The Greek word translated "search" here means an intense, careful, relentless hunt—like prospectors digging for gold or hunters tracking their prey. That's the kind of searching Jesus commands.

We cannot be content with a quick skim through a chapter or two. No! With the Spirit as our candle, we must deliberately seek out the hidden meaning of the word. Scripture demands real searching. Much of it will only yield its riches through careful study. Yes, there is milk for babes, but there is also meat for strong men. The rabbis said it well: a mountain of meaning hangs on every word, even on every jot and tittle of Scripture. Tertullian exclaimed, "I adore the fullness of the Scriptures!"

Listen: no one who merely skims the book of God will profit from it. We must dig! We must mine! We must work until we strike the hidden treasure. The door of the word only opens to the key of diligence.

And Scripture deserves this searching! These are the writings of God, bearing his divine stamp and seal. Who dares treat them with levity? To despise Scripture is to despise the God who wrote it. God forbid that any of us should leave our Bibles unread, only to have them become swift witnesses against us on the great day of account.

But here's the promise: God's word will repay your searching. He doesn't ask you to sift through a mountain of chaff hoping for a grain of wheat here and there. No! The Bible is winnowed corn—just open the granary door and feast! Scripture grows upon the student. It's full of surprises. Under the Holy Spirit's teaching, to the searching eye it glows with splendor of revelation—like a vast temple paved with wrought gold and roofed with rubies, emeralds, every precious gem imaginable. No merchandise compares to the merchandise of Scripture truth.

And here is the greatest motivation of all: the Scriptures reveal Jesus. "They are they which testify of me," he said. No stronger reason can be given for searching the Bible than this: he who finds Jesus finds life, finds heaven, finds all things. Happy is the one who, searching the Bible, discovers his Savior!