” (all the prophets, all the Scriptures) shows that this is an emphasized point; it is no hyperbole or exaggeration. We don’t have a precise record of the passage Jesus cited and interpreted for these men. In one sense, we might say that the rest of the New Testament probably doesn’t come close to what Jesus said on that day. But in another sense, we can use our Christian judgment to point out things in the Old Testament Scriptures that could have been—how shall we put it?—candidates for the passages quoted by the risen Savior. As with every teaching of the Scriptures, the message does not need defense. One of our Seminary professors said: “I defend the gospel the way I defend a lion. I open the door to its cage and let it defend itself.” Some of these passages (the list is far from complete) are applications, used in concert with other passages. Some are prophecies, and some illustrate the life, work, suffering, death and resurrection of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
Genesis 3:15 – The first promise of the Savior: He would be a human descendant of Eve.
Genesis 22:18 – The Savior would come from Abraham’s family.
Genesis 26:4 – The Savior would come from Isaac’s family.
Genesis 28:14 – The Savior would come from Jacob’s family.
Genesis 49:10 – The Savior would come from the line of Judah.
Exodus 15:6 – The locale of Christ our Savior is at the right hand of God.
Leviticus 17:11 – True atonement for sin is possible only through blood, the blood of Christ.
Numbers 24:17,18 – A powerful ruler would come from the Israelites.
Deuteronomy 18:18 – Christ is our Prophet.
Joshua 22:5 – Jesus is the one who kept the Law of Moses perfectly.
Judges 2:16 – The greatest judge and Savior of Israel is Christ.
Ruth 4:14-22 – Jesus is from the line of David through Ruth, but more: he is the kinsman-redeemer of all Israel and of all sinners.
1 Samuel 8:19 – Israel asked for a king; Christ is the true King.
2 Samuel 22:2-3 – Christ is the Rock, the Refuge, the Shield, the Horn of Salvation, the Stronghold, and the Savior.
1 Kings 8:19 – The true Temple would be built by David’s greater Son.
2 Kings 4:33-37 – Christ raised the young man of Nain by his word; Elisha raised the Shunammite woman’s son by the grace of God.
2 Kings 4:38-41 – Christ turned water into wine by his word; Elisha turned poisoned food into good stew by the grace of God.
2 Kings 4:42-44 – Christ fed five thousand and then four thousand by his word; Elisha fed the one hundred by the grace of God.
2 Kings 5:1-14 – Christ healed lepers by his word; Elisha healed Naaman the Syrian by the grace of God.
2 Kings 6:1-7 – Christ raised the dead by his word; Elisha lifted a lifeless axehead out of the Jordan by the grace of God (this is an illustration of both baptism and the resurrection of the dead)
2 Kings 6:8-23 – (1) Christ healed the blind, just as Elisha struck the Arameans with blindness and then opened their eyes once again.
(2) Christ the King of Israel passed through the murderous crowd at Nazareth unhurt; Elisha rescued the king of Israel from the Arameans by the grace of God.
2 Kings 7:1 – Jesus prophesied his own deliverance from death through the resurrection just as Elisha prophesied Samaria’s deliverance from starvation and economic collapse.
2 Kings 13:21 – Elisha’s bones brought a man back to life; Jesus’ resurrection means we all will be brought back to life.
1 Chronicles 11:2 – The Messiah would shepherd the people of Israel.
2 Chronicles 18:18 – The Lord Jesus is on his throne with all the host of heaven on his right and on his left.
Ezra 9:8 – Christ is the true relief from the bondage of sin.
Nehemiah 9:6 – Christ gives eternal life to all who worship him.
Esther 4:14 – True relief and deliverance for the Jews is from Jesus Christ.
Job 19:25 – Christ is the redeemer from all sin.
Psalm 2:6-7 – Christ was appointed to his work and did it willingly.
Psalm 2:7 – God declares that Christ is his Son, and that he will rise from the dead.
Psalm 2:8 – The exaltation of Christ took place according to both his divine nature and his human nature.
Psalm 16:10 – God the Father preserved Christ’s dead body.
Psalm 32:5 – The Lord forgave our sins on the cross.
Psalm 40:8 – The Son carried out the will of the Father willingly.
Psalm 45:1 – Christ is our King.
Psalm 51:16 – True atonement for sin cannot come from the sacrifice of animals (only through the sacrifice of Christ on the cross).
Psalm 102:27 – The Son of God is not subject to change, yet subjected himself to the state of humiliation.
Psalm 110:1 – The Son of God is truly human.
Proverbs 3:11-12 – Jesus did not despise his Father’s punishment but accepted it on behalf of mankind.
Proverbs 4:26 – We should prepare the way of the Lord in our hearts.
Proverbs 8:22-23 – The Son of God was appointed for his work in eternity.
Proverbs 18:4 – The word of Christ is the water of life.
Proverbs 19:23 – True fear of the Son of God is everlasting life.
Ecclesiastes 11:5 – The work of God through Christ is beyond human understanding.
Song of Solomon 1:7 – The flock of the Good Shepherd is the true home of all who believe.
Song of Solomon 1:17 – The structure of the house of God is secure and built on the cross of Christ.
Song of Solomon 2:10-11 – The Lord Jesus will raise all of his believers from the dead on the Last Day.
Song of Solomon 3:1-4 – True faith is not achieved by choice but is given through the preaching and reading of the Gospel.
Song of Solomon 4:1-5 – God seeks in us and praises what he gives to us. As a husband praises his wife’s natural beauty, God praises us for our faith.
Isaiah 7:14 – The prophecy of the virgin birth of Jesus Christ; conceived by the Holy Spirit.
Isaiah 9:1 – Christ would do much of his preaching and teaching in Galilee.
Isaiah 9:6 – The Son of God is truly God; born as our Savior.
Isaiah 40:1 – The message of comfort is the message God would have his messenger preach.
Isaiah 44:6 – The Son of God is the Redeemer.
Isaiah 45:23 – Jesus Christ is Lord of all.
Isaiah 52:13-53:12 – The Son of God would be the atoning sacrifice for the sins of all mankind.
Isaiah 53:12 – The death of Christ was a real, genuine death.
Jeremiah 1:5-8 – Christ was appointed to his work from birth.
Jeremiah 11:20 – The Son of God is omniscient (all-knowing).
Jeremiah 23:5-9 – The Son of God is truly God.
Jeremiah 23:24 – The Son of God is omnipresent (present everywhere).
Jeremiah 31:22 – The virgin birth of Jesus Christ was a miracle.
Jeremiah 50:1-14 – The descent into hell, prefigured.
Jeremiah 51:1-5 – The descent into hell, prefigured.
Jeremiah 51:9-10 – The descent into hell, prefigured.
Ezekiel 34:10-24 – Christ’s prophetic (preaching) work is carried out through the church.
Ezekiel 34:23 – Christ is our Prophet.
Daniel 7:13-14 – The Son of God is omnipotent (all-powerful).
Daniel 9:24-26 – The office of the Son of God is Messiah (Christ), the Anointed.
Daniel 12:2 – The resurrection will come through Jesus for all who believe.
Hosea 11:1 – The Son of God would be called out of Egypt.
Hosea 13:14 – Christ redeemed man from the grave.
Joel 2:11-14,18 – God would be merciful to sinful man through Christ.
Amos 5:22 – True atonement for sin cannot come from the sacrifice of animals.
Amos 9:11 – The Messiah would rebuild David’s fallen tent.
Obadiah 15-17, 21 – True deliverance would be through the holiness of Christ.
Jonah 1:17 – Just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the fish, so also the Son of Man would lie in the heart of the earth for three days.
Micah 5:2-5 – God the Son was begotten of the Father from eternity.
Micah 5:2 – The Savior would be born in Bethlehem.
Nahum 1:7 – The Lord cares for those who trust in Jesus.
Nahum 2:2 – The Lord would restore Israel through Jesus.
Habakkuk 2:2-4 – Man is saved through faith in Christ alone.
Habakkuk 3:13 – Christ came to deliver his people.
Zephaniah 1:7 – Christ’s sacrifice was prepared in advance.
Haggai 1:13 – The true prophets (and apostles) are truly messengers from the Lord Jesus.
Haggai 2:7 – Christ is the only Savior for all nations.
Zechariah 2:5 – Christ is the defense and the glory of his people.
Zechariah 3:8-9 – Christ is the priest and king for mankind.
Zechariah 6:12-13 – The Messiah would be a priest-king, the Branch.
Zechariah 9:9 – Christ is King.
Malachi 3:1 – Foretold by John the Baptist, Jesus is the Lord you are seeking.
Malachi 3:6 – The two natures of Christ (trus God and true man) are changeless.
This meager list is only a sample of the passages that might have been cited by the Risen Savior that day. I confess that I hardly dipped into the Psalms or Isaiah at all; their passages would outnumber all of the others. The truth we should remember is that the Savior Jesus was concealed in the Old Testament, but he is revealed in the New. He is the culmination of all of God’s plan for mankind. Put your faith in Jesus, the Risen Savior, and know that through faith in him you have a place forever in heaven.
In Christ,
Pastor Timothy Smith
Archives by Wisconsin Lutheran Chapel: www.wlchapel.org/connect-grow/ministries/adults/daily-devotions/gwfy-archive/2019
Pastor Smith serves St. Paul’s Lutheran Church, New Ulm, Minnesota