Luke 24:27, “And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself…”
Introduction
When I was a kid, in the late 1980s or early 90s, my parents took me to Heinz Hall in Pittsburgh for a concert. The orchestra played a piece called A Short Ride in a Fast Machine. It began with a woodblock keeping a steady, relentless beat—tick, tick, tick. On top of that beat, the whole orchestra erupted: brass here, strings there, percussion everywhere. At first it sounded chaotic, but the rhythm underneath held everything together and carried the piece forward.
That’s exactly how the Bible works. On the surface it can seem like a jumble—Adam in the garden, Noah and the ark, Abraham leaving home, Moses on the mountain, David on the throne, prophets crying out, psalms singing, apostles preaching. But underneath all of it runs a steady rhythm: God’s covenants. They are the heartbeat of the Bible, carrying the story forward until it finds its great crescendo in Jesus Christ.
And that’s exactly what Jesus showed His disciples on the road to Emmaus. Luke tells us that ‘beginning with Moses and all the prophets, He explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning Himself’ (Luke 24:27). The rhythm had been playing all along, but now Christ revealed the melody—that every covenant, every promise, every story was moving toward Him.
Common Misunderstandings: The Bible as Disconnected Stories
Many today approach the Bible as if it were a collection of isolated stories. This tendency was reinforced in the 19th and 20th centuries by movements such as Dispensationalism, which spread widely through popular preaching and well loved study tools. By treating passages and eras of Scripture as disconnected, this approach obscured the overarching unity of God’s plan.
As a result, some Christians have come to view the Old Testament as less relevant, or even unnecessary, as if it belonged more to the Jews than to the church. This way of thinking misses what Jesus Himself taught—that all the Scriptures bear witness to Him.
God’s Singular Purpose from Genesis to Revelation
Folks sometimes think the Old Testament God is all wrath and rules, while the New Testament one is full of grace and understanding. That’s a common mix-up, but let’s see why it’s off-base with a couple quick examples. The first is Genesis 3:15, and the second is going to be 1 Corinthians 10:1-4ff.
Genesis 3:15, “And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.”
In Genesis 3:15, we come to the beginning of God’s sentencing after Adam and Eve’s disobedience. The man blames the woman, and the woman blames the serpent. Without even questioning the serpent, God declares judgment: He curses the serpent and Satan, and divides mankind into two groups—the children of the serpent and the children of the woman. Yet in the very moment of mankind’s fall, God also promises redemption: one offspring of the woman will crush the serpent’s head, even while receiving a fatal wound Himself. Here we see both judgment and grace, wrath and mercy, from the very beginning.
1 Corinthians 10:1-4, “1 Moreover, brethren, I would not that ye should be ignorant, how that all our fathers were under the cloud, and all passed through the sea; 2 And were all baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea; 3 And did all eat the same spiritual meat; 4 And did all drink the same spiritual drink: for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ.”
This passage often surprises readers. If you approach the Bible as a collection of disconnected parts, you may skim right over it. Yet Paul is speaking about the Israelites who left Egypt, led by Moses under the cloud and through the sea. They ate, drank, and followed Christ. Ancient Israel should not be thought of merely as “Jews,” but as the people of God looking to the promised Redeemer—Old Testament Christians, if you will. Picture it like the old painting The Last Spike, where workers drove a golden spike to join the railroad tracks from east and west, uniting a nation. In the same way, God’s covenants join the story of Israel to the Messiah, making one redemptive plan. Moses wrote five books (Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy) to prepare them for life in the land, and central to that preparation was their faith in the coming Seed of the woman who would crush the serpent. On this side of the cross, we trust in the Messiah who has come, lived perfectly, died, and risen from the dead—the one who redeems from sin, the true golden spike of God’s plan (see also Ephesians 2:12, 19-22).
Jesus Shows that the Old Testament Testifies about Him.
In Luke 24, two disciples on the road to Emmaus walked away from Jerusalem discouraged after the crucifixion. Jesus Himself drew near, though they did not recognize Him, and He opened the Scriptures to them. Beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, He showed them how everything pointed to His suffering and glory. Their hearts burned within them as He explained the Word. This scene reveals that Christ is not only the center of the New Testament but of the Old Testament as well.
To read the Bible rightly, then, is to read it in a Christ-centered way. He is the key that unlocks the meaning of the whole. This does not mean that every verse speaks of Christ in the same way. Some passages, like genealogies, serve as covenantal background that prepares the way for Him; others, such as exhortations on Christian conduct, point indirectly to Him by showing how His people are to live in union with Him. All Scripture bears witness to Christ, though not all in the same degree or manner. The Road to Emmaus scene teaches us this balance: all Scripture is about Him, but not always in the same way. Christ is the melody, and the various passages—history, law, wisdom, and instruction—are the harmony that fills out God’s great composition.
The Framework that Ties the Story Together: God’s Covenants
At the center of this grand story is the framework God Himself has chosen to use: covenant. A covenant is not a casual agreement but a solemn bond lovingly established by God between Himself and man. Every covenant has parties, promises, and obligations, and it is always confirmed by signs and sanctions. These covenants are not marginal details—they are the backbone of biblical history.
From Adam to Noah, from Abraham to Moses, from David to the New Covenant in Christ, each covenant builds upon the last, carrying forward the rhythm of redemption. They are like threads woven into one tapestry: distinct, yet inseparably bound together, forming one picture. That picture is Christ and His work of salvation. The covenant framework shows us that the Bible is not a disconnected anthology, but one unfolding plan with Christ at its center.
Conclusion
Just as that relentless woodblock kept the orchestra together in A Short Ride in a Fast Machine, God’s covenants provide the steady rhythm of Scripture. They give order, direction, and movement to the whole story of redemption. What might look like scattered notes—Noah’s ark, Abraham’s promise, Moses’ law, David’s throne—are in reality joined in one divine composition that crescendos in Christ. Luke shows us that Jesus Himself is the key to hearing this music rightly: He opened the Old Testament Scriptures, from Genesis’ “In the beginning God” through all the Prophets, revealing that they point to Him, the heart of God’s covenantal plan. From there to Revelation’s final “Amen,” the whole Bible—Old and New Testaments alike—rings as Christian Scripture, one symphony woven by God’s covenants, with Jesus as the Composer, Conductor, and grand Finale of redemption.
Looking Ahead
In the coming weeks, we will walk step by step through the covenants that make up this covenantal framework. Each one builds upon the other, beginning in the Garden with Adam, moving through Noah, Abraham, Moses, and David, and culminating in the New Covenant in Christ. By tracing these covenants, we will see more clearly how God’s one plan of redemption unfolds across history.
Further Reading
Luke 24:27, 44-47; Romans 5; Galatians 3; Hebrews 1, 5, 11;
Featured Artwork
Thomas Hill (1829 – 1908) – The Last Spike (1881)