It was Sunday, and there was despair and confusion among all of Jesus’ disciples. The one that they had put their hopes in had been crucified by the Romans, but the women had gone to the tomb that morning and found that his body was missing. They came back with an incredible story about the stone being rolled away from the tomb and angels, who said that Jesus was alive! Two of the disciples were on their way to Emmaus and talking about all that had happened when a man joined them. When they told him what they had been talking about, he told them that they were foolish and slow to believe what the Prophets had said about the Messiah. Then, he began to explain to them what Moses and the Prophets said about Jesus. Of course, the man was Jesus, as the two men found out later that day. They said that their hearts had burned within them as Jesus opened the Scriptures to them. I wish I knew exactly what He had said to them, but I’m pretty sure I know at least a part. Jesus Explains About How the Old Testament Told About Him – Luke 24:13-35

I’m sure He told them about Isaac, Abraham’s promised son, that God asked him to sacrifice. He probably pointed out that Isaac himself carried the wood that he would be sacrificed on up the hill just as Jesus had carried His own cross. I’m sure He pointed out how Isaac willingly allowed himself to be bound and placed on the wood just as Jesus had willingly allowed Himself to be nailed to the cross. Isaac Carries The Wood for the Altar of His Own Sacrifice – Genesis 22:6

Then, I’m sure that Jesus pointed out that God provided a ram in the thicket as a sacrifice instead of Isaac. He probably told them that Jesus was the sacrifice that took our place and that the thicket would one day be used to create a crown of thorns for the Lord. God Provides a Sacrificial Ram in the Thicket to Save Isaac – Genesis 22:13

Water from the Rock That Moses Struck – Exodus 17:1-7 After that, I bet He told them that Jesus was the rock in the wilderness that Moses struck and from which issued a stream of water that saved the people. He probably pointed out that Jesus was struck to save the people, too, and that streams of living water came from Him. Whoever drank the water that Jesus offered would never be thirsty again. Water from the Rock That Moses Struck – Exodus 17:1-7

The Bronze Serpent That Healed the People – Numbers 21:4-9 Then, He might have reminded them about the bronze serpent that Moses put on a pole when poisonous serpents attacked the people. Whoever had been bitten by the snakes could look on the bronze serpent and be healed just as any who had been poisoned with sin could look to Jesus’ death on a cross and be saved from death. The Bronze Serpent That Healed the People – Numbers 21:4-9

After that, He might have reminded them of the Passover in Egypt, when they had to sacrifice a lamb without defects and spread its blood over their doorframe so that the Angel of Death would pass over them that night. He would have told them that Jesus was the perfect Lamb of God, whose blood covered and protected them from death. And just as no bone of the lamb could be broken, no bone of Jesus’ was broken as He hung on the cross even though the legs of the two thieves were broken to hasten their deaths. The Sacrifice of a Perfect Lamb and Covering Doorposts with Blood – Exodus 12

Jesus might have told them that the red cord Rahab hung out her window protected her and her family during the destruction of Jericho just as His blood protects those who trust in Him. The Scarlet Cord That Saved Rahab and Her Family – Joshua 2:17-20; 6:23

Joseph Thrown In the Empty Well by His Brothers, Genesis 37:23-24 Then, He might have asked them to remember Joseph, who was the favorite of his father and who had a magnificent robe that his brothers stripped off of him as they threw him into an empty well while they decided whether or not they would kill him. In this way, Joseph was like Jesus, who was killed by His own people and put in a tomb in the ground. Joseph Thrown In the Empty Well by His Brothers, Genesis 37:23-24

Jonah in the Belly of the Fish for Three Days – Jonah 1:17-2:10 I’m almost positive He told them once again about Jonah, who spent three days in the Belly of a giant fish and then was spit out onto dry land. And He would have reminded them that Jesus told the Pharisees and the teachers of the law that they would be given no sign except the sign of Jonah. Though Jonah was thrown into the sea and certain to die, He rose alive from the depths again, just as Jesus was buried for three days and then rose to life again. Jonah in the Belly of the Fish for Three Days – Jonah 1:17-2:10 Jonah on the Beach in Nineveh, by Daniel Lewis

Daniel Thrown Into the Lion’s Den – Daniel 6:15-24 Jesus might have pointed out that Daniel was also thrown to certain death in the lion’s den but that the stone was rolled away in the morning to reveal that Daniel was still alive. In the same way, the stone was rolled away from Jesus’ tomb in the morning, and Jesus rose again to life. Daniel Thrown Into the Lion’s Den – Daniel 6:15-24 Daniel in the Lions’ Den, by Scott Gustafson

Finally, I’m sure that Jesus wouldn’t have neglected to mention that Joseph spent several years in an underground prison but was raised to the right hand of Pharoah just as Jesus spent three days in an underground tomb but then rose to be seated at the right hand of God the Father. Jesus had hours and hours to talk with these men, and He likely shared with them many more connections to His life from the Old Testament than these, but I hope that you can see Jesus’ arrest, death and resurrection were not a surprise to God. He had a plan for rescuing us from before time began, and He left a trail of breadcrumbs throughout the Old Testament to show us how intentional His plan was. As far back as page 3 of the Bible (Gen 3:14-15), God told us how Satan would strike out at Jesus but that Jesus would crush his head. Jesus did this at the cross, and because of His sacrifice, death has been defeated. Jesus came so that we could have life and that we could have it more abundantly. (John 10:10) Joseph Elevated from Prison to the Right Hand of Pharaoh – Genesis 41:39-43