Jesus is the Key
Jesus is the key that unlocks the Hebrew Scriptures and reveals the nature and redemptive purpose of God.
Not only does Jesus play the central role in unveiling the plans of God, but he also is the very center of all his Father’s plans, especially the redemption of humanity. Only in Christ is the glory of the Creator of all things revealed, and only His Son is qualified to reveal His true nature. In him, all the promises of God find their fulfillment.
The gospel of John presents Christ as the logos, the revelation of God that “became flesh” in Jesus of Nazareth. Yahweh made all things according to the logos, and it has now been “made flesh.” In Christ, the glory of God resides, and he is the true and greater Tabernacle.
The “law” was given through Moses, but “grace and truth” came to be through the “only born son” who dwells in the “bosom” of the Father, the One whom “no man has seen.”
Therefore, Christ alone is qualified to “interpret” all that God is, and this is also why he who has seen the Son has “seen the Father” - (John 1:14-18, 14:7).
GRACE AND TRUTH
As the “Son of Man,” Jesus is the “ladder” between the earth and the “open heavens” on which angels are now “ascending and descending.” He is the only means by which men and women can “come to the Father.”
And he is the true and greater “sanctuary” foreshadowed by the Ancient Tabernacle and the Jerusalem Temple “made-with-hands” in Jerusalem - (John 1:51, 2:17-22, 14:1-7).
In Matthew, he came to “fulfill the law and the prophets,” and this he demonstrated by authoritatively declaring the true intent and meaning of the Law - “You have heard it said to them of old… but I declare to you!” Obedience to his words decides whether one is accepted or rejected on the last day - (Matthew 5:17-20, 7:21-23).
In Mark, he is the “beginning of the gospel,” the promised Messiah who “baptizes in the Holy Spirit.” At the Jordan River, the heavens were “rent asunder” and the heavenly voice declared that Christ is “my beloved Son.” And at the Transfiguration, the same voice declared to the disciples - “This is my beloved Son. Hearken to him!”
He is the designated Messiah of Israel and the authoritative “spokesman” for the Almighty. He is the light that provides the words of life - (Mark 1:1-11, 9:7).
In Paul’s letters, he is the “Son” who came from the seed of David, the one “who was distinguished as the Son of God by power, according to a spirit of holiness, through a resurrection of the dead.”
In him, God has revealed the “mystery that has been kept hidden since times everlasting, but now is made manifest” - (Romans 1:3-4, 16:25, 1 Corinthians 1:24, Colossians 1:26, 2:2).
THE MYSTERIES OF GOD
Indeed, “Christ is the mystery of God” that was “hidden for ages and generations, but now has been manifested to his saints” - (Ephesians 3:8-11).
And the preaching of “Christ crucified” is the very “power and wisdom of God” in whom “all His promises find their ‘yea’ and ‘amen’.”
Indeed, he is the very “image of the unseen God,” and it is from his “face” alone that we acquire the “knowledge of the glory of God.” The rituals and regulations of the Torah were but “shadows of the coming things,” but Jesus is the “body,” the substance that cast the shadows - (2 Corinthians 1:20, 4:4-6, Colossians 1:15, 2:16).
And in the book of Revelation, it is the sacrificial “Lamb” who is the only one in the entire Cosmos found “worthy” to open the “sealed scroll.” In doing so, he unveils and executes its contents, a process that begins with his arrival at the “throne,” and one that consummates in the New Creation.
Therefore, all creation declares him “worthy” to receive all power, glory, and authority, for “by his death, he redeemed men and women from every nation to become a kingdom of priests for God” - (Revelation 5:6-12).
Thus, Jesus is the one who holds all authority, including the “keys to Death and Hades,” and the glorious “Son of Man” who “opens and no man shuts.” He is the key that unlocks Scripture, the living one who reveals ALL God’s mysteries, “shows us the Father,” fulfills all the promises of God, and executes the redemptive plans of Heaven.
