by Pastor Douglas Brauner
Seeing Jesus in the Bible
Napoleon Dynamite is a flat movie, just as Napoleon is a flat character. He’s not complicated but merely reacts emotionally to the surrounding people and events. He’s a 2D character living in a 3D world like many of my photographs.
I’m often confronted with the question, how do I recreate a 3D feeling in a 2D picture? I often add leading lines to keep my pictures from feeling flat. This log and the path next to it act as leading lines. They are not the focal point but draw the eye into the group of Cottonwoods behind it.
“You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me, yet you refuse to come to me that you may have life.”
John 5:39-40 English Standard Version
The religious leaders believe that the Bible was the leading line to their salvation. Jesus does not deny the fact that the Bible leads to salvation, he affirms their thinking. It is the Scriptures that lead to salvation in him and not in human works. From the first words of Genesis to the las words of Revelation, the Bible points to Jesus. It reminds us of our sin, and the wonder of God’s mercy. It draws us to Jesus who alone conquered that sin and saved us. If we take Jesus out of the Bible, we lose our salvation.
When we read the Bible, we do so with a bias, the most important bias that affects how we understand every inspired word. The Bible witnesses to Jesus. It is Jesus who affects our understanding of God’s word.
As the Bible witnesses to Jesus, it becomes the leading line that creates a wonderful 3D world of faith for us.
“All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right. God uses it to prepare and equip his people to do every good work.”
2 Timothy 3:16 New Living Translation
Copyright Family of Christ Lutheran Church, Colorado Springs, Colorado
