Jesus – the central theme of the Bible

The opening page of the New Testament is a remarkable demonstration of biblical continuity. Matthew begins: “A record of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham”.  In so doing the apostle highlights two of the great ‘offspring promises’ of the Old Testament. There are actually three promises:

To David – ‘I will raise up your offspring to succeed you, who will come from your own body, and I will establish his kingdom’ (2 Samuel 7:12).

To Abraham – ‘Through your offspring all nations on earth will be blessed.’ (Genesis 22:18).

To ‘the woman’ in Eden (though actually spoken to the serpent!) – I will cause hostility between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring. He will strike your head, and you will strike his heel.” (Genesis 3:15).

Matthew also implies this third promise by carefully weaving into his unique genealogy the promise to the woman (given after she had sinned) by including five female ancestors of Christ who all had questionable moral or social status. Women who, in a past generation, would have been called ‘fallen women’!  Matthew wants us to realise that in writing about Jesus he is focusing on the future fulfilment of Old Testament promises and the climax of all its expectations.  It is Christ who is ‘born of a woman’ (Galatians 4:4), ‘the seed of Abraham’ (Galatians 3:16) and, ‘descended from David’ (2 Timothy 2:8). It is Christ who is the central theme of all Scripture.

These ‘offspring promises’ reveal God’s wonderful grace in offering hope and salvation to the world. The son of the woman brings redemption. The son of Abraham brings rejoicing through blessing (‘Isaac’ means “He laughs”). The son of David brings God’s good rule. 

New Testament and Old Testament

Matthew sets the precedent for the New Testament understanding of the Old Testament.  Everything to do with Jesus coming into the world was a fulfilment of OT prophecy (See 1:22, 2:5, 2:15, 2:17, 2:23, 4:14-18). And not only his words. His actions portrayed fulfilment also.  Matthew deliberately compares and contrasts Jesus and Moses (cf. John 1:17) for Moses had said, ‘The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me’ (Deuteronomy 18:15, Acts 3:22). Thus we find Jesus ‘called out of Egypt’ (2:15, Hosea 11:1), led by the Spirit into the desert (4:1, Psalm 78:52) for forty days and nights (4:2, cf. Moses 40 years, Numbers 14:34-35) and he resisted the devil with words given to Moses in Deuteronomy (Matthew 4:4, 4:7, 4:10). Like Moses, Jesus went up onto a mountain and dispensed a new law to the people (5:1) having fulfilled the old (5:17; cf. John 2:1-11).

Just as Jesus is a prophet ‘like Moses’, he is also a Priest-King ‘like Melchizedek’ – that mysterious Old Testament character (Hebrews 7:3).  He is like the snake lifted up in the desert, signifying his death (John 3:14-15, 12:32-33). He is like Jonah who demonstrates the burial and resurrection of Jesus (Matthew 12:39–41).

Paul tells us ‘Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures… was buried… was raised on the third day according to the scriptures..’ (1 Corinthians 15:3-4). So powerfully do the Old Testament writings witness to Christ that Paul can even say, ‘Christ our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed,’ and, ‘they drank from the spiritual rock that accompanied them, and that rock was Christ’ (1 Corinthians 5:7, 10:4). Jesus himself dramatically enacted the latter idea when at the temple celebration of provision in the wilderness, he invited all those who were thirsty to ‘come and drink’, for ‘as the scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within Him’ (John 7:38).

Jesus was totally aware of his role in relation to Scripture. He confronts the religious leaders of his day:

‘You diligently study the scriptures because you think that by them you possess eternal life.  These are the scriptures that testify about me…”’(John 5:39)

And to depressed and doubtful followers on the road to Emmaus, he explains the central theme of their Bible:

‘Beginning with Moses and all the prophets he explained to them what was said in all the scriptures concerning himself”’(Luke 24:27).

The Spirit of Christ In Them

Peter tells us that it was the Spirit of Christ who inspired the OT prophets. Their words – beyond their own understanding – were spoken first and foremost about Christ and for us (1 Peter 1:10-12).  Apollos, a man with a thorough knowledge of the Bible, was able to prove from the scriptures that Jesus was the Christ (Acts 19:28). Paul reminds Timothy that ‘from infancy you have known the holy scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Jesus Christ’ (2 Timothy 3:15).

When Phillip was called to follow Jesus, he found Nathaniel and told him, ‘we have found the one Moses wrote about in the law, and about whom the prophets also wrote – Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph’ (John 1:45).  Peter later proclaimed, ‘all the prophets from Samuel on, as many as have spoken, have foretold these days’ (Acts 3:24).

The Bible is all about Jesus. That truth should be a provocation to search the Scriptures, meditate on the word, and pray: ‘open my eyes that I may see wonderful things in your law’ (Psalm 119:18).

At the beginning of the human family, God brought Eve to Adam, and Moses’ commentary was:

           ‘For this reason a man will leave his Father and Mother and be united to his             wife, and they will become one flesh’ (Genesis 2:24).

The apostle Paul quotes this in Ephesians 5:31 but then adds:

            “This is a profound mystery – but I am talking about Christ and the church”             (v32)

And taking his inspired lead, we might hear all the law, prophets and poets of the Bible echo the same truth: ‘we are talking about Christ… and his church.’