If you would like to print my “Emmaus Encounter with Jesus” Bible study, you can download the PDF here. This is my free gift to you!
During the season of Advent, we celebrate the coming of Jesus. While it’s good to be reminded of the story of his birth, the “why” of this story should be our main focus. Why did Jesus come? To fulfill God’s promise to Abraham that all nations would be blessed through his offspring, specifically the anointed King from the line of David God promised Israel. A primary goal of this devotional is to strengthen our understanding of Jesus as the Jewish Messiah who will come again to establish God’s kingdom on the earth, fulfilling all of God’s promises to Israel. Jesus is the fulfillment of the old covenant, but God is not finished fulfilling his promises to Israel. When we understand how Jesus is the Jewish Messiah, we gain a better understanding of who he is, why he came, what he came to accomplish on the earth, and what he will do when he returns. To understand the new covenant, we must understand how Jesus fulfills God’s covenant with Israel.
Rather than come out and say, “I am the Messiah,” Jesus often chose to reveal clues that he was the Messiah by declaring truths about himself that are connected to the Messiah of the Hebrew scriptures (Old Testament). While the gospel of Matthew specifically records prophecies Jesus fulfilled, John records the “I am” statements of Jesus, pointing in a subtler way to the nature of the Messiah prophesied in the Old Testament. When Jesus says he is the fountain of living water, he is saying he is the fulfillment of Isaiah 12, the fountain or source of salvation. When he says he is the light of the world, he’s referencing Zechariah 14, a passage about the Messiah who will literally replace the sun as our source of light. When he says he is the Good Shepherd, he’s referencing Ezekiel 34, where God promises that he himself will shepherd his sheep and set over them David, pointing to the son of David who will be King forever. His disciples wanted to know if Jesus was the Messiah, so he answered them by declaring in himself the fulfillment of every Old Testament description of Messiah – including the suffering servant of Psalm 22.
At one point, Jesus asked his disciples, “Who do you say I am?” There are many versions of Jesus being presented today. There is the Jesus who wants us to be nice little boys and girls who don’t offend anyone, and the Jesus who promotes tolerance of sin in the name of love and does away with holiness in the name of grace. But are these the real Jesus? We need to know who the real Jesus is, the Jesus of the Bible (whose name is actually Yeshua because he is a Jew). As we focus on Jesus as God’s promised Messiah to the Jews, we will also study the passages that pointed to him to glean greater understanding of who Jesus is to us. My hope is that by connecting these dots, you will worship Jesus in a deeper way as the fulfillment of every good promise from God, strengthening your faith in God’s ability to fulfill his promises to you.
I encourage you to read the scriptures before each devotional, asking the Holy Spirit to reveal who Jesus is as Messiah to you. I will help you make the connections in each devotional, but it’s more fun to be led by the Spirit to make the connections yourself! My goal is not only to reveal Jesus as Messiah to you, but also to lead you into a deeper relationship with the Holy Spirit who wants to reveal Jesus to you. Most of the following connections I’ve made in scripture have come directly from reading the Bible with the Holy Spirit as my Teacher. What Jesus did for the disciples on the road to Emmaus, explaining how the scriptures pointed to him, is what the Holy Spirit wants to do for you. If the Spirit of Truth can give me understanding of the scriptures, he can give it to you, too!
It’s easy to get distracted and consumed by all the festivities of the holidays, so my hope is that these daily devotionals will recalibrate you each day and lead you to worship Jesus in spirit and in truth. For Christ to be the center of our Christmas celebration, he must be our focus – not Mary, not Joseph, not the shepherds. They are part of God’s story, but all of scripture points us to the main character, Jesus, and the main event, God’s kingdom coming to the earth. Joy to the world! The Lord has come. Let earth receive her King!
Check back later for the follow-up study in which we will delve into how the names of Jesus in the Old and New Testaments also reveal our identity in Christ. Or subscribe to this blog and subsequent studies will be emailed to you.