We don’t just “read the Bible.” We search the Scriptures to find the LORD Jesus in them. His Spirit lights our way.

2 It is the glory of God to conceal a matter; to search out a matter is the glory of kings.

The Bible itself–the pages upon which the words are written–is not holy in and of itself. In other words, the book we hold is not a sacred item. We treat it with the respect we show all books, but it is not holy unto itself. It is the message within the pages that is sacred. God breathed those words, the Scriptures; whether they are passed along on pages or upon the breath of other humans (orally) doesn’t matter; whether they are in a beautifully bound leather book with gold-leaf pages or on worn note cards or even sticky notes, it is the message that is important.

The Jews of Thessalonica did not, as a whole, accept Paul’s testimony of Yeshua Ha’Mashiach (Jesus the Messiah). They refused to see the LORD Jesus in the Scriptures. In fact, it is inferred that they didn’t even look! Just down the road, the Berean Jews “were of more noble character than those in Thessalonica, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true. As a result, many of them believed, as did also a number or prominent Greek women and many Greek men.” Acts 17:11-12.

For us, who have the collection of the Torah (first five books), the Israeli history, the poetry, and the prophecies, then the Gospels, the history (Acts), the letters, and the final prophecy (Revelation), we have a great resource in our hands. We have it in many translations and paraphrases, as well as electronically. The problem we have is availing ourselves to it and then making application. So, let’s take a passage and use it as an example. This Sunday, we will be doing this same exercise:

In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord, high and exalted, seated on a throne; and the train of his robe filled the temple. ² Above him were seraphim, each with six wings: With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they were flying. ³ And they were calling to one another:

⁴ At the sound of their voices the doorposts and thresholds shook and the temple was filled with smoke.

⁵ “Woe to me!” I cried. “I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the Lord Almighty.”

⁶ Then one of the seraphim flew to me with a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with tongs from the altar. ⁷ With it he touched my mouth and said, “See, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for.”

⁸ Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?”

And I said, “Here am I. Send me!” Isaiah 6:1-8

“The LORD” referred to in this passage is Adonai, the LORD our LORD, or God. The angel is more specific as well as Isaiah in referring to Him as “the LORD of Hosts.” We have heard that name before in the hymn, “A Mighty Fortress Is Our God,” in the phrase, “LORD Sabaoth His name,” and again in the song, “Whom Shall I Fear,” in the phrase, “God of angel armies.” But, where is the LORD Jesus in the Scriptures?

Although He is seated next to His Father (see John 17:24), the LORD Jesus is not mentioned directly. But, we have only to look to the altar to find Him. “Then one of the seraphim flew to me with a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with tongs from the altar. ⁷ With it he touched my mouth and said, “See, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for.” The blood of Jesus in on the altar! This cleansing, transforming blood is what cleansed and transformed Isaiah. It is the SAME BLOOD that cleanses and transforms us! How do I know this–and how did the blood of Christ get on the altar 700+ years before Christ died on the cross? I read it in another Scripture passage, “…the Lamb who was slain from the creation of the world.” Revelation 13:8. The framework of salvation was already in place before God created a single item on this earth. WOW! 

This process of looking for the LORD Jesus in the Scriptures is something that we have the great privilege to do every day. The question is: Are we doing it? Let this lesson be a prompt for you to “search the Scriptures daily.” Let’s look for our LORD in His Scriptures and find Him on every page!

Abba, You ARE on every page. Your Spirit speaks the words of life to me as I read them and especially when I read them out loud. May I take them seriously, LORD, as seriously as they were given. They are “words of eternal life” as Peter put it John 6:68. In fact, You ARE the Word (John 1:1). May I never forget that! Bless me as I read Your Scriptures, LORD, and then bless me as I teach. Amen.