Day 1 of 21
"Beginning with Moses": How Jesus Read the OT
The Key That Unlocks the Whole Bible
Scripture Readings
Today's Reading
On the road to Emmaus, two dejected disciples walk away from Jerusalem, their hopes shattered by the crucifixion. A stranger joins them and asks why they are sad. When they explain that they had hoped Jesus was the one to redeem Israel, the stranger delivers one of the most extraordinary Bible studies in history: "And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself" (Luke 24:27).
Reflection
The stranger, of course, is the risen Jesus. And His approach to the Old Testament is revolutionary. He does not point to a few isolated prophecies. He takes them through the entire Hebrew Bible — Moses (the Torah), the Prophets, and the Writings — and shows that all of it finds its meaning in Him. The Old Testament is not merely a collection of moral lessons or historical records; it is, from first page to last, a book about Jesus Christ.
Later, Jesus tells a different audience: "You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me" (John 5:39). The Old Testament is not an end in itself. It is a witness — a signpost — pointing beyond itself to the person of Christ.
Charles Spurgeon preached this truth with characteristic passion. He declared that Christ is the very center of all true theology and the sum and substance of the Bible. Spurgeon was famous for his ability to find a road to Christ from any text of Scripture, and he insisted that this was not eisegesis (reading meaning in) but faithful reading of what the text was always about.
Goldsworthy's work on biblical theology has given us a framework for understanding how this works. The Old Testament does not merely contain a few Messianic proof-texts; the whole of it is a Christ-centered document. The patterns of creation and new creation, exodus and deliverance, covenant and kingdom, temple and sacrifice, priesthood and kingship — all of these converge in and point to Jesus.
Over the next twenty days, we will walk this Emmaus road together. Each day will explore one way the Old Testament anticipates Christ — through types (people and events that prefigure Him), shadows (institutions and rituals that foreshadow His work), and direct prophecies that He fulfills. The goal is not just to accumulate facts about the Old Testament but to see Jesus — and in seeing Him, to have our hearts burn within us as the disciples' hearts burned on that road.
Going Deeper
The disciples on the Emmaus road had read the Old Testament their entire lives. They knew the stories of Moses, the Prophets, and the Psalms. Yet they missed the one thing those Scriptures were ultimately about — until Jesus opened their eyes. Ask the Lord to do the same for you during this study. The Old Testament is a treasure map, and X marks the person of Christ.
Key Quotes
“Christ is the end of the law, the substance of the gospel, and the very centre of all true theology. He is the sum and substance of the Bible.”
“The Old Testament does not merely predict Christ in a few scattered proof-texts. The whole of the Old Testament is a Christ-centred document.”
Prayer Focus
Lord Jesus, You said that all the Scriptures testify about You. Open my eyes over these 21 days to see You on every page of the Old Testament.
Meditation
Jesus told the disciples that Moses, the Prophets, and the Psalms all spoke of Him. How does knowing that the entire Old Testament points to Christ change the way you read it?
Question for Discussion
Do you think it is possible to over-read Christ into Old Testament passages, or did Jesus mean that literally every text is about Him? How should a faith community guard against both under-reading and over-reading?