How the Old Testament Points to Jesus in Luke 24:22–27

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One of the most important lessons in Luke 24:22–27 is how the Old Testament points to Jesus. On the road to Emmaus, two discouraged disciples had the evidence of the resurrection, but they still lacked understanding. They knew the tomb was empty. They knew the women had reported that angels said Jesus was alive. They knew others had gone to the tomb and confirmed the women’s report. Yet they still did not believe.

The Disciples Had Evidence but Still Did Not Believe

Luke 24:22–24 says:

“Moreover, some women of our company amazed us. They were at the tomb early in the morning, and when they did not find his body, they came back saying that they had even seen a vision of angels, who said that he was alive. Some of those who were with us went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said, but him they did not see.”

This is a stunning admission. Up to this point, we might assume the two disciples were discouraged simply because all they knew was that Jesus had been crucified. But now we learn they knew much more than that.

They knew the tomb was empty. They knew the women’s testimony. They knew angels had declared Jesus to be alive. They knew others had gone to the tomb and confirmed the women’s report. That is a remarkable amount of evidence. Yet still, they did not believe.

This raises an important question: why didn’t they believe after all that evidence? The answer is one of the most important truths we can learn about faith and unbelief.

Belief Is Not Primarily About Evidence

Belief is not primarily about evidence. Evidence matters. God has given us reasonable grounds for our faith. The Christian faith is not irrational or blind. The resurrection occurred in history, and Luke presents eyewitness testimony to show that it truly happened.

But if belief were strictly a matter of evidence, then everyone who heard the gospel would be saved, and everyone exposed to Jesus’s death, burial, and resurrection would believe. Yet that is not what we see in Scripture or in our own experience.

Two people can hear the same sermon, read the same passage, listen to the same testimony, and be presented with the same evidence, yet walk away with very different responses. Why? Because people have different hearts.

This is one of the main points of the parable of the sower. The same seed is scattered, but it falls on different soils. The seed is the same, but the responses differ because the hearts differ.

Sometimes we think, “If only I had one more sign,” or “If only God made things clearer,” or “If only I saw one more confirmation.” But often the deeper issue is not a shortage of evidence. It is a heart slow to submit to what God has already said. Unbelief is not chiefly about evidence. The deeper issue is the human heart’s slowness to trust God’s Word. That is why Jesus rebuked them.

Jesus Rebuked Them for Being Slow of Heart

Luke 24:25 says:

“And he said to them, ‘O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken!’”

Jesus does not say, “O uninformed ones.” He does not say, “O people who lacked enough evidence.” He says they were foolish and slow of heart.

There is a difference between ignorance and foolishness. Ignorance means you do not know. Foolishness means you knew better but did not act on what you knew. That is why Jesus calls these disciples foolish. They were not ignorant. They had been told. They had heard the reports. More importantly, they had the Scriptures.

Jesus says they were “slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken.” Their problem was not that God had failed to speak clearly. Their problem was that they had failed to believe all that God had already spoken.

True Faith Believes All That God Has Spoken

The word “all” in Luke 24:25 is significant. These disciples were willing to believe some of what the prophets had spoken. They were happy to embrace promises of glory, deliverance, kingdom, and redemption. But they struggled to believe the parts about suffering, rejection, humiliation, and death.

That is still a danger for us. We love the Scriptures about God’s love, grace, mercy, and blessing. But we can struggle to embrace the Scriptures about suffering, trials, judgment, repentance, discipline, and self-denial. True faith believes all that God has spoken, not only the parts that fit our preferred narrative.

The disciples were profoundly confused by the cross. They probably thought the crucifixion meant Jesus could not be the Messiah. But in reality, the cross proved He was the Messiah because it fulfilled what the prophets had spoken. What they viewed as a contradiction was actually confirmation.

Belief Is Primarily a Heart Issue

Jesus says they were “slow of heart.” That is no small detail. We tend to think of belief as something that takes place mainly in the mind. But Scripture repeatedly identifies the heart as the true source of belief and unbelief.

Romans 10:9–10 says:

“Believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, and you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified.”

When people reject Christ, they often present their unbelief as purely intellectual. They may use philosophical arguments or speak as though the problem is a lack of information. But Jesus shows us the deeper issue: belief is primarily a matter of the heart.

This should humble us and free us in evangelism. It humbles us because no amount of clever arguing can replace what only God can do in a heart. It frees us because our calling is not to win every argument. Our calling is to pray, speak the truth, present Christ faithfully, and trust God to do what only He can do beneath the surface.

The Christ Had to Suffer Before Entering Glory

Luke 24:26 says:

“Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and enter into his glory?”

The word “necessary” is important. Jesus’s suffering was not accidental. The cross was not an unfortunate derailment of God’s plan. It was not a tragedy that ruined the mission. It was divinely ordained.

Jesus had already spoken this way earlier in Luke. Luke 24:7 says:

“That the Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men and be crucified and on the third day rise.”

The word “must” shows divine necessity. Jesus was following His Father’s perfect plan.

When Jesus was twelve years old, He said in Luke 2:49:

“Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house?”

When He spoke of His coming death in Jerusalem, He said in Luke 13:33:

“Nevertheless, I must go on my way today and tomorrow and the day following.”

When He met Zacchaeus, He said in Luke 19:5:

“Zacchaeus, hurry and come down, for I must stay at your house today.”

When He spoke of His crucifixion, He said in Luke 22:37:

“For I tell you that this Scripture must be fulfilled in me.”

Jesus lived under the divine necessity of His Father’s will. Everything He did fulfilled Scripture and accomplished redemption.

So when Jesus asks, “Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and enter into his glory?” He is teaching that the cross was not a defeat. It was the mission.

The order matters: suffering first, glory afterward. Cross first, crown afterward. Humiliation first, exaltation afterward.

The Old Testament Is About Jesus

Luke 24:27 says:

“And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself.”

This is one of the most important verses in the Bible for understanding the Bible. Jesus teaches us that the Old Testament is Christ-centered. From Moses to the Prophets, from Genesis onward, the Scriptures point to Him.

The Gospels had not yet been written. The New Testament had not yet been completed. So when Jesus wanted to reveal Himself to these disciples, He opened the Old Testament and showed them “the things concerning Himself.”

That does not mean every verse in the Old Testament mentions Jesus explicitly. But it does mean the Old Testament, in its promises, types, shadows, sacrifices, covenants, offices, patterns, and prophecies, finds its fulfillment in Him.

Jesus is the promised seed of the woman who crushes the serpent. He is the true Passover Lamb. He is the greater Moses, the greater Joshua, and the greater David. He is the righteous sufferer of the Psalms, the suffering servant of Isaiah, and the true Prophet, Priest, and King. He is the One to whom all the Scriptures point.

Jesus Reveals Himself Through Scripture

It is worth considering what Jesus did not do on the road to Emmaus. He did not immediately say, “Look at My face.” He did not say, “See My hands.” He did not say, “Look at the scars in My feet.”

After His resurrection, Jesus could have revealed Himself in many ways. He could have performed miracles. He could have simply shown them His physical appearance. But instead, He chose to reveal Himself through Scripture.

This is especially important when we compare these disciples with Thomas. In John 20, Thomas said he would not believe unless he saw the marks of the nails and placed his hand into Jesus’s side. When Jesus appeared, He graciously allowed Thomas to see. Thomas confessed, “My Lord and my God!” But Jesus said, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”

Thomas believed after seeing, and Jesus was gracious to him. But Jesus also said there is a greater blessing for those who believe without seeing. That is the pattern Jesus establishes for us. After the ascension, we do not come to know Jesus by physical sight. We come to know Him through the Word. We know Him by faith. Jesus reveals Himself through Scripture.

Jesus Wants Us to Find Him in Scripture

The Bible is a large book. It would not have hurt to include a few more pages recording what Jesus said to these disciples on the road. The Sermon on the Mount is recorded for us. The Olivet Discourse is recorded for us. Sermons by Peter, Stephen, and Paul are recorded for us. Why not record at least part of this Bible study from Jesus Himself? Perhaps one reason is that Jesus wants us to search the Scriptures and find Him there.

Some of the greatest joy in the Christian life comes from the slow, gradual discovery of Christ across the pages of God’s Word. When we read Moses, the Prophets, the Psalms, the Gospels, and the Epistles, we should pray, “Lord, show me more of Yourself.”

The Christian life is not merely about learning facts. It is about knowing Christ. And the more we see Him in Scripture, the more our faith is strengthened, and our love for Him grows.

Read the Bible Looking for Christ

These two disciples began the walk confused, discouraged, and spiritually blind. They knew about the empty tomb. They had heard the testimony that Jesus was alive. But they were still slow of heart to believe all that God had spoken.

So Jesus took them to Scripture. He showed them that the cross was not the defeat of the Messiah, but the mission of the Messiah. He showed them that suffering had to come before glory. He showed them that the Bible is ultimately about Him.

We do not see Jesus physically as Thomas did. We do not walk with Him on the road to Emmaus as these two disciples did. But we have His Word, and He still reveals Himself to us through it. So read your Bible looking for Christ.

Read Moses. Read the Prophets. Read the Psalms. Read the Gospels. Read the Epistles. Pray, “Lord, show me more of Yourself.” And as you find Him there, your faith will be strengthened, and your love will grow for the Savior who suffered for you and then entered into His glory.