In a previous post, Our Hearts Burned Within Us, Jesus walked along the road with two disciples on their way to Emmaus. Not knowing who He was, they sadly told Him what had recently happened to Jesus in Jerusalem. They were confused when He died; because they thought the Messiah was going to rescue them as a people. He said, "'Wasn't it clearly predicted that the Messiah would have to suffer all these things before entering His glory?'" Then Jesus took them through the writings of Moses and all the prophets, explaining from all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself." Luke 24: 26, 27 NLT Later, when they recognized them, he vanished. They said to one another, "Did not our heart burn within us while... He opened the Scriptures to us?" Luke 24: 32 NKJ
Have you ever wondered what these scriptures were that Jesus told His disciples foretelling His suffering, death and resurrection? I have wondered that. Here are a few that may have been some that He told them.
Beginning with Moses, who wrote the first five books in the Bible; we see in Genesis the creation of the earth, the heavens, vegetation, animals and people... Adam and Eve. Most of us know the story how they sinned by eating the forbidden fruit of the knowledge of good and evil. Afterward they were ashamed, they realized they were naked and hid from God in the trees, covering themselves with fig leaves. Just before they were banished from the garden, the Lord God made clothing for them from animal skins. Why animal skins? Why not fig leaves? Right from the beginning we see that something had to suffer and die to cover the nakedness of their sins. You'll find their story in Genesis 2 and 3.
Continuing in Genesis, Moses told us how God tested Abraham's faith in Genesis 22. Abraham's only son from his wife Sarah was born to them in their old age. His name was Isaac. One day God told Abraham,
So the next morning, faithful Abraham got up early and set out, with his donkey, some chopped wood, a couple servants and Isaac. They started a three day journey for the place God told him to go. When he got there Isaac saw the wood and the fire but wondered where the lamb was for the sacrifice. Abraham answered him, "God will provide a lamb for the burnt offering, my son." Gen. 22:8 NLT When they arrived at the place for the sacrifice Abraham built an altar and arranged the wood on it. Then he tied his son and laid him on top of the wood. He picked up the knife to kill his son and at that moment the angel of the Lord called from heaven, "Abraham! Abraham!... do not hurt the boy... for now I know that you truly fear God. You have not withheld from me even your son, your only son. Then Abraham looked up and saw a ram caught in a thicket. So he sacrificed the ram in place of his son." Wow! What began as a test of Abrahams faith and loyalty became a picture of how God would save the whole world. God spared Isaac (us) and provided a lamb (Jesus) for the sacrifice in place of Isaac (us). Over a thousand years later, something happened on that same mountain. In Abraham's time it was called Mount Moriah. Later it was called Mount Zion. It was here that God did not withhold His Son, His only Son. He provided Him like a lamb, to take our place, to suffer and die for our sin, the sin we inherited from Adam and Eve. Something had to die and cover the nakedness of our sins. Listen to God words to Abraham and see Him doing this for us, through Jesus:
This is what God did for us through Jesus our Christ, our Messiah and Savior.
These two stories from the scriptures were likely ones that Jesus spoke of
to open their minds to understand the scriptures
and what Christ had just done for them and for us.
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