THE WRITTEN WORD POINTS TO THE LIVING WORD
Jesus acknowledged that the Jews were a people of the Book, yet He challenged them to see that it was He to which the Scriptures pointed. He was essentially saying, “If you claim to believe the Book, then you must believe in Me.”
This is still true. When we rightly preach the Scriptures, we must always preach Christ and “Him crucified” (1 Cor. 2:2). Jesus is the point of our preaching. There is much helpful wisdom in the Scriptures, but eternal life is in the Son. Therefore, we proclaim Christ from the Scriptures! For it is by His Spirit that we understand the Scriptures (1 Cor. 2:14-16), and by His life that we are being transformed in our minds to keep them (Rom. 12:1-2).
Remember the disciples who walked with the risen Lord on the road to Emmaus? They didn’t recognize Him at first. Yet, as they walked, He explained from Moses to the prophets what the Scriptures said concerning Him. As they reflected on this encounter, they said to one another, “Didn’t our hearts burn within us as he talked with us on the road and explained the Scriptures to us?” (Luke 24:32).
The written Word points to the Living Word, then the Living Word points back again. Christ causes our hearts to “burn within us” as we encounter Him in the Scriptures.