Keep Walking with Jesus
Epilogue
Young tree growing from a massive ancient petrified stump beneath a bright blue sky with drifting white clouds, symbolizing enduring faith and new life.
When we began this journey, we met a twelve-year-old boy sitting among the teachers in the Temple. Luke tells us they were amazed by His understanding and His answers. Even as a child, Jesus loved the Scriptures and understood them in a way that astonished men who had spent their lives studying them. As we continued walking beside Him through the Gospels, we discovered that this never changed. From beginning to end, Jesus remained the Master Teacher, always opening the Scriptures and revealing the heart of His Father.
Again and again, Jesus opened the Scriptures. When He faced temptation in the wilderness, He answered, "It is written." When people questioned Him, He pointed them back to Moses, the Prophets, and the Psalms. When He described His mission, He opened Isaiah. When He spoke about mercy, judgment, the Kingdom, and His own identity, He returned to the Word of God. Even from the cross, His words directed those listening back to Psalm 22. Then, after His resurrection, He walked beside two discouraged disciples and patiently opened the Scriptures once again.
The Teacher had never changed.
Perhaps that is the greatest lesson this book has to offer. It is not simply that Jesus knew the Scriptures. He trusted them, loved them, lived them, and continually revealed His Father through them. The more we have walked beside Him, the clearer that truth has become.
As I look back over these chapters, I find myself asking a different question than the one with which we began. Instead of asking, "What did Jesus teach from the Old Testament?" I now ask, "How can I learn to read it the way He did?" I believe that one question has the power to change the way we approach every page of Scripture.
The next time you open your Bible, slow down and look for the larger story. When you read Genesis, look for the Father's promises. When you come to the Psalms, listen for the voice of the Shepherd. As you read Isaiah, watch for the Servant who brings hope to the nations. When you open the Prophets, remember that these were the Scriptures Jesus loved long before we gave them the name "Old Testament."
Read slowly. Read whole passages rather than isolated verses, allowing Scripture to explain Scripture. Let the Bible's great story unfold one chapter at a time, and above all, keep your eyes on Jesus.
The more we have walked beside Jesus, the more one beautiful truth has quietly become the heartbeat of this book. Jesus never used the Scriptures simply to draw attention to Himself. Again and again, He revealed the heart of His Father—His compassion, His faithfulness, His patience, and His desire to gather His children, forgive them, feed them, and welcome them home. To know Jesus is to know the One who sent Him.
Perhaps that is why the Scriptures feel so different when we read them through Jesus' eyes. Stories that once seemed disconnected begin to fit together. Familiar passages become fresh again, and instead of seeing a collection of ancient writings, we begin to recognize one beautiful story of a Father reaching toward His children through His beloved Son.
If there is one hope I have for every reader, it is not that you remember every chapter in this book. My hope is much simpler than that. The next time you open your Bible, I hope you pause for just a moment and ask one quiet question:
"What did Jesus see here?"
That question has changed the way I read the Scriptures, and I hope it gently changes the way you read them as well.
Our journey through the Scriptures Jesus taught has come to an end, but your walk with Him has not. Every page of the Bible still invites you to know Him more deeply. Every promise still points toward Him, and every act of grace continues to reveal His Father's heart. So keep reading. Keep asking questions. Keep listening. And above all, keep walking with Jesus.
One day, when our journey of faith is complete, I believe we will understand far more than we do today. Until then, we continue walking as those first disciples did—sometimes with questions, sometimes with wonder, but always with the confidence that the greatest Teacher who ever lived still opens the Scriptures for those who seek Him with humble hearts.
"Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures."
—Luke 24:45
May He continue to do the same for us.
