“The Fulfillment to God's Plan”

Monday, November 25, 2019

BIBLE READING: Luke 24

Can you imagine living before Jesus and trying to decipher the Law and the prophecies and what they all meant? The language of the Old Testament made it clear someone was coming, but how were the Jews to reconcile depictions of a suffering servant, an eternal priest, and a conquering king?  On this side of the cross we see the fulfillment of God's plan through Christ, but many Jews wrestled with how many  figures there would be, and what sort of person the Messiah would be.

In our reading this week, Luke describes a scene that surely categorized many of the Jewish disciples following the death of Jesus. Jesus unknowingly speaks with two disciples, who wanted Jesus to be the Messiah but were perplexed at his death. In fact, they had almost given up hope (Luke 24.21); but then Jesus responds:

“‘Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and enter into ‘his glory?’ And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself.” (Luke 24.26-27)

There are two critical things for us to see here: (1) Jesus teaches it was “necessary” for him to suffer because (2) this is what Moses and the Prophets taught.

Here, Jesus uses the imperative “δεῖ” (necessary; Luke 24.26) to emphasize the inevitability of these things. The career that Scripture outlines for the Messiah is suffering and then glory (eg. Isaiah 53). This was a fresh understanding of the Jewish Scriptures but should come as no surprise to a modern reader. Jesus' death was the dramatically awesome segue to his glorious resurrection and ascent to power. 

However, we must recognize the significance of Moses and the Prophets to our understanding of Jesus. The Old Testament is the basis for belief in Jesus as the Son of God. Jesus did not show up and offer new information; he brought fulfilment to God’s eternal plan.  His life without the prerogative of God and His eternal word fueling Jesus' every move would lack power. But because Jesus “was buried and raised on the third day in accordance with the scriptures” (1 Corinthians 15.4) we have reason to believe.

And so, it is imperative for us to learn and study the Old Testament as we follow Jesus. It is what brings us truly know Christ (Galatians 3.24). There is no better commentary on this passage than Hebrew 1.1-4. God revealed himself in a lot of ways throughout history; but now he has definitively and finally spoken to us by his Son. There is no greater privilege than knowing the Son of God. He is the fulfillment of God's promise and plan.

“Yet it was the will of the LORD to crush him; he has put him to grief; when his soul makes an offering for guilt, he shall see his offspring; he shall prolong his days; the will of the LORD shall prosper in his hand.” (Isaiah 53.10)

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