Where's Jesus?
This week we are tackling probably one of the more difficult questions to ask yourself when studying the Bible: “Where do I see Jesus Christ in these verses?”
Did these verses raise any questions as you read? (last week)
Where do you see Jesus Christ in these verses? (this week)
What is something that the Spirit of God is leading you to do as a result of reading this text?
Who is someone who might benefit from hearing what you’ve seen in the Bible?
Why are these verses in the Bible?
The Bible is full of real life stories and poems and powerful words of wisdom, prophecies of hope and passages of encouragement. Yet all of the Bible was written to bear witness to God stepping into our challenged and broken world to fix what we could not fix: our sin, our separation from God, our wounded spirit, etc.
It’s one book with one story about one person named Jesus.
[Jesus said,] “This is what I told you while I was still with you: Everything must be fulfilled that is written about me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets, and the Psalms.” // Luke 24:44
Seeing Jesus in the verses you read does not necessarily mean that you are looking for his actual name, “Jesus.” It means searching through the text to find ways that the meaning or the theme of the passage points to Jesus. How does this particular passage point out something significant about Jesus? Is it a promise about Jesus? Does it foreshadow Jesus?
Here are some examples:
In Genesis 3:15, God promises to bring the seed of the woman into the world to crush the power of Satan. Many would easily recognize that the seed is a child and the child that God was referring to is Jesus. When Jesus died on the cross, his death crushed the power that Satan held over us. Our sin was paid for and Satan’s hopes for our just destruction were crushed.
In Numbers 21, the account is given of a bronze serpent that was lifted up to give healing. Jesus refers to that event in John 3 and says that he is going to be lifted up just as that serpent was lifted (v.15). He was referring to being lifted up on the cross.
In Genesis 27 Jacob steals the blessing from his father. Jesus used no trickery to attain the blessing he deserved as the Son of God, but instead of keeping God’s blessing, he was denied by the Father in order to win the blessing for us.
Priests would represent the people before God with a sacrifice of blood. Jesus represents us before God and the sacrifice he gives is his own blood, his life.
Micah 5:2 speaks about Bethlehem as being small and insignificant. Jesus came into this world in a small and insignificant way - as a baby. And yet Jesus is also the ruler spoken about.
In every human being that is portrayed in the Bible, you will find that they lack some element of perseverance; they have scratches on their character, they lose steam, they might be willing but are unable to perform well, or they simply are not even willing to do what is right. They are limited and sinful. Jesus lives up to God’s expectations for a rescuer who can go the distance. He is flawless in his standard of living and brilliant in his character. He is the Son of God, and he is the only perfect human. His perfect record becomes ours by faith.
As you read through the Old Testament or the New, I would encourage you to see how the text points in some fashion to Jesus. And as you see him perfectly live out all of God’s demands, remember that he performed each task on your behalf. That flawless record of achievement that he attained is now yours. His righteousness is now your crown.
Blessings to you! Open up your Bible today and discover all the great things God has done for you.
Pastor Al