Shadows of the Messiah
Introduction
Later, as we explore the Apostolic Scriptures, often referred to as the New Testament, we will encounter passages like this:
Then their eyes were opened and they recognized Him; and He vanished from their sight. They said to one another, "Were not our hearts burning within us while He was speaking to us on the road, while He was explaining the Scriptures to us?" (Luke 24:31-32)
For context, this moment takes place shortly after two of the Master’s disciples departed Jerusalem, following the women’s report of the empty tomb. As they walked, they discussed the perplexing events of the previous several days. A stranger joined them on the road and walked with them; they took him for another pilgrim. "Their eyes were prevented from recognizing Him [Jesus]" (Luke 24:16).
The two disciples on the road to Emmaus had the same information regarding the resurrection that we have. They had the eyewitness testimony of the women at the tomb, and they had the evidence of an empty tomb.
Just as in our case, that evidence is not always enough. To truly believe, they needed to experience the risen Messiah personally. Nevertheless, Yeshua did not say to them, "Look, it's me! I am alive." Rather, He began to teach them from the Torah and the Prophets how the Messiah had to suffer before entering His glory: "Then beginning with Moses and with all the prophets, He explained to them the things concerning Himself in all the Scriptures" (Luke 24:27).
Yeshua revealed Himself to His disciples from within the Torah and the Prophets. Later in the day, the two disciples remarked how their hearts burned within them as He did. By the time they reached Emmaus, the two disciples no longer needed to actually see Yeshua to believe that He was alive.
They had discovered proof enough of the resurrection within the testimony of the Scriptures. They had seen the living Messiah within the Torah.
The same is true for us. This explains why we should study the Torah year after year and why we find joy in it. Our hearts burn within us as we learn Torah because we encounter the living Messiah within it.
He Opened Up Their Minds
On several occasions, our Master Yeshua attempted to explain His coming suffering, death, and resurrection to His disciples, but they did not understand. He even attempted to reason with them from the Scriptures concerning Messiah's suffering, but the disciples did not understand. The meaning "was hidden from them, and they did not comprehend the things that were said" (Luke 18:34).
Then, on the eve of His ascension, our Master Yeshua appeared in the midst of the Twelve while they were gathered in Jerusalem. He ate with them, and He told them, "These are My words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all things which are written about Me in the Torah of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled" (Luke 24:44), and He began to teach them.
While they learned Torah in the presence of the risen Messiah, a dramatic transformation occurred: "He opened up their minds so they could understand the Scriptures" (Luke 24:45). He went on to explain the Scriptures to them, just as He had done with the two on the way to Emmaus. The meaning no longer remained hidden from them.
Messiah in the Torah
"If you believed Moses, you would believe Me, for he wrote about Me." (John 5:46)
How late into the night did that Torah study in Jerusalem last? Each insight, He presented opened new layers of meaning; each revelation opened whole worlds of understanding. The Master's discourses so completely absorbed the disciples that they soon forgot the strangeness of the situation. Rather, they found themselves mentally wandering through the scroll of the Torah.
With no small amount of surprise, they suddenly recognized their Master and His story in those familiar characters and situations, and they discovered His presence and His message permeating the whole scroll.
We wish we could have been present to hear His teaching. We would like to have shared the walk on the road to Emmaus! We would love to have been present that night with the Twelve, learning to see Messiah in the Torah and the Prophets. The Apostle Peter says that these are "things into which angels long to look" (1 Peter 1:12).
Like the original twelve disciples, we often struggle to see the Messiah in the Torah. To help uncover these connections, First Fruits of Zion created a commentary called Shadows of the Messiah, an invaluable resource for finding glimpses of the Messiah in the Torah and the Prophets. Studying Shadows of the Messiah is like walking the Emmaus Road with the King Himself, where "beginning with Moses and all the prophets, He explained to them the things concerning Himself in all the Scriptures" (Luke 24:27). This site has integrated much of their teaching into our “Bible Walkthrough” section, which provides rich commentary on various books of the Bible. As Christians, our ultimate goal is to understand and become more like Jesus. Achieving this requires a deep love for Scripture and a commitment to cherish the Old Testament just as much as the New Testament:
Search the Scriptures because in them you have eternal life; it is these that testify about Me! (John 5:39)
Yeshua truly is the Living Torah, foreshadowed and prefigured in the writings of Moses. That is why He declares through the psalmist, "Here I am-it is written about me in the volume of the scroll" (Hebrews 10:7 citing Psalm 40:7). The Torah is the Word of God, and Yeshua is the Word made flesh. The Messiah casts His shadow throughout history and throughout the Torah, but the shadow-caster beckons you to follow Him today. We study in order to learn, but we learn in order to do:
Rabbi Elazar ben Azariah used to say, "He whose learning is greater than his good deeds, to what can he be compared? He is like a tree with many branches but few roots. The wind blows and uproots the tree and topples it ... But he whose good deeds are greater than his learning, to what can he be compared? He is compared to a tree with only a few branches but with many roots. Even if all the wind in the world was blowing against it, it could not be uprooted." (m.Avot 3:22)
Conclusion
The Torah is not just a collection of laws or ancient stories—it is the foundation of God's revelation and His redemptive plan. As Yeshua Himself said, "If you believed Moses, you would believe Me, for he wrote about Me" (John 5:46). Within its pages, we find the Messiah foreshadowed, prefigured, and proclaimed. Through the teachings of Yeshua and His apostles, we learn that the Torah is a living testimony of God's work throughout history, leading to the ultimate revelation of the Messiah.
As we engage with the Scriptures, let us embrace the call to search for the Messiah in the Torah and live in response to His revelation. Let our study ignite hearts that burn with the same passion as the disciples on the road to Emmaus. Yeshua, the Living Torah, beckons us to follow Him—not just in learning but in action. As Rabbi Elazar ben Azariah taught, our deeds must grow alongside our learning, rooting us deeply in God’s Word and empowering us to stand firm in every season. May our journey through the Torah and the Prophets strengthen our faith, deepen our discipleship, and draw us closer to the One they so powerfully reveal.