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[0:00] I wonder how many of you have driven on the new Aberdeen western peripheral route.

[0:13] The long-awaited road never seemed to be coming and still isn't complete. I've been on it twice now, except for the section down towards Stonehaven.

[0:25] My first experience was as a passenger, being driven out the northeast side road and turning right onto the new slip road and then heading towards the airport.

[0:40] Initially, it appeared like we were turning onto a dual carriageway because the slip road is a two-way road. And when you first get onto the road, a car came the other direction toward us and it took us a little bit by surprise.

[0:54] There was no risk of accident because we were on the left-hand side. But cars were coming. There's a two-way road and that slip road leads onto the roundabout. And that was my first experience of this road. I wasn't driving.

[1:10] My second time, I was actually driving on the road. This time, I was heading south. I was heading south. I was heading south. Because I wanted to charge up the car battery after the battery had been sitting.

[1:22] The car had been sitting and the battery had gone flat. And Stephen had been around and I was able to get his help to get the car battery charged up.

[1:33] And I wanted to take a long run at some speed. And so I went on the western peripheral route once more. Now, on this occasion, just before a big roundabout, there was a sign.

[1:48] It was a lit-up sign. It was obviously a temporary sign. It was on the left-hand side of the road. And on this electronic sign, it read, New road layout ahead.

[1:59] Now, that seemed a bit strange to me. The whole road is new. So why is it saying, in the middle of the new road, new road layout ahead? It seemed rather peculiar. When we got to the roundabout, it became quite clear.

[2:11] A vehicle had obviously gone straight through the roundabout and had left a path through the grass.

[2:21] The grass had been churned up. So someone had obviously, I think it was a lorry. I'm not sure for certain. But someone had obviously gone down this new road at 70 miles per hour, presumably, and gone straight across the grass roundabout.

[2:35] Hopefully, no one was hurt. I don't know the exact circumstance. But hence the reason for this extra sign, which hadn't been planned in the original planning. I suspect they probably need rumble strips or something to slow the traffic down, coming up to a roundabout from a fast road.

[2:50] Anyway, the common factor of these two incidents was that both of these situations, there was a lack of appropriate signage.

[3:01] Lack of appropriate signage when you're coming onto an unfamiliar road and when we were unfamiliar with this new way, as it were. So this morning, I want to look at the metaphoric road, or should I say, the metaphoric road signs in Scripture that point to Jesus.

[3:23] And the context I have for that is taken from this chapter in Luke. There were these two disciples, and we read in verse 13, Now that same day, two of them were going to a village called Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem.

[3:40] Now this was Cleopas and another disciple. And they were heading, I assume they were coming from Jerusalem, and heading towards this place, which is seven miles away or thereabouts.

[3:53] They were heading, leaving Jerusalem, heading towards Emmaus. And it says they were downcast. I suspect it was a little more than downcast.

[4:04] I suspect that they were devastated, simply devastated, because the one they had been following had been taken from them by the Romans. And in a sense, all hope was gone.

[4:21] They were devastated. And you can imagine their thoughts and their conversation. as they were traveling on the way, on this road, before they met Jesus.

[4:32] They were traveling along the road. You can imagine their conversation going something like this. Well, Israel was surely going to be redeemed. I mean, Jesus, our great leader.

[4:44] I mean, we saw the things that he did and what he was capable of. And he kept talking about his kingdom. His kingdom was going to come. It was imminent.

[4:54] It was going to be here. And we were going to be freed from the yoke of these Romans. And we've had enough of this occupying power. Why don't we have our own rulers and not under the rule of the Romans?

[5:08] We've had enough of the Romans. The Romans even managed to get our own people to do their dirty work for them. Some of our own people have been collecting taxes.

[5:21] What scum. Our own people doing the work of the Romans. As for the trial. The trial that we just witnessed.

[5:32] That we heard about. It wasn't even a proper trial. It was little more than a complete and absolute sham. What do you expect from a rat-like pilot?

[5:44] It was a trial by mob. That's what it was. Just mob rule. He asked the crowd what they wanted to do. And they shouted crucify him.

[5:56] What kind of justice is that? As for that fellow they let out. What's his name again? Barabbas. Yes. Barabbas. They let out a murderer.

[6:07] I mean what did Jesus done? And they let out a murderer instead. Who wants a murderer running free in our Jerusalem? Even our own people. The chief priests and the rulers were no better.

[6:21] It was them who handed Jesus. It was them that handed him over to be crucified. We were at the crucifixion.

[6:33] But we. It was unbearable. We stood at. We stayed at a distance. We couldn't face the situation. It was horrific. But now all hope is gone.

[6:45] It's all over. It's finished. As for those. Those crazy women back in Jerusalem. That story about angels and the empty tomb.

[6:56] That was a strange one. I mean. I guess they were a bit overtaken by grief. A bit emotional I guess. But it's a real mystery.

[7:07] What happened to the body. I mean Peter went back there. And the body was gone. That's maybe the kind of conversation that took place. Between the two men.

[7:18] And. Taken from. Some of the text there. And then they met this. Person on the road. And they didn't recognize. This is Luke chapter 24.

[7:30] Verse 15 onwards. But before I get into the passage. A bit further. I wonder if. If the men folk. I wonder if the men folk. Ever apologized to the woman.

[7:41] For not believing them. Because if they didn't. The woman certainly deserved an apology. For they were the faithful ones. They were the ones. Who trusted what was told to them by the angels.

[7:53] Christ has risen. The empty tomb signified. That Jesus had risen. As the prophets had said. Would happen. So there was this meeting with Jesus.

[8:05] On their way back from Emmaus. A man came up to them. And walked along with them. And the two disciples were surprised. That this fellow. I mean. They didn't know who he was. They were surprised to know that.

[8:16] He didn't know what was going on in Jerusalem. Everyone knew what was going on in Jerusalem. Little did they know who they were speaking to. And not realizing. Who their fellow traveler was.

[8:28] They began to describe Jesus. In the following terms. He was a prophet. He was powerful. In word and deed. Before God. And all the people. And when they began to describe.

[8:41] The recent events to the man. Jesus rebuked them. For it was Jesus. They were walking along the road with. Jesus rebuked them. For their slowness to believe. What the prophets had spoken of.

[8:53] And then we have this statement. And if anything was going to be my text. For this morning. It would be these two verses. In our text. In our passage. Verse 27 first of all.

[9:07] Beginning with Moses. And all the prophets. He explained to them. What was said. In all the scriptures. Concerning himself. And then we have a similar verse. In verse 46. And again.

[9:19] We read. When he appeared to the eleven. And those with them. In Jerusalem. He told them. Everything must be fulfilled. That is written in the law of Moses.

[9:30] The prophets. And the Psalms. So these two verses. Are perhaps. Are perhaps a rebuke. To. New Testament only. Christians. Those who think.

[9:41] That they should. Only have the New Testament. And will dispense with the. The Old Testament. Because. Jesus. Was pointing to himself. As revealed. In the Old Testament.

[9:53] If we don't. Take cognizance. Of the Old Testament. Then we lose out. A great deal. Of. Our understanding. Of. Of. Scripture. And of. The work of Christ.

[10:07] Obviously. The New Testament. Points to Jesus. But in referring. To the. To the law of Moses. The prophets. And the Psalms. Jesus was referring.

[10:18] To the. The three divisions. Of the Hebrew Old Testament. Thus. The whole of the Old Testament. Point. To. To Jesus. And to his redemptive work.

[10:31] So the whole of Scripture. Is therefore. Like a directional sign. Pointed to Jesus. Hence. The. The diagram. That I was presenting. To the youngsters.

[10:42] This morning. So therefore. Let's look at. What I mean. By being. Road signs. Metaphorical. Road signs. Pointing to Jesus. I'll take a few examples.

[10:53] Obviously. It can never be an exhaustive study. Because this could take. A lifetime. To. Extract. All the. Imagery. And. The. The directional signs. That are pointing to Jesus.

[11:03] In the Old Testament. And in the New. So the first sign. I have here. Is. Creation. The first signpost. And the verse. That is so familiar to us.

[11:14] In the beginning. God created. The heavens and the earth. Genesis 1. 1. And we have the equivalent. Similar. Verse.

[11:25] In. The first verse. In John. John chapter 1. In the beginning. Was the word. And the word was with God. And the word was God. He was with God. In the beginning.

[11:36] Through him. All things were made. Without him. Nothing was made. That has been made. And then also. In John 1. 14. The word became flesh.

[11:47] And made his dwelling. Among us. And using the King James Version. Which is a. A beautiful language. In this particular verse. We beheld his glory. The glory.

[11:57] As of the only begotten. Of the father. Full of grace. And truth. Beautiful words. We beheld his glory. The glory. Of the only begotten. Of the father. Full of grace.

[12:08] And truth. Through the eyes of faith. Can you say. That you have beheld. His glory. Have you beheld. The glory. Do you behold. The glory of Jesus.

[12:20] For this is Jesus prayer. For you. As you find. In John. Chapter 17. Verse 24. It is Jesus prayer. For you. That you behold. His glory. And this applies.

[12:31] To everyone. Who has been given to Jesus. By the father. Have you been given to Jesus. By the father. Are you one of his. And shall we not see him. In his majesty.

[12:44] And his awe. So let us always look. To Jesus. The author. And the finisher. Of our faith. Going back to the creation. And the creation. Of mankind.

[12:55] In the created Adam. In the created Adam. We have the representative. Of the human race. In him. We see ourselves. We see ourselves. And our flaws.

[13:06] And our defects. And our weaknesses. And our failings. Yielding to temptation. And falling into sin. In Adam. We see ourselves. As the psalmist David says.

[13:17] In one of the psalms. Psalm 51. In fact. Against you. Against you. Only have I sinned. Realizing his. Relationship with God.

[13:31] Yet Adam is described. In Romans 5.14. Adam is described. As a pattern. Of the one to come. So Adam is pointing to Jesus. Adam is a pattern.

[13:42] Of the one to come. It has been said. That Adam acted. In the roles of prophet. Priest and king. Pointing forward. To the one. Who is all of these things.

[13:53] I don't have. Time to develop. That argument. But it's one argument. That has been put forward. Even in his sin. Adam points forward.

[14:03] To Jesus. Because Jesus. Is the antidote. For that sin. Death. Came through Adam. Life. Comes through.

[14:14] The last Adam. Christ. Is described. As the last Adam. And we bear. The image. Of the first Adam. Adam. But as Christians.

[14:25] We also bear. The image. Of the heavenly. Heavenly. Christ. The last Adam. We are being transformed. Into the likeness. Of the last Adam.

[14:36] So the first Adam. In a sense. Is a signpost. Pointing to Jesus. My second signpost. I have here. Is the flood. In fact.

[14:48] You would wonder. How the flood. And the events. In the time of Noah. Could possibly be a signpost. Pointing to Jesus. I mean. In the devastating. Destruction.

[14:58] Of the time. The righteous Noah. Was preserved. He is in one sense. He is. He is seen. As the new Adam. The people. Mankind.

[15:08] Was destroyed. And there was. He is like. A new Adam. Adam. Because we find. If you compare. Genesis 1. With. With. Genesis 9. You find.

[15:19] That God. Said to. You find. That. Noah. Was taking on. The role. Of Adam. Because. You find. That God. Said to him. As he said.

[15:32] To Adam. Be fruitful. And multiply. And fill the earth. It's the same words. Mirroring that. Which was said. To Adam. And he also says. That he should. God.

[15:43] Said to him. That he shall rule over. All living creatures. Etc. So. We have. Adam. Pointing to Jesus. We have the new Adam. Pointing to Jesus. Who is the last Adam.

[15:55] Furthermore. We see in the flood. We see. Judgment. And salvation. Is this not what Jesus came for? In him. We see. Judgment.

[16:06] And salvation. And in Matthew. 24. We see that Jesus. Used the image of the flood. To describe the return of the man. To return.

[16:17] Sorry. I'll say that again. To return the son of man. When the son of man returns. It will be in judgment. And he was describing that event. To come.

[16:27] In these terms. On that dreadful day. As it was in the days of Noah. People were eating and drinking. Marrying. And giving in marriage. Church. That was how he described.

[16:41] The time to come. When Jesus would return. In judgment. People today. Or people then. Were totally oblivious. To this. Tsunami.

[16:52] That was coming around the corner. Coming towards him. This great flood. This is how it will be. With the coming of Jesus. Does this not ring true.

[17:04] Of today. People are eating and drinking. And. Marrying and giving in marriage. Getting on with their lives. Without hope. And without God in the world.

[17:15] So the flood. And the events of the time of Noah. Point to Jesus. What about the Tower of Babel? Seems an unlikely one.

[17:26] Can this be pointed to Jesus? I mean surely that's a bit ridiculous. But let's look at it a bit closer. There is an argument. That this is pointing also. To Jesus. Because when you look at.

[17:37] What happened at Babel. And contrast it. With what happened at Pentecost. What do you see? At Babel. People are building this tower. Up to heaven.

[17:48] It represented. Their defiance. Against God. They were trying to. Almost set themselves up. As God. The people are defying.

[17:58] The instructions to. Go into all the earth. And. Fill the earth. In their pride. They will build a tower. Into heaven. To make a name.

[18:09] For themselves. Exalting themselves. Instead of exalting their God. God. And as a consequence. The Lord. Passed judgment on them. And they were scattered.

[18:20] And made to speak. Different languages. They had become separated from God. Because of their sin. So how is this. A signpost to Jesus. Well.

[18:31] At Pentecost. We look at Pentecost. When the Holy Spirit came. What happened? Well. Here we find. There was a reconciliation. Between God and man. At Babel. There was separation.

[18:42] At Pentecost. There was reconciliation. Between God and man. And the Holy Spirit. Was poured out upon. On the people there. And when the disciples spoke. Everyone heard them.

[18:52] In their own language. So it was a kind of undoing. Of what happened. At the time. At Babel. Everyone heard. In their own language.

[19:05] The disciples. Or the apostles. Declaring the wonders of God. So here we see this. Link to Jesus. The Holy Spirit. Wouldn't be poured out.

[19:15] Upon the people. Until Jesus had gone. To be with his father. So another signpost. So let's. Step back a little bit. And look at the.

[19:26] The three. Men. The two men. And Jesus. Walking on the way. The risen Jesus. Was talking to. These two men. Two men.

[19:38] Who were grieving. The loss of the very one. Who was speaking to them. You can imagine that. These two men. Were grieving. The loss of Jesus. And Jesus was. Standing there. Walking along the road. With them. Talking to them.

[19:50] It's a strange. Juxtaposition. Not only was he. Blowing apart. Their narrow concept.

[20:00] Of who Jesus was. Because Jesus had said. Before. Before Abraham. I am. But the one speaking to them. This Jesus.

[20:11] Who was walking along the path. With them. Was the one who. Had been. Crucified. Buried. And was now. Raised from the dead. The one who was there. From the beginning. The one who was involved.

[20:22] In the creation. The one who determined. The course of history. This was no mere man. That was walking along. With them. This was the risen Lord. And only when they sat down.

[20:33] At table. While their eyes opened. To see Jesus. And their hearts. Would be lifted. And the contrast. Between. The beginning of this passage.

[20:45] Where it talks about. Them. Them. Them. Them. Them. Them. Them. Being. Downcast. Instead. When. When they encountered Jesus. They said. Did not our hearts.

[20:56] Burn within us. And of course. Jesus. Then. His appearance. Disappeared before them. Or Jesus. Disappeared before them. And. This.

[21:09] Encounter. Was so exhilarating. They couldn't. They couldn't wait. To just. Head back to Jerusalem. There must have been. There must have been. The lightness of foot. Must have been incredible.

[21:19] They must have almost been. Dancing their way to Jerusalem. As they went back. To tell the others. Christ has risen. Christ has risen indeed. What of.

[21:30] Moses and. Joshua. Are they. Do they point to Jesus? What about all that narrative. And the exploits. Of Moses and Joshua. In the events of the Exodus.

[21:42] Of course. We see a picture. Of the Christian life. And of redemption. God's chosen people. Were living under slavery. In Egypt. And God intervened.

[21:54] And provided a way. Of salvation. The people who are led. To the promised land. Does that not sound familiar? We were once slaves. To sin. We were. We were.

[22:04] As it were. Slaves in Egypt. But our slave master. Is sin. And the devil. We were once slaves. To sin. But the Lord.

[22:15] Provided a way out. And that way out. Is through Jesus. And we are heading. Towards that promised land. We are heading. To that heavenly place. That heavenly kingdom. That Jesus goes.

[22:25] To prepare a place. For us. We have hope in Christ. Through his sacrifice. Death and resurrection. But there are. Further signs. Signposts.

[22:36] Further signposts. In the events. Of the exodus. In particular. I'm thinking of the Passover. The angel of death. As you recall. Passed over the Israelite. Households. Because the Israelites.

[22:47] Were told. To post. The doorposts. And the lintel. With the blood. Of an unspotted lamb. And the angel of death. Would pass over them. They were protected.

[22:57] By this blood. Does this not point. To the. The lamb of God. Who takes away. The sin of the world. It is clearly. A direct pointing. To Jesus. And it was the.

[23:09] At the Passover feast. At the Passover feast. That Jesus instigated. The Lord's supper. The connection. Is obvious. Or take Joshua even. I mean.

[23:19] The very name. I mean. Joshua. It was Joshua himself. Who had led the people. Across the Jordan. Into the promised land. And even his name. Joshua. Or Jehoshua. Is effectively.

[23:30] The same name. As Jesus. Jesus is simply. The Latin version. Of the word. Jehoshua. Meaning. The Lord saves. You are to give him.

[23:42] The name Jesus. Because he will save. His people. From their sins. The Old Testament. Points to. To Jesus. Jesus. In many ways. Joshua. Is regarded. As a type of Christ.

[23:53] Or a type for Christ. He was. God's. Faithful servant. And you will need to remember. When Joshua. Entered. Into the. Into the promised land. And you read. Of all these battles.

[24:03] And things. How can that. Be. Anything to do with Jesus. You would wonder. He was actually. Carrying out. God's judgment. On the people. That were occupying. The promised land.

[24:15] God. Had been patient. With those people. But it was. The prophecy. Was recorded. For us. In Genesis. 15. 16. I can't remember. It was a. 200. 300 years.

[24:26] Earlier. Than this time. When he entered. Of the promised land. For it says. In Genesis. 15. 16. In the fourth generation. Your descendants. In other words. The descendants. Of Abraham. In the fourth generation.

[24:36] Your descendants. Will come back here. For the sins. Of the Amorites. Has not yet. Reached. Its full measure. So God. Had. Was long. Suffering. Unpatient. With these people. But they continued.

[24:47] In their sin. And things. Became worse. And worse. And by the time. That Joshua. Entered. Into the promised land. The sins. Of the Amorites. Had reached. Its full measure.

[24:57] So Joshua. Had entered. Into the promised land. In judgment. Christ. Is our judge. He will return. In judgment. People today. Should be under. No delusion.

[25:09] Jesus will. Return. In judgment. And then. We have the. The covenant. Consider the covenant. God made. With Abraham. The one in chapter. 17.

[25:19] Of Genesis. God promised. That Abraham. Would be the father. Of many nations. That kings. Would come. From his offspring. That this. Would be an everlasting. Covenant. With him. And his descendants.

[25:29] After him. Then further. In chapter 22. When Abraham. Was instructed. To sacrifice Isaac. And a sacrifice. Sacrificial ram.

[25:40] Was provided. As a substitute. Isaac. Was going to be. His only son. This does not. Sound familiar.

[25:50] His only son. Was going to be. Sacrificed. Christ. And instead. A substitute. Was provided. A ram. The sacrificial ram. It itself.

[26:00] Points to the lamb of God. Who takes away. The sin of the world. It was a substitute. And an angel. Of the Lord. Declared. That because he did not. Withhold his only son. He would be blessed.

[26:11] His descendants. Would be numerous. And through his offspring. All nations. Will be blessed. Pointed to Jesus. When he would come. And he would be. The savior of mankind. All nations.

[26:21] Will be blessed. Through the seed of Abraham. And we see. In the genealogy. In Matthew chapter 1. The genealogy of Christ.

[26:31] Back to. To Abraham. The genealogy. Begins with Abraham. And ends with Christ. And then. Partly through that genealogy. We find King David.

[26:45] Jesus is often referred to. As the son of David. And when Jacob. Blessed Judah. He said. That the scepter. Would not depart from Judah. Jesus would come.

[26:56] From this royal line. And David. Although he was not. Without his flaws. Again. Was a type of Christ. Beginning with his birth. In Bethlehem. The thing to note.

[27:07] Is that. God promised David. That through his offspring. His kingdom. Will last forever. Christ. Inaugurated. That kingdom. So the Old Testament.

[27:18] Points. To. Jesus. The question is. Are we subject to that kingdom? Do we belong to Jesus? Do we have the right passport? Do we have. Faith.

[27:29] In Christ. For it is by grace. We are saved through faith. And not of ourselves. I mean. There are other signposts. I mean. Clearly. I could be here. Standing. For quite some time.

[27:40] Going through all the other references. And signposts. Pointing to Jesus. I've only scraped the surface. In selecting a few examples. Mostly from the Pentateuch. Or the law of Moses.

[27:51] Where the scriptures point to Jesus. But. I've said nothing about the Psalms. Or. And made only light reference. To Joshua. Which is in the. First book of the former prophets. In the Hebrew Bible. Bible. And of course.

[28:03] We have. The New Testament. So hopefully. I've given you. A taster. To examine the scriptures. For yourselves. And to see Jesus. In them. And may the Holy Spirit.

[28:15] Enlighten your mind. In the same way. That Jesus. Explained the scriptures. To the two disciples. Study the scriptures. Study his word. And in conclusion.

[28:26] Very briefly. Are you separate from Christ? Are you excluded. Excluded from citizenship. In Israel. And foreigners. To the covenants of the promise.

[28:37] Without hope. And without God. In the world. If so. Then realize. That Jesus. Has compassion on you. On all. Who are harassed.

[28:48] And helpless. Like sheep. Without a shepherd. So follow the signposts. Follow the signposts. Follow the signposts. That lead you to him. To lead you to Jesus.

[29:00] Seek and you shall find. Knock on the door. Shall be opened unto you. But if instead. If instead. You know Jesus. If you belong to him. Again I say.

[29:12] Follow the signposts. That lead you to him. Study the scripture. Next time I'm on the. AWPR.

[29:22] On the new road. Lord. I will know the way. Because. I'll be more familiar with it. I'll be more familiar. With the difficult junctions. And the turnoffs. Likewise.

[29:35] Familiarize yourselves. With the scriptures. Get to know the scriptures. Follow the metaphoric road signs. That lead you to Jesus. You will know him better. You will know his will.

[29:45] For your life better. And you will be enabled. To walk in the ways of righteousness. In the ways of the Lord. Follow the signs. Amen.

[29:57] May God have this. Blessing on these. A few thoughts on his word. We'll turn to. Praise God once more. In our. Last.

[30:10] Psalm. Or last. Song of praise. In Psalm 24. It's a traditional version. And we're. We're singing to the tune. Winchester. Psalm 24. Verses.

[30:21] One to six. The earth belongs unto the Lord. And all that it contains. The world that is inhabited. And all that there remains. We will.

[30:34]  Sing verses. One to sing. One to six. To God's praise. And we'll stand to sing. Amen. Amen.