The Heart of the Bible

So, how would you answer this question: What is the heart of the Bible? Some may answer, “It’s about creation.” Others may say, “It’s the story of Israel.” Still, others will say, “It is about mankind’s fall from grace.”

While all of these are true and represent important parts of the Bible, the heart of the Bible is represented in God’s heart - Jesus, God’s only son. The entire Bible is about the story of God and his drive to save mankind through his son. The Bible has one theme. Jesus Christ is the theme, even in the Old Testament.

Let me encourage you to open your eyes and look for Jesus on every page of your Bible. If you do, you’ll find him there.

A simple way to read your Bible is to see it simply divided into Old and New Testaments. The Old Testament can be divided into two segments - Law and Prophets. The books written within the category of the Law establish the foundation for Jesus Christ. The books associated with the Prophets are about the expectation of Jesus Christ.

The New Testament can simply be divided into two segments, as well - the Gospels and Epistles. The Gospels tell of the manifestation of Jesus Christ, and the epistles speak of the interpretation of Jesus Christ.

Jesus himself said the scriptures testify about him (John 5:39). Keep in mind that as he said this, the New Testament scriptures had not even been written yet. He is referring to the Old Testament writings. Jesus also expounded in Luke 24:27 that all the writings of Moses and the prophets were concerning him.

To grasp the heart of the Bible and read it for how it was intended to be experienced, you need to open your eyes to see Jesus throughout it. The Bible comes alive when we discover the heart of it and stop reading it as just a book of sayings or words for how to live life. It’s deeper than that. The Bible could be described as an inspired album of divine snapshots of the Son of God. Once we discover this, all the other characters fade into the background and the central figure - Jesus - becomes more and more clear.

The Bible is a progressive story of God’s redemption related to mankind with Jesus Christ as the central figure. At first, we see just a glimpse and we notice the faint outline of Christ, and then, book by book, he emerges and becomes even clearer as the picture of God’s heart is revealed through Jesus Christ.

As we see in Adam one who chose to sin before there was sin; Jesus who knew no sin chose to become sin to free us from the punishment of sin thrust upon the world. Look, open your eyes, and discover the heart of the Bible. You’ll find Jesus from Genesis to Revelation. Your heart will be forever changed.

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