Everything Points to Jesus

Published: June 30, 2020, midnight

b'Have you ever heard that \\xe2\\u20ac\\u0153everything in the Bible points to Jesus\\xe2\\u20ac\\x9d? That seems kind of weird, doesn\\u2019t it? How can it be all about Someone who isn\\u2019t even named until the last quarter of the book?\\nTrue, the Old Testament is sprinkled with prophecies about the Messiah: it\\u2019s easy enough to link those to Christ. But there\\u2019s still a lot that seems irrelevant. Chapters and chapters are filled with the story of the nation of Israel. What does that have to do with Jesus?\\nWhen we start into the New Testament, Matthew summarizes Jesus\\u2019 ancestry. Right off, we see several of the \\xe2\\u20ac\\u0153big names\\xe2\\u20ac\\x9d from the Old Testament\\u2014Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Ruth, Jesse, David, Solomon, Hezekiah, etc. And that\\u2019s our first link!\\nBut then, after the Christmas story, we get into the life of Christ, with His escape to Egypt, return to Israel, baptism, and temptation in the desert. It looks like we\\u2019ve left the Old Testament far behind.\\nBut wait! Where have we seen Egypt before? Way back in Genesis, Israel escaped to Egypt until Moses led them on the Exodus. And then what? They spent forty years in the desert as the children grew up. They gave into temptation, worshiping other gods and complaining.\\nAnd Jesus? After escaping to Egypt, He returned, grew up, and spent forty days in the desert. Coincidence? Maybe not. When the devil tempted Him, every answer Jesus gave came straight from the book of Deuteronomy. The two Egypt stories link with an Old Testament prophet\\u2019s words: \\xe2\\u20ac\\u0153I called my son out of Egypt\\xe2\\u20ac\\x9d (Hosea 11:1).\\nIsrael was formed by God to be His representative on Earth, to bless all the people of the world. When they abandoned Him, God sent Jesus \\u2014 a flawless representative, who succeeded where Israel had failed. It\\u2019s one story, culminating in Christ, of God revealing His love to all the world! \\u2022 Christiana Cudworth\\n\\u2022 The Bible was written by a lot of different people, in a lot of different times and places. Why do you suppose it all fits together? \\n\\u2022 What other examples from the Old Testament can you think of that Jesus mirrored or fulfilled? (Check out Genesis 22 and Job 19:25-27, just to name a couple.) \\nYou search the Scriptures because you think they give you eternal life. But the Scriptures point to me [Jesus]! John 5:39 (NLT)\\n\\xa0\\nRead Verses:\\nMatthew 5:17-19; John 5:39-47'