On the Road to Emmaus

On The Road to Emmaus

Luke 24:27 … And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself.

Moses wrote the first five Books of the Bible. And in the very first pages, there is the verse that we know as “The First Good News” - [“The Protevangelium”]. On the very day that Adam and Eve were expelled from Paradise,

Genesis 3:15 …[God said] I will put an enmity between thee and The Woman, between thy seed and her seed; she shall crush thy head, and thou shalt lie in wait for her heel.

Then on to Isaiah, the greatest of all the prophets.

Isaiah 7: 10 The Lord spoke to [King] Ahaz, saying, Ask thee a sign of the Lord thy God; [anything you like…] ask it either in the depth, or in the height above. But Ahaz said, I will not ask, neither will I tempt the Lord. [He was afraid of the consequences, and did not want to commit himself.] [So the prophet said]: Hear ye now, O house of David; Is it not enough for you to weary men, that you will weary my God also? Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Emmanuel. [A name which means, God with us (Mt 1:23)]

He would have mentioned the words of the Prophet Micah:

Micah 5:2 (c.f. Matthew 2:6): And thou, Bethlehem, art not least among the rulers of Juda: for from thee will come a Ruler, who will govern my people Israel.

Jeremiah was the chosen “Prophet of Doom” who had to warn Israel that if they did not turn away from their evil ways, calamities would befall them. This indeed came to pass, and the whole nation was taken in slavery to Babylon. But even before these dreadful things, Jeremiah gave them hope of ultimate deliverance:

Jeremiah 23: 2 Therefore thus saith the Lord God of Israel against the pastors that feed my people; Ye have scattered my flock, and driven them away, and have not visited them: behold, I will visit upon you the evil of your doings, saith the Lord.

… [but] I will gather the remnant of my flock out of all countries from where I have driven them, and will bring them again to their folds; and they shall be fruitful and increase. And I will set up shepherds over them who shall feed them: and they shall fear no more, nor be dismayed, neither shall they be lacking, saith the Lord. Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will raise unto David a righteous Branch, and a King shall reign and prosper, and shall execute judgment and justice in the earth. In his days Judah shall be saved, and Israel shall dwell safely: and this is his name whereby He shall be called, The Lord Our Righteousness.

But then He must have reminded them of the prophecies of the suffering Servant, Isaiah again ...

Isaiah 50: 5 … For My part, I made no resistance, neither did I turn away. I offered My Back to those who struck Me, and My cheeks to those who tore at My beard. I did not hide My Face from insults and spittle.

And the crowds were appalled at seeing Him: so disfigured did He look, that he seemed no longer human. without beauty, without majesty we saw Him, a thing despised and rejected by men.

Isaiah 1:6: From the sole of the foot to the top of the head, there is no soundness therein; but bruises and sores and bleeding wounds: they are not bound up, nor dressed, nor softened with oil.

Isaiah 50: And yet, ours were the sufferings He bore: and the sorrows He carried were ours.

And, as we are told later, their hearts burned within them as they heard these things. Having witnessed the Scourging and Crowning with Thorns, they must have said, “My God! that’s how it happened!

And then, in the psalms, the Crucifixion itself:

Ps 22: My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? I am a worm, and no man; a reproach of men, and despised of the people. All they that see me laugh me to scorn: they make mouths, they shake the head, saying, He trusted in the LORD that he would deliver him: let God save him now, if He desires Him. They have parted My garments amongst them: and cast lots for My robe. They have pierced My Hands and Feet: I can number all My bones.

...And again the disciples must have said, “My God! That’s what happened!”

And Psalm 110, the great Messianic Psalm:

The Lord said unto my Lord:

Sit Thou at My Right Hand

Until I make Thine enemies: Thy footstool.

The Lord shall wield from Sion : Thy sceptre of power:

Rule Thou in the midst of all Thy foes.

Thine shall be dominion in the day of Thy strength

Amid the brightness of the Saints:

From the womb before the daystar have I begotten Thee.

The Lord hath sworn, and He will not repent:

Thou art a priest forever,

of the order of Melchisedech [of old: who offered Bread and wine on Mount Zion in the days of Abraham]

He will drink of the torrent [of suffering]in the way:

Therefore shall He lift up His Head.

And in the psalms, the prophecies of the Resurrection itself:

Ps 16: You will not leave My Soul in the Place of the Dead: nor suffer thy Holy One to see corruption.

Ps 139: O Lord, you have searched Me and known Me: you have known My Lying Low, and My Rising again.

Ps 76:Now the Earth trembled and was still: when God arose in Judgment.

Ps 47: God goes up with shouts of joy: and the Lord, with great jubilee of trumpets.

Ps 68: Let God arise, let His enemies be scattered: all those who hate Him, flee from before His face. But let the righteous be glad; let them rejoice before God: and let them rejoice with exceeding joy.

The Prophet Daniel:

Daniel 7: 13 I gazed into the visions of the night: and, behold, I saw one like the Son of Man coming with the clouds of heaven, and He came to the Ancient of Days, and they brought Him near before Him.

14 And there was given Him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages, should serve him: His dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his Kingdom that which shall not be destroyed.

… and the strange vision of Ezekiel:

Ezekiel 1: 26 And [I saw] the likeness of a throne, as the appearance of a sapphire stone: and upon the likeness of the throne was the likeness of a man above upon it. And downward from the throne, I saw as it were the appearance of fire, and it had brightness round about. As the appearance of the bow that is in the cloud on the day of rain, so was the appearance of the brightness round about. This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the Lord. And when I saw it, I fell upon my face.

And so...

Luke 24: 25… He said to them, O foolish men, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things, and to enter into his glory?