The Jesus Lens: How to Read the Bible Toward Healing | Better Ways to Read the Bible | Chad Belew

After four weeks tracing the lenses that harm us, we cross over into the lenses that heal — and the first one is Jesus himself. The "word of God" the Bible names isn't a leather-bound book; it's a person. So when Chad goes to Scripture, he goes through the character of Jesus, asking not just "what does this say?" but "would Jesus say that?" Watch how Jesus actually handles Scripture and a pattern emerges: he centers mercy over ritual, he prioritizes people over systems, and he interprets everything through love. He never throws the old story away — he reclaims it from the hands of fear and control and returns it to its original heart: love, freedom, and liberation. And when we learn to read like that, the healing isn't just theological. It reaches the nervous system. The real question this week isn't "how did Jesus read Scripture?" It's "how does Jesus read me?"

In this episode:

- Why the Bible calls Jesus — not the book — the Word of God, and what changes when he becomes your lens

- A recruiter's broken promise and a fast trip to Iraq: how interpretation shapes the life you live

- Three things Jesus does every time he quotes Scripture — mercy over ritual, people over systems, love over everything (Hosea 6:6, Luke 4 / Isaiah 61, Matthew 22)

- The line Jesus refused to read: leaving out "the day of vengeance" and turning retribution into liberation

- The neuroscience of a loving vs. punishing God — amygdala, prefrontal cortex, and why fear and love can't share the same brain

- The closing reframe: Jesus doesn't see a project to fix or shame, but someone worth healing

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