Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ Jesus
In the previous two sessions, Part I and Part II (please click on the links to read in depth on the said parts) of the Christ and the Bible series, we understood how the Scriptures bear witness to Jesus Christ. Jesus did not rely on his own testimonies about himself to prove who He is, rather He showed what the Scriptures talked about him. Neither did he rely on the testimony of any mere human being, not even of John the Baptist, who is a fore-bearer of Jesus. Jesus always taught that Old Testament Scripture was God's Word bearing witness to him. We also learnt that the Bible is God's picture of Jesus. It bears witness to him. We also see that the Old Testament sacrifices foreshadow the perfect sacrifice for sin that was made once and for all upon the cross, by Jesus for the redemption off our sins.
Christ Bears Witness to the Scriptures
In declaring that the Scriptures bear witness to him, Jesus is himself bearing witness to them in turn. When he spoke of the testimony of John the Baptist, he referred to it as a human testimony (John 5:33-35) and added that the testimony which attested him was "not... from man". The testimony he had was greater. It was his Father's testimony through his works (v. 36) and his word (v.38). Here then is Jesus' plain statement that the Old Testament Scriptures are his Father's "word", and that this biblical testimony was not human but divine.
This too was Jesus' consistent teaching. In fact, the major reason why we should desire to submit to the authority of the Bible is that Jesus Christ authenticated it as possessing the authority of God. (Apart from also submitting to the Holy Traditions of the Orthodox Church. Both play an equal role in the life and teachings of an Orthodox believer). If we are to understand this point, then we need to distinguish between the Old and the New Testaments. The Bible, of course, comprises them both; but Jesus was born, and lived, and died in the middle, between them. As a consequence, the way in which he authenticated one portion is different from the way in which he authenticated the other.
He looked back to the the old Testament, he looked on to the New Testament, but he authenticated them both.
1. Jesus endorsed the Old Testament. He not only described the Scriptures as his Father's "word" and "witness," as we have seen earlier; he also said that "scripture cannot be broken" (John 10:35). At the beginning of the Sermon on the Mount he declared, "Think not that I have come to abolish them but to fulfill them. For truly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot will pass from the law until all is accomplished" (Matthew 5:17-18).
Jesus' personal attitude toward the Old Testament Scriptures was one of reverent submission, for he believed that in submitting to the written Word, he was submitting to his Father's Word. Since he believed in its divine origin, he interpreted his own messianic mission in the light of its prophetic testimony and added that certain things must come to pass because the Scripture must be fulfilled. Further, Jesus obeyed the moral injunctions of the Old Testament, so that in the temptations in the Judean wilderness he commanded the devil to leave him alone of what stood written in the Scripture. However subtle Satan's insinuations might be, Jesus was prepared neither to listen nor to negotiate. He was determined to obey God, not the devil, and what stood written in Scripture settled the issue for him.
Jesus also made the Scripture his ground of appeal in all his arguments with the religious leaders of his day. He was often engaged in controversy, and on every occasion it was to the Scriptures that he appealed. He criticized the Pharisees for adding their traditions to the Scriptures; he criticized the Sadducees for subtracting the supernatural (the resurrection) from the Scriptures. Thus Jesus exalted the Scriptures as his Father's Word which was to be both believed and obeyed. He permitted no deviation from it, either by addition or by subtraction.
Jesus declared, of course, that with him the time of fulfillment had come (see Mark 1:14-15) and that therefore the era of anticipation was over. This meant, as his followers soon recognized, that Gentiles were to be admitted to God's kingdom on equal terms with the Jews, and that the Jewish ceremonial system had been rendered obsolete, including its dietary laws (Mark 7:19) and above all its blood sacrifices. But there is no example in the Gospels of Jesus' disagreeing with the doctrinal or ethical teaching of the Old Testament. On the contrary, he endorsed it. What he contradicted was the scribal misinterpretations and distortions of the Old Testament. This was his point in the Sermon on the Mount, in which six times he said in effect, "you have heard this, but I tell you something different." What they had heard were the so-called traditions of the elders. It was these which he was criticizing; it was not the teaching of Moses in the law. For what stood written in the Scripture he received as his Father's Word.
If this is so, and the evidence is overwhelming, we have to add that the disciple is not above his teacher. It is inconceivable that a Christian who looks to Jesus as his Teacher and Lord should have a lower view of the Old Testament than he did. What is the sense in calling Jesus "Teacher" and "Lord," and then disagreeing with him? We have no liberty to disagree with him. His view of Scripture must become ours. Since he believed Scriptures, so must we.He emphatically endorsed its authority.
Dear brethren, with this we have now seen why we must still place importance to the Old Testament Scriptures. In the next session, we will see how Jesus made provision for the writing of the New Testament.
May the Lord Almighty bless you all and keep you in all your ways.
Your Brother in Christ Jesus
Jobin George
P.S. The above writing has been taken from the book "The Bible" by John R. W. Stott
