Christ in all the Scriptures - the Emmaeus exposition

… Could we look together in the Gospel by Luke, Chapter 24. Now this is a pretty lengthy chapter, we'll only read a few verses here and there. Could we commence by reading verse 13. And behold, two of them went that same day to a village called Emmaus, which was from Jerusalem about three score furlongs. And they talked together of all these things which had happened. And it came to pass that while they communed together and reasoned, Jesus himself drew near and went with them. But their eyes were holding that they should not know him. And he said unto them, What manner of communications are these, that ye have one to another as ye walk and are sad? Verse 25. And he, Jesus, said unto them, O fools, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken, ought not Christ to have suffered these things, and to enter into his glory? And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself. And they drew nigh unto the village whither they went, and he made as though he would have gone further. But they constrained him, saying, Abide with us, for it is towards evening, and the day is far spent. And he went in to tarry with them. Verse 32. And they said one to another, Did not our heart burn within us, while he talked with us by the way, and while he opened to us the scriptures? And they rose up the same hour, and returned to Jerusalem, and found the eleven gathered together, and them that were with them, saying, The Lord is risen indeed, and hath appeared to Simon. And they told what things were done on the way, and how he was known of them in the breaking of bread. And as they thus spake, Jesus himself stood in the midst of them, and said unto them, Peace be unto you. But they were terrified and affrighted, and supposed that they had seen a spirit. And he said unto them, Why are you troubled? And why do thoughts arise in your hearts? Behold my hands and my feet, that it is myself. Handle me, and see for a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see we have. Verse 44. And he said unto them, These are the words which I spake unto you, while I was yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled, which were written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the Psalms concerning me. Then opened he their understanding, that they should understand the scriptures. Verse 49. And behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you, but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem until ye be endued with power from on high. And he led them out as far as to Bethany, and he lifted up his hands, and blessed them. And it came to pass, while he blessed them, he was parted from them, and carried up into heaven. And they worshipped him, and returned to Jerusalem with great joy, and were continually in the temple, praising and blessing God. Amen. My subject tonight for this ministry meeting is the thought of finding Christ in all the scriptures. Finding Christ in all the scriptures. You will notice in our reading how the Lord himself laid emphasis on the scriptures, the holy scriptures. And I tell you this, dear brethren, the Spirit of God makes sure if you read the scriptures from Genesis to Revelation, the Spirit of God will see that you'll find Christ in all the scriptures. We find him in this chapter in a very remarkable way. I just make remarks about this before I touch on finding Christ in all the scriptures. You will notice we began with Jesus himself drew near and went with them. Christ in the pathway. I was glad when our brother Corr spoke about Christ in you. Of course we have Christ here today. He's with us. Jesus himself drew near and went with them. What a joy it is to have the companionship of Christ, dear brethren, on the way home to the glory. Secondly, we were reminded in verse 29 and 30, we have Christ in our homes. Christ in the home. What a wonderful day it was in my heart and in my home when Christ came into my home. What a change. Was Christ the preeminent place in your home? If he were to pay you a visit today, would you have to hide something? Christ in the home. Do you remember Zacchaeus? The Lord met him and he looked, he was up the tree, do you remember? Do you remember the Lord's words to him, Zacchaeus, make haste and come down, for salvation is come to your home. Salvation in the home. Christ in the pathway, Christ in the home. Now in verse 36, you will notice, and verse 33, when they were gathered together, Jesus himself stood in the midst. There we have Christ in the assembly. Where the twos and the threes are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst. Young men, young sisters, young brothers, do you attend the assembly meetings? Are you found at every meeting or do you see the grass a bit greener someplace else? I say this from experience. Get to every assembly meeting you can get to when you're young. You can endeavour to strengthen the things that remain amongst us and you'll find that Christ is there. And you'll find that you'll grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. My heart goes out to the young here tonight. I appeal to you, be a young Samuel. You remember what was said about young Samuel? It says, he grew before the Lord. Are you growing before the Lord? What a grand thing it is to grow before the Lord. The second step it says in relation to his growth, that Samuel grew in favour with God and men. I was growing. Are you growing? His mother brought a little coat up every year. It was a little bigger every year, you see, he was growing. But the last reference to him growing, I want you to notice this, young brother. It says he grew on, not only before the Lord, but the Lord was with him and everyone from Dan to Beersheba knew that Samuel was a prophet in Israel. We need young men to fill in the gaps. We want you to grow and if you want to grow before the Lord, come to the assembly meetings and you'll grow amongst your brethren. What a grand thing it is to see young men giving their heart to Christ, taking their place in baptism, remembering the Lord Jesus. We had this touch this afternoon, continuing steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine, fellowship, breaking old bread and prayers, prayers, growing up in the assembly, filling in until the Lord comes. Mind you, the coming of the Lord is drawing nigh. So I would just encourage you, or by the way, to strengthen the things that remain and come to the assembly meetings and take your place and grow up before the Lord. And be a Samuel. We need young Samuels today. Samuel was a man of God. Heaven yearns for men of God today, men of God who have given themselves to the scriptures. Do you read your Bible every day or do you put it away with your Sunday clothes? Read your Bible and pray every day and you'll grow, you'll grow, and you'll grow. Well, we have Christ in the pathway. We have Christ in our homes. We have Christ in the assembly. But lastly, it says he was carried up into heaven. We have Christ in heaven. There's a man in the glory, that great and glorious unglorified man, the man Christ Jesus. Christ in the glory. Two outstanding facts of Christianity today is there is a man in heaven, the man Christ Jesus, and the Holy Spirit is down here, a divine person, one who dwells in our hearts, who delights to take of the things of Christ and show them unto us. And it's in the power of the Spirit as we read the word of God from Genesis to Revelation, you will notice the Spirit of God will make sure that you find Christ in all the scriptures. Now I just want to draw your attention to verse 27, first of all. And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them, notice, in all the scriptures the things concerning himself. Now at the end of verse say 44, all things must be fulfilled which were written in the law of Moses and in the prophets and in the Psalms concerning me. You will notice he adds the Psalms. Now could I just draw your attention to this, finding Christ in all the scriptures, where did he begin? He began at Moses in the Pentateuch. The first five books, the modernists say today, leave them alone. They're old fashioned, they're not true. But the Lord Jesus could say, Moses wrote of me. And he began at the book of Moses. Could I just put a little heading over that one? In the book of Moses, in the law of Moses, in the Pentateuch, we have the figures of Christ, the figures of Christ. Secondly, he spoke about the prophets. We have in the prophets the foretellings of Christ. Then he spoke about the Psalms. We have there the feelings of Christ. But when we come to the New Testament, Matthew, Mark, and Luke and John, the Gospels, we have the facts of Christ. When we come to the book of the Acts of the Apostles, or the Acts of the Holy Spirit, we have the formation of the body of Christ. That wonderful day at Pentecost, when the Spirit of God came down, and the body of Christ was formed, the assembly was formed, and the house was formed simultaneously when the Spirit of the living God came down. In the epistles, we have the fruits of Christ. And lastly, when we come to Revelation, we have finality in Christ. Chapter 21 of Revelation, when God himself shall tabernacle with man. God's eternal day, the new heaven and the new earth. And dear brethren, if you and I are going to see God, it's only in Christ we shall see him. For God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself. So when we come to Revelation, we have finality in Christ. Now that covers the whole of the scriptures. And I would encourage each and all of us to read the scriptures. If you've read them through, read them again. And when you read them again, read them again. Because you'll find Christ in all the scriptures. But as we get older, you know, we realize more and more that Christ is everything. Have you anything better to give us? I asked this, you know, at a business meeting one day I had with men in relation to my business. And I said to them, have you anything better to give me? They said, no. Christ in all the scriptures. When you come to the Pentateuch, we get him referred to as the seed of the woman, the stone, the shepherd, the scepter, so on. When we come to Exodus, we have the typical teachings, tabernacle, the ark, so on. Teaching of Christ in all his glory and dignity. You think of Abraham and Isaac going up the mount together to worship, you remember. Where is the lamb? The fire and the wood. Where is the lamb for a burnt offering? My son God shall provide himself a lamb pointing forth to Christ. Yes, you'll find Christ in all the scriptures. The lamb was prophesied, wasn't he, in the Old Testament. He was typified in Exodus, Exodus 12. When we come to the banks of the Jordan, he was identified, behold the lamb of God which taketh away the sin of the world. Isaiah 53, he was crucified. But you know, when we come to Revelation, he is glorified, worthy as the lamb that was slain, glorified and magnified. When you come to the 19th chapter of Revelation, he is satisfied, satisfied. The marriage supper of the lamb, let us be glad and rejoice for the marriage of the lamb has come. What a day that will be, wonderful day it will be for the Lord's own heart when he shall have us with himself. That day of wondrous promise, the bridegroom and the bride shall be in glory ever when divine love shall be fully satisfied. What a wonderful day it will be for his own blessed heart, the marriage supper of the lamb. Well, we could go on with the figures of Christ. We move on to the foretellings of Christ, the prophets. He expounded unto them in the book of Moses and then he spoke about the prophets. Well you know, the prophets spoke about Christ coming into this world. They even told us where he was to be born, in Bethlehem, Micah. But I want to say a little word in connection with the book of Isaiah. Young men, if you are seeking to preach the gospel, you visit the prophet, the evangelist of the Old Testament, Isaiah. The man who spoke about the wells of salvation, the garments of salvation, the day of salvation and so on. But you know, he also spoke about Christ in the gospels. You say, Isaiah spoke about Christ in the gospels. Yes, he spoke about Christ in the gospels. You remember John says, Isaiah saw his glory and speak of him. It's very striking, you know, that Isaiah speaks about the four gospels, Matthew, Mark, and Luke, and John. Well what I am getting at is this. When we think of Matthew, we think of the king, don't we? When we think of Mark's gospel, we think of him as Jehovah's servant, perfect servant. When we think of Luke's gospel, we think of him as the son of man. When we think of John's gospel, the greatness of the son, God manifest in the flesh. Well, you know, Isaiah spoke about these things. He spoke about the Lord. He spoke about the Lord, the Holy One, your king, your king. He spoke about the king coming as a lowly babe, but he also spoke about the king reigning as king of kings and Lord of lords in the world to come. He spoke about the king and all his beauty. Oh, the beauty of the Savior shall dazzle every eye. The crowning day is coming by and by. Go in for it and enjoy it. Well Isaiah made much of the king, Matthew's gospel. He made much of the son of man, too, didn't he? There's not a time we read the 53rd of Isaiah that we are not affected in our hearts and spirits. A man of sorrows and the grief acquitted one. But he also spoke about the man shall be a hiding place from the storm and so on. Yes, he speaks about this man, a man that's going to be made more precious and find gold. He spoke about him as the son of man, the king, Matthew, son of man, Luke's gospel. And then in chapter 43 of Isaiah, chapter 42, I should say, he spoke about Christ as the servant. Behold my servant in whom my soul delighteth, Jehovah's perfect servant. I think there's a little clause in chapter 53 where he designates the Lord as my righteous servant, Jehovah's perfect servant. You think of Isaiah who saw his glory and spake of him and he fits into the gospels very neatly, doesn't he? Proving again that the spirit of God makes sure that you'll find Christ in all the scriptures. And when we come to John's gospel, he says, you remember, I think it's chapter 44. He says, behold your God. God was manifest in the flesh, wasn't he? Seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in this world, received up into glory. And there we see the prophets speaking of Christ in all the scriptures. So I would say to the young men and the sisters, you dig it up in the Old Testament and you'll find him there. And the spirit will give your heart to rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory as you see him there. Well, we have the figures of Christ, foretellings of Christ. Now what about the Psalms? Oh, I find much of my time spent in the morning, gleaning in the morning, you know, in the Psalms. I love the Psalms. We have the feelings of Christ in a remarkable way, especially the sufferings of Christ in the Psalms, the feelings of Christ. I don't suppose there's a brother and sister here or the whole world across who reads a twenty-second Psalm who is not affected spiritually, the sufferings of Christ, when we're reminded he tasted death for everything. My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? The feelings of Christ. But not only so, you know, the Psalms gives us his birth, his incarnation, Psalm 8, his pathway, Psalm 16, his death and resurrection, death, Psalm 22, his resurrection, Psalm 24, his ascension, Psalm 68, the one who descended is also he that hath ascended up far above all heavens, Psalm 110, the Lord reigneth, the world to come, world to come. If you read Psalm 72, you know, it takes you up the Mount of Transfiguration, doesn't it? Gives us a little sight into the world to come. When everything that hath breath shall praise the Lord from the rivers to the ends of the earth. Well, if we read the Psalms, I'm sure of this, dear brethren, we'll get the feelings of Christ. Now we move on, when we come to the Gospels, we get the facts of Christ, the facts of Christ. You know, this is a lovely chapter, this we've read. I noticed just the other morning while I was reading it, there are quite a few heart experiences found in this chapter, I'll just run them down quickly. First of all, there were sad hearts. Is there any sad hearts here today? Well, Christ is the answer for a sad heart. In fact, he's the only one who could heal the broken hearts. When we come further down, he had to say to them, oh, slow of heart to believe. Is there any slow of heart to believe the scriptures tonight? Well, you read the scriptures and you'll be encouraged. And then there were troubled in heart. Why do thoughts arise in your hearts? There were troubled hearts. I wonder if there's any troubled hearts here tonight. You know, when he was here upon earth, he knew that his own would be troubled in heart and he called them aside and this is what he said to them. He says, let not your heart be troubled. You believe in God? Believe also in me. In my father's house are many mansions, if it were not so, I would have told you, I go to prepare a place for you and if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again. Jesus is coming again. He might be here tonight. What a wonderful day it will be, troubled hearts. But you know, there was a nice touch in the verse I read. You remember after the discourse, walking with the Lord in the pathway, being in the house with him, this is what he said. Did not our heart burn within us while he talked with us, and Mr. Darby puts a little touch there, talked with us on the way. On the way. Brethren, we're on the way home. We're on the way home. But if we keep in touch with Jesus, with Christ, our hearts will burn. Did not our heart burn within us while he talked with us on the way? This is what we need to do, a heart-warming ministry, occupation with Christ on the way home to the glory, and you'll find him in the scriptures. I'll give you a little illustration. Old Mary was lying on the carpet, you know, just in front of the fire, and she was reading her testament. You know how little children lie and spread out, you know, and she was reading the testament, a little testament. Her mother was in the kitchen, and she shouted, Mary, what are you doing? Oh, she says, Mom, I'm looking at Jesus. If you want a fresh look at Jesus, my dear brother and sister, read the gospels, and you'll see him. You'll find him in the gospels. The very facts are there. Wisdom hath builded her house, and hath hewn out seven pillars, her seven pillars. I'm quoting now from a verse in the Proverbs. Do you know the seven pillars? If you don't, I'm going to run them over for you. We are all centered around Christ, seven pillars, his incarnation, his baptism, his transfiguration, his death, his resurrection, his ascension to glory, and his coming again. You'll find him, and you'll find his footsteps as you read through the gospels. I'll tell you more. You'll find how the prophets speak of him, how the Psalms are interlinked with the gospels as you read through them. What a grand thing it is to have a fresh look at Jesus on the way home to the glory. Now when we come to the Acts, we've had the facts of Christ in the gospels. Now when we come to the Acts, we have the formation of the body of Christ. You know, it was a wonderful day, the day of Pentecost, after the Lord had died and was buried, and was risen again by the glory of the Father, he tabernacled amongst his own for forty days. The world didn't see him. He only appeared to his own. I was ever so glad when our brother read from the Acts today. And ten days after the Lord was received up into glory, you remember he told them in this chapter I've read, they would be endued with power from above, they went to Jerusalem and there they were. And on the fiftieth day, not a day before his time, not a day after the time, it was on time. And Pentecost means fiftieth. On the fiftieth day, the Spirit of God came down from heaven and were baptized into one body. The body of Christ was formed. The assembly was formed. And the house of God was formed at that day. And the kingdom of God would cover them all. Now I want to show to you from the scriptures how closely linked the body, the assembly, and the house is. When Paul wrote to the Colossians, when he gave them a discourse on the body of Christ, the headship of Christ, he spoke about Christ being the head of the body, the assembly. The fullness of him that filleth all and in all. You see how the body and the assembly is linked together. When we come to Ephesians, Paul says, he's head of the assembly. He puts it the roundabout way. He puts the assembly first, which is? Which is? His body. His body. Ye are the body of Christ and members in particular. What a wonderful vessel the assembly is. Now when we come to Timothy, Paul links the house with the assembly. You remember when he takes up the thought of the house of God, the behavior in the house of God, he says, which is? The house of God, which is? The assembly of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth. And he continued steadfastly, our brother read this afternoon, in the Apostles' Doctrine. Fellowship, the breaking of bread and prayers, all we desire to learn more about is assembly truth, you know, Christ and the assembly. And you'll find it in the Acts, and you'll see the fruits of it in the Epistles. When we come to the Epistles, much more could be said about this. My time's running out. When we come to the Epistles, we have the fruits of Christ, the fruits of Christ. What a great encouragement it must have been for the Apostle to come to Philippi, to the Philippines, and see fruit for God. This is what we're after, you know, we're after fruit for God. If you and I are stirred and moved by the reading of the Scriptures, we do hope it will produce fruit for God. We want something for God. All the Scriptures, you know, is given by the inspiration of God. What is it for? For doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction, we're told, that the man of God might be fully furnished unto every good work. We had some nice touches this afternoon, good works. The fruits of Christ, winsomeness, attractiveness. While our brother was speaking about that word, winsomeness, the verse that came before me in living power was that little verse in Proverbs where it says, he that winneth souls is wise. He's wise. Are you a winner of souls? Do you love to see souls coming to the Lord Jesus? Joy in heaven over one soul, sinner that repented. Is there a seeking soul here tonight? I tell you, the Lord Jesus is seeking for you, and I'll tell you more, he's speaking to you tonight, and he wants you for himself. The fruits of Christ. You remember they gave him a gift at Philippi, and oh, he says, there's something more precious than this, he says, to see fruit for God abounding. He speaks much about fruit in the Roman epistle, Thessalonians, that little company who turned to God from idols to serve the living and the true God, and to wait for his son from heaven. What a comfort we have in the scriptures, haven't we? Scriptures. Could I encourage you to read the scriptures more? You know, the Lord laid emphasis on the scriptures, not only in this chapter, three or four times he refers to it, but you know there's something better than reading the scriptures, you know? You know what it is? Searching them. The Lord says, search the scriptures. It's a good thing to search the scriptures. You remember the Lord had to rebuke the Sadducees, you know, who didn't believe in the resurrection. That's the reason why they were sad, you see. Because they didn't believe the scriptures, nor the power of God. And he said to them, you know what he said to them? Ye doer not knowing the scriptures, brother, sister, read the scriptures. Make them the home of your soul. It was said about Mr. Darby in the front of his Bible, he had four words, inquire within for everything. Christ is everything. The apostle says, Christ is all and in all. Mr. Darby says, Christ is everything. So we have the fruits of Christ in the epistles. Now we come to the last thought, Revelation 21. What a wonderful chapter it is. And God himself shall wipe away all tears from their eyes. No more death, no more sorrow, no more pain. The former things will have passed away. Are you not longing, dear brethren? Are you not longing to see him and be with him and like him forever? A wonderful day lies open for us. God's eternal day, after Christ has reigned for a thousand years, hands over the kingdom to the Father, new heaven and the new earth, when God, the eternal God, shall tabernacle with men. God in Christ, finality in Christ. There's a little touch down that chapter, three words it says, it is done. You remember when he brought creation into being, it was said, it was good, it was good. When he finished the work of redemption, he cried from the cross, it is finished. The great work of redemption was finished. Oh, there's much fruit from that death, isn't there? Except the corn if we'd fall into the ground and die, it abides alone. But if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit. See the fruit here tonight. Thank God for every one of them. The fruit for God, the world across, from every kindred, people, tongue, and nation shall be gathered safely home for the wonderful day it will be, and God shall tabernacle with men. You and I are going to be there. Oh, that day of wondrous promise. The bridegroom and the bride are seen in glory ever, divine love will be satisfied. Could I just run over those points again? To encourage us, each and all of us, from the youngest to the oldest of us, to search the scriptures, he began at Moses and expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself, the book of Moses, the figures of Christ, the prophets, the foretellings of Christ, the Psalms, the feelings of Christ, the Gospels, the facts of Christ, the Acts of the Apostles, chapter 2, when the Spirit of God came down, the formation of the body of Christ, the epistles, the fruits of Christ, and revelation, finality in Christ. May we be all encouraged this day, as I have been encouraged by listening to our brother Corr this afternoon, afresh as he brought Christ before us in joy and gladness of soul and heart. Because at the end of this wonderful chapter we have read, it says that they continued in the temple praising and blessing God. Glad hearts, responsive hearts, the Father is seeking worshipers to worship him in spirit and in truth. May we all be encouraged this day to read the scriptures and to wait upon the Spirit and he'll point out Christ to us in all the scriptures that we might be more familiar with him until we are with him and like him forever. May God bless the word for his namesake. …