Christ Is the Center of Scripture: Why the Bible Isn’t About You

Honey From The Rock Ministries | Christ Our Message: The Foundation, Week 4

Have you ever tried to put together a jigsaw puzzle without the box? No picture to work from — just scattered pieces on the table. You can find edges, group colors, even snap a few pieces into place. But without the picture on the box, you’re guessing at what you’re actually building.

The Picture on the Box

A lot of us read the Bible this way. We know some of the stories, some of the promises, some of the commands — but nobody ever showed us the picture that ties every piece together. Last week’s focus was on reading Scripture carefully: context, covenant, letting Scripture interpret Scripture. That’s the method. This week is about the picture itself — because it’s possible to follow every rule of careful interpretation and still miss the point if the picture never comes into view. The picture on the box is Jesus Christ.

Jesus Read Scripture Through Himself

After His resurrection, Jesus walked, unrecognized, with two grieving disciples on the road to Emmaus. Rather than simply announcing who He was, Luke tells us that “beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself.” Not a handful of proof-texts — the entire Old Testament, read as a story about Him. If Jesus believed the whole Old Testament was ultimately about Him, that settles how the rest of us should read it too.

The Old Testament Anticipates Him

Jesus once told religious leaders who knew their Bibles thoroughly, “Search the scriptures… they are they which testify of me.” They had missed the Person the Scriptures were pointing to. The sacrificial system pictured a substitute paying for sin, long before Christ became that substitute. The priesthood pictured someone standing between a holy God and sinful people, long before Christ became our great High Priest. None of this is coincidence — the Old Testament is the first half of a story that was always heading toward Christ.

The New Testament Explains Him

If the Old Testament anticipates Christ, the New Testament explains Him: the Gospels show His life and work, Acts shows the early church proclaiming Him, the Epistles unpack what His finished work accomplished, and Revelation reveals His ultimate victory. Paul writes in Colossians that Christ is “the image of the invisible God,” the One in whom all things hold together — not a chapter in the story, but the reason there’s a story at all.

Don’t Make Yourself the Hero

Here’s where this gets practical. Most of us have been trained, without realizing it, to read the Bible as though we’re the main character. David and Goliath usually gets taught as “you can defeat your giants.” Daniel in the lion’s den usually becomes “be brave, and God will protect you too.” Those applications aren’t entirely wrong, but notice what’s happened — we’ve quietly made ourselves the hero of every story. David defeating Goliath is ultimately a picture of God rescuing His people through His appointed one — exactly what Christ would do, permanently, centuries later. Daniel surviving the lions isn’t a leadership lesson; it’s a small picture of God shutting the mouth of an enemy far more dangerous than any lion, on our behalf, in Christ.

A Simple Habit for This Week

When you read a familiar Bible story this week, try asking a different question first. Instead of “what should I do?” ask, “what does this reveal about Christ?” Let application follow discovery, not replace it.

Honey From The Rock Ministries teaches a Christ-centered, grace-based understanding of Scripture. Join us each week as we build this foundation together.