Then He said to them, “These are the words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all things must be fulfilled which were written in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms concerning Me.” And He opened their understanding, that they might comprehend the Scriptures. (Luke 24:44-45)

Everything Is About Jesus

The Bible is an amazing book containing sixty-six books formed together in a cohesive theme of divine revelation. Written by more than forty writers covering fifteen-hundred years from different parts of the world and having a diverse background, the authors tell the story of the genesis of the world and humanity, rise and fall of nations, and the incredible story of God’s Son becoming flesh. Moses begins the story of the Bible with the first five books of creation, the beginning of Israel, and the establishment of the law. The book of Joshua unveils the conquering of the land of Canaan in fulfillment of God’s promise to Abraham and throughout the remaining books of holy writ the turbulent and often perilous times of the nation of Israel. Silenced for more than four hundred years after the prophet Malachi, the story of Jesus burst upon the scene with the writings of four men telling similar but varied stories of the Christ.

When Jesus taught His disciples in those forty days after the resurrection, He opened their understanding to comprehend the scriptures they were familiar with. At that time, only the books of the Old Testament had been written. All of the Old Testament as found in the modern Bible was in the hands of the people of Jesus’ time. The modern division has thirty-nine books of law, history, poetry, and prophecy. Jesus referred to the Old Testament as the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms. What He said about the Old Testament was far beyond the view most have of the ancient book. Jesus said the Old Testament was about Him. Everything written in the Old Testament was fulfilled in the story of Jesus Christ.

It is easy to get lost in the details of the Old Testament and the stories that fill its pages. Jesus defined the Old Testament as the testimony of His life and purpose for coming to earth. Reading the Old Testament with fresh eyes looking for Jesus will open the understanding of the thirty-nine books as testimonies of the divine plan of God. Jesus was in the beginning when the world was created. He was part of the judgment that brought the flood upon the world. The promises made to Abraham were about Him as the promise of the Seed found its fulfillment in Christ. Paul would explain to the Roman saints how the Jews proved that men could not be saved by keeping the law and the Gentiles would not save themselves as a law to themselves. Salvation can only come through Christ and the Old Testament proves this.

The revelation of God can be found in the laws of nature but without the special revelation of scripture, no man can know the character of God. Reading the Old Testament the goodness and severity of the Lord are found on every page. Grace, mercy, truth, and righteous flow from the stories of the Old Testament. The failure of humanity to answer sin is clearly defined in the feeble attempts of human wisdom to answer its greatest challenge. Jesus is the fulfillment of the Law, Prophets, and Psalms because they declare salvation cannot be found apart from Jesus Christ. Understanding the Old Testament in terms of the life of Jesus changes the nature of the study of the thirty-nine books. The Old Testament is not just about the history of the world but the birth of Jesus. Moses writing the Law declared the need for the law of Christ to save men. The psalms attempt to find words to praise God but can only be felt through the life of Jesus Christ.

Everything in the Old Testament is about Jesus. Faith comes from hearing and hearing comes from the word of God. This faith must be tooled to see the deeper message of the Old Testament declaring the glory of the Christ. Without an understanding of the work of God’s Son in the Old Testament, nothing can be learned of the will of the Lord. Which book in the Bible tells the story of Jesus? Jesus told His disciples that all of the nearly 600,000 words in the Old Testament were about Him. Read the Old Testament with fresh eyes. Everything is about Jesus.