Jesus and the Old Testament

Here’s one of my Bible studies from the “vaults” (in October 2007).

Jesus and the Old Testament

Purpose: to explore Jesus’ attitude to the Old Testament (also known as the Jewish Scriptures). As followers of Jesus, we should imitate His attitudes to the Scriptures.

From Matthew 5:17-19 (NKJV)
These are the words of Jesus:
“Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill. For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled. Whoever therefore breaks one of the least of these commandments, and teaches men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever does and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.”

Questions:
1 - Have you ever heard people say that the Old Testament (Jewish Scriptures) is irrelevant to the Christian believer?

2 - What did Jesus think about the Old Testament? Did He come to get rid of it or to confirm it?

3 - “The Law and the Prophets” are names for the Old Testament Scriptures. What did Jesus say are the consequences of encouraging others to disobey these Scriptures?

John 7:14-19 (NKJV)
Now about the middle of the feast Jesus went up into the temple and taught. And the Jews marveled, saying, “How does this Man know letters, having never studied?” Jesus answered them and said, “My doctrine is not Mine, but His who sent Me. If anyone wants to do His will, he shall know concerning the doctrine, whether it is from God or whether I speak on My own authority. He who speaks from himself seeks his own glory; but He who seeks the glory of the One who sent Him is true, and no unrighteousness is in Him. Did not Moses give you the law, yet none of you keeps the law? Why do you seek to kill Me?”

Questions:
4 - Why were the Jews amazed at Jesus’ teaching?

5 - Who taught Jesus?

6 - When Jesus talked about Moses, do you know which books of the Bible He meant?

Luke 11:50-51 (NLT)
 ”And you of this generation will be held responsible for the murder of all God’s prophets from the creation of the world from the murder of Abel to the murder of Zechariah, who was killed between the altar and the sanctuary. Yes, it will surely be charged against you.”

7 - Here, Jesus talks about ‘all God’s prophets’ from Abel to Zechariah. Abel appears in Genesis, Chapter 4, the second son of Adam and Eve, whom the Bible records as the first ever humans. According to the NIV Study Bible (p.1507), Jesus was summarising the history of the martyrs of the Old Testament, much like if we said “from Genesis to Revelation.”

Did Jesus take this history as true or as an allegory? Were these people to be held responsible for the deaths of actual prophets or mythical prophets?

8 - Did Jesus, then, think that Abel was a literal person who once lived at the ‘creation of the world,’ or was he a story?

Matthew 19:1-9 (The Message)
 When Jesus had completed these teachings, he left Galilee and crossed the region of Judea on the other side of the Jordan. Great crowds followed him there, and he healed them.

One day the Pharisees were badgering him: “Is it legal for a man to divorce his wife for any reason?” He answered, “Haven’t you read in your Bible that the Creator originally made man and woman for each other, male and female? And because of this, a man leaves father and mother and is firmly bonded to his wife, becoming one flesh - no longer two bodies but one. Because God created this organic union of the two sexes, no one should desecrate his art by cutting them apart.” They shot back in rebuttal, “If that’s so, why did Moses give instructions for divorce papers and divorce procedures?” Jesus said, “Moses provided for divorce as a concession to your hardheartedness, but it is not part of God’s original plan. I’m holding you to the original plan, and holding you liable for adultery if you divorce your faithful wife and then marry someone else. I make an exception in cases where the spouse has committed adultery.”

9 - Here, Jesus quotes from Genesis, Chapters 1 and 2 as the reasons why divorce is unacceptable. Does He treat this as actual history?

10 - Does He believe that Moses wrote these books of Law?

11 - Why would it be important for a Christian to learn Jesus’ attitude towards the Old Testament Scriptures?

12 - If Jesus treats the Old Testament as truthful and historical, should a Christian do the same, or are we free to pick-and-choose which parts of Jesus’ words we believe?A final thought, from Jesus’ words when He was questioned by doubters:

Matthew 22:29 (NKJV)
Jesus answered and said to them, “You are mistaken, not knowing the Scriptures nor the power of God…”

(See also Mark 12:24.)

Reflections:
How does knowing Jesus’ attitude to the Old Testament affect your perspective of the Old Testament Scriptures?

Hints for some of the study questions!

Qu. 6 - Moses wrote the “Pentateuch,” Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy. (http://www.christiananswers.net/dictionary/pentateuch.html)

References:

•    Barker, K. L. (editor) (2002), Zondervan NIV Study Bible (Fully Revised), Grand Rapids: Zondervan.
•    Batten, D. and Sarfati, J. (2006), 15 Reasons to Take Genesis as History, Accia Ridge: Creation Ministries International, pp.3-5.
•    Livingston, D. (2004), ‘Jesus Christ on the infallibility of Scripture,’ Creation on the Web, http://www.creationontheweb.org/content/view/3112 (accessed 11 October 2007), Eight Mile Plains: Creation Ministries International.
•    Tyler, D. (2003), Creation - Chance or Design?, Darlington: Evangelical Press, pp. 18-30.