In a recent Bible study, we encountered someone who had strong beliefs about the Bible (only not in favorable ones). This man believes each culture has its own idea of a “Supreme Being.” The Bible gives us one such impression, but the men who wrote the Bible were influenced by their own culture, prejudices, and beliefs. Therefore, the Bible represents one of many “paths” to God.
This man represents a growing number. Not long ago you entered a Bible study with the assumption that there was common belief in the idea that the Bible is God’s complete and authoritative book we must follow to get to heaven.
That is a poor assumption to make these days. Many have serious questions and others doubt the Bible entirely.
Besides this, more and more wonder whether there are absolutes at all. You have your truth. I have mine. There are no real absolutes at all. We have our own path to God.
We increasingly see the need to review the fundamentals: Is there one true God? Did he inspire men to write the Bible? Can we understand it? Are we expected to understand the Bible and then to obey it as well?
As we seek to answer these questions, it is imperative we go to foundation of our faith for the answers: Jesus Christ!
So the purpose of this series of articles will be to explore what Jesus believed about scripture.
Inspired of God
Jesus understood the scriptures were written by men, but he also believed they were inspired of God. In Mark 12:36 Jesus credits the Holy Spirit with moving David to write the prophecy in Psalm 110. Jesus cited many examples of scriptures which were either being fulfilled or would be fulfilled (see Matthew 24:15; Mark 9:11-13; Luke 4:21; John 13:18).
How could men write such things without God’s help? Surely, Jesus believed they were inspired.
We find Jesus’ statement in Matthew 26:54 compelling: “How then could the Scriptures be fulfilled, that it must happen thus?” Jesus asks Peter this question in response to his attempt to save Jesus from arrest (and ultimately death). Jesus is saying that he must die because the scriptures (written by men) must be fulfilled (because they’re inspired of God).
Historically Accurate
Not only did Jesus accept the predictive portions of scripture, he also believed history recorded in scripture was true. Jesus spoke of the creation of the first man and woman (Matthew 19:4); Noah and the flood (Luke 17:26-27); Lot and the destruction of Sodom (Luke 17:29 – including the fate of his wife, v 32); the story of Elijah’s provision for a widow during the great drought (Luke 4:25-26); the healing of Naaman (Luke 4:27).
Two things to note here: First of all, every one of those events involves miraculous intervention. Jesus believed in the stories in the scriptures that skeptics so easily dismiss as legend today.
Second, Jesus uses these stories not in the way a man would use a legendary tale to encourage his audience to virtuous living. Jesus warned that if they did not learn the lesson from those who were judged in the past that they would bring about the same judgment from God upon themselves (Luke 17:32-33).
Verbal Inspiration
For Jesus, inspiration went down even to the smallest details. Jesus said, “until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished” (Matthew 5:18). Jesus believed all of scripture was from God, every last dot!
We see evidence of this belief in Jesus in arguments he made from scripture. Jesus challenged the Pharisees with the question, “What do you think about the Christ? Whose son is he?” to which they responded, “The son of David” (Matthew 22:42). Jesus then asked them to explain why David in Psalm 110 called his son “Lord.” Jesus’ whole argument was based on a single word (Matthew 22:44; see also John 10:34-35).
Perhaps even more compelling than this is when Jesus asked the Sadducees, who did not believe in resurrection, to tell him how God could say to Moses, “I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” Jesus’ conclusion about God was, “He is not the God of the dead, but of the living.” (Matthew 22:32) Jesus’ argument hinged on nothing more than the tense of a verb!
Jesus prayed to God for his disciples, “Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth.” (John 17:17) Jesus believed the scriptures were true. He believed they were inspired of God: prophetically, historically, and verbally accurate.
Next week we’ll look at how Jesus used the scriptures.