BEGINNING AT MOSES by G.

Pacific Press Publishing Company · Oakland, California · Apr 17, 1901

FromSigns of the Times, Vol. 27, No. 16.

“BEGINNING AT MOSES.”

By G.

THE efforts of modern Biblical teachers to discredit the writings of Moses must utterly fail to convince the mind that is stayed on the words of Christ. During that memorable walk from Jerusalem to Emmaus with two of His disciples, on the day of His resurrection, He placed His seal on the validity of the testimony of Moses. “Beginning at Moses and all the prophets, He expounded unto them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself.”

What men would deem the natural thing for Jesus to do on that occasion, would have been to at once manifest Himself to the disciples in some convincing manner, and instruct them afterwards. But He did just the reverse. God’s way is always just the reverse of man’s way. It was therefore more important that those disciples should understand the Scriptures, and believe the truth from the testimony of Moses and the prophets, than that they should recognize the person of Jesus. The principle is set forth in the words of Christ spoken to Thomas, after that disciple was led to believe on the evidence of his own eyesight that the Lord had risen. On that occasion Jesus said to him, “Thomas, because thou hast seen Me, thou hast believed; blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed.” John 20:29.

No doubt Jesus was very anxious to have Cleopas and his companion fully convinced of His resurrection, but it was essential that their conviction be by faith and not by sight. The Gospel was to be preached by men, and men were to believe, not because of anything wonderful in the persons of the preachers, but because of the Word they should proclaim. Thus we have the testimony of some

in Corinth concerning Paul, that his “letters” were “weighty and powerful,” but his “bodily presence” was “weak.” 2 Cor. 10:10. So it is thru the truth that men are to be sanctified (John 17:17), and not thru the preacher—only so far as he is able to intelligibly present the truth.

Jesus met the two disciples as they “communed together and reasoned” and were “sad.” They had “trusted” that Jesus of Nazareth was He who “should have redeemed Israel;” but the chief priests and rulers had “delivered Him to be condemned to death, and crucified Him.” No wonder they were sad; but why should they be reasoning together as to how such a thing could be?—Simply because they did not understand the Scriptures. Even their trust, while properly placed in Jesus of Nazareth, was based on error. They trusted that He should have redeemed Israel, and their idea of Israel was the natural seed; therefore, in common with the chief priests and rulers, they did not expect the Messiah to redeem any but the Jews. If their trust was properly based, then the chief priests and rulers were right in their rejection of Jesus, altho they were unreasonable and cruel in demanding His death.

Hence their need of fundamental instruction on the whole Gospel subject. Jesus knew their need, and He knows our need, as no one else does. So He goes to the very beginning of the course of instruction in the Gospel school—the writings of Moses. This was not His first indorsement of the books of Moses. During His public ministry He had referred to these as being authentic. He had said to the rulers: “Do not think that I will accuse you to the Father; there is one that accuseth you, even Moses, in whom ye trust. For had ye believed Moses, ye would have believed Me; for he wrote of Me. But if ye believe not His writings, how shall ye believe My words?” John 5:45-47.

Again, in the parable of the rich man and Lazarus, we have this parabolic conversation between Abraham and the rich man, concerning the latter’s living brethren: “Abraham saith unto him, They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them. And he said, Nay, father Abraham; but if one went unto them from the dead, they will repent. And he said unto him, If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, tho one rose from the dead.” Luke 16:29-31.

From these scriptures we may appreciate the force and wisdom of the policy of Jesus in first instructing the disciples in the Scriptures. (1) They must first believe Moses before it was possible for them to believe Him, or to properly believe in Him. (2) Altho He had risen from the dead, that fact could not turn them from their erroneous ideas of the Messiahship unless they would believe Moses and the prophets. That fact, without an understanding of the aforesaid Scriptures, would rather tend to confirm them in their error, namely, that He was to re-establish the temporal kingdom of Israel according to the flesh. We know that this was the case even with the eleven apostles, until the day of Pentecost, when the outpouring of the Spirit enlightened their minds, and they more fully understood the Scriptures. See Acts 1:6-8. From these teachings of Jesus, and these experiences of those early apostles, it is clear that modern enthusiasts who look for the re-establishment of the natural Israel in Palestine would do well to study Moses and the prophets, and especially to note their application by the Lord Himself.

Because these disciples were “slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken,” their hearts were filled with sadness, when the truth would have caused them to rejoice. “Hopeless and faithless they were walking in the shadow of the cross,” when even the Pharisees who had condemned Jesus remembered that He had said, “After three days I will rise again,” and made provision to prevent it by sealing the tomb and setting a watch. No wonder Jesus upbraided the disciples as “foolish men” (R. V.). They were foolish because they were ignorant of the Scriptures, altho they may have been well versed in the traditions of the elders—the wisdom of men. They deemed the death of Christ the destruction of their hopes, but He showed them from the Scriptures that this was a strong ground of faith: “Ought not Christ to have suffered these things, and to enter into His glory?”

The scripture which tells us that the wisdom of men is foolishness with God, had a marked fulfilment in the ignorance of the disciples of Christ concerning His mission. On the other hand, the tact and wisdom of Jesus in presenting the truth shows that in Him are all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. To give His disciples an understanding of the Gospel He opened up to them the Scriptures. And these same Scriptures assure us that “a good understanding have all they that do His commandments.” Ps. 111:10. Therefore, “let the Word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom.” Col. 3:16.

The effect of the Word of God upon the honest in heart, when faithfully presented in the power of the Spirit, was well illustrated during the walk to Emmaus. The testimony of the hearers was, “Did not our heart burn within us, while He talked with us by the way, and while He opened to us the Scriptures?” Then, when their hearts were ready to receive the evidence of Moses and the prophets, they found their living Saviour. He then revealed Himself to them in visible appearance. And it is only to those who are willing to accept the evidence of His Word—going back to the testimony given thru Moses—that Christ can be revealed as a real Saviour. The Scriptures of truth are His Word indited by His Spirit, and “were written for our learning, that we thru patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope.” Rom. 15:4. G.