And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself.
This verse comes from one of the most moving scenes in the Gospels, known as the Road to Emmaus. Two of Jesus' followers are walking away from Jerusalem after his crucifixion, heartbroken and lost. A stranger joins them on the road — it is the risen Jesus, though they do not recognize him yet. As they walk, Jesus takes them through the entire Hebrew Scriptures, organized into two main sections: the writings of Moses (the first five books of the Bible) and the Prophets. He shows them how everything in those ancient texts was pointing forward to himself — his life, death, and resurrection. This was a walking, unhurried revelation that the whole story of God's people had been leading somewhere, and to someone, all along.
Jesus, walk with me through your Word the way you walked with those two disciples — patient, unhurried, full of light. Where I read and do not understand, open my eyes. Set something burning in me that I cannot explain away. I want to find you on every page. Amen.
Two people walking away from the worst week of their lives, and a stranger falls into step beside them on the road. They do not know who he is yet. But as he speaks, something shifts. He opens texts they have known since childhood — stories worn smooth by repetition, prophecies they could recite from memory — and suddenly those familiar words glow with a meaning they had never seen. Jesus did not hand them a new Scripture. He showed them that the one they already had was always about him. Every sacrifice, every exile, every prophet's strange and aching cry — it was all leaning forward toward this person walking right beside them, whom they still had not recognized. There is something both humbling and thrilling here: later, the disciples said their hearts were "burning within them" while he spoke. They did not yet know his face, but they felt the truth of the words in their chests. How often do you read the Bible and find it flat, familiar, a little like homework you never quite finish? What if the invitation is not to read harder, but to ask the risen Jesus to walk with you through it — to be your guide rather than just your text? The Bible was not written to be survived. It was written to be inhabited. Ask him to open it up, and see what starts to burn.
Why do you think Jesus chose to explain the Scriptures rather than simply revealing himself immediately? What does his approach on that road tell you about how he wants people to come to know him?
Have you ever had a moment when a Bible passage you had read many times suddenly meant something entirely new? What was happening in your life at the time, and what changed?
This verse suggests that the entire Hebrew Scripture — what Christians call the Old Testament — was pointing toward Jesus. Does that reframe how you think about the parts of the Bible that feel distant or hard to relate to?
The disciples recognized truth in their hearts before they recognized Jesus with their eyes. How do you personally discern whether a spiritual experience or insight is genuine and from God?
If Jesus were walking beside you right now and offered to explain one passage or story from the Bible that confuses or troubles you, what would you ask him about, and why?
Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel .
Isaiah 7:14
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.
Luke 24:44
Who hath believed our report? and to whom is the arm of the LORD revealed?
Isaiah 53:1
Philip findeth Nathanael, and saith unto him, We have found him, of whom Moses in the law, and the prophets, did write, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.
John 1:45
God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets,
Hebrews 1:1
The LORD thy God will raise up unto thee a Prophet from the midst of thee, of thy brethren, like unto me; unto him ye shall hearken;
Deuteronomy 18:15
Therefore will I divide him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong; because he hath poured out his soul unto death: and he was numbered with the transgressors; and he bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.
Isaiah 53:12
Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me.
John 5:39
Then beginning with Moses and [throughout] all the [writings of the] prophets, He explained and interpreted for them the things referring to Himself [found] in all the Scriptures.
AMP
And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself.
ESV
Then beginning with Moses and with all the prophets, He explained to them the things concerning Himself in all the Scriptures.
NASB
And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself.
NIV
And beginning at Moses and all the Prophets, He expounded to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself.
NKJV
Then Jesus took them through the writings of Moses and all the prophets, explaining from all the Scriptures the things concerning himself.
NLT
Then he started at the beginning, with the Books of Moses, and went on through all the Prophets, pointing out everything in the Scriptures that referred to him.
MSG