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I recently had the opportunity to help teach a discipleship class at our church. 12 teenagers and young adults, all recently baptized, have been gathering together to learn what it looks like to follow Jesus now that they have decided to do so and to make that decision public. I was tasked with helping teach the topic "Christ at the Center". The more I worked on this topic, the more subtopics I came up with: Jesus at the center of my life, my future, the church, the Scriptures, my decisions, my purpose, my family... and the list goes on, because Jesus is the center of EVERYTHING! This week, let's explore some of these areas and how Christ is at the center of them all.
For starters, Christ is at the center of the Scriptures. It is from this reality that we learn that Christ is at the center of everything: it is revealed to us through the Scriptures. It can be easy to approach the Scriptures, particularly the Old Testament, as the rising action in the story until we get to Jesus. But the Old Testament is not merely setting up the story for the entrance of Christ; Christ is the center of all the Scriptures, including the Old Testament. Jesus confirms this Himself. In Luke 24, on the road to Emmaus, the resurrected Christ reveals something remarkable: He is not just part of the story, He is the story.
"And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, He interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself." (Luke 24:27)
Wow! All throughout the Scriptures, including the Law and the prophets, Jesus is the center. This is further confirmed by Jesus back in John 5 when he rebukes the religious leaders with these words: "You study the Scriptures diligently because you think that in them you have eternal life. These are the very Scriptures that testify about Me, yet you refuse to come to Me to have life." (John 5:39-40)
When we read the whole Bible with the perspective that Jesus is at the center of them all, then it becomes more than just stories and information; it becomes revelation! We see God's plan of redemption through Christ unfolding on every page.
In the Law, He is the promised seed of the woman Who will crush the head of the serpent, and He is the Passover Lamb, slain for those who would trust in Him for salvation. In the historical books, He is the true and better King. In the prophets, He is the Suffering Servant, the coming Messiah, and the reigning Lord. We could go on and on.
Next time you open up your Bible, regardless of what page you are on, look for Jesus. Pray and consider how it points you to Christ the King. Your understanding of God's great plan of redemption will grow, and you will be in awe of how all 66 books, with their various authors, time periods, and historical contexts, all have one heartbeat: Jesus.
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