Finding Christ in All the Scriptures

The Bible is a book made up of many books. Sixty-six to be exact. Written by 40 (or so) authors over the period of about 1,500 years, the Bible covers not only a wide array of life stories from men and women across the ages and world history, but also speaks to every topic imaginable. The Bible speaks about marriage, friendship, God, man, nature, communication, sexuality, and a whole host of other everyday topics.

Many throughout history have praised the Bible as a book containing great wisdom (which it does) or as an entertaining collection of stories (which it is). But 2,000 years ago, a Man walked this earth and made a claim that might, and probably should, jar us; He claimed that this entire book- this whole collection of prophecies, songs, psalms, letters- is all about Him.

Beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, He interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself

Luke 24:27, English Standard Version

You search the scriptures because you think in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me…

John 5:39, ESV

Take a minute and soak these statements in. At the time these words were spoken, it was believed that the books of the Old Testament were the authoritative, inspired Words of God- a belief that Christians still hold today. And then this Man, this Jesus, comes on the scene and makes the startling claim that He is the star of the show- that yes, the Scriptures speak, and the message they declare is that of His life and death and resurrection.

The religious leaders of Jesus’ day were not happy with His hermeneutic. They attributed Jesus’ message and power not to God, but to Satan (Matt 12:24). They called Him a blasphemer (John 10:33). And if Jesus’ claim is not true, then they could not be more right. If Jesus were a mere man claiming that the inspired book containing the self-revelation of God is all about Himself, then the pharisees would have had every right to call him an arrogant, foolish blasphemer.

But, as Jesus proved by His resurrection, they were not right. Jesus was indeed beaten, mocked, scorned, and finally executed as the Scriptures foretold (see Isaiah 53:3-9). He was also risen on the third day, proving once and for all that He is indeed who He claimed to be.

Such evidence in light of Jesus’ statements leaves us with a clear and undeniable conclusion- if we are reading the Scriptures and are not ultimately finding Christ there, we are not reading the Scriptures correctly. As we saw in the Scriptures above, Jesus claimed that the Scriptures testify to Him; more specifically, that the Scriptures proclaim His life, death, burial, and resurrection as salvation for all mankind. Jesus Himself makes this evident in a conversation with a pharisee and scholar named Nicodemus. Nicodemus was a man who not only knew and was one of the foremost teachers of the law (see John 3:10), but also, much like the other pharisees of the day, prided himself in his ability to keep the law; both the true law of God and the 600+ man-made additions. Nicodemus came to Jesus at night, questioning Him about the kingdom of God and is shocked by Jesus’ answer; Jesus essentially tells him that it is not by his knowledge of or adherence to the law by which he will enter the kingdom- in fact, it is not even possible in and of himself (see also Luke 18:27), but can only be accomplished by a work of God; specifically, the new birth from above.

John MacArthur makes an important observation on this encounter.

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"The Lord’s use of the definite article (“the teacher of Israel”) indicates that Nicodemus has a reputation as the preeminent teacher in all of Israel. Christ’s rebuke, however, insinuated that he really understood very little of the truth of the Scriptures…Jesus’ challenge [to Nicodemus] also made an important doctrinal point. The clear implication is that the Old Testament plainly taught the way of salvation (cf. 2 Tim. 3:15). Jesus was not announcing a new way of salvation distinct from Old Testament redemption (cf. Matt. 5:17)… There is perfect unity in God’s Word, and the way of salvation revealed in the Old Testament was the same as salvation after Christ’s work on the cross. Salvation was never a reward for human works; it has always been a gift of grace for repentant sinners, made possible by the work of Christ.1"

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It is clear that Jesus and His apostles found the message of Jesus Christ in all the Scriptures (cf. 2 Tim. 3:15-16). The question is- how? Many view this as a daunting task. We know that we ought to study the Bible carefully, taking each chapter and verse in its historical context, being vigilant to understand the intention of the author. The question raised by many is how we can do so and still find Christ, who wasn’t to be born for another thousand years or so in some cases. In this article, you will find some practical steps toward finding Jesus, who is the heart of the Scriptures, in the Scriptures.

Before I begin, however, it is important to note that there is so much more to say on the subject of finding Christ in the Scriptures than what is to follow. Men far wiser and more learned than myself have written books a thousand times the size of this article on the subject; for some great examples of this, see further suggested reading below. My aim, rather than a scholarly dissertation of great size (though there most certainly is a place for such writings!), is to provide some practical and helpful guidelines for everyday theologians (a theologian being someone who has some kind of system of thinking about God- AKA everyone) such as myself and maybe you.

A Prayerful Mindset

In studying any passage of Scripture, our first act should be to humbly confess our dependence upon God and the illumination of His Spirit. Indeed, without His guidance, our minds simply cannot comprehend the things of the Spirit- without Him, the Words of the Bible are, to us, merely words. (Now, please don’t misunderstand me here- I am certainly not saying that it is our comprehension that makes the Scriptures come alive; it is not us that give the Scriptures their power, but God Himself. Rather, our minds are dead and powerless [when it comes to the Word] without the guidance of the Holy Spirit.)

Therefore, it is necessary that we realize who we are and who God is; how we are mere men, dependent upon Him to reveal Himself. In doing so, we must also remember that God is not aloof and distant; He does not desire knowing Him to be a difficult task. He delights in revealing Himself to His children. So boldly ask Him to open your eyes to His Word (cf. Psalm 119:18). Realize that it is not only the Holy Spirit’s role but also His delight to reveal Jesus Christ to you (cf. John 16:14). Ask Him to do so.

Take a Step Back

Often, we can miss the forest for the trees. It can be easy to get caught up in the laws of Leviticus or the genealogy of Genesis and find yourself thinking not about Jesus, but when this chapter will be over. However, although each and every word is indeed important, we must remember that words make up a sentence, sentences make up paragraphs, paragraphs make up chapters, and so on.

(Seems pretty obvious, I know. Stick with me.)

The reason I bring this up is to remind you that these chunks of Scripture are not ends unto themselves; meaning, a list of ceremonial laws may seem tedious, but what are they telling us- about God? What are they telling us about His standard of holiness? What are they telling us about man? What do they reveal about God’s dealings with man what is required for forgiveness?

Similarly, there are questions we can ask to help us get a wider view with genealogies- where (and to whom) do they lead us? Do they include the lineage of Christ? How do we see the promises of God (which find their ultimate fulfillment in Jesus (see 2 Corinthians 1:20) being carried out through family lines, as He had promised He would do?

Though it can sometimes be difficult to wade through the long and detailed passages that seem irrelevant to us, they are the Word of God and they are there for a reason- namely, to tell us either directly about who Christ would be or what He would do or about the nature of God and man, which show us why what Christ did was necessary.

Typology

Finally, it is important to keep in mind that there are throughout the Old Testament “types” of Christ. Types are shadows of Christ- they are Old Testament representations of a certain office or characteristic of the coming Messiah. Some types are explicitly revealed to us in the New Testament. For example, Paul interprets Adam as a type of Christ in his letter to the Romans, in that just as Adam was our representative head before God (a role in which he, and we through him, miserably failed), Christ would become the new and better representative for all who believe in Him (see Romans 5:12, 15, 17-19). We find also that Jesus identified Jonah as a type of Himself, in that Jonah spent three days in the belly of a fish before emerging and Jesus spent three days in the grave before He rose. We would do well to pay close attention to where the New Testament shows us interpretations of Old Testament texts.

In other cases, the connections are not so explicit. We must draw inferences from the information we have. For example, we know that Jesus serves us as a perfect and sympathetic High Priest; He is, in fact, the High Priest to end all high priests (cf. Hebrews 9:11-15). The book of Hebrews wonderfully displays the ways that Jesus is superior to all the priests that came before Him. Seeing and understanding this ought to inform the way we view the priests of the Old Testament. When we look to them and see what God required of them and the way they often failed, we can learn about what God required of Christ and be comforted that He has fully and perfectly satisfied the demands of His priestly office on our behalf.

We can apply the same hermeneutic to Jesus’ office as King, Judge, and Sacrifice. As we read the Old Testament accounts of kings and judges and the sacrificial system, we can see what they accomplished for the people, see that they did so imperfectly, and see how Jesus has fulfilled them perfectly on our behalf.

As I stated before, there is much more that can be said on the great and glorious matter of finding Jesus in the Old Testament, but I pray that this has been encouraging and practical and has helped you to further see the unity and encouragement of the Scriptures and the glory and perfection of our King Jesus. My prayers are with you as you commune with Our Father and His Son, by His Spirit in His Word.

1John F. MacArthur, The Gospel According to Jesus (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2008), 55-56

Further Suggested Reading:

The Scriptures Testify About Me ed. By D.A. Carson

Walking with Jesus Through His Word by Dennis Johnson

Jesus on Every Page by David Murray