"How to Look at the Old Testament" Durham's Sunday Bread

One of my favorite passages in the Scriptures is Luke 24:13-27, “The Road to Emmaus.” If you want to know how to interpret the Old Testament in a Christian way, this is a foundational passage. If you want to get excited about reading your Old Testament, then read this passage.
You know, I have always had a hard time dealing with the Old Testament. How many times have you told yourself that you are going to read straight through the Bible only to have your car break down somewhere around Leviticus 6. It just doesn’t seem relevant to my life. I haven’t had to mark a house because of leprosy, or go through a cleansing ritual for a bed that has been discharged on (yep, that’s in Leviticus). What does all this stuff mean!? What does it have to do with Christianity in the 21st Century!?

The way I have dealt with these questions in the past is to just hang out with Paul, Peter and John in the New Testament. Even then I am missing out because these guys were well versed in the Old Testament and quoted constantly from it. I heard one pastor say that you can’t truly understand the book of Hebrews if you haven’t read Leviticus.

What about the fact that Jesus said in Mark 1:15 that, “the time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.” What gospel are the people to believe in? Jesus had just started his ministry. Jesus’ death and resurrection wouldn’t take place for another 3 years.

In the second century, there was a man named Marcion who tried to solve this problem by saying that the God of the Old Testament was a different God from the New Testament. The God of the Old was an angry, wrathful God, while the God of the New was merciful and kind. You might be thinking, “what and idiot,” but I have heard arguments similar to this, not as extreme, but still along the same lines.

In comes Luke 24 to the rescue! In chapter 23 Luke records the details of Jesus’ death on the cross, and his burial. In the beginning of Chapter 24 he tells of Jesus’ resurrection. Then, Luke inserts this amazing story of Jesus in his resurrection body talking with two of his disciples who do not recognize him. They were devastated that Jesus was killed because they thought he was the one to redeem Israel. These disciples, no doubt, knew there Old Testament backwards and forwards, but they did not have eyes to see. These next three verses are what make this passage so amazing:

And He said to them, "O foolish men and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken!
"Was it not necessary for the Christ to suffer these things and to enter into His glory?"
Then beginning with Moses and with all the prophets, He explained to them the things concerning Himself in all the Scriptures.

Jesus was essentially saying, “Hey guys! Wake up! Don’t you realize that all of the OT is about me!” “You didn’t see from Isaiah that God’s servant would have to die to redeem his people?” “You don’t remember Isaiah 53:5 which says, ‘he was pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; The chastening for our well-being fell on him, and by His scourging we are healed?’”

Jesus is not only the hero in the New Testament, but was also the hero of the Old. Who do you think it was in the burning bush who said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM?” It wasn’t the Father. No one has seen the Father. Who do you think was the Angel of the Lord who wrestled with Jacob in Genesis 32? I believe it was the pre-incarnate Christ. What do you think the Passover is a symbol of? What about the High Priest, the one who is the mediator between God and man? What about the scape goat, who took away the sins of the people? These are just a few examples.

If you, like me, have gravitated away from the OT I hope that this very brief attempt to explain this passage will motivate you to dive in and enjoy the Gospel of Jesus Christ which shines just as bright in the OT.