Jesus; an Old Testament Story

“Then Jesus said to them, “You foolish people! You find it so hard to believe all that the prophets wrote in the Scriptures. Wasn’t it clearly predicted that the Messiah would have to suffer all these things before entering his glory?” Luke 24:25-26 NLT

            The story of Jesus is not only a New Testament story, but an Old Testament one as well. Some people today dismiss the relevancy of the Old Testament scriptures in modern day Christianity. But it is in those very books of the Old Testament that speak of Him and actually predict His birth and His death to save sinners. Jesus Himself said concerning the Old Testament scriptures, “it is these that testify about me.” (Jn 5:39)

            On the evening of Jesus’s resurrection, two men were on their way to Emmaus from Jerusalem. As they were discussing the events of that momentous weekend, Jesus came alongside and walked with them. He asked them what they were talking about. They found it hard to believe that anyone would not have known the events of the last three days. They told of the crucifixion of Jesus occurring on Friday, and noted that they anticipated that Jesus was the one who was going to redeem Israel. Then they told of the amazing discovery that morning of finding His tomb empty with angels declaring He was alive.

            Jesus responding to His travelling companions points to the Old Testament scriptures and admonishes them that if they had clearly read the scriptures and believed them they would have not been surprised at the events that took place. Isn’t that much like today? We do not read the scriptures as we should, both the Old and New Testaments. They both tell of Jesus, His Story of redeeming sinners and reconciling us to God. It’s time to familiarize ourselves once again or perhaps for the first time, with the Old Testament of the Bible, it’s about Jesus; an Old Testament Story.