Pathway to Victory

Speaker 1

Hey podcast listeners, thanks for streaming today's podcast from Pathway to Victory. Pathway to Victory is a nonprofit ministry featuring the Bible teaching of Dr. Robert Jeffress.

And right now your generous gift will have twice the impact, thanks to the Now Is the Time Matching Challenge, active now through December 31st. To give a special year-end gift, go to ptv.org/donate or follow the link in our show notes.

Now here's today's podcast from Pathway to Victory.

Speaker 2

Hi, this is Robert Jeffress and I'm.

Speaker 3

Glad to study Word with you every.

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Day on this Bible teaching program on today's edition of Pathway to Victory or.

Speaker 3

The truth is the gift of Jesus Christ came wrapped in hundreds of years of prophecy.

And there were all kinds of signposts in the Old Testament that should have pointed everyone to that feeding trough in Bethlehem.

That's the truth that we're going to see in our passage today.

Speaker 1

Welcome to Pathway to Victory with author and patron Dr. Robert Jeffress. You know, most people think that the Christmas story took place 2,000 years ago, but in fact, it began thousands of years before Jesus was even born.

Today on Pathway to Victory, Dr. Robert Jeffress uncovers the origins of the Christmas story in the countless prophecies recorded throughout the Old Testament.

But first, let's take a minute to hear some important ministry updates.

Speaker 2

Thanks, David, and welcome again to Pathway to Victory. In the afterglow of the Thanksgiving holiday, a Christmas spirit is sweeping into our homes. And while we take heart in the spiritual hope that's represented in the birth of Christ, I'm painfully aware of the mounting tension in our country these days. In spite of making huge strides in pushing back against the dark forces of evil, it truly feels like time is running out for you and me to share the Gospel. In fact, I believe now is the time to do so.

And so today I come to you boldly to enlist your partnership. Your generous gift to Pathway to Victory will be used to share the gospel before it's too late. By now, I hope you've heard about the matching challenge because there's never been a better time to leverage your gift. Would you join me in this special season of doubling our resources? When you give a generous year-end gift, every dollar you give will be doubled until we reach the cap amount of $1.7 million. This is a record-shattering amount for Pathway to Victory, and you can give right now by going to ptv.org.

When you do, be sure to request the exclusive 2026 Pathway to Victory Daily devotional. It comes with my thanks for your confidence in Pathway to Victory and your investment in this ministry. We'll say more about this leather-bound book later.

Right now, let's continue our study in Luke's Gospel. I titled today's message Christmas on the Road.

Speaker 3

If you have your Bibles, I want you to turn to the Gospel of Luke and I want you to turn to chapter 24, Luke chapter 24. This story takes place late on a Sunday afternoon. But it wasn't just any Sunday afternoon. It was the Sunday of Christ's resurrection. He had been raised from the dead early that morning. Now it was late afternoon and there were two travelers, two disciples of Christ, who were on their way from Jerusalem back to their hometown called Emmaus. That's the background for what takes place here.

Now look at verse 13 of Luke 24. And behold, two of them were going that very day to a village named Emmaus, which was about seven miles from Jerusalem, about a two-hour walk. And they were conversing with each other about all of the things that had taken place. And it came about that while they were conversing and discussing, Jesus himself approached and began traveling with them. But their eyes were prevented from recognizing him. And so Jesus said to them, "What are these words that you are exchanging with one another as you are walking?" And they stood still, looking sad. And one of them named Cleopas answered and said to him, "Are you the only one visiting Jerusalem and unaware of the things which have happened here in these days?" And he said to them, "What things?" And they said to him, "The thing about Jesus the Nazarene, who was a prophet, mighty in deed and word in the sight of God and all the people, and how the chief priests and our rulers delivered him up to the sentence of death and crucified him. But we were hoping that it was he who was going to redeem Israel. Indeed, besides all of this, it is the third day since these things happened. But also some women among us amazed us. When they were at the tomb early in the morning and did not find his body, they came saying that they had also seen a vision of angels who said that he was alive. And some of those who were with us went to the tomb and found it just exactly as the women had said. But him they did not see."

And Jesus said to them, "O foolish men, slow of heart, to believe in all that the prophets have spoken. Was it not necessary for the Christ to suffer these things and to enter into his glory?" And beginning with Moses and with all the prophets, he explained to them the things concerning himself in all the Scriptures.

Today I'd like for us to take just a few moments and look at some of those verses Jesus might have explained to them about himself that came from the Old Testament. What does the Old Testament tell us about Jesus Christ? First of all, it gives us the prediction of his birth. The prediction of his birth. When Jesus said that Moses testified of Christ, what is he referring to? Well, Moses wrote the first five books of the Old Testament. Turn to Genesis, chapter three, verse 15. Remember, Moses wrote Genesis. And I want you to notice what he predicted. "And I will put enmity," that is strife, "between you and the woman." But then he goes beyond that and says, "I'll also put strife between your seed." He's talking there about the power behind the serpent, Satan, and her seed, that is her descendants. And he singles out one of the woman's descendants. Especially he said, "He, that is a descendant of the woman, shall bruise you on the head." That is, he'll deliver a death blow to you, but you shall only bruise him on the heel. This is the first prediction of Jesus Christ. A descendant of this woman would conquer the power of Satan. That's the first thing I think Jesus pointed out.

Not only that, the Old Testament predicts that this Messiah would be born to a virgin. Born to a virgin. Turn in your Bibles to Isaiah, chapter 7 and look at Isaiah 7:14. "Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Ahaz, behold, a virgin will be with a child and will bear a son, and she will call his name Israel." I think that's what Jesus pointed out to these two on the road to Emmaus, the prediction of his birth.

Not only that, Jesus also probably pointed to the character of his ministry. He would have pointed to all of the predictions in the Old Testament about the kind of ministry he would have. We don't have time to look at each of these, but just jot them down. First of all, he would be preceded by a messenger. Isaiah 43 says, "A voice is calling, clear the way for the Lord in the wilderness. Make smooth in the desert a highway for our God." In Matthew 3:3, describing John the Baptist, who did exactly that, notice how Matthew relates it to John, to Isaiah's prophecy. "For this is the one talked about, John the Baptist, referred to by Isaiah the prophet."

A second prophecy is that he would begin his ministry in Galilee, Isaiah 9:1, "by Galilee of the Gentiles." In Matthew 4:12, 13, 17, Jesus began his ministry in Galilee. Thirdly, he would have a ministry of miracles. Isaiah 35:5-6 says, "Then the eyes of the blind will be opened and the ears of the deaf will be unstopped. Then the lame will leap like a deer, and the tongue of the dumb will shout for joy." In Matthew 9:35, we find that the Son of God went, proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every kind of disease and every kind of sickness.

Fourthly, he would teach in parables. Psalm 82:2 says, "I will open my mouth in a parable. I will utter dark sayings of old." In Matthew 13:34, we see that all of these things Jesus spoke in parables. Fifthly, he would enter Jerusalem on a donkey. Zechariah the prophet wrote, five hundred years before the birth of Christ. Notice Zechariah 9:9: "Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion. Shout in triumph, O daughter of Jerusalem. Behold, your king is coming to you. He is just and endowed with salvation, humbled and mounted on a donkey, even on a colt, the foal of a donkey."

And of course, when he made his triumphal entry, Luke 19, verse 35 says, "and they brought the donkey to Jesus, and they threw their garments on the colt and put Jesus on it." Had Jesus not been as rushed for time as I am right now, I would imagine he would also have pointed out to these men, not only did the Old Testament prophesy that he would enter Jerusalem on a donkey, but the Old Testament predicted when that would occur. To me, the most amazing prophecy in all of the Bible is in Daniel 9, written 500 years before the coming of Christ. Daniel 9:24-27, when Daniel, in his prophecy of the 70 weeks, pinpointed the year, the month, the exact date in history when Jesus would walk into Jerusalem, ride in to Jerusalem on that donkey. It is an amazing thing when you study that.

Sixth, he would be a light to the Gentiles. Isaiah 63 says, "and nations will come to your light and bring to the brightness of your rising." Acts 13:47 states, "for thus the Lord has commanded us, I have placed you as a light for the Gentiles, that you should bring salvation to the end of the earth." I think these are the things Jesus pointed out to those followers of his on the road to Emmaus. And beginning with Moses and with all the prophets, he explained to them the things concerning himself in the Scriptures.

But friend, these two said to the unrecognized Jesus, "That's all fine and good. Jesus fulfilled those prophecies. But you don't understand. Haven't you heard? He was crucified, this Jesus that we were expecting to be our deliverer. He ended up being killed. And that's why we're so sad." What did Jesus say to them? Jesus said, "Don't you realize? Don't you realize that was also predicted in the Old Testament, the necessity of his death." And I imagine of all the Old Testament passages Jesus could have turned to, to show the necessity of his death, he probably used the most familiar passage of all, found in Isaiah 53:2-6. If you want to know what the Christmas message really is, here it is, written 700 years before the fact. In describing the Messiah, Isaiah wrote, "He was despised and forsaken of men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. And like one from whom men hide their face, he was despised and we did not esteem him. Surely our griefs he himself bore, and our sorrows he carried. Yet we ourselves esteemed him, stricken, smitten of God and afflicted. But he was pierced through for our transgressions. He was crushed for our iniquities; the chastening for our well-being fell upon him. And by his scourging we are healed. All of us, like sheep, have gone astray. Each of us has turned to his own way. But the Lord has caused the iniquity of us all to fall on him."

Isn't that what Jesus said about himself in Matthew 20:28? "For the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, to give his life as a ransom for many." Ladies and gentlemen, don't let the lights, the carols, the gifts, the family get-togethers obscure the real meaning of Christmas. The real meaning of Christmas is this: every one of us has wandered away from God. And because of that, we are all deserving of God's punishment. But instead of leaving us to experience the consequences of our sin for all eternity, God sent forth His Son to be the ransom for our sin. When Jesus died on that cross, he died not for his sin. He had no sin. The chastening, the scourging, the punishment we deserve for all eternity fell upon Jesus. He paid the price for our sin. That is why his death was an absolute necessity.

But the story of Christ and Christmas doesn't end on Calvary. I believe Jesus also reminded these two on the road to Emmaus about the certainty of his resurrection. Look back at Luke 24. Beginning with verse 21, they said to this unrecognized Jesus, "But we were hoping that it was he who was going to redeem Israel. Indeed, besides all of this, it's the third day since these things happened. But also some women among us amazed us when they were at the tomb early in the morning and did not find his body. They came saying that they had seen a vision of angels who said that he was alive. And some of those who were with us went to the tomb and found it just like the women had also said. But him, Jesus, they did not see."

You know, if you read this carefully, it really is pretty funny. You know what they were saying? They were saying, "You know, we put all our faith in this Jesus guy. We thought he was going to deliver us from Rome. And instead of doing that, he ended up getting himself crucified. And if that weren't enough to add insult to injury, now his body's missing. I mean, if he was a messiah, why couldn't he even keep his body in the grave? Instead, he allowed it to be stolen. What kind of messiah is that?" Jesus said, "Oh, foolish men, are you so slow of understanding that you haven't put this together yet? This Jesus you're talking about predicted his death, but he also predicted his resurrection."

It was predicted in the Old Testament, you say. Where do you find that in the Old Testament? Well, one place is Psalm 16:10. David wrote, "For thou wilt not abandon my soul to Sheol, neither wilt thou allow thy Holy One to undergo decay." Now, again, this had an immediate fulfillment in David's time. David said, "I'm confident. I'm confident God's not going to leave me in the grave. I'm confident in a future resurrection. I'm going to live after I die." That was an immediate prophecy, but it also had an ultimate fulfillment in the Messiah. David was saying, "God is not going to allow his Holy One, the Messiah, to remain in the grave long enough to even have the decay of his own body. He's going to raise him from the dead."

He's saying, "Pastor, that's another stretch. How are you taking something 900 years before Christ and relating it to the future resurrection? Isn't that kind of stretching it?" Not at all. Because the apostle Peter made the same application of that verse in Acts 2:31, when Peter was preaching at Pentecost. He talked about the resurrected Christ, and he quoted this verse that David wrote in Psalm 16:10. And he said, "And David looked ahead and spoke of the resurrection of Christ, that he was neither abandoned to Hades nor did his flesh suffer decay." Jesus over and over again had said to his disciples he was going to be raised from the dead. "Destroy this temple," talking about his body, "and three days I will raise it up." In Matthew 12:40, Jesus said, "For just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the sea monster, so shall the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth."

Doesn't it make sense Jesus must have said to these two, "Doesn't it make sense that maybe the reason the tomb is empty is because this Jesus you had placed your hopes in? Maybe he did just what he said he would do. He would be resurrected from the dead." Well, by this time, about two hours had passed. They were getting close to Emmaus. Look what happened in verse 28 of Luke 24. "And they approached the village where they were going. And he acted as though he would go on farther. And they urged him, saying, 'Stay with us, for it's getting toward evening and the day is now nearly over.' And he went in to stay with them."

And it came about that when he had reclined at the table with them, he took bread and he blessed it, breaking it, and he began giving it to them. Now this wasn't a Lord's Supper, a communion service. There was no organ music and dimmed lights. There's no wine here. It wasn't a Lord's Supper. They were just eating. He was just passing the bread. Verse 31 says, "And their eyes were opened and they recognized him. And he vanished from their sight." What is it that made them suddenly recognize Jesus? Maybe it's the way he broke the bread. Something he did or something he said made them recognize him. And then he suddenly vanished.

Verse 32 says, "And 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?'" You know, I'll have to admit that sometimes when we hear all of this about these fulfilled prophecies of Jesus, for some of us, it's yawn city. "Okay, Pastor, I've heard all that before. Tell me something I don't know. Jesus fulfilled prophecies." What is it that kept this two-hour discussion from being some dry theological discourse? What is it that caused these followers of Jesus to have their hearts burn as Jesus was talking to them?

I think here's what it was. When they put it all together, they realized that if Jesus really did what he said he was gonna do, if Jesus really was the fulfillment of all of these prophecies, then they could trust in everything Jesus said to them about their life, their death, their eternity. That's what caused their hearts to burn within them. You know, writer E.B. Hardy said, "When it's all said and done, there are only two questions in the universe that matter. Only two. Everything else is peripheral."

Question number one: has anyone ever cheated death? Hardy said that's the most important question. Has anybody ever cheated death? Is this life all that there is or is there something beyond it? Hardy said he looked around. He found that the graves of Muhammad, the graves of the Buddha, the graves of every religious leader, the graves of everybody who's ever lived. Those graves are still occupied. There's only one unoccupied grave. It's the tomb of Jesus Christ. Has anybody ever cheated death? Jesus did.

But here's a second, even more important question. If somebody has cheated death, has he provided a way for me to cheat death? And I think as these disciples put it all together, they realized who Jesus was and what he said. Their hearts burned within them because they had hope that Jesus could really pull off what he said he could pull off. When Jesus said in John 3, "Whoever believes in me shall not perish but have everlasting life," it means I don't have to face the judgment of God I deserve. I don't have to fear hell because one day I'm gonna be with Jesus. When Jesus said in John 11:25, "He who believes in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live again," it means this life isn't all that there is, that there's something better that awaits me.

When Jesus said in John 14, "For I go to prepare a place for you, and if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again to take you unto myself, that where I am, there you may be also," it means Zechariah, Daniel, Isaiah, all of the Old Testament prophets were right. Jesus is coming again and he's going to take us to be with him forever. That lecture on the road to Emmaus was not a dry theological discourse. It means the Jesus of the Old Testament is the Jesus of the New Testament. Everything predicted about Jesus in the Old Testament is being fulfilled in the New Testament and today. And because of that, we can bank our life and our eternity on what he's promised to us.

Speaker 2

The Bible is not a random collection of disconnected stories. The Bible has one primary theme from start to finish, pointing us to Jesus Christ. And this is the good news we declare every day on Pathway to Victory.

Well, Christmas is upon us and before long we'll enter a brand new year. In an effort to walk alongside you in 2026, I've written an all-new daily devotional. It contains devotional writings for every single week, weekday in the new year, printed with a larger font that makes the devotional easier to read.

And when you give a generous year-end gift, I'm going to send you this leather-bound Pathway to Victory daily devotional for 2026. Here's the best part: because of our record-breaking matching challenge, any amount you give today will be multiplied by two and have twice the impact. Today, your generous gift of $125 becomes $250. A gift of $250 becomes $500. The matching fund is set at a staggering $1.7 million.

And now's the time to spread the good news about Jesus to people who are lost and looking for answers. Please, while there's still time, join us in this all-out effort to teach the truth with boldness. Remember what Paul said in Romans chapter 13. He said, "The night is nearly over, the day is almost here. So let us put aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light."

Yes, now's the time. Together as like-minded partners in ministry, let's seize the day. Your gift will make all the difference. Thanks for responding today. We deeply appreciate your partnership as together we pierce the darkness with the light of God's word.

Here's David to tell you more.

Speaker 1

When you give a generous year-end gift to support the ministry of Pathway to Victory, we'll say thanks by sending you the brand new 2026 Pathway to Victory Daily Devotional. To request this exclusive resource, call 866-999-2965 or go online to ptv.org. When your gift is $100 or more, we'll also send you "Celebrate the Savior." That's a DVD, video, and MP3 format audio disc set featuring the best Christmas teaching messages by Dr. Robert Jeffress.

And don't forget, because of our Now is the Time Matching Challenge, your gift will be doubled in size and impact. So be sure to get in touch with us right away. One more time, call 866-999-2965 or visit ptv.org. You could also send your donation by mail. Write to P.O. Box 223609, Dallas, Texas 75222. That's P.O. Box 223609, Dallas, TX 75222.

Now before we go, I have a special message from Dr. Jeffress. His birthday is Saturday, November 29th, and he wants to thank you for all the birthday cards, the notes, and well wishes that you've sent. Your thoughtfulness and your prayers mean more to him than you'll ever know.

I'm David J. Mullins, wishing you a great weekend. Then join us again next week when we continue our series titled "Celebrate the Savior." That's right here on Pathway to Victory.

Pathway to Victory with Dr. Robert Jeffress comes from the pulpit of the First Baptist Church of Dallas, Texas. You made it to the end of today's podcast from Pathway to Victory, and we're so glad you're here. Pathway to Victory relies on the generosity of loyal listeners like you to make this podcast possible.

And right now, your special year-end gift will be matched and therefore doubled in impact thanks to the Now Is the Time Matching Challenge. Take advantage of this opportunity to double your impact before the deadline on December 31st. Today, to give toward the matching challenge, go to ptv.org/donate or follow the link in our show notes. We hope you've been blessed by today's podcast from Pathway to Victory.