All scripture speaks of Christ

All scripture speaks of Christ

Lu 24:27 And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself.

Joh 5:39 Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me.

These are curious sayings from Jesus that don't get much attention. Jesus tells us that all the scriptures speak of him. How are we to understand his saying?

Some suggest that Jesus meant that individual prophecies foretell of Christ. Depending who is counting, they may get over 300 of them.

Others look to thematic patterns, positive and negative, and suggest this is what Jesus meant.

But do either of those encompass 'all' the scriptures? Probably not. We must learn the tools of interpretation that Jesus and the apostles used if we are to understand the scriptures as they did. We soon find out that indeed, all the scriptures speak of Christ in great detail in the genre of prophetic riddle which uses, history, dialog, poetry, prophecy and embeds a second meaning just under the surface of the other forms.