THE LORD JESUS VIEW OF THE HOLY SCRIPTURES The Lord Jesus consistently treated the historical narratives of the Old Testament as accurate records of historical facts: the original Creation and Adam & Eve (Matthew 19:4-5; Mark 10:6-8), Abel (Luke 11:51), Noah and his ark (Matthew 24:37-39), Abraham (John 8:56), the Jewish circumcision (John 7:22), Sodom and Gomorrah (Matthew 10:15; 11:23-24), Lot & his wife (Luke 17:28-32), Isaac & Jacob (Matthew 8:11), the heavenly manna (John 6:31, 49, 58), the brass serpent (John 3:14), King David eating the showbread (Matthew 12:3-4), David as a psalm-writer (Matthew 22:43), King Solomon (Matthew 6:29), Prophet Elijah (Luke 4:25-26), Prophet Elisha (Luke 4:27), the Prophet Jonah (Matthew 12:39-41), and the Prophet Zechariah (Luke 11:51). The Lord Jesus repeatedly referred to Moses as the giver of the law (Matthew 8:4; 19:8; Mark 1:44; John 5:46; 7:19), and to the sufferings of the prophets (Matthew 5:12; 13:57; 21:34-36; 23:29-37) and the popularity of the false prophets (Luke 6:26). From these quotations it is evident that the Lord Jesus treated all the historical Old Testament narratives equally as history. Therefore, the notion of myth has no room in the Holy Scriptures, and all attempts to “demythologize” Scripture are heretical and are rejected by us. Quoted from Proverbs 30:6. The Bible ends with a warning (Revelation 22:18-19), not to take away anything from It, and not to add anything to It. This is a testimony of its completeness. Quoted from Isaiah 1:2. The Lord Jesus demanded response to His authoritative Word (John 8:30-31). In Galatians 3:10, it says that cursed is the man who does not abide in all things that are written in the book of the law. Likewise in James 2:10 — “For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles in one point, he has become guilty of all.” These constitute a clear testimony of the authoritative supernatural nature of the Holy Scriptures. When the Lord Jesus Christ uses the Holy Scriptures, He does so in a circumstantial and natural manner. There is nothing contrived or artificial about Him or His speech. Indeed, the Lord Jesus’ view of the Bible should become the view of every Christian, and His testimony to the Bible should lead the reader to full confidence in the Holy Scriptures. He assured His hearers that the Scriptures of the Old Testament are true even to the smallest letter or stroke: “For truly I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or stroke shall pass from the Law until all is accomplished.” All that is Scripture will stand every possible test: “the Scripture cannot be broken.” All Christ-centered prophecy of the Old Testament must be fulfilled: “all things which are written about Me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.” In addition, the Lord Jesus harshly rebuked those who replace the Word of God with the tradition of men: “thus invalidating the word of God by your tradition which you have handed down.” Likewise, the Lord Jesus constantly appealed to the Old Testament in a wide variety of situations. In controversy with His opponents, He regularly used a quotation from the Old Testament to clinch His argument. He relied on the authority of the Old Testament in His confrontation with the Devil. Words from the Old Testament were heard from His lips even in His final agony on a cross. However, it is in the Lord Jesus’ teaching to His disciples that He refers most frequently to the Old Testament Scriptures. He does this both by explicit quotations and by innumerable verbal echoes, so that some passages seem like a patch-work of Old Testament words and ideas. Christ’s words of only three verses in the Gospel of Matthew draw on no less than seven Old Testament passages. Furthermore, the content of the Lord Jesus’ teachings draws heavily from the Old Testament. Indeed, His major ethical concepts are based in the Law of Moses. Significantly, His teaching about His own role in the purposes of God is deeply rooted in His conviction that He must fulfill the Old Testament prophecies. His post-resurrection teaching “beginning with Moses and with all the prophets, He explained to them the things concerning Himself in all the Scriptures,” was the climax of what He had been teaching them throughout the years of His public ministry. Accordingly, for the Lord Jesus there was a divine compulsion about what was written in the Old Testament — all must be fulfilled! To Him, the Old Testament was the unquestionably authoritative Word of God. He believed its statements, endorsed its teaching, obeyed its commands, and set Himself to fulfill the pattern of redemption which It laid down. In addition, the Lord Jesus gave the writers of the New Testament the same authority He had from the Father. In John 16:12-13, the Lord Jesus promised His apostles that a certain body of revealed truth will be given to them by the descending Holy Spirit, after His ascension to Heaven. The Holy Spirit will guide them into all the truth. That truth was placed into their unique custody, the truth which we now call the New Testament. PLEASE NOTE: Bible history is a history written for a sacred purpose. The stories are recorded not simply because they happened, but also because they reveal something of God and His activity in the world. For this reason Bible history is sometimes called a “history of salvation.”
Posted on: Thu, 23 Jan 2014 00:11:51 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015