THE LAW AND THE PROPHETS

In Luke 24:13-31, we read of the Lord's post-resurrection encounter with two disheartened disciples.  In verses 25-27, Jesus explained that what had happened to Him was the outworking of God's plan for Israel's Messiah.  "And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, He expounded unto them in all the Scriptures, the things concerning Himself" (v. 27).  Today, the Jews see the Old Testament as consisting of the Law (the Torah), the Prophets (the Nevi'im), and the Writings (the Kethuvim).  But to Jesus, the Scriptures consisted of only two divisions:  the Law and the Prophets.

The Bible specifically uses the phrase "the Law and the Prophets" six other times.  In Matthew 7:12, Jesus teaches that the "Golden Rule" is the sum of the teaching of the Law and the Prophets.  In Matthew 22:40, He teaches that the two commandments, to love God and love one's neighbor, have for a foundation, the Law and the Prophets.

In Luke 16:16, Jesus explains that John the Baptist's ministry was the pivotal point in God's plan; had Israel accepted Jesus as their Messiah, John would have been the fulfillment of the prophecy concerning Elijah prior to the beginning of His kingdom (Mal. 4:5; Mt. 17:12; Lk. 1:17).  Luke, again in Acts 13:15, describes the events in the Synagogue at Antioch, saying that after the reading from the Law and the Prophets, Paul and Barnabas were offered an opportunity to speak.  Paul preached the Gospel and while the Jews were hostile toward him, many Gentiles were saved (Acts  13:48-50).

In the Gospel of John, Philip, upon meeting Jesus, went and told Nathanael he had found the Messiah spoken of by Moses in the Law, and by the Prophets (Jn. 1:45).  It is interesting to note that he did not know Jesus was "of Bethlehem" and the Son of God, not of Joseph.

The Apostle Paul wrote, "But now the righteousness of God without (apart from) the law is manifested, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets" (Rom. 3:21).  Righteousness comes from faith in Christ (Rom. 3:22). 

It is interesting to me that on the Mount of Transfiguration,

it is Moses (the Law) and Elijah (the Prophets) who appear with Jesus!