November 24 - Listen to Him

 Read today’s texts first: Matthew 17-19

 MAXIMize YOUR DAY

We must look at the Old Testament through the
person of Jesus, and not the other way around.

What is the significance of Elijah and Moses showing up with Jesus on the Mount of Transfiguration?  Some have said they are the only two main characters in Old Testament history whose post mortems are unaccounted for (Enoch, notwithstanding).  Elijah bypassed death because of a chariot of fire; Moses died, but his missing bones add an element of mystery.  They are also the two front-running candidates for the two witnesses prophesied in the Revelation.

Another thought struck me as I read the account this time – Moses represented the Law and Elijah the Prophets.  Jesus introduced a new paradigm (called the new covenant or new testament), but He was often misunderstood by the Jewish religious leaders, the masses, and even His own disciples, who listened from an Old Testament perspective.  That could be why Jesus stood side-by-side with Moses and Elijah, representing the law and the prophets (the two main sections of the Old Testament), while the Father shone His spotlight on His Son and said “Listen to Him!”  After the disciples recovered from their fall-face-down fear, they looked up and only saw Jesus.

One of the points of this experience was to illustrate how we must now look at the Old Testament through the person of Jesus, and not the other way around.  He more accurately reveals the heart of the Father.  Of course the Old Testament is inspired and true, but it is incomplete.  If we try to develop a view of the Father based solely on Old Testament imagery, our perspective will be skewed.

A promising graduate from our college was drawn into an almost cult-like teaching that reinterprets New Testament teachings from an OT perspective, instead of the other way around.  He fell into such a legalistic lifeless religion that he missed the point of why Jesus came, and eventually lost his faith in Jesus as Saviour.

“Lord, help me to understand all of Scripture in light of what You said and did when You arrived on planet Earth.  Bring me up short when I lapse into legalism and start to legislate religion for myself and others.  Christianity is not a religion – it’s about relationship with You!”