JESUS AND THE OLD TESTAMENT

Jesus was a first-century Jew, and like his contemporaries he believed in every jot and tittle of the (Old Testament) Scriptures. This can be seen from the hundreds of Old Testament quotations or allusions which are found in his teaching in the Gospels. He explained passages from all of its three sections – the law of Moses, the prophets and the writings. He referred to many Old Testament stories, treating them as history. Noah’s flood, the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah and Lot’s wife who looked back, the manna in the wilderness, the bronze snake for the snake-bitten to look at and be healed – all these and more are called in to illustrate Jesus’ teaching. He referred to incidents in the lives of Solomon, Elijah, Elisha, Jonah. The first two chapters of Genesis serve as a basis for his teaching. To him the Scriptures were authoritative, not only to use in debate with other teachers, but also in his own wrestling with the devil in the wilderness, whom he answered three times with the words `It is written’. To him Scripture was written by people of former times under the inspiration of the Spirit of God and now `stands written’ as the word of God. Bible for the new age But Jesus understood the Old Testament Scriptures in a deeper, more living way than his contemporaries. He stressed how important it is to obey it in spirit as well as in letter. In the Sermon on the Mount he brought the Commandments `You shall not kill’ and `You shall not commit adultery’ to bear on wrong intentions as well as outward acts. He applied `You shall love your neighbor’ to enemies as well as to friends, and made clear that `An eye for an eye’, which is the divine principle of public justice, must not be used as an excuse for personal vengeance. Above all he showed how Old Testament prophecy was fulfilled in himself. He was the Son of Man in Daniel 7, the suffering servant of Isaiah 53, the smitten shepherd of Zechariah 13. His coming meant the dawning of the new age to which the whole Old Testament looked forward. He claimed both to be its fulfillment and to interpret it as God intended. Although he did not profess to be all-knowing he did clearly assert that all he taught was the truth of God without qualification: `Anyone who hears these words of mine and obeys them is like a wise man who built his house on rock.’ Jesus taught with divine authority in his own right. `I say unto you…’ was a teaching-style quite different from the other rabbis. But he also accorded to the Old Testament Scriptures the fullest authority as the word of God.