He [Jesus] said to them, “How foolish you are, and how slow to believe all that the prophets have spoken! Did not the Messiah have to suffer these things and then enter his glory?” And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself (Luke 24:25-27).

Have you ever been startled by the jarring surprise that comes with the last crank of a Jack-in-the-Box? God’s grace was never meant to surprise us that way.

Instead, Jesus’ words assure us that God was preparing his people to receive the grace of Christ long before his appearance on earth. God began revealing his plan in the opening chapters of the Bible. There he promised a Son who would crush the powers of Satan, and the rest of Scripture progressively unveils what that should mean for us.

The message of salvation doesn’t get dumped on humanity all at once. We couldn’t receive it that way. Instead, we are led by laws, examples, and prophecies to understand the pervasiveness of human failing and the necessity of a divine solution. That’s the gospel message unfolding from Genesis to Revelation.

Why should we care that the Bible unfolds that way? Because this reveals how patient and persistent is the grace of God for sinners and strugglers like us.

God did not turn away because his people did. He did not abandon his children because they stumbled. Instead as the light of dawn grows brighter toward the day, the message of grace grew clearer until it revealed the Savior we need every day.

Prayer:
Lord, help me always to read your Word with gospel glasses that reveal divine provision for human need. Let me not to settle for simple “do good” lessons that do not lead me to my Savior as your Word always does.