What is a cross-reference? Why should we learn them? How can we use cross-references in our study of the Bible? Charles Spurgeon once said, “Scripture is the best interpreter of Scripture. The locks of Scripture are only to be opened with the keys of Scripture…” Learning cross-references helps us understand Scripture on a deeper level and understand the bigger picture for each verse.
Here is an example of a cross-reference: “The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, ‘Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.’ ” (John 1:29). This verse uses the phrase “Lamb of God”. There are many cross-references to this passage but one important one would be Exodus 12:3-5 which talks about the Passover lamb. Jesus was our Passover Lamb and that is what John was referring to when he called Jesus the “Lamb of God”. He was the sacrifice that would save us just as the Passover lamb saved the Israelites. Both verses help interpret the other one, and that is what a cross-reference does.
You can find cross-references by using study tools. Many Bibles already have cross-references in the page margins or at the bottom of the page. There are also websites that can help you search for cross-references such as blueletterbible.org. If you are a participant in the Summer Study you can reference the Cross-Reference list on your dashboard and study them from your Discovery Journal.
Many times in the New Testament, verses from the Old Testament are quoted. These are important cross-references to know because it gives context to what the person/author is talking about. For example, in Matthew 4, Jesus was being tempted in the wilderness by Satan and He told him “It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God” (Matthew 4:4). Jesus is directly quoting an Old Testament verse that says, “man doth not live by bread only, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of the LORD doth man live” (Deuteronomy 8:3b). Jesus quoted the Old Testament roughly seventy-eight times in the New Testament, and that is just direct quotes. Other apostles such as Matthew, Paul, and Peter also quoted the Old Testament often in their sermons, books, and epistles. There are also times when Scriptures are not directly quoted but events or places from the Old Testament are alluded to in Jesus’ or other apostles’ teachings.
Parallel passages are also common among the narratives in the Bible. Such as parallels within the Gospel texts and even in the Old Testament in the books of 1 and 2 Samuel, 1 and 2 Kings, 1 and 2 Chronicles, and even some Psalms. In the Gospels, the Parable of the Sower is told in Matthew, Mark, and Luke but with slight variations in each due to having different authors. Those would be examples of parallel cross-references. We might gain a little more insight from all of the details of the different accounts combined than if we were only looking at one account of the story.
Another type of cross-reference is one that uses types or antitypes. An example of this is the first cross-reference example in this post about the Passover lamb. The story of the Passover lamb prefigures Jesus as the Lamb of God to be the sacrifice for the sins of the world. Along similar lines, you can also find cross-references that have the same themes such as exile or even the concept of faith.
Lastly, you can find cross-references that have similar structure whether that be parallel structures or mirrored sequences. One of the best examples for this is from the following two verses: “In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth” (Genesis 1:1) and “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God” (John 1:1). John started his book in a very similar way that Genesis started to make a point. Jesus is the Word, and the Word existed before anything else. This is a beautiful picture of the harmony in the Scriptures.
So now that you know what cross-references are and why they are useful, how can we best study and learn them? Whether you are learning them for the Summer Study or the National Bible Bee Competition in the fall, it can be overwhelming to memorize all of the references and the facts and phrases that go with each one! For the Summer Study, as mentioned earlier, you can reference the list provided on your dashboard and study those for the NBBC Qualifying Test. It is helpful to know what your Discovery Journal mentions about each reference, the context of each verse (what happens before and after, the time, setting, place, author, and people mentioned), how the verse relates to the theme and study passage, and the content of the verse(s). You can put all of these facts (or a condensed version) on flashcards, or you can use other study tools. Just remember to learn the most important things first and build on that. The most important things to learn first would be the content of the verses and how they relate to the study passage. Then what the Discovery Journal says about them and after that study the context. When finding your own cross-references, whether for the National Bible Bee Competition or for personal study, you can use blueletterbible.org, or other study Bibles that already have cross-references in the page margins. Start by studying the most important ones such as direct quotes and parallels, and then build on that.
We can apply cross-references in our lives by using them to help us understand Scripture better. When we know and study more about scripture, we are studying more about God and knowing Him more. Like the quote from Charles Spurgeon, we can interpret Scripture by using Scripture itself.
Written by NBB Alumna: Hallie Doonan
