Jesus
On Every Page Of The Bible!
by Shari Abbott, Reasons for Hope* Jesus
See Jesus on every page of the Bible!
As Christians, we know that the
Bible is much more than just words on a page.
It is God’s way of speaking
directly to us.
The Bible, from beginning to
end, is the revelation of Jesus Christ.
Jesus was the One who spoke the
world into existence, and He is the One who will, in a time to come, make all
things new (Revelation 21:5).
He is the Alpha and Omega, the
beginning and the end (Revelation 1:8, 21:6, 22:13).
His throne is established from
everlasting to everlasting (Psalm 41:13, 90:2, 93:2, Isaiah 63:16b, Micah 5:2, John 1:1-2).
He is the Word of God.
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word
was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with
God.” (John 1:1-2)
How Do You Read The Bible
There are two ways to read the Bible.
- One is to read the Bible
looking for Jesus.
- The other is to read the
Bible looking for oneself.
We live in a time that is
becoming more and more self-centered.
Never has man been more
narcissistic and individualistic.
It’s a me-focused,
“i-everything” culture.
Community has broken down as
modern communication has built a generation that is moving faster and faster,
and farther away from God’s intended design.
There seems to be no rest for
the weary and no focus for the future.
With electronic “everything” to
meet one’s every need and want (and to meet it instantly) man is becoming
more and more i-focused instead of Christ-focused.
While it’s always important to
apply the Word of God to our daily lives, we must not fall into the trap of
reading the Bible as if it is all about us.
It’s not! The Bible isn’t
about us. It’s all about Jesus!
We should approach Bible
reading with a desire to find Jesus on every page, in every historical account,
every song, every prayer, every teaching–in everything!
That’s how we will come to know
Him better.
When we read the Bible looking
for ourselves, trying to identify with various people of ancient times, more
often than not, we miss Jesus.
Before we get to our lists of “Jesus in the Old and New Testaments,” let’s
first look at what God says about reading the Bible to know Jesus better.
Paul wrote to Timothy about the
purpose and profit of God’s Word, and he did so in a progression of importance:
“All scripture is given by inspiration of God,
and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness.” (2 Timothy 3:16)
Reading Scripture is
profitable, first,
for doctrine.
That means “for teaching” — for
teaching us about our Creator and His creation, about the fall of man, and
about our Redeemer and His plan of complete restoration.
When we understand who God is,
who man is, what God has done for us and what God will do to restore all
creation, then we are convicted (reproofed) and then we are humbled to receive
correction and instruction from God’s Word.
We must know God’s ways (be taught) and be convicted and humbled
before we can apply biblical teachings to our lives (application of the “instruction
in righteousness” Paul spoke of).
Reading the Bible “looking for Jesus” will produce
great fruit in us as we come to know Him better. The better we know Jesus,
the more His Word will pierce our hearts and transform our minds
Years ago a Christian fad was
born with the introduction of WWJD bracelets. The acronym stood for What Would Jesus Do?
While it’s an interesting
thought, it’s not a very good question because the answer is most often
subjective.
The idea was to consider a
decision you are facing and determine how Jesus would respond in the situation.
A better question,
with a biblical answer, is What
Did Jesus Do? (WDJD)
The answer to that
question is not subjective because the Bible accurately records who Jesus is, what
He did and what He will do.
When facing a
decision, think about what Jesus did and what He taught.
Remember that
Jesus surrendered to the will of His Father in everything He did.
Let God’s Word teach you. And
always trust that His Holy Spirit will direct you.
Finding Jesus on Every Page of
the Bible
We all know that the New Testament books speak clearly about
Jesus.
His birth, His earthly
ministry, His death and His resurrection are recorded in the Gospel accounts.
His instruction for those who
belong to Him completes the New Testament teachings.
For some, it’s surprising that
the Old Testament is also all about Jesus. While it records historical
events of real people and real places, everything points to Jesus in pattern,
prophesy, and type.
Every page “whispers” His name.
Jesus confirmed this when He walked and talked with two men on the road to
Emmaus.
Don’t read the Bible looking for
yourself.
Read it daily, LOOKING for Jesus –
the Author and Finisher of our faith (Hebrews 12:2).
He’s there on every page! Here’s a
list to help you “see” Jesus on every page.
(If
you have some more “sightings” to add to this, please send your list of “He
is…” to shariabbott@reasonsforhopejesus.com)
Jesus is The Great I AM who is beyond our full
comprehension.
One day we will see Him face-to-face and we will fully know that
HE IS EVERYTHING!
He is our Savior, our Reconciler, our Redeemer, our Mediator, our
Refiner, our Advocate, our Prophet, our Priest, our King, our Bridegroom, our
Physician, and more!
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