Jesus

By John Greco

Though the apostle John reminds us that the libraries of the world would fail to contain all the books on Jesus that could be written (John 21:25), the carpenter from Nazareth stands alone as the single subject worthy of the attempt. But Jesus desires faith, not books, and calls disciples, not biographers.

The whole Bible is about Jesus. Though His name does not appear on a single page of the Old Testament, He is there. He is there at creation, the Word through whom all things were made (Genesis 1:1–31; John 1:1–3). He is there in God’s plan to send a Savior to bruise the serpent’s head (Genesis 3:15; 1 John 3:8). He is there in the promise to bless all nations through Abraham’s offspring (Genesis 12:1–7; Galatians 3:16). He is there in Egypt to rescue His people from the cruelty of Pharaoh (Exodus 12:29–32; Jude 5). He is there in the wilderness, the rock that provided relief for the thirsty (Exodus 17:6; 1 Corinthians 10:4). He is there in God’s promise to David, the King who would sit on the throne forever (2 Samuel 7:16; Luke 1:33). And on and on it goes, from Genesis to Malachi.

When we turn the page over to the New Testament, suddenly Jesus is there in the flesh, fully God yet somehow also fully man. The God who made us is also a fellow human, our brother. What could be written about this dual nature of the Son of God could also fill libraries, but again, that is not why we have been called—to fill libraries. We have been called to follow Jesus, to be His disciples. So we must be people who read the stories of Jesus again and again, who soak in His teachings, His parables, His miracles, His life, death, and resurrection. We must be people who see Him even in those passages where He is not named. And we must be Christians, literally “little Christs,” continuing the kingdom work of Jesus in our communities and across the world.

Paul summed it up well when he wrote, “He is before all things, and by him all things hold together” (Colossians 1:17). Not some things or many of the things, but all things. Jesus is there, in everything we read in Scripture, but in everything we experience in this life too. Even in the dark places that seem a million miles removed from Christ, He is there, weeping over our sin-twisted world, drawing near to the brokenhearted, and loving the unlovable. You and I are commanded to make His name known in such places—to invite the lost home and to give all the glory to Jesus. It’s all about Him. Always.

Written by John Greco