Read Looking to Jesus
Early in the Christian life, we come to realize at least two things about the Bible. First, the Bible is essential to our faith. We hear it preached and taught in church, and are encouraged by mature believers to study it personally. Clearly, the Bible is indispensable for the Christian life.
Second, we discover that the Bible is also a strange and wild book. It was written thousands of years ago and records events from distant times and places. Its original languages are Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek. It is written by numerous human authors and is composed of two testaments and sixty-six books containing many genres. We may feel perplexed by this complex yet crucial book.
Thankfully, the book of Exodus teaches us how to read the whole Bible. As a church, we are now well into this book, and in recent weeks we have encountered three chapters that especially help us understand our Sacred Text: Exodus 12, 16, and 17.
Exodus 12 records the Passover, where the Lord instructs His people to select a spotless lamb, sacrifice it, eat it, and spread its blood on their doorposts. Exodus 16 recounts God’s faithful provision of manna each morning and quail each evening as Israel made its way through the wilderness. Lastly, Exodus 17 describes the Lord providing water from a rock in the middle of the desert.
In these cases, later biblical writers interpret the passages for us. In 1 Corinthians 5:7, Paul writes, “For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed.” Later in the same letter, he says, “They drank from the spiritual rock that accompanied them, and that rock was Christ” (1 Cor. 10:4). In John 6:49–51, Jesus interprets Exodus 16, declaring, “I am the living bread that came down from heaven.”
On the basis of Scripture interpreting Scripture, we see that the Exodus passages ultimately point to Jesus Christ—the Passover Lamb sacrificed for us, the Bread from Heaven broken for us, and the Rock struck for us. Therefore, when we read this essential yet mysterious book, we should read it with our eyes fixed on Jesus Christ, the Word of God. Not every passage is as explicit as these examples, but they do establish a pattern for how we should read the Bible and give shape to our instincts as readers.
Finally, we can become betters readers of Scripture by reading faithfully and prayerfully. By reading faithfully, I mean cultivating a regular habit of systematic Bible reading and sitting under faithful, Christ-centered preaching. Through these means, we become increasingly familiar with Scripture and with the pathways laid by the Spirit that lead us to Christ.
By reading prayerfully, I mean recognizing that true understanding of Scripture—ultimately defined as beholding Christ—is a gift of the Holy Spirit. Therefore, as we read, we pray with Psalm 119:18 and Psalm 63:2–3: “Father, by your Spirit, open the eyes of our hearts to behold in your Word the glory, power, and love of Jesus Christ our Lord.”
