Chapter 1-The Road to Understanding

And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he [Jesus] explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself. Luke 24:27

Picture it. A man you believed to be God, a person you gave up everything to follow has just been destroyed. Evil has overcome good. Your whole purpose for living is gone. You are confused and feel betrayed by God. To sum it up, you just don't understand what's going on.

We've all been there, broken and confused by life, not understanding its why’s or how’s. And like the two disciples heading for Emmaus, we may even let our hopelessness cut us off from other believers and try to go it on our own. Thankfully, Jesus wasn't going to let them get away quite that easily. Not only did He track them down but He also shared with them what can only be described as the world's greatest Bible study. He literally went through the Old Testament and "explained ... what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself" (Luke 24:27).

There are different opinions about how many Old Testament prophecies Jesus fulfilled when He was here on earth, but a safe guess is that it was well over 300. Three hundred Old Testament prophecies were directly fulfilled by Jesus! Everything from where He would be born, to where He'd live, to what He'd do, to when, where, how and why He would die.

Now it's true, some of these could just been coincidences. But the chances of one man fulfilling only 48 of the major prophecies would be: one out of 10,000,000,000,000,000,000,000, 000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000, 000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000!¹ Jesus not only fulfilled those 48 but over 250 more. Plus He will be fulfilling hundreds more when He comes back the second time!

But Jesus' presence in the Old Testament is revealed by a lot more than hundreds of prophecies. In many ways His life, His ministry, His very personality saturate the books of the Old Testament. And why shouldn't they? If the Bible is the history of God's working with humankind, and since Jesus is God, then it only stands to reason we would see Him throughout.

Studying the Flood? What is it but an insight into Jesus' call for repentance, His wrath and His ultimate protection and mercy for those who have made Him Lord?

What is Exodus but an account of how Jesus works to set us free from the bondage of our flesh and our sins?

What is Joshua but an account of how Jesus helps us conquer the adversaries of our soul?

And the list goes on. With Jesus as the central character, passages that once seemed muddy and murky begin to take on new meaning. When we look for Christ we're no longer as lost, confused or (dare I say it) as bored.

It's as if we are on our own road to Emmaus surrounded by shadows and confusion about the Scriptures-until we begin to discover Jesus' presence in them. Then frequently those very Scriptures begin to take us into deeper understanding.

But Christ's work in helping us understand doesn't just end with Old Testament Scripture. As we'll see throughout the rest of this week, Jesus is the hub, the very foundation from which all true understanding begins.

The word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. Hebrews 4:12

Next to God Himself there is no other being or force in the universe that has more power than His Word. In fact, according to Genesis, it was with His Word that He created the universe. (Not a bad display of power.) But that's just for starters!

According to 2 Timothy 3:16, all Scripture is "God-breathed.' Somehow God's breath, His life, part of His very essence is supernaturally infused into the words of Scripture. With that in mind, the effect Scripture has on us mere mortals shouldn't be too surprising. In fact, with that in mind, it shouldn't surprise us that His Word can actually:

save us (see Jas. 1:21);

cleanse us (see Eph. 5:26);

encourage us (see Rom. 15:4);

give us faith (see Rom. 10:17);

equip us to do good (see 2 Tim. 3:17)

help us see ourselves as we really are (see Jas. 1:23-25).

When Jesus and Satan were battling it out in the desert (see Matt. 4) they probably could have used any weapon they wanted. But they decided to pass on the usual tools of warfare. Instead, the Creator of the universe and the most evil being in the universe used the most powerful weapon in the universe. They used one thing- and -one thing only: the Scriptures. Each time Satan tried to tempt Jesus by perverting God's Word, Jesus responded with the truth of that Word. In short, Christ defeated Satan by using "the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God" (Eph. 6:17).

To me that says power-more power than I can even begin to imagine. But how can we plug into that power? How can you and I really absorb and understand the fullest and richest depths of that power?

The bad news is we can't-not on our own. You see Scripture is not a series of inert sentences that we can categorize, analyze and wrap up in a tidy little box (though many a theologian has tried). It is living and active. Once it gets into our souls, it moves about challenging and encouraging us in different ways at different times. Scripture is a living part of God (His breath) and to fully understand it would be as impossible as for us to fully understand God.

Yes, it's important to study Scripture, to use commentaries, to search for its literal meaning. But that's only the beginning. The real key to understanding Scripture is to put it into the hands of the Master Surgeon and ask Him to use it as He intended-to ask Him to use this tool that is sharper than any double-edged sword to cut away our dying flesh while nurturing and growing our eternal souls.

So, as important as the study of Scripture may be, it means nothing on its own. The only real understanding of Scripture comes as we ask the Lord to bring it to life personally.

There is much talk about the Holy Spirit's work in the Church today. But in the debates and discussions we frequently forget one of His primary jobs. Perhaps Jesus put it best in His farewell address to His disciples: "But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth" (John 16:13). He is our Tutor. He is our Instructor. He is our Guide.

All this to say: No matter how sincere and dedicated we may be in our pursuit to understand Scripture, our intellectual gymnastics will bring minimal results at best. Instead, the key is to go back to the road to Emmaus. We must once again depend upon the Lord. Like the disciples, we may be exhausted, perplexed, even angry at difficulties and confusion. But if we are willing to ask the Author for understanding, He is willing to breathe life into our understanding of His Words-which in turn breathes life into our souls.

Here I am I. I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me. Revelation 3:20

If I had run out and asked the first woman I met to marry me she probably would have died laughing. Why? Because I'm such a strange and absurd character? Maybe. But more likely because she didn't know me.

How could we have solved that? We'd communicate. I'd talk, she'd listen. She'd talk, I'd listen. Gradually, we'd get to know each other. And, if the chemistry was right, we might fall in love.

That's what Christ wants. He wants us to know Him so deeply, understand Him so intimately, that we can't help but fail in love with Him.

Yet somehow we think we can short-circuit that understanding-and-falling-in-love process. We think that we can just sort of wake up one morning and instantly know Him, or at best show up once a week and listen to someone chatter about Him for 20 to 30 minutes and BINGO, instant love.

But knowing people through secondhand information is not really knowing them. Before I finally married, I got to know my wife-to-be personally. I did not rely on someone else's description. The same is true with God. There are no instant short cuts. The only way to really know Him and to really fall in love with Him is through personal, one-on-one communication with Him.

And, as obvious as it may sound, we communicate with God much the same way as we communicate with others. Through talking and listening.

Talking

The most common way of talking to God is through prayer. At the beginning stages we may treat prayer like a Christmas list and God as our private Santa Claus. Or as Bob Dylan sings, we may "think He's just an errand boy to satisfy [our] wandering desires."' But as we mature, we begin to understand deeper forms of prayer. We begin to experience the depths and mysteries that are unlocked through singing, worshipping and praising. Eventually we may even begin to experience the intense peace of just sitting quietly before Him in awe.

But expressing ourselves is only half of the communication process. The other half lies in...

Listening

The most obvious way of listening to God is through His Word. We've already discussed the power Scripture has to transform our lives. But the transformation doesn't stop there. People who are transformed by Scripture are often used by God to help in His transformation of others. I know people who have made tremendous changes in the world who simply point to the few minutes a day they spend with Scripture as a major source of their strength.

Then there's the type of listening that comes from observing God's work in our lives. Now I don't believe every sneeze and hiccup is a sign from God. But I do believe if we ask for wisdom we can often see His hand and hear His voice in various circumstances.

There's another type of listening-the listening that involves observing God's awesome handiwork in creation. They say you really don't know an artist until you've seen his work. And there's probably no better way of learning of God's love than by drinking in the splendor of His creation. By creation we're not just talking pretty sunsets in the Bahamas. There's also the day-to-day creation of you-the new person you become as you dwell on the love and faithfulness He's shown to you in the past, or the goodness He's worked in other people's lives.

Finally, there is the type of listening that comes when we have quieted our soul enough to hear what Scripture calls that "still small voice"-that gentle nudging of the Holy Spirit as He softly guides and directs (see 1 Kings 19:11,12, KIV).

This is how we grow to understand God. By communicating with Him. By taking the time to talk and to listen. There is no other way to truly understand who He is. And, as we begin to understand who He is, there is no other choice we have but fall in love.

This is love for God: to obey his commands. And his commands are not burdensome, for everyone born of God overcomes the world. 1 John 5:3,4

When my wife and I were first married there were dozens of things I did or didn't do that drove her crazy. But as I got to know her and fell more deeply in love with her I slowly changed. Not because I had to, but because I wanted to. As we drew closer and closer and I saw the pain and disappointment my shortcomings caused her, I did my best to change. Not for her-for me-for the satisfaction I experienced from pleasing her. Of course I'm still light-years from being the perfect husband but at least I'm heading in that direction. Not because I have to, but because I want to.

The same is true with sin and our relationship with Jesus. As we fall in love with Him, we slowly find that the areas of our disobedience begin to lose their appeal. Oh, we may still enjoy them, but experiencing the disappointment of our Greatest Love, or the momentary separation we feel from committing that sin, well, it's simply not worth the price of admission. We slowly find ourselves starting to change, to conform to Christ's image-not because we have to, but because we want to.

Now it's not always easy. Yes, there are times we have to bear down, using every ounce of self-control, fasting and praying for the strength to obey (or even the desire to obey). But the joy and satisfaction that obedience brings to our Lord and hence to ourselves, make it all worthwhile. So, as with everything else, we see that the key to understanding obedience lies in Jesus.

Obedience is not making up and following strict religious do’s and don'ts. God desires relationships, not religion. He yearns for us, He woos us to become His Bride. He calls for us to become lovers, not legalists.

With that in mind there's only one way we can ever really understand and obtain lasting obedience. And it usually calls for very little effort on our part. All we have to do is allow ourselves to fail so deeply and totally in love with Jesus Christ that the obedience in our souls comes naturally-as naturally as failing into His arms.

There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear. 1 John 4:18

As we continue to look into understanding and Jesus' role in helping us truly understand, let's turn next to-ourselves.

I have a pet theory. It probably would never hold water in the scientific community but I definitely see it in my own life and I'm beginning to see it more and more in others. It's fairly simple and goes like this: My insecurities, my selfishness, my petty jealousies, my fears and worries, my mental stress, my failures with others, my self-hatred, my emotional turmoil, even my very sins come for one reason and one reason only-I simply do not know how loved I am.

How could I possibly worry over the details in my life if I really understood a love that knows the number of hairs on my head and cares for each one of them? (See Luke 12:7.)

How could I possibly be selfish if I really understood a love that will supply my every need?

How could I possibly be jealous, insecure and fearful around others if I really understood I was created for God's pleasure and that He is already delighting in me?

How could I be discouraged in my failures if God knows I'm but dust and still rejoices over me?

How could I possibly sin if I really understood that the do’s and don'ts were created out of love for my well-being and that each intentional failure on my part pierces my

Lover's heart?

Once again, the key to true understanding, (this time of ourselves) lies with Jesus. As we allow Him to scoop us into His arms and hold us tightly to His breast, our cares and shortcomings begin to fade. We begin to see ourselves as He sees us. Nothing, not even our own self-condemning natures, can touch us when we're held tightly in His arms.

The only way to understand that intense, all-consuming love is to understand the Lover. And, as we understand Christ, our view of ourselves changes. We begin to see ourselves through His eyes.

Perhaps that is what Jesus meant when He promised to give us His peace, a peace Paul described as "peace which transcends [exceeds] all understanding" (see John 14:27; also Phil. 4:7). Peace with God and, as our perceptions are conformed to His, peace with ourselves.

We love because he first loved us. 1 John 4:19

Before we leave this week's topic of Understanding, there's one other aspect we should explore.

Several years ago I was pulling into a parking space at the local supermarket when another car roared in from the wrong direction, cut me off and took the place. The scene is still vivid in my memory, not because of the driver's rudeness (hey, I live near L. A., I see rudeness every day) but because of my reaction. Instead of anger and outrage, I felt

pity. For a few moments I was actually able to see the offender through Christ's eyes. And this is what I saw: As far as the driver was concerned he was an orphan. He had nobody to look out for him. Anything he got he had to take. He did not know the loving Father in heaven who cared for him. He had to take and scrape and scratch and fight all on his own. I was moved with compassion for him, I was overcome with pity. (I wish I could react this way all the time but hey, I live near L. A., I see rudeness every day.) However, for a few brief moment I was close enough to Christ's heart to see another human being as He sees him. And, instead of anger, I was moved with pity.

This sensitivity happens far too seldom in my life. But I do remember another time. A time when I was emotionally beat up and scathed by a Christian friend I was trying to help. Instead of anger and resentment I was again able to see him through Christ's eyes. This time I saw my friend as a precious animal hit by a car and left lying on the side of the road. If you've ever tried to help such an animal you know that your compassionate attempts can be met with vicious bites and attacks. Like an injured animal my friend was frightened, and he was in pain. He struck out at me-not because of anything I'd done and not because of anything he was-but because he was petrified, because he was scared to death. At that moment he simply did not have the assurance that he was really loved and cared for. At that moment he simply did not know how loved he was.

As you and I continue on our road to Emmaus and allow Christ to instruct us, we start to enter into true understanding. We start to understand God, Scripture, obedience, even ourselves. And finally, we start to understand others. We begin to see others as people in desperate need of that same relationship with Christ, that same all-encompassing love. We begin to understand that those who have hurt or offended us are not really the offenders but that they are really the offended. We begin to see that they are, not the enemy-but victims of the enemy. And, as we begin to see that, we can't help but love them.

Footnotes