By Pastor Dave Farmer
Summary
Our Lord not only believed that God had given us His WORD, but that it was written down and contained in the Old Testament Canon. In this article, we will emphasize what Jesus said about the reason why God gave the prophets this message.
In this article, our main focus will be on what Jesus said about the purpose of the Old Testament Scriptures. As we shall note, His interpretation was clear, unique, and because of who He is, authoritative! We start with Luke 24:25-27:
[25] And He said to them, "0 foolish men and slow of heart to believe in all1 that the prophets have spoken!
[26] "Was it not necessary for the Christ to suffer these things and to enter into His glory?"
In this passage, two of Jesus' followers were leaving Jerusalem and walking home to Emmaus, a town seven miles northwest of Jerusalem. They were lamenting the events that they had just witnessed. What events? Jesus’ question reveals the matters they were discussing. “Was it not necessary for the Christ to suffer these things?” He asked. So they were expressing their disappointment that He had been arrested, put on trial as a mere criminal, and then horrendously crucified. They believed that Jesus was the Messiah, yet how could this happen, if He was the Messiah? They also considered the news of His resurrection. Can we believe what we heard? Is He alive? Jesus’ asked, “Was it not necessary for the Christ to enter into His glory!” How can anyone know with any assurance as to the meaning of these events? Jesus’ answer, “you turn to the Scriptures!”
[27] Then beginning with Moses and with all the prophets, He explained to them the things concerning Himself in all the Scriptures. (Luke 24:25-27)
Pay close attention to the fact that all questions are answered, and all disputes are settled by looking into the Word of God. This is Jesus’ view of the Scripture. It is the final authority in all matters relating to both faith and doctrine. His reprimand was poignant and is as relevant today. They did not know the Scriptures. This is what foolish people do. They talk about things they don’t know anything about. Because they speak sincerely, filled with great emotion, waving their hands about in the air and raising their voices in a shrill tone, they considered their words a substitute for knowledge. It is good acting, but it’s still ignorance. Jesus said of the theology professors and religious teachers of His day, “You do err not knowing the Scriptures (Matthew 22:29).”
There was a lot of that spiritual sickness (not knowing the Scriptures) going around; it was pandemic! How naive of Jesus to think because He thought the Bible was important to study, meditate on, and memorize, everybody in the nation did too. Wasn’t it our Lord that said, “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God. (Matthew 4:4).” Is it that important to you? This applies to every generation of believers. All of us are responsible to knowing the truth, to study God’s Word, and to grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ (2 Peter 3:18).
Jesus’ attitude was “you should have known I was Messiah from your own personal study of the Scripture!” He does not pamper them. He says, to their embarrassment, it is written down, plainly and clearly. Here is a spiritual lesson for all of us. We cannot please the Lord if we neglect the Word of God. We must all enroll in the School of Christ and learn about Him from the Scriptures (Matthew 11:28, 29).
[28] “Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest.
[29] “Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.
Jesus asserts that anyone who knew the Old Testament would have known that all of the things that happened to Jesus were predicted to happen. In addition to the writings of the Law and the Prophets they had Jesus’ own words, for He said:
“The Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed and be raised up on the third day.” (Luke 9:22)
THE LAW ANTICIPATED CHRIST JESUS, THE MESSIAH
Jesus often spoke about the Law. The law had many wonderful benefits for the Jewish people. It regulated life for the nation, exposed them to their sinful condition and demonstrated their need for a Savior. But its primary purpose, according to the Lord Jesus was to anticipate His coming. The unique Law of Israel was far more than a code of conduct or just a system of moral behavior. Its spiritual component made it different than all other codes of morality for it was not primarily ethical, but Messianic. The central feature of the Law was the sacrificial system. The offering of an innocent animal as a propitiatory sacrifice was a picture of our Lord Jesus Christ. Every time a lamb was sacrificed on the Brazen Altar, it was a picture of the His death. John the Baptist understood the Christocentric nature of the Law when he pointed to Jesus and said, “Behold the Lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world (John 1:29).”
THE PROPHETS ANTICIPATED CHRIST JESUS, THE MESSIAH
He also taught that the entire Old Testament prophecy was about Him. His parentage, His birth, His life, His death, burial, resurrection, ascension, and session and much more are all predicted with great detail. For instance, in Luke 4 our Lord is reading from the scroll of the prophet Isaiah in the synagogue at Nazareth.
[16] And He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up; and as was His custom, He entered the synagogue on the Sabbath, and stood up to read.
[17] And the book of the prophet Isaiah was handed to Him. And He opened the book and found the place where it was written,
[18] “The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, Because He anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor. He has sent Me to proclaim release to the captives, And recovery of sight to the blind, To set free those who are oppressed,
[19] To proclaim the favorable year of the Lord.”
[20] And He closed the book, gave it back to the attendant and sat down; and the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on Him.
[21] And He began to say to them, “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.” (Luke 4:16-21)
This passage is overflowing with great applications, but our focus is on demonstrating through Jesus’ own words what He thought about the Bible. After reading from Isaiah 62:1-2, He said these words of the prophet Isaiah are about me. They are being fulfilled right now. Isaiah’s prophecy is about the ministry of Messiah. His ministry would be abounding with unforgettable teaching and powerful miracles. Sight would be returned to the blind. Those oppressed by disease would be healed, and demons would be cast out. Jesus said, my ministry confirms this prophecy and makes perspicuous who I AM.
How does our Lord view the Scripture? Its purpose was to paint a picture of the person and work of Messiah so that when He comes, there would be no doubt or confusion as to who He is. Imposters would come, but they would fail to measure up to the multitude of precise predictions found in the Bible. Often the religious authorities would ask Him for His credentials. He had only one authentic, official document, the entire Old Testament canon. This was His calling card. He argued this point many times before the religious elite. On one occasion they rudely challenged Him to present some ID. In this extraordinary passage, He assembles seven witnesses to prove that He is God and that He is their Messiah. The sixth witness in this passage is the Old Testament.
You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; it is these (the Old Testament) that testify about Me; (John 5:39)
Jesus is speaking to the interpreters of the Law. These were the ones who the people depended upon to know the truth and to give them guidance and counsel. What could be more important than to show the people the way to eternal life? The word "search" is the Greek word "ERAUNAO" and it means to dig, to explore, to investigate. He tells them to dig a little deeper for they have not understood the purpose of the Old Testament. They searched the Scripture to find the way to eternal life, and they said it was by keeping the Law. They were wrong! No one is saved by keeping the Law. Jesus taught that salvation was "faith alone in Him alone."
Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me. (John 14:6)
His messianic consciousness permeates His teaching and is found numerous times in the Gospels. Again, He says to them:
Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish but to fulfill. (Matthew 5:17)
He explains that the law contains a promise of the coming of a redeemer. It was not His purpose to set it aside or to render the promise useless. He came to fulfill it. He came to make good God’s promise. The integrity of Scripture is found in a promise given in writing which has been achieved. It is impossible for God to lie. God cannot lie! If God made a promise which He did not keep, the Scripture would be broken. Jesus said, “The Scripture cannot be broken” (John 10:35). In that statement, He lays down the doctrine of inerrancy and asserts the accuracy, truthfulness, and dependability of the Word of God.
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. (Matthew 5:18)
The promise was given in words, words are made of letters, and even the letters are made up of small strokes. The small strokes form letters, the letters form words, and words combine to communicate the promises of God. Jesus believed every promise would be fulfilled as it was spelled out by God. He teaches that every jot and tittle, the very parts of letters have absolute integrity. This is not a hard concept to grasp. The integrity of Scripture depends upon the integrity of God. The promise came from God. God gave that promise to the prophets. They wrote the promise down. If God is true, then that which He gave us is true. Can I trust Scripture? Yes, because God is true, His Word is true. Can I trust Scripture? Yes, Jesus did.
If I said, “from this moment on we are only going to accept the Books of the Bible which Jesus accepted, only the books which He mentions, only the Books which He quotes from, only the Books that He believed true, the rest we are going to rip out. We wouldn't change a thing. He validated them all! He trusted them all! 2
ENDNOTES
1 Jesus’ use of the adjective PAS “all” in this passage opposes several of the false views of inspiration; such as the degrees or partial views of inspiration. Jesus believed in the verbal, plenary [every word] Inspiration of the Bible.
2 We hear the argument that the Bible cannot be trusted because we don’t have any of the original manuscripts. How can it be reliable? Our Lord did not possess a single, original book of the Bible, yet He fully trusted in every copy, even called them the Word of God (Mark 7:13).