November 8 I Friday

Jeremiah 43-45

Hebrews 5

“The Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us. We have seen His glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.”  —John 1:14

A marvellous thing happened in the New Testament: “the Word became flesh.” The Scripture we read is no longer words but it is the living embodiment of truth as Jesus tells us, “I am the Truth” (John 14:6). We find fulfilment in all the promises God makes in Christ, which is why Paul writes, “For no matter how many promises God has made, they are ‘Yes’ in Christ. And so through Him the ‘Amen’ is spoken by us to the glory of God” (2 Corinthians 1:20). The seventh
and final unit of truth to interpreting Scripture is to read the Bible in the light of Christ.

On the morning of Jesus’s resurrection, two men were on the road going to Emmaus. These men were feeling discouraged as they walked and Jesus came alongside them but they did not recognize Him. Jesus asked why they were feeling discouraged in their conversation and they responded, “About Jesus of Nazareth.…He was a prophet, powerful in word and deed before God and all the people. The chief priests and our rulers handed Him over to be sentenced to death, and they crucified Him; but we had hoped that He was the one who was going to redeem Israel” (Luke 24:19-21). Note how these men spoke in past tense, that they “hoped” that Jesus was the one. Jesus, therefore, explained to these men, “beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, He explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning Himself” (Luke 24:27). These men invited Jesus to stay with them but it was not until Jesus took bread, gave thanks, broke it and gave it to
them that their eyes finally opened and they realized who was with them all along.

Like the time before Jesus was crucified, He criticized the Jews, “You study the Scriptures diligently because you think that in them you have eternal life…” (John 5:39). Scripture will not mean anything if we do not see it in light of Jesus. For the men who encountered Jesus on the road to Emmaus, they exclaimed after Jesus vanished, “Were not our hearts burning within us while He talked with us on the road and opened the Scriptures to us?” (Luke 24:32). When we interpret Scripture in the light of Jesus, something happens within our
soul that brings us into a greater understanding and a deeper relationship with God.

If we detach Scripture from Christ, we have a dead book. If we detach Christ from Scripture, we end up with mysticism and all kinds of ideas that have little foundation. We need to realize the Word of God and Christ connect intimately together.

Prayer: Lord Jesus, thank You for coming in the flesh to
give us the Word of God. I am thankful that all the promises God makes are “yes” and “amen” in You. Praise God!