Have you ever read your Bible and wondered what it’s really all about? Maybe you’ve studied Scripture diligently, memorized verses, or attended countless Bible studies, but still felt something was missing. I’ve discovered that there’s a profound difference between merely reading the Bible and truly encountering its heart and soul.

The Charge to Preach the Word

In 2 Timothy 4:1-2, Paul gives his young protégé a solemn charge: “In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead, and in view of his appearing and his kingdom, I give you this charge: Preach the Word. (NIV)”

Notice Paul doesn’t say “preach the Scriptures” or “preach the Bible.” He specifically uses the word “logon” (another form of Logos). Why is this significant? Because this is the same word John uses in John 1:1: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” And John 1:14 clarifies: “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us.”

Paul wasn’t merely telling Timothy to preach the Scriptures; he was telling him to preach Jesus from the Scriptures. This is a crucial distinction that transforms how we approach God’s Word.

Jesus: The Center of All Scripture

Jesus Himself confirmed this approach. In John 5:39-40, during a heated debate with religious leaders, He dropped a bombshell: “You study the Scriptures diligently because you think that in them you have eternal life. These are the very Scriptures that testify about me.”

Jesus was essentially telling these Bible experts they were missing the entire point! They knew their Bibles backward and forward but failed to see that from Genesis to Malachi, it was all pointing to Him.

Perhaps the most beautiful illustration of this truth comes from Luke 24, where the resurrected Jesus joins two disciples on the road to Emmaus. Luke 24:27 tells us: “And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself.”

Can you imagine that Bible study? Jesus walking through the Old Testament—Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy, and beyond—showing how it all pointed to Him as the Messiah? Garden of Eden? Messiah. Noah? Messiah. Abraham? Messiah. Jacob, Joseph, Amos, Jonah, Malachi? All pointing to the Messiah.

Making Hearts Burn

After Jesus revealed Himself and disappeared, the disciples said to each other, “Were not our hearts burning within us while he talked with us on the road and opened the Scriptures to us?” (Luke 24:32).

That’s my job as your pastor—to give you spiritual heartburn! I can’t do that on my own, but I can set the table so the Holy Spirit can light a fire for the glory of Christ in your soul. Our hearts come alive when Jesus is exposed from Scripture.

My Commitment to You

So here’s my commitment to you: I will preach the Scriptures, but I’ll have an agenda—and that agenda is Jesus Christ. I’m going to preach Jesus from the Bible.

This means you won’t get a lot of “how-to” sermons from me. You won’t get “10 steps to a better marriage” or “go do this for God” messages. I’m guessing most of you are already stressed about how much or how little you do for God. You don’t need another yoke on your back.

What your soul needs most isn’t another opinion about current events or more rules to follow. What you need—what we all need—is to be reminded week after week of who Jesus is and what He has done for us.

Seeing Christ in the Old Testament

Consider the familiar story of David and Goliath. I’ve heard it preached as “here’s how you fight the giants in your life” or “muster up more faith to defeat your giants.” But what if we’re not David in that story? What if we’re Israel—desperate and afraid?

Could it be that God, in His kindness, raises up a shepherd boy from Bethlehem to defeat the giant for us? Just as David defeated Goliath, Jesus—another shepherd boy from Bethlehem—defeated the ultimate giant of sin and death on our behalf.

Putting It Into Practice

As you read Scripture this week, ask yourself these questions:

  • Am I reading to find rules to follow, or am I looking for Jesus?
  • Do I see how this passage points to Christ and His work?
  • Is my heart “burning within me” as I encounter Jesus in God’s Word?

Remember what Sally Lloyd Jones beautifully wrote in The Jesus Storybook Bible: “Every story in the Bible whispers his name.” Let’s learn to hear those whispers together.

This blog post was adapted by Molly Atkins from ClearView Baptist Church’s sermon by Senior Pastor Matt Pearson on October 5, 2025. To watch the full sermon, click HERE.