Jesus went out of his way to present to his disciples as a group, the physical evidence that will make them eye-witnesses to his resurrection. He physically appeared to them showing them his scarred hands and feet. He demonstrated that he was not a ghost by calling them to touch him and see that he had flesh and bone. He then added to the evidence by calling for some food and eating in their presence. He left them marveling in joy and ready to tell everyone what they had experienced, but before Jesus left them he had something else to say. Luke 24:44 says, “Then he said to them, These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you, that everything written about me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.”
The focus of the Old Testament from God’s divine perspective was the coming fulfillment of his original promise to Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. God would send a redeemer who would save his people from their sins. Jesus is referring to the complete Old Testament when he uses the three-fold division of the Law, the Prophets, and the Psalms. Psalms was the largest and longest book in the so-called “writings” and was often used to refer to the entire section. Thus Jesus is saying again, the whole Bible in all of its parts is about him in one way or another. He told the two disciples on the road to Emmaus some of the things that were about him and how that was so but it is not exhaustive. The writer of the book of Hebrews goes out of his way to help us understand how the sacrificial system along with all of its objects were about their eventual fulfillment in Jesus.
The next verse says, “Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures.” I would argue that it requires a divine act of enlightenment for us to see Christ in the scriptures. I’m convinced that he is there. The writer of Hebrews found Jesus in the priestly order of Melchizedek. He spent several chapters explaining that to us. If this obscure figure from Genesis chapter 15 can enlighten us that much about Jesus, what else might we find if we look. Paul even argues that the Old Testament scriptures were clear enough about Jesus that it could in and of itself lead us to salvation. This is what he told Timothy, “And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.” Jesus is not absent from the Old Testament. No, Jesus is every letter written in the whole Bible. He is often called The “alpha and the omega.” He’s the first and last letter of the Greek alphabet and all that’s written is about him. May the Spirit open our minds to see him!