From Doubt to Understanding: Jesus Interprets Scripture on the Emmaus Road

We are reflecting on the day of Jesus' resurrection, when Christ appeared unrecognized to two discouraged disciples on the road to Emmaus, about seven miles west of Jerusalem. In conversation, the two told Jesus: “But we had hoped that he was the one who was going to redeem Israel” (Luke 24:21). Their discussion revealed their past belief that Jesus was Israel's Redeemer, but since they used the past tense, it showed that His death on the cross had caused them to waver in their faith. Notably, Jesus responded to them in a way worth noting.

²⁵He said to them, "How foolish you are, and how slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! ²⁶Did not the Christ have to suffer these things and then enter his glory?" ²⁷And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself (Luke 24:25-27).

These two disciples needed to understand clearly what the Scriptures taught because they had a limited view of God's plan. Their perspective was narrow because they believed Jesus' mission was to free them from Roman rule and occupation. The Lord explained the Old Testament Scriptures to them, starting with Moses and the Prophets (v. 27). We don't know exactly which prophetic Scriptures Jesus referenced, but I can suggest a few possibilities.

Perhaps Jesus clarified what Moses wrote in the first five books of Moses: that God would send a Deliverer to crush the serpent's head, a symbol of Satan. “And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel" (Genesis 3:15). Perhaps Jesus explained how the substitutionary Passover lamb's blood sprinkled on the lintel and doorposts of their homes would deliver the obedient from Pharaoh's slavery. Maybe He said that the Rock struck by Moses, bringing forth water for Israel, was a picture of the Rock of Israel, Christ, being smitten for sin so that God could pour out His Holy Spirit for the thirsty (Exodus 17:6). Paul the Apostle also wrote about Christ being the Rock of Israel, saying that they all "drank the same spiritual drink; for they drank from the spiritual rock that accompanied them, and that rock was Christ" (1 Corinthians 10:4). Maybe He explained that the heavenly Manna that God gave Israel in the desert was a picture of the heavenly bread of life that God would provide, i.e., a picture of Christ, the Bread of Life.

³²Jesus said to them, “Very truly I tell you, it is not Moses who has given you the bread from heaven, but it is my Father who gives you the true bread from heaven. ³³For the bread of God is the bread that comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.” ³⁴“Sir,” they said, “always give us this bread.” ³⁵Then Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life” (John 6:32-35).

It is possible that He also explained what Moses said: “The LORD your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your fellow Israelites. You must listen to him” (Deuteronomy 18:15). Pharaoh and Egypt served as a picture given hundreds of years before Christ of the greater bondage and servitude of sin, which will not release its slaves unless payment is made by the death of a substitute, that is, the Lamb of God who would take away the sins of the world (John 1:29).

What was written in the first five books of Moses were real events, but they also served as types and shadows of Christ's work to save us from the power and guilt of sin. Yes, the Living Christ explained the Scriptures to them as they walked. I trust that the same is happening to you through these meditations—the Lord Jesus is opening your eyes to see His saving power for us. Keith Thomas

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Taken from the series on the Gospel of Luke: Click on study 65. Jesus on the Emmaus Road

YouTube Video: Who is Jesus Christ? at the following link: https://youtu.be/r6h37G6QRt0