John 5:36-40
The Old Testament Scriptures Testify About Jesus
36 “I have testimony weightier than that of John. For the works that the Father has given me to finish—the very works that I am doing—testify that the Father has sent me. 37 And the Father who sent me has himself testified concerning me. You have never heard his voice nor seen his form, 38 nor does his word dwell in you, for you do not believe the one he sent. 39 You study the Scriptures diligently because you think that in them you have eternal life. These are the very Scriptures that testify about me, 40 yet you refuse to come to me to have life.
Luke 4:16-21
Jesus Read in the Synagogue
16 He went to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, and on the Sabbath day he went into the synagogue, as was his custom. And he stood up to read. 17 The scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. Unrolling it, he found the place where it is written:
18 "The Spirit of the Lord is on me,
because he has anointed me
to preach good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners
and recovery of sight for the blind,
to release the oppressed,
19 to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor."
20 Then he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant and sat down. The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fastened on him, 21 and he began by saying to them, "Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing."
Matthew 5:17-20 (KJV)
Jesus Came to Fulfill the Old Testament Scripture
17 Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil.
18 For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.
19 Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.
20 For I say unto you, That except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven.
The Bible both Old and New Testament was written long ago...Many people believe the Scripture to be out of date...When Jesus came and dwelt on earth, there was no New Testament writings, they would come later...Jesus fulfills the Bible, and thus, to me, is the Bible...
Believers can believe these facts from the four gospels...Jesus was an Historical Figure...He taught others about Himself and God...There is fact in His crucifixion...He died on the cross...He was resurrected back to life...And there were people who saw Him after His death on the cross...
Besides these facts, Jesus is very much linked with the Old Testament writings...He never believed the Scripture to be out of date...He said that He fulfilled the Old Testament Scripture of Isaiah...And He added that not one word of the Old Testament would be cancelled...Jesus gives the Old Testament further reliability that the Bible is inspired ...Jesus regarded the Old Testament as Truth, and often quoted verses in this Scripture...By quoting it often and speaking of God, He taught the Old Testament to be the inspired and the Word of God...So if we follow and believe in Him, then we must believe as He did about the Old Testament...
Jesus, in regards to the Old Testament, He said that He had testimony weightier than that of John the Baptist...For the works that the Father had been given Him to finish—the very works that He was doing...He testified that the Father had sent Him...And the Father who sent Him had Himself testified concerning Him...Those He spoke to had never heard His voice nor seen His form, nor did His word dwell in them, for they did not believe in the one God had sent...They had for years studied the Scriptures diligently because they thought that in them you can find eternal life...But the Old Testament are the very Scriptures that testify about Jesus...Yet those listening to Him refused to come to Him to find eternal life...Jesus added after reading from the Old Testament, Book of Isaiah said, "The Spirit of the LORD is on Me, because He has anointed Me to preach good news to the poor...He has sent Me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor."...After reading this in the synagogue He rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant and sat down...The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fastened on Him, 21 and He began by saying to them, "Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing."...He added that He did not come to destroy the law, or the prophets writings...He did not come to destroy those writings, but to fulfil them...And He adds, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled...Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, He shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven...
These are powerful words from Jesus on behalf of the Old Testament...
Author and Philosopher, William Craig James wrote, "So long as the New Testament documents are sufficiently reliable to establish the historicity of Jesus’ radical personal claims and the historicity of His crucifixion, burial, empty tomb, post-mortem appearances, and the origin of the disciples’ belief in His resurrection, then you are warranted by the evidence in believing that Jesus rose from the dead and so was who He claimed to be...That suffices for a Christian commitment...Even taken as ordinary, fallible human records, the New Testament documents have been shown to be reliable with respect to these facts...Too many Christians naively think that unless you presuppose biblical inspiration and inerrancy, the historicity of the life of Jesus goes down the drain...This attitude, far from showing confidence in the Bible, actually betrays a profound lack of confidence in its historical credibility...Without the theological assumptions of inspiration and inerrancy to hold it up, the Bible is implicitly taken to be untrustworthy on this view...But once one becomes a Christian, then one submits to the teaching of the LORD Jesus...When we see how Jesus regarded the Old Testament, we perceive that He taught it to be the inspired and wholly reliable Word of God...So as His disciples, we should, too...We believe in the Bible because we believe in Him."...