Saturday, April 18, 2009

The importance of the Old Testament

Now that same day two of them were going to a village called Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem. They were talking with each other about everything that had happened. As they talked and discussed these things with each other, Jesus himself came up and walked along with them; but they were kept from recognizing him. He asked them, "What are you discussing together as you walk along?"

They stood still, their faces downcast. One of them, named Cleopas, asked him, "Are you only a visitor to Jerusalem and do not know the things that have happened there in these days?"

"What things?" he asked. "About Jesus of Nazareth," they replied. "He was a prophet, powerful in word and deed before God and all the people. The chief priests and our rulers handed him over to be sentenced to death, and they crucified him; but we had hoped that he was the one who was going to redeem Israel. And what is more, it is the third day since all this took place. In addition, some of our women amazed us. They went to the tomb early this morning but didn't find his body. They came and told us that they had seen a vision of angels, who said he was alive. Then some of our companions went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said, but him they did not see."

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

As they approached the village to which they were going, Jesus acted as if he were going farther. But they urged him strongly, "Stay with us, for it is nearly evening; the day is almost over." So he went in to stay with them.

When he was at the table with them, he took bread, gave thanks, broke it and began to give it to them. Then their eyes were opened and they recognized him, and he disappeared from their sight. They asked each other, "Were not our hearts burning within us while he talked with us on the road and opened the Scriptures to us?"

They got up and returned at once to Jerusalem. There they found the Eleven and those with them, assembled together and saying, "It is true! The Lord has risen and has appeared to Simon." Then the two told what had happened on the way, and how Jesus was recognized by them when he broke the bread (Luke 24:13-35a).

I’m sure that you’ve seen them. Thin Bibles consisting of only the New Testament, or the New Testament with the Book of Psalms. They sell quite well; they are less bulky than having to carry around a complete Bible, and they are less expensive too. And anyway, what do you really need the Old Testament for? Sure, it has some interesting stories, but it all happened so long ago; it’s not really relevant for us today, is it? Much of it is hard to understand. Isn’t the Old Testament all about God’s Law, while the New Testament is about the Gospel? Well, in the New Testament, Jesus did away with the Law, right? So He made the Old Testament unnecessary—didn’t He?

But look at what happened on the road to Emmaus on the evening of the very first Easter Sunday. Jesus joins two very disheartened men as they trudge home following the worst Passover ever—the festival during which the great religious teacher Jesus of Nazareth had been put to death by crucifixion. Jesus prevents them from recognizing Him so that He can get them to reflect on what the events of Holy Week meant. As students taught by Jesus, they knew their Old Testament very well—yet it is frustratingly clear that although they have all the pieces to the puzzle, they cannot put them together to see the picture of Jesus risen from the dead. Jesus is exasperated; "How foolish you are, and how slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! Did not the Christ have to suffer these things and then enter his glory?"

Right then and there, Jesus could have revealed Himself to them in all His resurrection glory. But He does not; instead, beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself. And the effect of this Old Testament Bible study? The two disciples would later remark "Were not our hearts burning within us while he talked with us on the road and opened the Scriptures to us?"

Moses and all the Prophets; Moses wrote Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy, as well as a Psalm or two. The rest of the Old Testament was written by prophets—men appointed by God to make His words known to mankind. Moses and all the Prophets—in other words, the entire Old Testament. This is what Jesus used to teach the Emmaus disciples about Himself. Clearly, Jesus valued the Old Testament as important. But why?

As you read the Gospels by Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, you’ll notice that frequently the writers will say something like these things happened so that the scripture would be fulfilled. The Old Testament is filled with hundreds of references as to what Jesus would be like, what He would do, and what would happen to Him. As He began His public ministry, Jesus referred to the Old Testament to establish His credentials; Luke 4:16-21 records On the Sabbath day he went into the synagogue, as was his custom. And he stood up to read. The scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. Unrolling it, he found the place where it is written: "The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor." Then he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant and sat down. The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fastened on him, and he began by saying to them, "Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing." When people questioned Jesus as to whether or not He was the Savior promised by God, He almost always referred them back to the Old Testament. We read one example from St. Luke chapter seven: they said, "John the Baptist sent us to you to ask, `Are you the one who was to come, or should we expect someone else?' " …He replied to the messengers, "Go back and report to John what you have seen and heard: The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is preached to the poor." Here, Jesus was referring to several passages, including Isaiah chapter 35, which reads: say to those with fearful hearts, "Be strong, do not fear; your God will come…he will come to save you." Then will the eyes of the blind be opened and the ears of the deaf unstopped. Then will the lame leap like a deer, and the mute tongue shout for joy.

Jesus did not use the Old Testament to prove Himself as the Messiah because He was humble. The Jews knew that the Old Testament was just that—old. Even the most recent book of the Scriptures had been written over 400 years earlier. The Jews knew that men of God had written the Holy Scriptures, and they knew that the Scriptures predicted the coming of a man from heaven who would free them from their sin. So when Jesus systematically fulfilled every prediction the Old Testament had made about Him, it would be clear that He was indeed the Messiah sent by God; the testimony of the Scriptures would be far more convincing than any claims He made about Himself. After all, when Jesus performed miracles, His opponents were not impressed—they claimed that Jesus got His powers from the devil. The most persuasive proof of Jesus’ identity came from the Old Testament.

This is why Jesus took the time to review the Scriptures with His disciples—and not just on the road to Emmaus. After He left Emmaus, Jesus appeared to the rest of the disciples in Jerusalem; He said to them, "This is what I told you while I was still with you: Everything must be fulfilled that is written about me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms." Then he opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures. He told them, "This is what is written: The Christ will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, and repentance and forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations" (Luke 24:44-47).

The Old Testament exists for Jesus—it was written to tell us why we need Him, who He is, and what He would come to do for us. The Old Testament tells us of Adam and Eve and how human foolish ness has cursed our lives with the misery of sin and the terror of death. The Old Testament shows us that even godly people of great faith, like Abraham and David, still fail to live the perfect lives that God expects of us all. The Old Testament shows that God cannot frighten us into living perfect lives—the great flood did not end sinful behavior. The Old Testament shows us that God cannot bring our sins to heel by the giving of clear, unambiguous laws—the frequently ignored Ten Commandments are proof of that. The Old Testament tells of God’s expectations and our failures—and thus why we need a Savior from sin and the eternal death that accompanies it.

But the Old Testament also gives us Gospel—Good News. It tells us of God’s mercy and willingness to forgive us. Adam and Eve were not instantly destroyed for wrecking God’s perfect world; instead, they were promised that they and all their descendants would be rescued from Satan by a Savior that God would provide. God gave Moses instructions in how to set up a place where sacrifices could be made to release God’s people from their sins, a system of atoning sacrifices that were pale shadows of the great sacrifice Christ would one day make on the cross to free us all from sin forever. The prophets gave detail after detail about the coming Messiah, describing His power, His glory, His humility, and His willingness to suffer anything out of love for us. The Old Testament is filled with the Savior—filled with the Gospel of Christ. Jesus said, These are the Scriptures that testify about me (John 5:39).

The Bible is a whole; the Old Testament and the New go together. Jesus did not do away with the Old Testament; He referred to it constantly. Jesus said, do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them (Matthew 5:17). This means that the Old Testament is still important, still worthy of our attention. Some claim that parts of it are too hard to understand; I’ll concede that, but not all of the New Testament is easy to understand either. And remember, even Jesus’ own disciples could not fully understand the Scriptures until Jesus miraculously opened their minds and gave them a level of understanding that no one else has had since that day.

I know a person who reads the end of mystery novels first; if she doesn’t like the ending, she won’t waste her time with the rest of the book. But if she is intrigued by the ending, she will go back and read the book from the beginning. Most of you are familiar with the ending of the Bible—the New Testament which details Jesus’ life, death and resurrection, and the beginnings of His Church. But most of you are far less familiar with the beginning of the book—the Old Testament. I know that the ending intrigues you—the hero suffers unimaginably for the sake of His friends, even goes to death for them, but then is miraculously resurrected so that He can promise them life beyond the grave as well. Now, it’s time to get familiar with the rest of the story—because, like the end of the book, the Old Testament has as its central character the hero who would one day risk everything to save from hell those He loves. He did it all, He wrote it all, for you.

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