Why should we study the Bible? There are many potential reasons –

·         Cultural interest: it is the source of many references and allusions in our conversations (being a good Samaritan, going the extra mile, do unto others, the blind leading the blind, writing on the wall)
·         Literary and historical value: it is one of the, if not the best-selling book of all time, as well as being at the heart of many political and religious conflicts, such as the Crusades and the Protestant Reformation
·         Self-help: it contains a lot of practical advice and wisdom (for example, the book of Proverbs)

Additionally, there are sadly some people who study the Bible to find “evidence” to support their own agenda, to manipulate others, and to selfishly advance their own cause.

While not all of these goals for studying the Bible are harmful in and of themselves, I believe the Bible itself teaches the best and primary reason to study the Bible. We find this reason in John 5.

The chapter goes like this:

·         Jesus heals a man who had been sick for 38 years.
·         The Jewish leaders, completely overlooking the miracle before their eyes, rebuke and condemn this healed man because he is “breaking” the Sabbath by carrying his bedroll.
·         The Jewish leaders then begin persecuting Jesus and condemning His ministry because He is also “breaking” the Sabbath by healing people (oh, and because He was also claiming to be God). They begin plotting ways to kill Jesus.
·         Jesus responds to their charges – both a defense of His ministry and an appeal for them to accept life.

During His response to the Jewish leaders, Jesus says something very interesting: “You diligently study the Scriptures because you think you have eternal life in them, yet they testify about Me. And you are not willing to come to Me that you may have life” (John 5:39-40). Here we find the purpose of studying the Bible: to lead us to the person of Jesus. The Bible itself does not contain life, but it clearly points to the One who is the source of life.

We study the Bible to find out who Jesus really is. Our study is not an end in itself, but a guide to point us to Jesus.

Some, like the Jewish leaders, attempt to gain life from the Bible apart from a genuine relationship with Jesus. The results, as we see in this story, are disastrous: the Jewish leaders, claiming to defend the Scriptures, engage in the work of condemnation – of the healed man, of Jesus (even to the point of planning to murder Him), and, unwittingly, of their own selves.

In stark contrast, we have Jesus. He is a source of life – healing the sick man and, even though He has the right to judge (v. 21-22, 27), He instead pleads with those who are seeking His death to come to Him and have life. What a powerful and striking contrast between those who use the Bible apart from Jesus and the Person that the Bible points to as the source of life. That is something worth learning more about!

But some might think the study of the Bible is too difficult or messy to bother with, and they might wonder: why can’t we just skip the study of the Bible and follow Jesus, since He is the one who actually is life?

There are a lot of people who attempt this very thing and who claim to follow Jesus, or at least their version of Jesus. Yet many of these Jesuses flat out contradict each other, proving that they can’t all be really Jesus.

I heard my friend Matthew Lucio recently preach about some of the different Jesuses people follow. While there is some truth in these versions of Jesus, they tend to only emphasize one aspect of Jesus to the neglect of who He is as a whole.

·         Buddy Jesus
·         Soup Kitchen Jesus
·         Political Jesus
·         Pacifist Jesus
·         Guru Jesus
·         Just a good man Jesus
·         Prophet Jesus

A person can claim to be following Jesus and yet actually be ignoring or opposing many of the very things Jesus cares about. The most striking example of this comes from the following quote:

“My feelings as a Christian points me to my Lord and Savior as a fighter. It points me to the man who once in loneliness, surrounded by a few followers, recognized these Jews for what they were and summoned men to fight against them and who, God's truth! was greatest not as a sufferer but as a fighter. 

In boundless love as a Christian and as a man I read through the passage which tells us how the Lord at last rose in His might and seized the scourge to drive out of the Temple the brood of vipers and adders. How terrific was his fight against the Jewish poison. Today, after two thousand years, with deepest emotion I recognize more profoundly than ever before the fact that it was for this that He had to shed his blood upon the Cross.”

This came from a speech given in 1922 by none other than Adolf Hitler! This example alone should convince us of the need to study the Bible and find out who the real Jesus is, or else we could end up taking someone else’s word and actually end up working against Him.

The purpose of studying the Bible is to get to know the real Jesus through the only reliable source: the Bible. We can learn what it really means to know Him, to really follow Him in our everyday lives. We can learn what is really important to Him and how we can join Him in the work He is doing all around us.

I want to know Jesus. More than anything. And I want to know the real Jesus who loves me so much that He has dedicated His whole existence to restoring me to Him. That is why I study the Bible.

This is a blog about Jesus. Because only Jesus is life. And Jesus is everywhere.

Join me as we seek His face.