Luke 24:13-35 Sermon Series: “The Servant King” -What did Jesus believe and teach about the Old Testament? This is vital to us because what He believed and taught is what we should believe and teach about the Old Testament, which applies to the entire Bible. 1. All of the Bible is to be believed (v. 25-27). -It is all to be believed because all of it is the Word of God that is completely true. -He said, “Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away” (Matthew 24:35). In Matthew 5:18, Jesus said, “For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled.” A jot is a yod, which is the smallest letter in the Hebrew alphabet. A tittle is a little mark on a letter in the Hebrew alphabet that distinguishes it from another letter. You could say that Jesus is saying down to the crossing of the “T’s” and dotting of the “I’s,” not one bit of the law is going to pass away until all of it is fulfilled. In John 10:35, Jesus said, “The scripture cannot be broken.” In addition, John 17 records a prayer of Christ to His Father. In verse 17, Jesus said to His Heavenly Father that “your word is truth.” When I say that the Bible is God’s truth, I am only saying what Jesus said. Also, Jesus affirmed many passages in the Old Testament that liberals and skeptics deny. He affirmed the Mosaic authorship of the Pentateuch (John 5:45-47), Jonah literally being in the belly of a great fish (Matthew 12:40, the historical reality of Noah and the Flood (Matthew 24:37-39), the Exodus account of the wandering of the Israelites in the wilderness (John 6:49), the burning bush (Matthew 22:32), and the historicity of Adam and Eve (Matthew 19:5). The Old Testament was Christ’s Bible while He was on the earth. 2. All of the Bible is the authority for our lives. -Jesus models this idea by appearing to them but pairing His revealing to them with the teaching of Scripture. He showed them that His resurrection is that the fulfillment of Scripture and that they were to function according to Scripture and not experience, feelings, reason, or religious tradition. They had failed to interpret their experiences by the Scriptures. Key Principle: When the Bible speaks, God speaks, and we must obey. 3. All the Bible is about Jesus (v. 27, 44). -Every message should be Christ-centered. Jim Shaddix correctly states that “after all, that’s the primary distinguishing factor between Christian preaching and the moralistic, God-themed sermons that characterize most theistic world religions.” The underpinning of this approach is “that the Person and work of Jesus Christ are the central focus of the entire Bible.” Based on this truth, Tony Merida challenges expositors “to passionately make the hero of the Bible (Jesus) the hero of every message you prepare.” 4. All the Bible is to be expounded in a Christ-centered way (v. 27). -An expository sermon accurately conveys the original meaning of the text with an emphasis on Jesus in a way that a contemporary audience can understand and apply the message. The sermon is developed through a process of grammatical-historical interpretation that discovers the intended meaning of a text, preaches that meaning as a timeless truth for contemporary people. The goal of expository preaching is changed lives for the glory of God through exalting Jesus, evangelizing non-believers, and edifying believers. Conclusion: Let’s look at the response of these two disciples in verses 28-35 and let it guide our response: 1. Biblical truth is spiritually discerned and requires the work of God for us to truly understand it (v. 32, 45). 2. We are to believe and act on the Word of God. 3. We are to share the Word of God with others. How much are you intaking Scripture? How does it affect your life and decision making? Are you being obedient to it? Are you experiencing Jesus through it? How much are you sharing it with others?
