Job 28: How does it point to Christ?

Job 28 points to Christ primarily through the theme of divine wisdom and 
its inaccessibility to human understanding. The chapter establishes that 
wisdom can only be found in God, and in the New Testament, Christ is the 
embodiment of wisdom.[1] According to 1 Corinthians 1:30, believers in 
Christ possess “the wisdom from God,” and Colossians 2:3 describes 
Christ as the one in whom “are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and 
knowledge.”[1] Christ becomes our wisdom, providing guidance for daily 
living.[1]

Beyond this direct identification, Job 28 establishes a framework that 
Jesus himself embodied. Jesus reinforced the wisdom of trustful 
submission to God by pointing to creation—the birds and flowers—and 
embodied this wisdom in his own life of submission to the Father.[2] The 
chapter’s conclusion that “the fear of the Lord” constitutes wisdom and 
“to turn away from evil” represents understanding—an attitude of 
submission, respect, dependence, and worship of God combined with 
obedience to his ways[3]—describes the posture Christ perfectly exemplified.

More subtly, Job 28 reframes how we approach suffering and divine 
purpose. Rather than seeking answers by looking backward at causes, we 
must look upward and forward for divine purpose, transforming the 
question “Why?” into “For what purpose?”—a shift from retributive to 
redemptive understanding.[4] This redemptive framework points directly 
to Christ’s cross: while Job’s suffering was not redemptive, Christ’s 
suffering on the cross was redemptive, providing atonement for all 
humanity’s sins.[1] Job 28 thus prepares readers to understand that true 
wisdom culminates not in explanations but in encountering God himself—a 
reality fully realized in Christ.

[1] David L. Allen, Exalting Jesus in Job, ed. David Platt, Daniel L. 
Akin, and Tony Merida, Christ-Centered Exposition Commentary (Nashville, 
TN: Holman Reference, 2022), 214–215.
[2] Barry G. Webb, Job, ed. T. Desmond Alexander, Thomas R. Schreiner, 
and Andreas J. Köstenberger, Evangelical Biblical Theology Commentary 
(Bellingham, WA: Lexham Academic, 2023), 49.
[3] W. Brian Aucker, Eric Ortlund, and Douglas Sean O’Donnell, Ezra–Job, 
ed. Iain M. Duguid, James M. Hamilton Jr., and Jay Sklar, ESV Expository 
Commentary (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2020), 4:456–457.
[4] David Atkinson, The Message of Job: Suffering and Grace, ed. J. A. 
Motyer and Derek Tidball, The Bible Speaks Today (Nottingham, England: 
Inter-Varsity Press, 1991), 134–135.



-- 
Good News †

Through the cross, Christ erased the spiritual debt we owed to God for 
our rebellion (Colossians 2:14), a reality established when God raised 
Him from the dead (Romans 1:4). God can now righteously pardon our sins 
(Romans 3:26) and exempt us from the coming divine judgment (1 
Thessalonians 1:10). Salvation cannot be earned; it is a free gift for 
believers (Romans 6:23). Trust in Jesus and invoke His name to be saved 
(Romans 10:9-13):

How to be saved: christrose.news/salvation