The Miracles of the Scarlet Thread

Bienhome Muivah *

Jesus confirmed that the entire Old Testament was simply a portrait of Himself. As a result, the only written word from God that man needed up to the time of Jesus was the Old Testament. When Jesus and the New Testament writers referred to the "scriptures or scripture", they were speaking to the Old Testament. It has been translated from Hebrew to Greek in about 250 B.C. It is the identical Old Testament that is in the present day Bible. Jesus and the New Testament writers acknowledged it as the inspired Word of God. Jesus said that it all pointed to Him.

One day when Jesus was talking to some of the Jewish leaders, He made this statement, "You study the scriptures, because you think that in them you will find eternal life. And these very scriptures speak about me! Yet you are not willing to come to me in order to have life" (John 5:39-40).

What Jesus said to those Jewish leaders described some peoples' situation. They had searched the scriptures looking for life in God's word. But it did not come alive to them because they had not completely surrendered to Jesus as Lord of their lives. Therefore, He could not reveal Himself to them.

When they finally wanted Him more than anything else, the Bible came alive. They found it to be more than pretty paper and print with a few words printed in red. It was God-breathed and He was breathing it into their Spirit through the Holy Spirit. He was writing it into their heart. God's word became flesh in them.

Well, some of these Jewish leaders wouldn't believe Jesus because they loved the praise of men more than the praise of God. Their pride and tradition has become a barrier to them just like many of us today.

Jesus then told them,
"Do not think, however, that I am the one who will accuse you to my Father. Moses, in whom you have put your hope, is the very one who will accuse you. If you had really believed Moses, you would have believed me, because he wrote about me" (John 5:45-46).

A lot of people today seek to discredit Moses' authorship of the first five books of the Bible. They also disclaim the literalness of these writings. This attack of the Bible goes under the name of the higher criticism". That sounds very sophisticated but Jesus did not think much of man's "higher criticism". Jesus said that Moses wrote the first five book of the Bible and that Moses was writing about Him. Therefore, if a person doesn't clearly perceive with "the eyes of their spirit" what God said about Himself through Moses, neither will he or she believe Jesus as He presents Himself as the Messiah and only Savior of the World.

Jesus comments on Jesus

What did God say about Himself through the Old Testament writers? Once again, Jesus provides the commentary. By the time Jesus came along, the Jewish sages had divided the Old Testament in three divisions. These were the Law of Moses, the prophets, and the psalms. Anytime someone used these references, they were talking about the complete Old Testament.

After Jesus was resurrected, He appeared to His disciples in Jerusalem. Then He said to them, "These are the very things I told you about while I was still with you: everything written about me in the Law of Moses, the writings of the prophets, and the psalms had to come true" (Luke 24:44).

With this statement, Jesus was again claiming that the writers of the Old Testament, from Genesis to Malachi, were written about Him. The disciples must have looked puzzled. So Jesus explained what the Old Testament writers said about Him.

Luke records it for us. He says, "Then He (Jesus) opened their minds so they could understand the scriptures. He told them, this is what is written: The Christ [Messiah] will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, and repentance and forgiveness of sins will be preached in His name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem" (Luke 24:45-47).

Unlocking the Mystery

Jesus opened their minds by telling them the key of understanding the scriptures. He told His disciples that the Old Testament writers wrote of His crucifixion and resurrection for the forgiveness of sins. This is how the two Testaments are linked together. They both tell this one story. The Old Testament tells that it is going to happen.

The New Testament tells it did happen. It is the story of God entering into a blood covenant with Himself for mankind through Jesus. The covenant in the blood of Jesus is the "Scarlet thread" that runs through both testaments. This is what Jesus wanted us to know when He said, "Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law of the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them" (Matthew 5:17).

Wishing all the readers a very Blessed Sunday!