Luke 24:13 And, behold, two of them went that same day to a village called Emmaus, which was from Jerusalem about threescore furlongs. 14 And they talked together of all these things which had happened. 15 And it came to pass, that, while they communed together and reasoned, Jesus himself drew near, and went with them. 17 And he said unto them, What manner of communications are these that ye have one to another, as ye walk, and are sad? 27 And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself.
In this passage of scripture we have the experience of two disciples of Christ, discussing in great detail, the events that had just transpired at Jerusalem, even the crucifixion of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. As they rehearsed the details, Christ Himself drew near and gently upbraided them, because of their lack of understanding of the prophecies that were written, pertaining to the very things that had just taken place. What is very important for us to note, is that in His explanation of the prophecies, Jesus started with the writings of Moses and the prophets, and through the old testament scriptures, He was able to trace the golden thread of harmonious prophetic utterances, which found their fulfillment in the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ.
This method of exegesis that Christ used is of critical importance to us today, where we are surrounded with theological seminaries that differ widely on the way the scriptures are interpreted. In order for anyone to reach the right conclusions pertaining to anything written in the scriptures, The "Line upon line" system must be used or else we would inevitably distort what God has made very plain, thereby arriving at "Private interpretations". Let's read:
2nd Peter 1:20 Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation. 21 For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.
Isaiah 28:9 Whom shall he teach knowledge? and whom shall he make to understand doctrine? them that are weaned from the milk, and drawn from the breasts. 10 For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a little:
For instance, one of the great errors of our time is the false doctrine that teaches its adherents that the law of ten commandments was nailed to the cross, thereby rendering them as being obsolete and no longer applicable to contemporary Christianity. This erroneous conclusion is usually drawn from Colossians 2:14 -17, where the apostle Paul speaks of the law of ordinances being blotted out and nailed to His cross. Let's read:
Colossians 2:14 Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross; 16 Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holyday, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath days: 17 Which are a shadow of things to come; but the body is of Christ.
The erroneous interpretation of this passage of scripture has subsequently been used to throw out the Sabbath day as God's only holy day of rest, and also to perpetuate the error that as Christians, we can now eat and drink whatsoever we desire, with absolutely no compunctions of conscience. Using the "Line upon line method however, we see a completely different picture emerging, and thus it behooves every honest seeker for truth to immediately adopt the method used and espoused by the Lord Jesus Himself. Let's examine what the Bible actually says on the issues of food, drink, and the validity of the seventh day Sabbath. Let's read:
Galatians 5:19 Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, 20 Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, 21 Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.
1st Corinthians 10:31 Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God.
1st Corinthians 3:16 Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you? 17 If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are.
Isaiah 66:22 For as the new heavens and the new earth, which I will make, shall remain before me, saith the Lord, so shall your seed and your name remain. 23 And it shall come to pass, that from one new moon to another, and from one sabbath to another, shall all flesh come to worship before me, saith the Lord.
It therefore becomes obvious that very great harm can be done, when a flawed system of interpretation is implemented, and worst of all, it has the negative effect of causing the multitudes to hang their hopes on something God has never promised. The road to Emmaus therefore leads us to a correct interpretation of the scriptures, where "Moses and the prophets", together with the new testament writers, are accepted and interpreted as an indivisible whole, with verses of scripture being used to interpret each other, and the Bible being allowed to interpret itself.
Whenever and wherever these methods are adopted and implemented, Christians everywhere would come to the very same conclusions, as opposed to the myriads of interpretations and incongruous deductions of scripture that now abound. We therefore end with a passage of scripture reminding us of our duty to search the word of God for ourselves, using the methods that Jesus used. Let's read:
2nd Timothy 2:15 Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. 16 But shun profane and vain babblings: for they will increase unto more ungodliness.
May the light of truth shine into our hearts today and may we always study the word of God objectively, for God has promised understanding to the honest seeker for truth. God bless!