He Opened the Scriptures

Jesus is the better Prophet who speaks for God, the better Priest who brings us to God, and the better King who reigns for God.

Have you ever watched a movie that does not make sense at first?

You meet characters you are not sure you will ever see again. Scenes feel disconnected. Details seem random. You keep watching, but you are thinking, “Where is this going?” Then there is that moment when everything clicks. Suddenly the earlier scenes matter. The random details were not random at all. The whole story was heading somewhere, and now you can see it.

For many of us, the Bible can feel like that before the moment it clicks.

Most of us have had a Bible-reading plan that started strong in Genesis and somehow got shipwrecked in Leviticus. We were doing fine with creation, Noah, Abraham, Joseph, Moses, and the Red Sea. Then we hit genealogies, sacrifices, strange laws, kings with hard names, prophets with harder names, and places we cannot find without a map. Somewhere along the way, we quietly wonder, “Lord, I know this is Your Word, but what am I supposed to do with all of this?”

Sometimes we avoid the Old Testament because it feels confusing, and sometimes we read it mainly as a collection of moral examples. But Luke 24 invites us to something deeper. Jesus shows us that the Old Testament is not a pile of disconnected stories; it is one story, written by one divine Author, moving toward one main character—Jesus Christ.

Jesus Meets Us On The Road

Luke 24 begins with two discouraged disciples walking to Emmaus, talking about Jesus’ death, rumors of an empty tomb, and the confusion that followed. They knew the facts, but they could not make sense of them, and their hopes felt shattered.

Then comes one of the most beautiful lines in the passage: Jesus Himself came near and began to walk along with them. They were not walking toward Jesus in clarity and confidence; Jesus was walking toward them in their confusion. That is good news for discouraged people, confused people, and people whose faith feels more like questions than certainty.

There is something else worth noticing: they were not alone. They were talking together, processing together, and struggling together, and that matters because confusion often grows louder in isolation. God often strengthens His people through other believers who help us keep walking and keep returning to His Word.

But even good conversation has limits. These disciples had companionship, but they still needed clarity. They had each other, but they still needed Christ to show them what God was doing.

Jesus Opens The Word

Jesus does not only comfort these disciples; He corrects them and teaches them. He tells them they are slow to believe all that the prophets have spoken and asks, “Wasn’t it necessary for the Messiah to suffer these things and enter into his glory?”

That word necessary matters. The cross was not a tragic accident or a failed plan. It was the very thing Scripture had promised all along. What looked like the collapse of hope was actually the fulfillment of God’s plan.

Then Luke gives us one of the most remarkable statements in the New Testament: beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, Jesus interpreted for them the things concerning Himself in all the Scriptures. In other words, Jesus showed them that the whole Bible ultimately points to Him.

The promises lead to Him, the patterns are fulfilled in Him, the sacrifices prepare us for Him, the priests anticipate Him, the kings make us long for Him, and the prophets announce Him. The Old Testament is not meaningless background material; it is a God-given witness to Christ.

That does not mean every detail has a secret hidden meaning. It means we learn to read the Bible the way Jesus teaches us to read it: as one unified story centered on one glorious Savior. He is the promised offspring, the true Passover Lamb, the greater Moses, the better Priest, the Son of David, the suffering Servant, and the risen King.

Jesus Warms The Heart

By the time they reach Emmaus, Jesus takes bread, blesses it, breaks it, and gives it to them, and then their eyes are opened, and they recognize Him. After He vanishes from their sight, they say, “Weren’t our hearts burning within us while he was talking with us on the road and explaining the Scriptures to us?”

That is what happens when Christ opens the Scriptures. Their circumstances had not all changed, and not every question had been answered, but their hearts were different because they had seen that Jesus was alive and that the whole story had been pointing to Him.

Jesus did not merely give them more information; He gave them illumination. He did not simply explain texts; He revealed Himself, and their hearts burned because they saw Christ more clearly.

That is the kind of Bible reading we need today. The goal is not merely bigger notebooks or more facts in the head, though knowledge matters. The goal is to see Jesus in such a way that the heart is awakened in worship and affection.

So come to the Word with expectation. Come asking Jesus to open the Scriptures, show the promises and patterns that lead to Him, and warm your heart again. The Old Testament is not a locked room. Christ is the key, and when He opens the Word, the Bible comes alive.

Reflection Questions

1. Are there parts of Scripture you tend to avoid because they feel confusing, intimidating, or hard to understand?

2. How would your Bible reading change if you came to the Old Testament expecting to see how it leads to Christ?

3. Where do you need Jesus to meet you, teach you, and warm your heart again through His Word?