The Story of the Bible
by Steve Green
CRBC member, Bible teacher and author. Oh…and President of Hobby Lobby
I had the privilege of giving Tim Keller a tour of Museum of the Bible in January of 2018. Tim is a pastor and author who spoke at Council Road Baptist Church in June of 2017. While I was giving Tim the tour, I distinctly remember a comment he made. I was summarizing each of the main floors of the Museum and their purpose.
The three main floors are the History, Impact and Story floors. The History Floor is to show the evidences of the Bible starting with the oldest information from archaeology and ending with the effort to finalize the translation of the Bible into every viable language known. The Impact Floor shows how the Bible has impacted practically every area of life. There is a large section showing the Bible’s impact on America to a section were several people tell their story of how the Bible impacted their lives personally.
It was when I mentioned the purpose of the Story floor that Tim made his memorable comment. I told him that we wanted our visitors to come away with the understanding that the Bible is “A” story. One of the incredible aspects of the Bible is that it is a collection of books that were written over approximately 1,500 years by over 40 authors from all walks of life from different occupations, languages and continents, all contributing to telling “A” story. That’s incredible!
When I told Tim that I wanted the understanding to be that the Bible is “A” story he said, “That is where you will get reaction from scholars.” I had to scratch my head on that one and still do today. Of course, not all scholars are in this camp, but for those who are, how could they miss the obvious? The short answer is, they don’t want to accept the obvious.
Currently I am working on a book that simply tells the story of the Bible. The spine of the story is told through five characters of the Bible: Abraham, Moses, David, Isaiah and Jesus. Abraham is told that through his seed, all the nations of the world will be blessed. Moses is told that another prophet like him will be raised up. David is told that his throne will be established forever. In the 53rd chapter of Isaiah, he writes of a suffering servant, and in the New Testament we are told that Jesus is the fulfillment of all these promises and predictions!
In the book I go on to point out that it is not me saying Jesus is the fulfillment, but it is the New Testament writers themselves that say it. In Peter’s message in Solomon’s Portico of Acts 3, Steven’s message before he was martyred in Acts 7, and Paul’s message in Acts 13, they each point to Jesus fulfilling what was promised.
We are told of Philip’s encounter with the Ethiopian eunuch where he was reading what passage? You guessed it, Isaiah 53! Philip uses that very passage to tell the Ethiopian of the good news of Jesus. Luke records it was at the Last Supper where Jesus himself says, “For I tell you that this Scripture must be fulfilled in me: ‘And he was numbered with the transgressors.’ For what is written about me has its fulfillment.” Jesus is quoting Isaiah 53.
From the promise given Abraham, and even before, to Jesus’ followers after his ascension, the Bible is pointing to “The” event of history—Jesus’ death, burial and resurrection. The Bible is “A” story telling His story that gives purpose and meaning to all of life.
We have the most incredible book ever written! A book that is exactly what it claims to be, God’s Word to us. I pray you will spend time getting to know it better.