3 Minute Read

Prepare Your Heart

To the best of your ability, get rid of all distractions. Take a few minutes to breathe deeply and quiet yourself in the Lord’s presence. Then, ask the Lord to speak to you in this time. Let Him know that you will listen and make whatever adjustments He will reveal to you.

Read God’s Word

2 Chronicles 30-32
Acts 8:26-9:9

A Verse for Today

Slowly and reflectively read the following verse(s) and listen to what God will say to you through His written Word. Consider writing down any insights He reveals to you.

Acts 8:35 (CSB): “Philip proceeded to tell him the good news about Jesus, beginning with that Scripture.”

Reflecting on God’s Word

This morning at White Hall Baptist Church in Richmond, Kentucky, I will begin a series of sermons that focus on Jesus in the Old Testament. I will start the sermon by taking the congregation, in their minds’ eye, to a road between Jerusalem and Emmaus where Jesus met two of His followers. Jesus had risen from the dead that morning, and those disciples were trying to make sense of the information they had received. So, Jesus explained to them all the things that had happened … from the Old Testament! (The word “Scriptures” referred specifically to the Old Testament and eventually included the New Testament writings.)

Luke 24:25-27 (CSB): “He said to them, ‘How foolish you are, and how slow to believe all that the prophets have spoken! Wasn’t it necessary for the Messiah to suffer these things and enter into his glory?’ Then beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he interpreted for them the things concerning himself in all the Scriptures.”

I WISH I could have been in that small group as Jesus kept bringing up verse after verse from the Old Testament and explaining how they pointed to Him!

That’s what we find in the verse I have chosen for today. A prominent official from Ethiopia was reading from an Isaiah scroll, particularly what we now call Isaiah 53, and he was trying to make sense of it. When Philip noticed what he was reading and asked if he understood it, the Ethiopian official said, “How can I unless someone guides me?’ (Acts 8:31).

And that’s when we read that Philip used that Old Testament passage to begin talking to the official about Jesus!

Acts 8:35 (CSB): “Philip proceeded to tell him the good news about Jesus, beginning with that Scripture.”

If we aren’t careful, we may think that only the New Testament talks about Jesus. That notion is completely false. The truth is that the WHOLE Bible talks about Jesus!

Someone once said that if we read a passage of Scripture and don’t see Jesus, we probably haven’t fully understood that passage. The more I study the Bible, the more I am convinced that such a statement is completely true.

Spend Time in Prayer

  • Ask God to help you “see” Jesus in the Bible, even the Old Testament, as you study it.

Going Deeper

If you want to dig a little deeper into Jesus in the Old Testament, consider reading the following GotQuestions article:

“Is Jesus in the Old Testament?”

Sharing

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Matt Ellis is the pastor of White Hall Baptist Church in Richmond, Kentucky (whitehallbaptistchurch.org)