The bible has many stories and often people have their favourite ones but do not always know how they fit together. These may be from the Old Testament which describes events before the birth of Jesus or the New Testament which contains details from his life and that of the first years of the ‘Early Church’.
Each story can stand alone but there is a reason why these are recorded. There is a bigger picture hidden until you can see the overview
Some people like to do ‘jigsaw puzzles’. These are usually pictures which have been cut up into shaped pieces. When the pieces are fitted together, the picture is revealed. In most puzzles the individual pieces do not have a complete image on them but we have one puzzle which is a bit different. It is this puzzle which, for me, helps to illustrate how the bible reveals a bigger picture
Most pieces on this puzzle include a nearly complete stand-alone picture. They vary from boats, to fish and even people swimming. The common theme is water
On our jigsaw puzzle see what happens when you can see the completed picture. (Press Play)
As the individual pictures are combined another picture appears, a dolphin. So each individual picture contributes to this bigger image
The same principle is true of the bible and particularly the Old Testament (OT). The individual stories form part of the Bigger Picture of God’s saving plan. Through the events of history this plan is revealed and one can begin to see that even the OT is all about Jesus
An early Christian writer (Augustine) described it like this: “The New (Testament) is in the Old (Testament) concealed and the Old is in the New revealed”