There is something about December that makes the world feel different.
The lights go up.
The music changes.
The days get shorter.
The nights get quieter.
And even though the calendar fills up faster than any of us would like,
there is still this quiet pull on the heart.
Slow down.
Look again.
Remember what God has done.
And the longer I walk with the Lord,
the more convinced I am that Advent is not only about looking forward to the coming of Christ,
It is also about looking backward.
It's about remembering that His arrival in Bethlehem was not sudden.
It was not a surprise.
It was not a last-second rescue plan.
The manger was always the plan.
And today, we are going to sit with one of the most powerful scenes in Scripture,
a scene that happens after the resurrection,
but explains Christmas better than almost any other passage in the Bible.
Welcome to Verses We Missed. I'm your host, your OG Godcaster, Steve Webb.
Every week we slow down and spend time with the quieter parts of Scripture.
The verses that hide in plain sight. The ones that reward a slower reading and a prayerful heart.
This is your midweek breath of Scripture and grace.
And today we're looking at Luke 24, verse 27.
It may not seem like a Christmas verse at first glance, but stay with me.
This may be the ultimate Christmas verse,
because what Jesus does in this scene is breathtaking.
He pulls back the curtain on the entire Old Testament,
and he says something very simple.
All of this was pointing to me.
Let me paint the moment.
It's Resurrection Sunday. Jesus has risen, but not everyone knows yet. Two disciples are walking
from Jerusalem to a village called Emmaus. They're discouraged, confused, heartbroken.
They had hoped that Jesus was the one, but the cross shattered their expectations.
As they walk, a stranger joins them. They do not recognize him, but it is Jesus,
And instead of revealing himself immediately, he begins a Bible study, a personal, private
walk through the Scriptures that had shaped their entire lives.
He listens to their confusion.
Then he gently challenges it.
And finally, he opens the Scriptures to them, which leads us to our verse.
Luke 24, verse 27.
And here it is.
And beginning with Moses and all the prophets, he explained to them what was said in all
the scriptures concerning himself. Let me read that again more slowly. Beginning with Moses
and all the prophets, he explained what was said in all the scriptures concerning himself.
That one sentence can change how we read the entire Bible.
What does Jesus mean when he says the scriptures were about him? He does not mean that every verse
is a direct prediction. He means the whole story of God from Genesis to Malachi is a story with a
direction, a story with a center, a story with a promised Redeemer at the core. Let me show you
what that looks like. In Genesis, the moment Adam and Eve fall, God announces a plan. A descendant
will come who will crush the serpent's head. The world is barely broken, and already the manger is
distance. Abraham. God promises that through Abraham's offspring, all nations will be blessed.
Not just one nation, all nations. Christmas is already taking shape. Passover. You have a lamb,
blood that saves, a people delivered from darkness into light. Do you see it? These are shadows of
the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. And now the law and the sacrifices. Every
offering, every priest, every drop of blood. All of it points to a greater priest and a perfect
sacrifice. The Prophets. A virgin will conceive. A king will reign forever. A shepherd will gather
his flock. A suffering servant will bear our griefs. The Old Testament is not a disconnected
library of ancient stories. It is a single story with a single center. From the first page to the
last page before Matthew, the Bible leans toward Jesus. This is why the angels sang at his birth.
This is why Simeon held him in the temple and said, My eyes have seen your salvation.
This is why the star appeared. This is why the shepherds ran. They were not witnessing a beginning.
They were witnessing a fulfillment. The manger was always the plan.
Now, let's pause for a moment, because everything I just said is not only about theology. It is about
your life. The disciples on the Emmaus Road thought they knew the story. They thought everything had
fallen apart. They thought the ending was written. But Jesus says, Let me show you how this fits.
Maybe you're living in a chapter that does not make sense right now.
A season that feels confusing or unfinished.
A moment where you're asking God what He is doing.
Christmas tells us something important.
God does not forget His promises.
He does not abandon His plan.
He does not leave any part of the story wasted.
It may feel slow to us, but the plan of redemption took centuries.
God is never rushed, but He is never late.
Your life is held by the same author who held the entire story of Scripture.
He knows the path.
He knows the purpose.
He knows what the next chapter is for.
And when Jesus interprets the Scriptures about Himself, He is also showing us how He works with us.
He helps us see the story we are in.
As we approach Christmas, we remember something sacred.
Jesus did not arrive unexpectedly. He arrived faithfully. He arrived according to promise.
He arrived according to Scripture. And just as surely as He came the first time,
He will come again. Advent is not only about looking backward, it is also about looking forward.
The child in the manger is the King who will return. The God who kept His promises for thousands
of years will keep His promises to you. Let's pray. Father, thank you for the story you have
been telling since the beginning. Thank you that Jesus was not an afterthought or an interruption,
but your plan from the very start. Thank you for the promise kept in the manger and the promise
yet to come. Teach us to see your hand in the scriptures and teach us to see your hand in our
own story. In this Advent season, give us hearts full of hope, eyes full of wonder,
and faith that rests in your promises. In Jesus' name, amen.
Beloved, if this episode encouraged your heart today, if it helped you see the beauty of the
story God has been telling? Would you consider returning some of that value? Time. Tell someone
about the show. Talent. Share your art or creativity. Treasure. You can stream sats or
support the show at lifespringmedia.com support. This is a weekly show released every Tuesday at
10 p.m. Pacific, so it's waiting for you Wednesday morning, your midweek breath of scripture and
grace. And for the month of December, I am rerunning the LifeSpring Why Christmas podcast's
debut season from 2006. It's a show I co-hosted with my good friend, James Cooper, who runs the
internet's best Christmas website, which is celebrating its 25th year, whychristmas.com.
It's a short 10 to 15 minute daily show, right up till Christmas, that shares the story of
Christmas and some of the customs and fun things around Christmas from around the world. You can
Find it at lifespringmedia.com or just look for LifeSpring with an exclamation mark behind it on your podcast app, LifeSpring!
The shows I've produced over the years should come up, including the Why Christmas Show.
Take a listen. I think you'll like it.
Until next time, may God remind you that your life has a place in His story.
May He surround you with His goodness.
And may the hope of Christ's coming fill your heart with joy.
May God bless you richly.
My name is Steve Webb. Bye.