What is the Christocentric interpretation of Scripture?
Question 1041
When we open our Bibles, what should we be looking for? Some read Scripture as a collection of moral lessons. Others approach it as ancient literature or a rulebook for living. But there is a far richer way to read God’s Word—one that Jesus Himself taught His disciples. This is what theologians call the Christocentric interpretation of Scripture: reading the Bible with Jesus at the centre.
Jesus as the Key to All Scripture
The Christocentric approach recognises that the entire Bible, from Genesis to Revelation, points to and finds its fulfilment in Jesus. This is not a method imposed upon Scripture from outside; it is how Jesus taught us to read the Old Testament. On the road to Emmaus, after His resurrection, Jesus encountered two disciples who were confused and downcast. Luke records what happened next: “And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself” (Luke 24:27). Later that same day, He told the gathered disciples, “These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you, that everything written about me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled” (Luke 24:44).
Notice what Jesus is saying. The Law, the Prophets, the Psalms—the entire Hebrew Bible—all speak of Him. This was not news to those steeped in Jewish expectation of the Messiah, but Jesus was showing them how comprehensively the Scriptures testified to His person and work. The sacrificial system pointed to His atoning death. The prophets announced His coming. The Psalms expressed His sufferings and His glory. Even the narrative portions foreshadowed His redemptive mission.
The Testimony of Jesus Himself
Jesus made this claim repeatedly during His earthly ministry. To the religious leaders who searched the Scriptures thinking that in them they would find eternal life, Jesus said, “It is they that bear witness about me” (John 5:39). He was not dismissing their Bible study but redirecting it. The Scriptures are not merely about information or even moral transformation—they are about a Person. Miss Jesus, and you have missed the point of the whole Book.
In John 5:46, Jesus went further: “For if you believed Moses, you would believe me; for he wrote of me.” Moses, the author of the first five books of Scripture, wrote about Jesus. This means that even in Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy, we should expect to find Jesus. The seed of the woman who would crush the serpent’s head (Genesis 3:15), the ark that saved Noah’s family through judgment, the ram caught in the thicket that took Isaac’s place, the Passover lamb whose blood protected Israel from death, the rock that gave water in the wilderness, the bronze serpent lifted up for healing—all these and countless more find their ultimate meaning in Jesus.
The Apostolic Pattern
The apostles followed their Master’s example. When Philip encountered the Ethiopian eunuch reading Isaiah 53, he “beginning with this Scripture… told him the good news about Jesus” (Acts 8:35). Peter, preaching at Pentecost, showed how David’s psalms were actually prophesying Jesus’ resurrection (Acts 2:25–32). Paul’s ministry centred on “testifying both to Jews and to Greeks of repentance toward God and of faith in our Lord Jesus Christ” (Acts 20:21), and he did so from the Old Testament Scriptures. In fact, Paul could summarise his entire gospel as being “in accordance with the Scriptures” (1 Corinthians 15:3–4).
The writer to the Hebrews takes this approach throughout his letter, showing how the old covenant priesthood, sacrifices and institutions were shadows pointing to the reality found in Jesus. “In these last days he has spoken to us by his Son” (Hebrews 1:2). Everything before was preparation; Jesus is the fulfilment.
What This Means in Practice
Reading Scripture Christocentrically does not mean forcing Jesus artificially into every verse or finding hidden allegories where none exist. Sound interpretation still requires attention to grammar, context, historical background and the author’s intended meaning. But it does mean recognising that the grand narrative of Scripture—creation, fall, redemption and restoration—all centres on God’s plan to save sinners through His Son.
When we read of Abraham’s willingness to sacrifice Isaac, we see a father offering his beloved son—and we remember that God “did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all” (Romans 8:32). When we read of Joseph, rejected by his brothers yet becoming their saviour, we see a foreshadowing of One who “came to his own, and his own people did not receive him” (John 1:11), yet who saves all who trust Him. When we read the detailed instructions for the tabernacle, we see a dwelling place where God would meet with His people—and we remember that “the Word became flesh and dwelt among us” (John 1:14), the Greek word σκηνόω (skēnoō) echoing the tabernacle imagery.
This approach transforms Bible reading from mere duty into encounter. We are not simply learning facts or gathering principles; we are meeting a Person. Every page, rightly understood, draws us closer to Jesus and deepens our worship of Him.
Guarding Against Imbalance
There are, however, dangers to avoid. Some practitioners of Christocentric interpretation become so eager to find Jesus that they neglect the literal, historical sense of the text. They turn every narrative into allegory and every character into a type of Jesus. This can actually obscure Scripture’s meaning rather than illuminate it. A text cannot mean what it never meant to its original audience.
The key is to let Scripture guide us. Where the New Testament explicitly shows us Jesus in an Old Testament passage, we follow confidently. Where the connection is clear through typology established elsewhere in Scripture, we trace the pattern. Where the link is less certain, we hold our conclusions more loosely. We should always ask: what did this text mean to its original readers? How does it fit within the developing story of redemption? And how does it ultimately point us to Jesus?
Additionally, a Christocentric reading must not flatten out the distinctions within Scripture. The dispensational interpreter recognises that while all Scripture testifies to Jesus, not all Scripture applies to the Church in the same way. The Mosaic Law pointed to Jesus, but we are not under that covenant. Israel’s promises concerning the land find their “yes” in Jesus (2 Corinthians 1:20), but they remain Israel’s promises to be fulfilled literally in the kingdom. Reading Christocentrically does not mean collapsing all distinctions into a single undifferentiated mass.
Conclusion
The Christocentric interpretation of Scripture is not one method among many but the approach Jesus Himself taught and the apostles practised. It recognises that the Bible is fundamentally about God’s plan to redeem fallen humanity through His Son. When we read with Jesus at the centre, we read as the Bible was meant to be read. We see that from the first promise in the Garden to the final vision of the New Jerusalem, Scripture tells one glorious story: God saving sinners through Jesus.
This does not diminish careful, grammatical-historical interpretation but enriches it. We still pay attention to context, genre, and original meaning. But we do so knowing that every thread of Scripture ultimately weaves into the tapestry of redemption accomplished by Jesus. As we read this way, our hearts should burn within us, just as those disciples experienced on the Emmaus road, for we are encountering not merely a book but the living Lord who speaks through its pages.
“You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me.” John 5:39
Bibliography
- Goldsworthy, Graeme. Gospel-Centered Hermeneutics: Foundations and Principles of Evangelical Biblical Interpretation. IVP Academic, 2006.
- Greidanus, Sidney. Preaching Christ from the Old Testament: A Contemporary Hermeneutical Method. Eerdmans, 1999.
- Kaiser, Walter C. The Messiah in the Old Testament. Zondervan, 1995.
- Clowney, Edmund P. The Unfolding Mystery: Discovering Christ in the Old Testament. P&R Publishing, 1988.