As the hymn Tell Me the Story of Jesus expresses, the true story of Jesus is “most precious,” and the “sweetest that ever was heard.” Consider some key points the Bible teaches about Jesus.
Christ’s story begins in the Old Testament. After His resurrection, Jesus told His disciples, “This is what I told you, while I was still with you, that all things which are written in the law of Moses, the prophets, and the psalms, concerning me must be fulfilled” (Luke 24:44). The Old Testament points toward Christ.
Genesis 3:15, for instance, looks to the time that God the Son would enter the world as the “seed” who would defeat Satan. A key prophecy about the manner in which this “seed” would come into the world is given in Isaiah 7:14: Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.
This prophecy looks toward what is revealed about Jesus at the beginning of the New Testament… His birth. Jesus was born to a human mother (who has never been deity and should not be exalted as such), but Mary was a virgin at the time she had Jesus. The Holy Spirit miraculously caused Jesus to be conceived (Matt. 1:18).
The manner in which Christ entered the world illustrates Jesus’ role as both Son of God and “Son of Man” (Luke 19:10).
God the Son has existed from eternity as deity. He did not give up His deity when He came to earth. Yet, when He came to earth, He took on human form, “being made in the likeness of men” (Phil. 2:7).
The fact that Christ is deity is significant. So too is the fact that He became fully man. Notice Hebrews 4:15: For we have not a High Priest that cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but One that hath been in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.
Because Jesus was “tempted like as we are, yet without sin,” He is the perfect High Priest (Heb. 2:17). He is the Mediator between God and man (1 Tim. 2:5).
Furthermore, Jesus’ perfect life as a man provides us an example to follow. Not only does Jesus tell us how to live, He showed us how to live (John 13:15; 1 Pet. 2:21).
Moreover, it was necessary for Jesus to take on human form and live perfectly in order for Him to give His life for our sins and defeat Satan (cf. Heb. 2:14).
Emphasis is placed in Scripture on the fact that Jesus gave His life. He went to the cross willingly (cf. Matt. 26:53-54). His love led Him to face what was painful for Him, yet necessary to provide mankind the chance to be saved.
Following Jesus’ death, He was buried, and his tomb was closely guarded (Matt. 27:62-66). While the extra security prevented any possibility of Jesus’ body being stolen by His disciples, it did not stop God from raising His Son from the dead. As an angel said to Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Jesus, “Fear not ye; for I know that ye seek Jesus, who hath been crucified. He is not here; for He is risen, even as He said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay” (Matt. 28:5-6).
After His resurrection, Christ was on earth for forty days, and appeared to His apostles and others (1 Cor. 15:5-8) before ascending into heaven (verse 9).
Jesus’ resurrection had a significant impact on His apostles (cf. John 20:28). Through the written Word, we can have the same faith in Christ that His apostles did (John 20:29-31). We can know that Jesus died on the cross, which gives us the chance to be forgiven of our sins and reconciled to God (Rom. 5:9-10). We can know that Christ was raised, which gives the righteous hope of being raised to spend eternity in heaven (1 Thes. 4:14).
Furthermore, through the written Word, we can understand what Christ requires of us in order to have eternal life (Heb. 5:9).
May we take these and other biblical truths about Christ to heart. May we appreciate who He is and what He has done. May we submit to Jesus’ teachings in order to receive the salvation He has made possible.
– Michael Hickox