And [Jesus] said to them, “O foolish men and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken! Was it not necessary for the Christ to suffer these things and to enter into His glory?” Then beginning with Moses and with all the prophets, He explained to them the things concerning Himself in all the Scriptures (Luke 24:25-27).
Although my mom taught me about God as we celebrated the Jewish holidays, we never owned or read the Jewish Scriptures. My concept of God was based more on hearsay than personal knowledge.
Years later all that changed when a friend gave me a Bible and showed me numerous Old Testament passages, such as the fifty-third chapter of Isaiah, Daniel chapter 7, Zechariah 12:10, and Psalm 22. Although written centuries before Jesus’ birth, the various prophecies spoke so clearly to my heart about Messiah Jesus' life, death, and resurrection that, at first, I thought I was reading the New Testament, instead of the Old.
Through the years, I’ve shown similar passages to friends, family and co-workers, Yet, most of the time they’ve merely looked at me and asked, “So? What’s your point?”
And each time, I was incredulous. How could they read Scripture that, to my eyes, clearly demonstrated Jesus' role in our redemption, and not see the point? How could they not see Him on every page? How could they not see Him in every sacrifice, prophecy and promise?
The longer I walk with Christ, the better I understand the reason for their inability to see. The Bible is a not simply a book of ancient stories and moral lessons, as I've heard so many people -- even in the Church -- speak of the Bible. Its words were inspired by the Holy Spirit, and only He can make the opaque clear. Only He can make the invisible visible.
Which is why it’s not such an odd suggestion that we pray with the psalmist, “Open my eyes, Lord, that I might behold wonderful things out of Thy law” (Psalm 119:18). The Psalmist knew something about spiritual truth that we all can learn.
That we all must learn.
Although my mom taught me about God as we celebrated the Jewish holidays, we never owned or read the Jewish Scriptures. My concept of God was based more on hearsay than personal knowledge.
Years later all that changed when a friend gave me a Bible and showed me numerous Old Testament passages, such as the fifty-third chapter of Isaiah, Daniel chapter 7, Zechariah 12:10, and Psalm 22. Although written centuries before Jesus’ birth, the various prophecies spoke so clearly to my heart about Messiah Jesus' life, death, and resurrection that, at first, I thought I was reading the New Testament, instead of the Old.
Through the years, I’ve shown similar passages to friends, family and co-workers, Yet, most of the time they’ve merely looked at me and asked, “So? What’s your point?”
And each time, I was incredulous. How could they read Scripture that, to my eyes, clearly demonstrated Jesus' role in our redemption, and not see the point? How could they not see Him on every page? How could they not see Him in every sacrifice, prophecy and promise?
The longer I walk with Christ, the better I understand the reason for their inability to see. The Bible is a not simply a book of ancient stories and moral lessons, as I've heard so many people -- even in the Church -- speak of the Bible. Its words were inspired by the Holy Spirit, and only He can make the opaque clear. Only He can make the invisible visible.
Which is why it’s not such an odd suggestion that we pray with the psalmist, “Open my eyes, Lord, that I might behold wonderful things out of Thy law” (Psalm 119:18). The Psalmist knew something about spiritual truth that we all can learn.
That we all must learn.
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