It May Be Bigger Than It Seems - Typology
Grudgingly he walked to his door where another friend stood with eyes that mirrored his own grief. In a low voice, he told of the next town over, whose doctor had unexpectedly left on a journey, but was in need of temporary assistance. At first, the doctor balked, but the friend pushed him with the argument that it might be good to get away for a while, and he would accompany him till he could set up shop.
The doctor agreed, packed a couple essentials and tools, and left. Along the way, silence dominated the trip, but occasionally a mumble or grunt would break out to recount the events of the last several days. Rather than heal the wounds, the talk picked away at the sores of their hearts.
From an offshoot of the main road, another traveler appeared and joined their journey. The traveler asked of their sadness, which struck them as ignorant considering the dramatic events of the previous days. Slowly the doctor recounted the story of how their friend and teacher had been wrongly arrested, falsely tried, and unjustly executed in a matter of days.
Then the traveler surprised the doctor and his friend. He began talking of ancient Scriptures that were familiar to them all, but this ignorant traveler seem to understand and apply in ways they never expected. These words predicted the events of the last days. They not only described the tragedy, but clearly described their friend. In fact, in hearing these words, they began to understand more than when he was alive.
Arriving at their destination, they proceeded to a small inn for lodging. The stranger appeared to move along the road rather than break for rest. The doctor feeling comforted by his presence called out for him to stop. Night was coming and he could lodge with them and share a meal. Turning to face the two men, the traveler looked at them with a deeper knowledge and consented.
After their belongings had been stowed away, the sat together for a light supper of bread and wine. Feeling more confident in the stranger, the doctor passed him them bread and asked that he offer the blessing. The traveler lifted the bread high above his head, looked up, and asked that the Father in heaven bless their meal, their time, and the work that they ahead. Something familiar stirred in the doctor's heart as the words were spoken.
The traveler broke the bread to share with the doctor and his friend, and though it was a common offering of hospitality, it transformed them. Suddenly they saw the traveler clearly. Before they had seen him as if they had been underwater, but now he was their Friend. He was before them whole, not broken, bloodied, or bruised, but whole. This was the same Man who had been executed and buried away in a cave just days earlier. The traveler smiled at them and disappeared.
Luke and Cleopas sat there with their hearts warmed by the events of the day. Grief suddenly dissipated because Jesus was with them.
Luke & Cleopas' experience on the road to Emmaus describes the nature of typology. This wandering stranger walked them through the OT, revealing the truth of the Messiah through the laws, feasts, sacrifices, stories, prophecies, and songs. Prior to this lesson these men who were intimately familiar with these texts did not see these truth underneath the surface of the text.
Then in living color, they encounter this truth not just in the text but in the man Himself. At the act of communion, the breaking of bread, their eyes are opened and the mysterious travelers becomes the Son of God.
We have the same experience when we read of Moses lifting the bronze serpent and see Christ who is lifted up on the cross destroying death and giving life. The waters of the Great Flood are revealed as Baptism and Noah's Ark is the Church of Christ. The ark of the covenant becomes Mary who contained God in her womb.
Countless examples of truths are revealed just underneath the literal sense.
Where do you see the New Testament buried in the Old?
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