Reading Like Jesus

What’s the biggest jigsaw puzzle you’ve ever tried to finish? Anyone can answer, just shout it out. Answers may vary, but see what the biggest puzzle is. How do you try to build the puzzle, when you’re working on it? What do you do first? How do you go from there? I’ll be honest with you all, I’m not real big on puzzles. But when I find myself tasked with solving them, trying to put them together, there are some best practices that I use. First, I look at the picture on the box, then I look inside the puzzle for any edge pieces I can find. My sister does puzzles all the time, she loves puzzles. Every time I’m at her house, there’s at least one she’s working on, and she always starts with the borders. And she always has the box in front of her, to see what she’s supposed to end up with.

One day, while my sister was at soccer practice, my little brother and I decided we’d play a little trick on her. We sneaked into her room and got all of her puzzles out of her closet, and we began to swap the lids on her puzzles. The cruelty! I know not everyone believes in stuff like Total Depravity, but when I was a kid, I was a walking example of it. Can you imagine trying to solve a jigsaw puzzle without the picture on the box?

That’s how some people approach theology, or the study of God. They jump right down into the weeds of one of the books of the Bible, and they just start trying to put stuff together. It’s like dumping out all the individual pieces, picking some random ones and throwing the box and some other pieces away. Guess what? You’re going to have a hard time putting the puzzle together! You might get one or two pieces put together. You may even get a little picture put together, but you’ll never see how each piece was designed to fit in to the final picture if you’re missing pieces or can’t see the big picture at all!

I don’t want to overdo my illustration, but when it comes to the Bible, some even come to the conclusion that there is no big picture! They would say the Bible is obviously a random collection of writings from random authors over time because they couldn’t sort out what the big picture was. Others will admit there’s a big picture but think it’s a big picture of moral stances on cultural issues, or think the Bible is simply a guidebook for living.

I think there’s a better way to approach the Bible. Not only that, I think there’s a right way to approach the Bible! Think about it: Christians are called to look more and more like Jesus every day, so Jesus should be our role model for reading and interpreting the Bible, right? How did Jesus read the Bible? How did the people who knew Him best on earth read the Bible, and how do we imitate that? What is the big picture of the Bible, and how does each part relate to it?

Theologians call the big-picture-focused study of the Bible Biblical Theology, and over the next several weeks, we’re going to explore this discipline so we can get a better grasp of what God is telling us right here, right now. We’re going to define Biblical Theology and unpack some terms, but I want you to remember that primarily what we’re doing is trying to read the Bible like Jesus and understand it like He does.

So, what is Biblical Theology? One theologian defines it as telling “the whole story of the whole Bible as Christian Scripture” (Michael Lawrence, Biblical Theology in the Life of the Church). Another theologian says, “Biblical theology attempts to read the whole story of the Bible and asks how each part relates to the whole” (Nick Roark, Biblical Theology: How the Church Faithfully Teaches the Bible). I think we have plenty to work with in these two quotes, let’s unpack them real quick, then we’ll see how Jesus uses this understanding to explain Himself.

First, Biblical Theology is a story. We’re going to be using narrative development, or story-telling, as a major approach to reading the Bible to understand everything that we’ll find there. Second, Biblical Theology tells the whole story of the whole Bible. As we travel through the Biblical jungle, as it were, we’re going to be looking at major landmarks and big picture developments. Third, Biblical Theology is Christian. We will see how everything from Eden to Eternity points us to Jesus Christ and calls us to repent from our sins and believe in Him alone for salvation. I know, that’s a lot to think about. I’m also pretty sure you’ve covered some of this already in Sunday school, so I’ll give you some extra time in small groups later to talk through it all.

How Did Jesus Read the Bible?

Turn with me to the Gospel of Luke. We’re going to look together at the story of Jesus on the road to Emmaus with two of his disciples. Luke 24:26-27. These disciples were going back home from Jerusalem and talking about Jesus’ earthly ministry and his gruesome death when Jesus Himself draws near to them, but keeps them from recognizing Him. I’m picking up in verse 21.

Before we move into our small groups, I want us to quickly make three observations from Luke 24, and apply each one to us today. So, what do we see here? First, we see the disciples’ doubt. It might seem like Jesus’ reaction to them was kind of harsh, but His reaction actually tells us something about both Himself and ourselves. The disciples weren’t just doubting whether or not Jesus had been raised from the dead. They wondered if everything that Jesus had taught them had been a lie, and they were starting to think they should just go back home, as if they had never met him. They thought they could go back home and attend synagogue on Saturdays, listening to the same old explanations on the text they had memorized since they were in elementary school. They doubted Jesus’ teaching, and they doubted Jesus’ mission. They were questioning whether Jesus was actually the one to redeem Israel. They knew their Bibles, yet they didn’t believe that Jesus was the Messiah. So, what does this tell us about Jesus? It tells us that He cares about how His people read the Bible. It’s not just that you read your Bible, but it’s about reading it rightly. Jesus takes the Scriptures very seriously in this text, and we would do well to imitate Him. It also tells a little about ourselves. It tells us that we are prone to doubting and to disbelief. Our natural tendency is to disbelieve what we hear, to reject the Truth of the Scriptures as soon as they become inconvenient. Notice that these were Jesus’ followers, not random Jews! They liked His teaching, but His death proved to be too much for them.

Second, we see the Big Picture. Jesus says that these disciples are “slow of heart to believe all that the prophets had spoken.” He says, “If you doubt me, you’re doubting everything I’ve ever said, not just in my earthly ministry.” He then goes on to show them how everything in the Old Testament points to Him! Jesus’ response to the disciples’ doubt doesn’t stop at reproof. He doesn’t scold them and then leave them to feel guilty. No, He carefully explains Himself, coming alongside them and walking them through the whole Bible and demonstrating how it all points to Him. Notice what Jesus says in verse 26, though. He says that all of His sufferings were necessary. He says that entering into His glory was necessary. What’s He doing here? Jesus is answering their doubts with Biblical Theology! He says, “I know you’re doubting my Messianic ministry, but if you only understood what the Bible says about me, you could start doubting your doubts.” When we see the Big Picture, everything passage of Scripture slowly falls into place.

Jesus’ reaction and explanation shows us the foolishness of trying to read either the Old Testament or the New Testament by themselves. Both sides of the Bible stand together. The Old Testament simply doesn’t make any sense by itself! It’s just a story with shadows and types and it gets kind of confusing after a while. Reading the New Testament by itself is difficult because the New Testament writers spend so much time quoting and explaining the Old Testament in light of Christ!

Look a little further down in Luke 24, verses 44-47:

Jesus is now with the twelve disciples, and he’s about to appoint them as apostles in the world after he ascends into Heaven. Before He goes, though, he does something. He gives them a Bible study, too. What’s special about this Bible study is that Jesus doesn’t wait to open the eyes of his disciples here, like he did in verses 26-27. He opened their minds to understand the Scriptures! He didn’t just teach them, He equipped them to teach and expound the Scriptures! If you imagine the Bible as a nut, like squirrels, Jesus has just cracked the shell wide open for the disciples. Now, we can turn to Paul and Peter and John and Luke and imitate them in their interpretations of the Old Testament! Jesus is giving us gifts here in this passage, a confidence that we can understand what the whole Bible has to say!

I just have a few quick points of application, and then we’ll break for small groups:

First, listen to Jesus here. Take His Word seriously! Understand that all of the Bible was ultimately written by God, and read it like it all points to Jesus. You’ll see the Savior fly out of the pages and teach you things about Himself and yourself that you never could have imagined.

Second, take heart. Biblical Theology is a tough field and many theologians have spent their entire lives working on it. There is a lot more to learn about God’s Word than you think. I know it can be easy to want to go back to when the Bible was simply a collection of stories with morals, but it’s better to see it for what it is.

Third, don’t be foolish! Don’t just look at the Bible, find Jesus, and move on! Don’t start walking to Emmaus, but stay, look deeply at the Savior through the eyes of faith! Repent from your sins and rest wholly on His grace tonight.