The Bible is about Jesus—from beginning to end. The Bible is divided into two major parts, and both of them are about Jesus.
When you start on Page One you might not recognize that it is pointing to Jesus and that He is The One who created everything. But God left a trail of clues that lead from the Garden of Eden to Jesus Christ who calls Himself “The Beginning and The End”.
In the beginning the first man and woman disobey God and are exiled from the Garden and from a face to face relationship with God. Adam and Eve were guilty, fearful and ashamed, so they hid from God. But God set up a Rescue Plan to remove everyone’s guilt.
The “Seed” of the Woman
God promised a Savior would come and defeat sin, Satan and death. He explained that this Hero would be the “Seed” of a woman. Many Bibles translate “seed” as “offspring” or “child”, but keeping the word “Seed” makes it clear that this Son will not have an earthly father. This Seed will crush Satan’s head when that “Serpent of Old” bites His heel. (Genesis 3:15) And that’s what happened when the “forces of evil” crucified Jesus, but that was how Jesus paid our penalty and defeated sin and Satan.
A Picture of Jesus
The rest of the Old Testament tells how humankind fell into immorality but eventually God picks one man, Abraham, and promises he will be the father of a great nation (Israel). Abraham and wife Sarah were old and childless at the time, but miraculously she bears a “promised son”, who is a picture of “The Promised Son” Jesus.
A Virtual Album
The Old Testament has so many pictures (or shadows and types) of Jesus, it’s pretty much an album of His future life. Not only that, there are hundreds of prophesies about His birth by a Virgin, his life, death and resurrection, and His Second Coming as the Conquering King who defeats Sin, Death and the Devil, and establishes God’s Kingdom on a New Earth where we will live with Him forever.
Eyewitness Testimony
In the New Testament eyewitnesses and historians who spoke to eyewitnesses wrote down what they saw Jesus doing. And what He was doing showed that He is the Old Testament’s Promised Savior. It also has books and letters from eyewitnesses explaining Jesus’ teachings and how all the prophesies and promises in the Old Testament have been fulfilled or will be fulfilled by Him.
So, why should I care?
The Bible and Jesus Himself promise He will return and the dead will be raised from the grave and Jesus will judge the living and the dead. He promises to give eternal life to those who trust God’s mercy and love which were freely given for everyone through his crucifixion and death. These people with faith in the love and much needed mercy of God will enjoy life in a perfect world. Those who hope that their own good life is enough, or those who just plain reject God, will be forever separated from the Creator of everything that is good.
Hope for the Hopeless
Jesus said only sick people need a doctor, and only sinners need a Savior. He wants us to know that the only thing we bring to our recovery, to our salvation from spiritual death, is our sin.
At the Cross Jesus took all of our sins – past, present and future – on Himself, and He gives His Righteousness to people who have nothing else to offer Him.
Jesus welcomes people who know we need Someone to free us from slavery to every kind of sin. He receives people who know “only God is good” and who seek to reflect His righteousness. He welcomes people who desire the “full life” He promises. He wants us to experience the purpose for which He created us. He promises that God the Holy Spirit will guide and help us all our life. Although we are completely unworthy, Jesus wants us to be comfortable being on a first name basis with The Almighty Creator!
Where to Start Reading
If you haven’t read the Bible before, please first read about Jesus in the New Testament. This will help you recognize the pictures and prophesies about Him in the Old Testament when you go back and read from the start of the Bible. Remember in the Old Testament Jesus is concealed, and in the New Testament Jesus is revealed.
The Four Gospels
The New Testament begins with four accounts of Jesus’ earthly life—Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. Matthew and John were disciples of Jesus and saw most of his miracles, teachings and resurrection from the dead. Mark was a student of the Apostle Peter, who was also a disciple of Jesus. Luke was a doctor and today is recognized as an outstanding historian. He interviewed eyewitnesses and wrote his account for someone named “Theophilus”.
The Early Church
Luke also wrote a second historical book for Theophilus, “The Acts of the Apostles” about the life of the early Church. Luke becomes part of the story at Acts 16:10 where he travels with the Apostle Paul, who himself wrote many important letters included in the New Testament .
What Now?
The New Testament explains the Good News (or Gospel) that Jesus took responsibility for our sins and suffered the death penalty for us. He “fulfilled the law”, so now we have “died to the law”. Because He was convicted in our place, our sins will never be held against us.
“What? You mean we can sin all we want!” That question is asked several times in the Bible, and the answer is always the same: why would we freely choose to return to slavery to sin? Think about it. Let’s say an addict was miraculously freed from a crime inducing addiction. Would that person, now clean and in his right mind gladly choose to go back to a life of addiction, misery and shame? He would be a fool!
The Good News is that God wouldn’t hold even that against us! He always wants to restore us and help us to keep growing when we admit our weakness and ask for His help. Jesus loves sinners. He is always on your side.