How to Read the Bible 101Sample

The Foundation: Jesus is King

It’s day two of this Plan designed to help you become a wiser reader of the Bible! Before we dive in, let’s do a quick review…

Review:

What is the Bible? The Bible is a story, written by people and inspired by God, that leads to Jesus and invites us to become like Jesus.

Reading it wisely is kind of like sitting with Jesus in the living room of a house. The foundation of that house is what holds everything up, and the walls (and roof) work together to hold it all together. Reading it isn’t about proving how smart or holy or awesome you are. It’s about getting to know Jesus and letting His life and love change us from the inside out. The foundation and the walls are designed to make sure that happens.

So, with that review out of the way, let’s jump into today’s lesson:

Jesus is King

The Bible is all about Jesus. He’s the main character, not us. The Bible tells the story of a loving God creating a good world and human beings to share in that world with Him. Tragically, we messed things up. We rebelled against God and rejected Him as the true king of the world. Instead of choosing to partner with Him, we attempted to rule over Him. But instead of lashing out in anger, God responded with mercy. He put a plan in motion to rescue us from our sin and repair our broken relationship with Him so we could once again partner with Him in His plans to restore the world. How would this rescue plan be accomplished? Through Jesus. The Old Testament shows us the ways God was working with the people of Israel to undo the curse of sin and unleash blessing into the world through the eventual arrival of Jesus, the Messiah. The New Testament begins with the arrival of Jesus and all that He accomplished through His life, death, resurrection, and ascension. The New Testament ends with a prophetic vision of Jesus’ return and the New Creation He is bringing with Him. From beginning to end, the Bible is inviting us into the story of what God has done, what He is doing, and what He is going to do through Jesus.

The Bible leads to Jesus. Every page and passage of Scripture is intended to point us to Jesus. Near the end of his Gospel, John writes this:

Jesus performed many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name. John 20:30-31 NIV

It’s all about Jesus, and it’s all written to bring us to Jesus. Because it is only through faith in Jesus that we can find forgiveness of our sins and experience eternal life with Him.

The Bible helps us become like Jesus. In Luke’s Gospel, we read these words from Jesus:

Then he said to the crowd, “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross daily, and follow me. If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake, you will save it. Luke 9:23-24 NLT

Saying yes to Jesus means saying no to our own way of doing things. Saying yes to Jesus means choosing to take up our cross daily and following Him. Saying yes to Jesus means giving up our lives for His sake. Because it is only through giving up our lives for Jesus that we will truly be saved. This is what it means to be a disciple of Jesus. What are disciples? They are students of teachers, and followers of leaders. He is our teacher, and we are His students. He is our leader, and we are His followers.

Just a few chapters earlier, Jesus said, “Students are not greater than their teacher. But the student who is fully trained will become like the teacher.” (Luke 6:40 NLT) As disciples of Jesus, we are saying yes to the process of becoming like Him for the sake of others. Because, it’s not about us. It’s all about Him.

This is the foundation of reading the Bible. Remembering that Jesus is King. Because it’s all about Him. The Bible leads to Him. And the Bible helps us become like Him.

So, whenever you’re reading the Bible, keep these three questions in mind:

1. What does this show me about Jesus?
2. How does this point to Jesus?
3. How is this teaching me to become more like Jesus?

Challenge: As you read the portions of Scripture for today, ask yourself the three questions above to help you apply the lesson you just learned.