The Bible is the written word of God, consisting of sixty-six books, yet it has one central character and theme that unites both the Old and New Testaments: Jesus Christ.
All of Scripture point to Christ
On one occasion, Jesus healed a paralytic on the Sabbath (the weekly Jewish day of rest). This generated a strong controversy. He boldly claimed to be the Christ, God incarnate. For the Jewish leaders, it was impossible to believe that this young carpenter could be the long-awaited Messiah promised in the Old Testament.
In response, Jesus spoke with authority, saying, “You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about Me, yet you refuse to come to Me that you may have life” (John 5:39-40). By saying this, Jesus made it clear that “the Old Testament bore witness to Him”. This dialogue took place before the Scriptures of the New Testament were written. However, we will see that the entire Bible, both Old and New Testament, points to Jesus as its central figure and ultimate focus.
The Old Testament bears witness to Christ
On the day Jesus rose from the dead, some of His disciples were traveling from Jerusalem to Emmaus, feeling confused by everything that had happened surrounding Jesus’ death.
As they walked, the Lord came alongside them, and when they arrived at their destination, He said to them, “O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and enter into His glory?’ And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, He interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself” (Luke 24:25-27).
Jesus revealed to them that the true focus of the Old Testament was not Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, or David, or even Israel — it was Himself. Later, He opened the minds of His disciples so they could understand the Scriptures, telling them, “Everything written about Me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled” (Luke 24:44).
The New Testament bears witness to Christ
For example, at the beginning of the Old Testament, it is promised that the first woman would receive offspring: “I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her Offspring; He shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel” (Genesis 3:15).
Some chapters later we read about God’s promise to Abraham: “In your Offspring shall all the nations of the earth be blessed” (Genesis 22:18). These promises were fulfilled in the New Testament: “… It does not say, ‘And to offsprings,’ referring to many, but referring to one, ‘And to your Offspring,’ who is Christ” (Galatians 3:16).
In conclusion, all of the Bible speaks of Christ
Grasping this profound truth will protect us from doctrinal errors and prevent us from living a shallow Christian life. Let us pray that whenever we study the Scriptures, God will reveal to us Jesus as the Christ, the Son of God, and lead us to humbly submit to His eternal power and authority.