Jesus in Every Book in the Bible

“How foolish you are, and how slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! Did not 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.

Luke 24:25-27

I love the story of Cleopas and his companion, as Jesus joined them the Sunday of His resurrection on their way home from Jerusalem and its ensuing hubbub: “We had hoped that he was the one who was going to redeem Israel” (Luke 24:21).

I sense a gentleness to His prodding. Yes, foolish and slow of heart may not seem encouraging in light of their downcast faces; but “a fool in the Old Testament is a person who does not allow the Scriptures to influence his or her thinking or behavior.”* We miss the inflection, the tone. They missed the message; He had told His followers much of what would happen. And the Old Testament prophets pointed directly to His coming, to the role He would play, to His suffering, to His glory. God had had the best plan for them from the beginning of time, and it was now being fulfilled.

Can you imagine doing Bible study with Jesus, beginning with Moses? He was there through it all, had the back stories, the reasons, the plans, the ups and downs. Jesus is everywhere in the Old Testament. Check out the little book by O.S. Hawkins, The Bible Code…Finding Jesus in Every Book in the Bible.

By the time Cleopas and friend got home, perhaps they were not so far off the mark. When Jesus broke bread with them, their eyes were opened and they recognized him (Luke 24:30-31). Their faith just needed a little stirring up, as does ours periodically. I wish I’d been there on that seven-mile walk to Emmaus!  

The more time we spend in the word of God, the more our eyes will be opened to Jesus. I am grateful for this year’s study with my “girlfriends” in Angie Smith’s Matchless: The Life and Love of Jesus. Together we’ve seen prophecy tied to the reality of that perfect life portrayed in the gospels. And for all its familiarity, our hearts have been touched. It was as if He were with us all the way.       

 Nancy P

*Thomas Constable, planobiblechapel.org

 All Scripture quotations are from the NIV 1973, 1978, 1984, unless otherwise noted.