25 Then he said unto them, O fools, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken: 26 Ought not Christ to have suffered these things, and to enter into his glory? 27 And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself.

Christ Quiets The Questions

Let’s break down what Jesus says when he corrects their thinking. He says, O fools, and slow of heart to believe.

Why did Jesus call them Fools? At the Sermon on the Mount, He said to call a brother a fool is to bring judgment upon ourselves. You probably know this already but just in case you forgot, the word used in Matthew 5:22 is a different word than the one used here. The word Matthew is a word that denotes contempt, it is term reserved for the wicked and should not be used when talking about or to brother in Christ. This word has the meaning of foolishness, not understand, simply being unwise.

Slow in heart is a very appropriate phrase, we immediately know what Jesus is saying. He is talking not about their intellect now but about their heart, their faith.

Because of their misunderstanding of scripture and their hesitancy in trusting the Word of God they were left with confusion, questions, doubts and fears.

Then the Bible says that Jesus taught them, “beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself.” What a Bible lesson that must have been.

Years ago, W. A. Criswell the much-loved pastor of First Baptist Church in Dallas would preach a message during their watchnight services on New Years Eve. He would begin in Genesis and trace the foreshadowing, the prophecies, and the types of Jesus Christ. He called that sermon, “The Scarlet Thread Through The Bible.” He began at 7 PM and would finish by midnight. Let’s see that a 5 hour message. I feel bad when I go over 45 minutes. I’m sure they took some breaks in that marathon message but let’s face it, but still, that is quite the feat for both the preacher and the people in the pew.

But the first “Scarlet Thread” message was taught by Jesus to these disciples on the Emmaus Road.

We don’t know where Jesus started or what all he included but the story of the Messiah and his suffering begins in Genesis and is in every book of the Old Testament. He expounded, which means He explained, He taught, He showed them plainly, what the Bible said about the Messiah and how that the Messiah had to suffer, if he was truly the Messiah.

It could have been passages like…

Genesis 3:15 15 And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.

Numbers 21:8 8 And the Lord said unto Moses, Make thee a fiery serpent, and set it upon a pole: and it shall come to pass, that every one that is bitten, when he looketh upon it, shall live.

Isaiah 53 3 He is despised and rejected of men; A man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: And we hid as it were our faces from him; He was despised, and we esteemed him not. 4    Surely he hath borne our griefs, And carried our sorrows: Yet we did esteem him stricken, Smitten of God, and afflicted. 5           But he was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities: The chastisement of our peace was upon him; And with his stripes we are healed. 6   All we like sheep have gone astray; We have turned every one to his own way; And the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all. 7           He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, Yet he opened not his mouth: He is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, And as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, So he openeth not his mouth

Or Psalms 22:14-18 or Psalms 69:20-21 or so many others. You could easily teach for hours with the OT scriptures about the coming of the Messiah and his suffering. Emmaus was 8 miles away from Jerusalem and if they walked 2 miles an hour that would be at least 4 hours that Jesus could expounded all this and yet He still doesn’t reveal himself.

Christ Quiets Our Questing Hearts

Wouldn’t it have been wonderful to walk with Jesus those hours on the Emmaus Road and hear Him teach from the Old Testament, the scriptures the Jews call the TaNak, and what Luke called, “Moses and all the prophets.” No wonder later they would say Luke 24:32 Did not our heart burn within us, while he talked with us by the way, and while he opened to us the scriptures?

When you are seeking answers, nothing will give you the warmth of hope like God’s word. Along our own Emmaus roads, we often walk in confusion, fear and hopelessness, and we try in ourselves to find the answers. We turn to friends, or family, or perhaps philosophy or science, but the only place we can turn to that will light the fire of hope and understanding is to the Word of God. If Jesus did it for their questions, shouldn’t we be doing for ours? Shouldn’t we be turning to God’s word for answers when our family is struggling with the unknown, our church is hurting from apathy, our friends are lost in sin and our nation is sinking in despair?

Turn here, turn to the word of God, it declares itself to be the hope, the help and the healing we need in times of doubt, fear and confusion.

Psalms 119:25 My soul cleaveth unto the dust: quicken thou me according to thy word.

28 My soul melteth for heaviness: strengthen thou me according unto thy word.

41 Let thy mercies come also unto me, O LORD, even thy salvation, according to thy word.

42 So shall I have wherewith to answer him that reproacheth me: for I trust in thy word.

81 My soul fainteth for thy salvation: but I hope in thy word.

105 Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.

The Wealth of the Bible all in my suitcase

I was quite a fan of Tennessee Ernie Ford when I was little because my grandfather left me a record player and an album of hymns by Tennessee Ernie. In an introduction to a hymn, he begins with this, “ The story is told of a young man who was preparing for a long trip. He told his friend, “I am just about packed. I only have to put in a guidebook, a mirror, a microscope, a lamp, a telescope, a volume of fine poetry, a package of old letters, a few biographies, a book of songs, a sword, a hammer, and a set of books I’ve been studying.” “But you can’t get all that into your bag,” said his friend. “Oh, yes I can,” he replied. “It doesn’t take much room.” With that, he placed his Bible in a corner of his suitcase and closed the lid.”

The answers you need are in the book, look to the book and find them.