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36 -- JESUS APPEARS TO THE DISCIPLES

Once again Luke shows the certainty of what we should believe, as Jesus reminds the disciples, when he appears to them after the resurrection, that all the things that had happened fulfilled what had been written concerning him thousands of years earlier throughout all three divisions of the Hebrew scriptures -- the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms.

After he had opened their understanding, that they might comprehend the Scriptures, Jesus then gave them a key outline summary of what they should understand, saying: Thus it is written, and thus it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead the third day, and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.

What Jesus is saying is that, because the scriptures cannot be broken ( John 10:35), it was a necessary certainty that what had been written by the prophets about his first coming be fulfilled -- just as the things written by the prophets about his second coming must and will be fulfilled when the time is right. As we saw earlier, Jesus also provided us with a key outline of those future events (Luke 21).

In the Law of Moses, for example, the first five books of the Old Testament, Paul reminds us that the Passover Lamb was a type of Christ (1 Corinthians 5:7), as was the High Priest (Hebrews 3:1; 4:14-15), and all the various sacrifices Hebrews 9:11-14; 13:9-16).

In the second division of the Hebrew scriptures, the Prophets, for example, we find Isaiah describing a mysterious man of sorrows who would be pierced for our transgressions then led like a lamb to the slaughter (Isaiah 53:1-8). Then, In the book of Acts, we find Philip being led by God to encounter a high-ranking Ethiopian eunuch and explaining to him how this, and then other scriptures, applied to Jesus Christ (Acts 8:26-38).

And in the third division of the Hebrew scriptures, in the Psalms, for example, we find the final words uttered by Jesus on the cross (Luke 23:46, Psalm 31:5).

The Bible is not written as a logical exposition, which is why the process of having our understanding opened by the Holy Spirit involves a willingness to study and piece some things together (1 Corinthians 2:13) and divide other parts up (2 Timothy 2:15).

Peter gives us a good illustration of the process In his sermon on the Day of Pentecost -- pointing out that a scripture normally assumed to apply to David who wrote it (Psalm 16:8-11), could not actually apply to David since he was dead and buried, but was instead a prophecy of the resurrection of Christ from the dead (Acts 2:29-33).

He then follows up with another scripture (Psalm 110:1) that could not apply to David either since he was dead, but which actually predicts how the resurrected Christ will sit on the right hand of God until his enemies are put under his feet (Acts2:34-36).

This latter psalm had in fact been expounded earlier by Jesus himself in an encounter with the Pharisees (Matthew 22:41-46).

These examples of prophetic fulfillment are just a few of the thousands of internal proofs that validate the Bible as the inspired word of God -- an imprint of divine authenticity that no other book possesses.

In preaching about Jesus Christ to the whole world, and beginning at Jerusalem with Jewish people, the apostles built on foundation of the Hebrew Scriptures -- and the sure word of prophecy recorded there (2 Peter 1:19-21).

Preaching in the temple, for example, Peter cites a scripture where Moses prophesies the coming of Christ as a great prophet that would arise, adding that all the prophets from Samuel onwards, in fact, had spoken of these matters (Acts 3:24).

What Moses had written, in the verse later quoted by Stephen (Acts 7:37), was that: "The Lord you God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your own brothers. You must listen to him" (Deuteronomy 18:15-22). This verse was well known amongst the Jews, which is why priests and Levites were sent to enquire of John the Baptist at the start of his ministry: "Are you that Prophet?" (John 1:21).

Notice that in his outline of prophetic events concerning himself Jesus says: It was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead the third day. Although the Hebrew scriptures predicting the coming of the Messiah as a mighty ruler were well known, it had not been understood that he had first to suffer and die and then be resurrected on the third day (as typified by the three days and three nights spent by the prophet Jonah in the belly of a whale (Matthew 12:40)).

Therefore, when Peter preaches in the Temple, he also stresses this point, saying: "God has fulfilled what he had foretold thorough all the prophets, saying that his Christ would suffer" (Acts 3:18).

Paul later stresses the same important point in Thessalonica, where we read that: "He reasoned with them from the Scriptures, explaining and proving that the Christ had to suffer and rise from the dead" (Acts 17:3).

The important fact that the apostles' message was based on the sure foundation of the prophets is brought out again later when Paul preaches to the people of the city of Berea who are commended for their inquiring attitude because: "they received the message with eagerness and examined the Scriptures daily to see if these things were true" (Acts 17:11).

In the last line of this section, Jesus reminds the disciples that they had been witnesses of these things. However, human beings die, which is why Peter, as he saw the end of his life approaching, and also saw the looming threat of false teachers (all of 2 Peter chapter 2), took steps to make sure that accurate written accounts of all the things they had witnessed would be available after his death (2 Peter 1:12-21). It is thought, in fact, that Peter was responsible for compiling the canon of scripture we now know as the New Testament.

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