THE BIBLE IS JESUS SPEAKING
Many people own red letter editions of the Bible which highlight the very words that Jesus spoke. Some think these words in red are more important than the words in black. The fact is the entire Bible is the testimony of Jesus Himself. Every word in the Bible came from His mouth regardless of whether that word is red or black. The Bible is clear about that. In Revelation 19:10 John falls down at the feet of an angel thinking he is some god-like figure. The angel rebukes John then goes on to say that he speaks “the testimony of Jesus.” That is, what the angel speaks are not his words but the very words of Jesus. The angel then goes on to say, ‘“The testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.” In other words, when Jesus speaks that is the very essence of the prophetic word. Years earlier that same John had taught that Jesus was the Word. In other words what Jesus says is God’s word, and what God’s word says comes from His own voice. This is easily proved by looking at Matthew 23:29-34. Jesus is cursing the religious leaders of His day who claim to honor the Old Testament prophets while at the same time killing them. He calls them snakes in the grass, “a brood of vipers.” Then Jesus makes this remarkable statement, “Therefore indeed, I send you prophets, wise men and scribes. Some of them you will kill and crucify and some of them you will scourge in your synagogues and persecute from city to city.” Notice closely. Jesus says, “I send you prophets.” That is not a misunderstanding nor was Jesus boasting. The one who sent the prophets was Jesus Himself. They spoke for Him. Therefore killing God’s prophets is tantamount to killing Jesus Himself. Deicide. A nasty crime. In the parallel passage in Luke 11 Jesus gives more details. Jesus calls His voice in sending the prophets ‘the voice of wisdom’ (Luke 11:49). Now we know that wisdom itself does not speak. Jesus is a person; wisdom is Jesus. This is a example of a figure of speech called personification (an inanimate thing assuming human qualities). It can be no clearer that Jesus is the voice of wisdom. He is the wisdom of God (1 Cor 1:30). Hear Him speak in Proverbs 1:20, “Wisdom calls aloud in the street; she raises her voice in the open squares.” The rest of this Book is simply what wisdom, or Jesus, teaches. So Jesus is the one who sends and speaks through the prophets. He is the one who speaks in the Proverbs. He is the author of the sacred Psalms, those fascinating histories and the law. He writes it all; it is His book! And what is the theme of this grandest of all books? Yep, you got it. Jesus Himself. When walking down that Emmaus road shortly after his resurrection He met two discouraged disciples on the way. They had forgotten that the Messiah would rise from the dead. So to prove that point he began to exegete the Old Testament Scriptures. “And beginning at Moses and all the Prophets, He expounded to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself” (Luke 24:27). It was as if Jesus was saying, “I said I would rise from the dead and here I am, standing right next to you. Be not downcast!” So next time you open your Bible remember this: Jesus is the author of the Bible. Every word belongs to Him. Jesus is also the subject of the Bible, every word is about Him. Little wonder Christians will readily say, “It’s all about Jesus.” This is true on so many levels. Do you believe it?
