It is written about Him

John 5:39 “You search the Scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life; and these are they which testify of Me”.

A manual comes with a phone to help us get familiar with its functions. I wonder how many times a manual has taken more importance than the phone. Now this manual may have some interesting content other than the phone’s functionalities. For instance, we can learn some new words from the manual but the primary purpose of the manual is not to improve our vocabulary. The manual always points to the phone.

Bible is also a manual. For some the scriptures compiled are like guidelines, moral values, character development notes and so on. Let me remind us again that this manual is about Christ. Everything else is secondary. We can learn important things from it but the primary purpose of the scriptures is to reveal Christ.

In John 5, when Jesus was talking to the Pharisees and the Scribes, He mentions in verse 39 that these learned men knew the scriptures in and out and were in search of eternal life. But they couldn’t find it because they failed to realise that the scriptures were about Christ. Since they failed to realize that,  they couldn’t recognize ‘their’ Christ in person. Whereas in Luke 24, we read the story of the two discouraged disciples who after the crucifixion leave for Emmaus from Jerusalem and Jesus joins them in their journey. The disciples were discouraged because they had expected Jesus to be their redeemer from the Roman rule. When Jesus starts speaking to them, they do not recognize Him. Before Jesus reveals Himself in person, He starts unveiling Himself in the scriptures starting from Genesis.

Every scripture is God breathed because it is written about Christ. Christ adds the whole context in understanding the text. If we take Christ out of the picture, whatever we learn through these scriptures is going to be out of context. This manual does provide us with guidelines on how to live but our lifestyle should completely be an extension of our knowledge of the person of Christ. Christ is our reference because He is the only absolute unchanging truth. Let us see Christ in these scriptures because it is written about Him and Him alone.

Samuel Thomas (Sam)

Sam is a Christian minister who is serving the Lord in various capacities. He is an integral part of MTU, New Delhi and is also ministering with Crossway Church. He can be reached on samvthom16@gmail.com