Stories have a plot: problem, solution, result. They also have a main character or characters, good guys and bad guys. This is true for romances (or I think this is true, I am not an expert here!) and even action movies (though, likely to a much lesser degree).
Take one of my favorites for example, The Lord of the Rings. This is an epic story about “the fellowship” trying to destroy a certain very powerful and enchanting ring. Sometimes in stories there is what I call, “the contrast character,” he makes the hero of the story look even more heroic. For The Lord of the Rings its Boromir, for romance movies it is the jerk who doesn’t care (or Mr. Collins in Pride and Prejudice), and for action movies it is probably the guy that is geeky and kills less people. Throughout the story, we see the hero overcome insurmountable odds and defeat the bad guys of the story and bring a solution to whatever problem was introduced. The narrative of Scripture similarly has a plot. Instead of Frodo (or whoever) being the main character, Jesus is, and all the supporting actors only serve to demonstrate Jesus’ superiority.
We see everything was perfect in the beginning of Genesis, but it isn’t very long before the plot takes, literally, a wicked turn. We see the bad guy show up in Genesis chapter 3. The problem is introduced and the rest of the Old Testament is looking for a hero. Is it Abel? Seth? Ah, what about Abraham? Well surely David is, right? Um, let me guess, Solomon? No. All these guys were good guys, at least part of the time, but they didn’t and indeed couldn’t bring the needed solution. In movie terms, you could say they were the “the contrast character.” They point to Jesus the Christ as the ultimate hero who will bring restoration to the problem that was introduced in the beginning of the story.
I hate to give the story away, but I hope you’ve read it anyway. Jesus defeats sin and death by dying in our place for our sin. Everyone else falls short. David defeated Goliath but he didn’t defeat Satan, in fact, he didn’t defeat temptation when it came to Bathsheba. But what do we know of Christ? He was tempted in every way, like we are, but He never sinned (Heb. 4:15). Adam was tempted in a lush garden and sinned but Jesus was tempted in a desolate place and remained sinless.
Jesus, though He arises on the scene late, is the main character. He brings the solution. He destroys our greatest problem, sin, for us on the cross. However, the story of Scripture doesn’t stop there. Jesus who is the long awaited Christ/Messiah will come back. He will decisively defeat the enemy, the bad guy of the story, and once-and-for-all fix the problem and those in Him will live happily-ever-after.
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