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Walk to Emmaus
477
Strange that they did not remember Christ’s words, that He had
foretold that He would rise again the third day. The priests and rulers
did not forget!
Jesus, Unrecognized, Explains the Scriptures
“Then He said to them, ‘O foolish ones, and slow of heart to
believe in all that the prophets have spoken! Ought not the Christ
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to have suffered these things and to enter into His glory?’ “ Who
could this be, to speak with such earnestness and sympathy? For the
first time, they began to feel hopeful. Often they looked earnestly
at their Companion and thought that His words were just the words
that Christ would have spoken.
Beginning at Moses, the start of Bible history, Christ explained
the things concerning Himself in all the Scriptures. If He had made
Himself known to them first, they would have hungered for nothing
more. But it was necessary for them to understand the symbols and
prophecies of the Old Testament. Their faith must be established
on these. Christ performed no miracle to convince them. It was His
first work to explain the Scriptures. He showed from the prophets
that His death was the strongest evidence for their faith.
Jesus showed the importance of the Old Testament as a witness
to His mission. The Old Testament reveals the Savior as clearly as
the New. Light from the prophetic past brings out the life of Christ
and the teachings of the New Testament with clearness and beauty.
Comparing the prophecies of the Old Testament with the history of
the New gives even stronger proof than the miracles of Christ.
The disciples had expected a Messiah who would take His throne
and kingly power in the manner that people wanted, but this had been
misleading. His disciples must understand about the cup of suffering
that had been given to Him. He showed them that the awful conflict
was the fulfillment of the covenant made before the foundation of
the world. Christ must die, as every transgressor of the law must die
if he continues in sin. All this was to happen, but it would not end in
defeat but in glorious victory. Jesus told them that they must make
every effort to save the world from sin. His followers must live as
He lived and work as He worked, with persistent effort.