One-on-One Discipleship

Understanding Jesus Christ as the Centerpiece of Scripture

Theme of Scripture – What is the Bible about? That is a question that most people ask and seem to not understand. Simply put, the Bible is about God redeeming the world to Himself through His Son Jesus Christ. The Bible is not a book of morals or a life coach guide. (It does show how life works best). The main theme is redemption and it all ultimately points to Jesus Christ and who He is and what He has done. The Bible is not mainly about me and application, what I must do, but it is mainly about God and proclamation, what God has done for us in Christ. Try to think about it as you would with a movie. The main actor is not in every single scene, but the whole story revolves around him. Without the main actor the movie would not even make sense. It’s the same with Jesus in the Scriptures. He is what the Bible is about. He isn’t in every scene and verse but the whole point of the story is about him.One of the reasons why I love the Bible is that it is so honest. The people we think are hero’s are actually not. Their lives are pretty messed up and they do sinful and wrong things. But by faith in Christ, God redeems them and their works.

Jesus said five times that He was the center and theme of the entire Bible

  1. John 5:39 - You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me
  1. Jesus is talking to people who have a high view of Scripture. The Pharisees believed in the authority, and infallibility, and inspiration of Scripture but they missed the entire testimony of Christ. He is criticizing not their view of Scripture but their use of Scripture.
  1. The problem that we have is that our hearts are self-righteous. Sometime we believe it is the study of Scripture and our knowledge of it that will get us favor with God. This is really the normal view of people, especially Christians. The problem is when we subtly mess it up when we read the Bible because we think God loves us or likes us more when we search and study them. If I take what the Scriptures teaches and have a completely me centered view of it one of three things will happen
  1. Self-Righteous – I will think that I can do everything that the Scripture teaches and look down on those who don’t or those who struggle in the walk following Jesus. I will become a Pharisee.
  1. Crushed and Despair – I will be crushed with the weight of my failure to live by the perfect standards of the Lord. Example: Golden Rule. We should live by the golden rule. Jesus commanded us. But how many of you have kept that today? Or this hour. Have you loved and thought about and cared for others the way you want to be loved and thought about and cared for?
  1. Wrong Understanding – We miss the purpose and the point. This happens to all people, especially Conservative Christians who use the Bible to feel superior to other people. We can’t judge what is central to the Scriptures and what is secondary. Or if we study it for facts and information and not what it is teaching we will fail to understand what God is teaching us. We don’t read and study the Bible just for information but for formation.
  1. When we see Christ as the center we will see that we are hopeless without Him and we can do all things through Him.We are humbled because we are helpless in ourselves of being right with God and obeying Him but we are exalted because we are loved and cared for more than we ever could have imagined. This creates a radical new dynamic for spiritual growth. It means that the more you see your own flaws and sins, the more costly, electrifying, and astonishing God’s grace appears to you. Also, the more you understand God’s grace in Christ and His acceptance of you, the more able you are to drop your self-righteousness and self-defense and admit to your sin.
  1. Luke 24:27 - And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself.
  1. Jesus’ life, death and resurrection is the crux and center of the Scriptures. The Old Testament is pointing forward and anticipating Jesus and His work. The New Testament is looking back and showing us how Jesus and His work transform our lives.
  1. Luke 24:44 - Then he said to them, "These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you, that everything written about me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled."
  1. Matthew 5:17 - "Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.
  1. Hebrews 10:7 - Then I said, 'Behold, I have come to do your will, O God, as it is written of me in the scroll of the book.'"

In the gospels, Jesus makes the claim of something greater than….the temple, Solomon, Jonah, etc. Throughout the Gospels we see that everything is pointing to Him. The Sabbath, the nation of Israel, the priesthood, the prophets, the kings, the judges…

  1. Matthew 12:1-8 - 1 At that time Jesus went through the grainfields on the Sabbath. His disciples were hungry, and they began to pluck heads of grain and to eat. 2 But when the Pharisees saw it, they said to him, “Look, your disciples are doing what is not lawful to do on the Sabbath.” 3 He said to them, “Have you not read what David did when he was hungry, and those who were with him: 4 how he entered the house of God and ate the bread of the Presence, which it was not lawful for him to eat nor for those who were with him, but only for the priests? 5 Or have you not read in the Law how on the Sabbath the priests in the temple profane the Sabbath and are guiltless? 6 I tell you, something greater than the temple is here.7 And if you had known what this means, ‘I desire mercy, and not sacrifice,’ you would not have condemned the guiltless. 8For the Son of Man is lord of the Sabbath.”
  1. Matthew 12:38-42 - 38 Then some of the scribes and Pharisees answered him, saying, “Teacher, we wish to see a sign from you.” 39 But he answered them, “An evil and adulterous generation seeks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. 40 For just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. 41 The men of Nineveh will rise up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and behold, something greater than Jonah is here. 42 The queen of the South will rise up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and behold, something greater than Solomon is here.

Norman Geisler explains it best in showing how the Bible has eight main sections to it and how it unfolds the story of Christ:

Law (Genesis-Deuteronomy) – Foundation for Christ

History (Joshua-Esther) –Preparation for Christ

Poetry (Job-Song of Solomon) – Desire for Christ

Prophecy (Isaiah-Malachi) – Expectation of Christ

Gospels (Matthew-John) – Manifestation of Christ

Acts – Propagation of Christ

Epistles (Romans-Jude) – Interpretation of Christ and Application of His finished work

Revelation – Consummation in Christ

Jesus revealed through: Typologies (Adam, Joseph, Abraham, Isaac, David, Moses, etc.), Prophecy (the promise of a Messiah to come), Theophanies (Genesis 16:7; The angel of the LORD), Sacrifices and Festivals (Sabbath, Feasts, Tabernacle, Temple, etc.), Fulfillment of the Law, Priesthood, Kingship, Prophets.

Here is an excerpt from Tim Keller about seeing Jesus in all of the Scriptures:

Jesus is the true and better Adam who passed the test in the garden. His garden is a much tougher garden and his obedience is imputed on us. Jesus is the true and better Abel, who though innocently slain has blood that cries out: not for our condemnation but for our acquittal. Jesus is the true and better Abraham, who answers the call of God, who leaves all the familiar comforts of the world into the void. Jesus is the true and better Isaac, Son of the promise, who is not only offered by his father on the mount but who was truly sacrificed for us all. While God said to Abraham: “Now I know you truly love me, because you did not withhold your son, your only son, from me.” Now we, at the foot of the cross, can say to God: “Now we know you love us because you did not withhold your Son, your only Son, whom you love, from us.” Jesus is the true and better Jacob, who wrestled and took the blows of justice that we deserved so we like Jacob only receive the wounds of grace that wake us up and discipline us. Jesus is the true and better Joseph, who is at the right hand of the king, and forgives those who betrayed and sold him and uses his power to save them. Jesus is the true and better Moses, who stands in the gap between the people and the LORD and mediates the new covenant. Jesus is the true and better rock of Moses who struck with the rod of God’s justice now gives us water in the desert. Jesus is the true and better Job, He is the truly innocent sufferer who then intercedes for and saves His stupid friends. Jesus is the true and better David, whose victory becomes the people’s victory even though they didn’t lift a stone to accomplish it themselves. Jesus is the true and better Esther, who didn’t just risk losing an earthly palace but lost ultimately the heavenly one, who didn’t just risk His life but gave His life, who didn’t say if I perish I perish but when I perish, I perish for them . . . to save my people. Jesus is the true and better Jonah who was cast out into the storm so we can be brought in, who spent three days not in the belly of the whale but in the ground because He was not running from the call of God but fulfilled it perfectly. He’s the real Passover Lamb; He’s the true temple, the true prophet, the true priest, the true king, the true sacrifice, the true lamb, the true life, the true bread.

  1. Application of the Scriptures
  1. The question, “what does the Bible mean to you,” is not really helpful. One must remember that the Scriptures have one interpretation. They have one meaning. One must also remember that there are many applications. So when we approach and read the Bible we must understand the context and the meaning of the section we are reading. After that, there are many ways to apply it. Context is key to understanding the Scriptures.
  1. For example, one of the most misunderstood sections in the Scriptures is found in the book of Jeremiah, specifically Jeremiah 29:11. “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for wholeness and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope..” It is on coffee cups and posters. It is a lot of people’s favorite verses. The problem is that people don’t interpret the context correctly. God is speaking to His people who are about to lose everything. They are going to be exiled out of the Promised Land. They are going to face incredibly difficult circumstances and they are losing all hope. It is in the midst of this that God declares His faithfulness and love. He says to His people, even though they blew it and sinned and rebelled against Him, that He still has plans for their future. That He will bring them back. It is incredible to see God’s grace on display toward His rebellious people. We water down and cheapen these verses when we don’t understand the true interpretation of them. Once we get that, then there are infinite ways to apply it. It may be that we have lost our way and rebelled against our Lord. God still has plans for us. Even when we are faithless He is still faithful. Our situation might look hopeless, but we have a God that gives us hope no matter what.
  1. Questions to Ask When Applying the Scriptures
  1. When we study the Bible together, there are some helpful uestions that we can ask to apply it to our lives:
  2. What does this section of the Scriptures teach me about Jesus Christ, God the Father, and the Holy Spirit?
  3. What does this teach me about the character of God?
  4. Is there a promise for me to claim?
  5. Is there an example for me to follow?
  6. Is there a command for me to obey?
  7. Is there a sin for me to repent of and avoid?
  8. Is there a prayer for me to pray?
  9. Is there a reason to praise God and thank Him?