God makes Himself known. How? Or, more precisely, where? – In the Bible. God tells us about Himself in, what we now know as, the Bible. He makes Himself known in both the Old Testament and the New Testament, or, as they were called in Biblical times, the Law and the Prophets. Both the Law and the Prophets testify about God: who He is, what He does, where He is, why He does what He does, and how He does what He does. And, in so doing, the Law and the Prophets tell us about Jesus.
Who is Jesus? Jesus is the Son of God who has come to give eternal life: “But these are written so that you may come to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that through believing you may have life in his name” (John 20:31).
What does Jesus do? He speaks to us, just as God spoke to His people in Biblical times through the Law and the Prophets: “Long ago God spoke to our ancestors in many and various ways by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by a Son” (Hebrews 1:1-2a).
Where is Jesus? He is with us. Whenever we gather together in His name, He is with us: “So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are citizens with the saints and also members of the household of God, built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the cornerstone” (Ephesians 2:19-20).
Why does Jesus do what He does? – to give us life. Everything that Jesus does is done with the intention of guaranteeing us eternal life: “We declare to you what was from the beginning, what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we have looked at and touched with our hands, concerning the word of life – this life was revealed, and we have seen it and testify to it, and declare to you the eternal life that was with the Father and was revealed to us” (1 John 1:1-2).
How does Jesus do what He does? He does it by giving. He gives total obedience to His heavenly Father. He gives His life for us on the cross. He gives His body and blood to us in Holy Communion. And, He gives Himself to us in the Bible: “beginning with Moses and all the prophets, [Jesus] interpreted to them the things about himself in all the scriptures” (Luke 24:27).
With the exception of the Roman historians Josephus and Tacitus, what we know about Jesus is taken from the Bible. This is how we come to know Him. Jesus is found in both the Old Testament and the New Testament. Both the Law and the Prophets tell us about Jesus: He obeys the law and fulfills the prophecy. This is how He is known to us. This is why His heavenly Father (and our heavenly Father, too!) sends Him to us: to obey the law and fulfill the prophecy. The result for us is eternal life. This is what the Law and the Prophets describe: (1) the Savior who obeys the law and fulfills the prophecy in order to give us eternal life, and (2) the God who sends the Savior. The Bible tells us this. This is what we know about Jesus.
