Jesus Witness to the Scriptures No concept of Bibliology would be complete without the witness of Jesus Christ to the Holy Scriptures. What Jesus thought of the Scriptures should be of paramount importance to us as hearers and doers of God s Word. James Montgomery Boice in his very readable Foundations of the Christian Faith states, The most important reason for believing the Bible to be the Word of God written and hence the sole authority for Christians in all matters of faith and conduct is the teaching of Jesus Christ. 1 Paul Enns, in the Moody Handbook of Theology, states, In determining the nature of biblical inspiration, nothing could be more significant than determining the view Christ held regarding the Scriptures. Certainly no one ought to hold a lower view of Scripture than He held; His view of the Scriptures ought to be the determinant and the norm for other persons views. 2 The purpose of this essay is to demonstrate through Jesus use of Scripture that our Lord did indeed treat Scripture as the very Word of God. Using the Bible, I intend to show that Jesus taught and assumed in his teaching that the Scriptures were God s Word in its whole, in its parts, in its words, and in its letters. I will also demonstrate that, through Scriptural evidence, Jesus use of Scripture teaches us that he affirmed the Bible was authoritative, historical, inerrant and infallible, and contained revelation from God and testified to his life and ministry. In order to assess the Scripture texts that impact this study, I used Logos Libronix software to search the gospels for the pertinent verses. The table below illustrates the search terms and the results using the English Standard Version (ESV). 1 James Montgomery Boice, Foundations of the Christian Faith: A Comprehensive & Readable Theology (Downers Grove, Ill.: InterVarsity Press, 1986), 43. 2 Paul P. Enns, The Moody Handbook of Theology (Chicago, Ill.: Moody Press, 1997, c1989), 162. 1
Search terms Number of verses found it is written 31 hav* you read 10 heaven earth pass away 5 Scripture* 24 Law Prophet* 7 word God 13 While this search methodology is not perfect, it resulted in 90 verses that will be sufficient to demonstrate an overall picture of what Jesus thought of the Scriptures and how he used them in his teaching. Jesus affirmed the Scriptures as a whole, the Old Testament Jewish canon, without mention of the apocryphal books. Matthew 5:17 18 states, 17 Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. 18 For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished. 3 Jesus affirms the completeness of the Law and the Prophets, a phrase indicating the entire Old Testament. Michael Green in the Message of Matthew, states, Jesus has no quarrel with the Law and the Prophets (17). These were, along with the Writings, the three divisions of the Old Testament. He validates them completely as God s revelation which will never fail in the least degree. 4 Craig Blomberg in the New American Commentary on Matthew similarly states that Both the Law and the Prophets together (v. 17) and the Law by itself (v. 18) were standard Jewish ways of referring to the entire Hebrew Scriptures (our Old 3 The Holy Bible : English Standard Version. (Wheaton: Standard Bible Society, 2001), Mt 5:17-18. 2
Testament). 5 In Luke 24:44, Jesus adds the Psalms to the Law and the Prophets in referring to those things that were written that must be fulfilled, and thereby covers again the entire Old Testament. There are 7 verses that specifically mention Law and prophets, including those above, in addition to Matthew 7:12, Matthew 11:13, Matthew 22:40, Luke 16:16, and John 1:45. These verses in Matthew 5:17 18 also demonstrate that Christ viewed the Scriptures as perpetual and divine, as the Word of the living God, until such time as time will end. Note that he states, 18 For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished. Human creations, writings, and books all lose validity and importance over time, and perhaps the writings themselves may be lost over time. Even with the advent of the internet and digital storage of writings and books, the influence and impact of very few human writings ever lasts more than a few years at best. However, Jesus specifically claims that, even the smallest parts of the Scriptures, the strokes themselves, will never become unimportant or lost until the end of the age. God still holds us accountable to the Scriptures, and all of the Scriptures will remain valid until everything in them is accomplished. Hendrickson states, In the new heaven and earth the law as a written book will no longer be necessary. In fact, the written Bible Old and New Testament will have become superfluous. Until that time arrives, however, nothing whatever will remain lacking as to fulfillment. God s program with respect to Christ, the church, mankind in general, and the universe, will be carried out in full. 6 The reason that the Scriptures have such a permanent character is that they are not 4 Michael Green, The Message of Matthew : The Kingdom of Heaven (Leicester, England; Downers Grove, Ill., U.S.A.: Inter-Varsity Press, 2000, c1988), 93. 5 Craig Blomberg, vol. 22, Matthew, electronic ed., Logos Library System; The New American Commentary (Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 2001, c1992), 103. 6 William Hendriksen and Simon J. Kistemaker, vol. 9, New Testament Commentary : Exposition of the Gospel According to Matthew, Accompanying Biblical Text Is Author's Translation., New Testament Commentary (Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1953-2001), 292. 3
of human origin, but are of divine revelation. The reason that they will not pass away is that they are the Word of the living and true God. Matthew 5:17 18 also affirm the revelatory and predictive nature of the Scriptures, which are additional characteristics of the divine nature of the Scriptures. Not only do they predict, but everything in them will actually and accurately come to pass. Human beings may be able to put forth an educated guess as to what will happen in the future, but usually we cannot even guess what will happen tomorrow let alone what will happen 1,000 years from now. However, Jesus affirms that the Bible, specifically the Old Testament, testified accurately about himself many hundreds of years or more before his birth. In Luke 24:44, Jesus explained that everything written about him in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms had to be fulfilled. In John 1:45, Philip states to Nathanael that they had found the one whom Moses and the Prophets wrote about. Matthew 26:54, 56, Mark 14:49, Luke 4:21, 22:37, John 2:22, 5:39, 7:42, 13:18, 17:12, and many others all reflect Christ s teaching of the predictive nature of the Scriptures. On the road to Emmaus, Luke records a conversation between Jesus and some of his disciples, which is very revealing. Luke writes, 25 And he said to them, O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! 26 Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and enter into his glory? 27 And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself. 7 It is clear from the many words of Jesus that the Scriptures were accurately predictive of himself and his ministry. Finally, Matthew 5:17 18 reflects the fact that every small portion of the Scriptures, down to the individual strokes of the letters, is permanent until everything in them has been 7 ESV, Lk 24:25-27. 4
fulfilled. Not only is the canon inspired, not only are the phrases and words inspired, but the very letters are from God. Boice states, Why should this be so greatly emphasized? Obviously because the utter truthfulness and abiding authority of the Bible is critical to everything we are to know and believe as Christ s followers. If God has spoken to us in the Bible, if the Bible is his Word, then the Bible must be truthful, because God is a God of truth; it must be reliable in all its parts, because God is utterly reliable; it must be lastingly authoritative, because God is the only ultimate and eternally abiding authority. If the Bible is not truthful, in even one of its very small parts, then it is not from God and it has no more authority over us than any other merely human document. 8 Gaussen reflects this same sentiment when he states, What terms could possibly be imagined capable of expressing, with greater force and precision, the principle which we defend; that is to say, the authority, the entire divine inspiration, and the perpetuity of all the parts, and of the very letter of the Scriptures? 9 Therefore, Matthew 5:17 18 (and in other gospels in Matthew 24:35, Mark 13:31, and Luke 21:33), is a key Scripture that elucidates clearly the teachings of Jesus on the Word of God inscripturated. This particular set of verses demonstrates that Christ taught the Scriptures were canonically accurate and complete, revelatory and accurately predictive, permanent until fulfilled, and inspired in their whole and in their parts, down to the individual words and pen strokes. Jesus used the Scriptures in his teaching in such a manner that he clearly viewed them as authoritative in all areas of faith and life. Jesus also quoted many times from the Old Testament in response to the arguments and challenges of the Pharisees, Sadducees, and Satan. This 8 James Montgomery Boice, The Gospel of Matthew (Grand Rapids, Mich.: Baker Books, 2001), 82. 5
authoritative characteristic is accurately reflected in the Scriptures that contain the words, it is written or haven t you read in Jesus response to his challengers and detractors. Together there are at least 41 instances in the four gospels where Jesus, using these two phrases, corrects and rebukes those who would challenge him, tempt him, or trap him. One instance where Jesus uses the Scriptures to resist temptation is the account in Matthew 4 and Luke 4 of the temptation of Jesus by Satan. Three times Satan tempts Jesus with the lusts of the flesh, or the world, or pride, and three times Jesus resisted our enemy s temptation using Scripture, specifically from Deuteronomy. In all three of these instances, Jesus prefaced his quotation of Scripture using the words, it is written. Matthew Henry states, He is himself the eternal Word, and could have produced the mind of God without having recourse to the writings of Moses; but he put honour upon the scripture, and, to set us an example, he appealed to what was written in the law; and he says this to Satan, taking it for granted that he knew well enough what was written. 10 In Matthew 4:6, when Satan twisted Scripture to entice Jesus to succumb to the temptation, Jesus again used Scripture to clarify and interpret Scripture in order to provide the correct meaning and to resist the temptation. It was not Satan s words, nor his misuse of Scripture, but Scripture itself that provided the means by which Jesus could authoritatively assert what was right and true for obedience to God. Jesus did not use any other source or means to combat our adversary the Devil. In a conflict with temptation and our enemy, the Scriptures are the only authoritative weapon. 9 Louis Gaussen, God-Breathed: The Divine Inspiration of the Bible (Unicoi, Tenn.: The Trinity Foundation, 2001), 102. 10 Matthew Henry, Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole Bible : Complete and Unabridged in One Volume (Peabody: Hendrickson, 1996, c1991), Mt 4:1. 6
Jesus used Scripture authoritatively when engaging the Pharisees and Sadducees in matters of faith and life. In Matthew 19, the Pharisees tested Jesus by asking him when it was lawful to divorce. 4 He answered, Have you not read that he who created them from the beginning made them male and female, 5 and said, Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh? 6 So they are no longer two but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate. 11 Using Scripture, Jesus established the doctrine of marriage as a permanent covenantal bond between a man and a woman. Jesus settled the matter using Scriptural proof. In addition, in verses 7 9, Jesus clarifies the Scriptures that the Pharisees had misused to establish their lax laws of divorce. Similarly, Jesus used Scripture to clarify what God intended for the Sabbath (Matthew 12:3 5, Mark 2:25, and Luke 6:3) and for the temple as a house of prayer (Matthew 21:13, Mark 11:17, and Luke 19:46). In all of these instances, it was Scripture that Jesus used to answer the challenges and settle the particular matter in an authoritative and absolute way. One other interesting instance of the authoritative use of Scripture by Jesus is when he engaged the Sadducees over the topic of the resurrection as recorded in Matthew 22:23-33, Mark 12:18-27, and Luke 20:27-40. In this instance, Jesus again used Scripture to prove to the Sadducees their doctrine was wrong. In response to their scenario they proposed to test Jesus, he answered, You are wrong, because you know neither the Scriptures nor the power of God. 12 Jesus specifically made a judgment on their doctrine using the Scriptures as the basis of truth. Beginning at verse 31, our Lord states, 31 And as for the resurrection of the dead, have you not read what was said to you by God: 32 I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the 11 ESV, Mt 19:4-6. 12 ESV, Mt 22:29. 7
God of Jacob? He is not God of the dead, but of the living. 13 Christ bases his pronouncement regarding the resurrection on the tense of one verb. Gaussen states, By one sole word of an historical passage of the Bible; by a single verb in the presence tense, instead of that same verb in the past tense. It is thus that he proves to them the doctrine of the resurrection. God, on Mount Sinai, four hundred years after the death of Abraham, says to Moses, not, I was, but I am the God of Abraham. 14 Christ in this example demonstrates the authority of the Bible in all matters of faith, and that authority is not just based on the concepts of the Bible, or the broad passages, but on individual words as well. Authority and inspiration extend to the individual words. Jesus also viewed Scripture as historically accurate, even when it concerned supernatural events. One such event was the creation narrative in Genesis of Adam and Eve. Matthew 19:4 states, Have you not read that he who created them from the beginning made them male and female. Jesus affirms that the creation event was a literal event, and that God created two literal people in Adam and Eve. In addition, Jesus affirms that God created them, and that they did not evolve from a chance, random accident. God also made them male and female, once again ruling out the evolutionary belief that the sexes evolved, and showed that God differentiated people based on gender. Today, many people are confusing gender, opting for sex changes, engaging in cross-dressing, and practicing homosexual behavior. However, Jesus in one sentence reinforces the creation narrative and establishes the fact that God created separate genders. This supernatural event as recorded in Genesis Jesus assumes is fact, historically accurate, and a work of God. 13 ESV, Mt 22:31-32. 14 Ibid, 99. 8
Another historical and supernatural event that Jesus confirms is the fish story of Jonah in Matthew 12:29 31, and Luke 11:29 32. Many of the Pharisees wanted to see a sign from Jesus, and in response, Jesus stated in Matthew 12:39 41, An evil and adulterous generation seeks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. 40 For just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. 41 The men of Nineveh will rise up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and behold, something greater than Jonah is here. 15 Jesus confirms the fact that Jonah was indeed swallowed by a great fish, and lived in the belly of the fish for three days. His words indicate that he believed this to be fact, and not an allegory or a fairy tale, but an actual, historical event. By comparing this actual event to his upcoming death and resurrection, Jesus is not only accurately foretelling his own crucifixion, but is also establishing the historical validity of the two events. He also confirms one of the greatest stories of repentance in the Bible, that of Nineveh before the preaching of Jonah. One Scripture verse in which B.B. Warfield spends a lot of time on in the first volume of his Works called Revelation and Inspiration is John 10:34-35, and this verse, even one clause of this verse, demonstrates our Lord s view of Scripture in a clear and concise manner. Jesus quotes a passage in Psalm 82:6 and attributes it to the Law. Previously, Jesus states that he and the Father were one, and he is using Scripture to defend his claim. What is important about this is stated by Warfield, When Jesus adduces this passage, then, as written in the law of the Jews, He does it, not because it stands in this psalm, but because it is a part of Scripture at large. In other words, He here ascribes legal authority to the entirety of Scripture, in accordance with a 15 ESV, Mt 12:39-41. 9
conception common enough among the Jews. 16 Jesus does this again in John 15:25 when is ascribes to the Law another quote in Psalm 35:19. Immediately after this verse, in John 10:35, Jesus makes a statement, and Scripture cannot be broken. Boice explains, In our terms this was an affirmation of the Bible s total inspiration, inerrancy, and utter indestructibility. 17 Hendrickson also concurs, Scripture cannot be broken. It is absolutely indestructible, no matter how man may regard it. The Old Testament, as it lies there in written form! is inspired, infallible, authoritative. 18 The reason Jesus appeals to the written Scriptures for his defense is that the Scriptures cannot be broken, or found at fault. Jesus could have appealed to his own witness or the witness of others who had been with him and seen or participated in the miracles. However, he chose to use Scripture. Again, to quote Warfield, The word broken here is the common one for breaking the law, or the Sabbath, or the like (John 5:18; 7:23; Matthew 5:19), and the meaning of the declaration is that it is impossible for the Scripture to be annulled, its authority to be withstood, or denied. The movement of thought is to the effect that, because it is impossible for the Scripture the term is perfectly general and witnesses to the unitary character of Scripture (it is all, for the purpose in hand, of a piece) to be withstood, therefore this particular Scripture which is cited must be taken as of irrefragable authority. What we have here is, therefore, the strongest possible assertion of the indefectible authority of Scripture; precisely what is true of Scripture is that it cannot be broken. 19 16 Benjamin B. Warfield, Revelation And Inspiration (Volume I), Logos Libronix version, (Joseph Kreifels). 17 James Montgomery Boice, The Gospel of John : An Expositional Commentary, Pbk. ed. (Grand Rapids, Mich.: Baker Books, 2005), 795. 18 William Hendriksen and Simon J. Kistemaker, vol. 1-2, New Testament Commentary : Exposition of the Gospel According to John, Accompanying Biblical Text Is Author's Translation., New Testament Commentary (Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1953-2001), 2:128. 19 Ibid. 10
Scripture was common ground for Jesus and his opponents, and its use supplied the necessary proof and authority on a number of occasions precisely because it was the Word of God. This is a very clear and unambiguous statement from our Lord. Jesus uses the passive infinitive of the verb luo, which indicates that the Scriptures cannot be emptied of their force, broken, destroyed, or found in error, by anyone acting upon them. In other words, the Scriptures derive their authority and power outside of mankind, and no one can find fault with them, abolish them, or bring them to an end. 20 It is clear that Jesus viewed the Old Testament Scriptures as divinely inspired, authoritative, permanent, and binding. Jesus also clearly understood that the Scriptures revealed much about himself, his life, his ministry, and his divine purpose throughout their prophetic writing. However, the New Testament was written by apostles after the death, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus into heaven. Is there any indication of what Jesus thought of what the apostles would say and write after he was no longer with them in body? Yes. Two Scripture verses can be used to support the idea that Jesus endorsed what would become the New Testament. John 14:25 26 states, 25 These things I have spoken to you while I am still with you. 26 But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you. 21 Jesus promised that the Holy Spirit would come and ensure that everything Jesus taught them would be clarified and taught to them by the Holy Spirit and brought to their memories in a supernatural manner. Boice, in his exposition of John, states, When the Lord says that the Holy Spirit is to teach you all things, the reference is primarily to the apostles. These were those whom Jesus had chosen to 20 William Arndt, Frederick W. Danker and Walter Bauer, A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature, "Based on Walter Bauer's Griechisch-Deutsches Wr terbuch Zu Den Schriften Des Neuen Testaments Und Der Frhchristlichen [Sic] Literatur, Sixth Edition, Ed. Kurt Aland and Barbara Aland, With 11
be authoritative spokesmen for the truth he had revealed. They were to remember it and then record it in the pages of what has become the New Testament. Moreover, this teaching was to become normative for the church. 22 Jesus guaranteed that what he taught them would be preserved by the Holy Spirit so that the apostles themselves could teach it to others accurately, and as necessary and as guided by the Holy Spirit, record it in written form for all Christians. Jesus guaranteed the supernatural creation and preservation of what would become the New Testament. Another Scripture is also in John s gospel, chapter 16, 12 I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. 13 When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come. 14 He will glorify me, for he will take what is mine and declare it to you. 15 All that the Father has is mine; therefore I said that he will take what is mine and declare it to you. 23 Again, Jesus reminds his disciples that the Holy Spirit will guide them into all the truth, and will declare it to them. Boice notes that this phrase in verse 13, all the truth, is not a generic body of knowledge, but a definite body of knowledge that will become the New Testament. He states in his commentary on John, The true sense emerges when we learn that an important word has been dropped out of verse 13 in several versions. It is the word the, and it comes before truth. When we understand this, we see that it is not just into some general idea of truth that the Holy Spirit is said to be coming to guide the apostles, but rather into all the truth, that is, into a definite body of material centering on Christ. This, we recognize, is nothing Viktor Reichmann and on Previous English Editions by W.F. Arndt, F.W. Gingrich, and F.W. Danker.", 3rd ed. (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2000), 607. 21 ESV, Jn 14:25-26. 22 Ibid, 1147. 12
other than the New Testament. So the promise is that the Holy Spirit would be the vehicle of a new revelation through those specifically commissioned to this ministry. 24 In the Great Commission (Matthew 28:19), Jesus tells his disciples to go and make other disciples, teaching them to obey all that he has commanded. In order to do this teaching and disciple-making effectively, Jesus explains in John 14 and John 16 that the Holy Spirit will come and reveal, explain, and cause them to remember the teachings of Jesus. Much of this truth will be verbal teaching and preaching of the gospel, but some of it will be written down in books and letters to churches. These writings, made by the early disciples through the work and guidance of the Holy Spirit, eventually became the New Testament. Therefore, while Christ could not affirm the New Testament as he did the Old Testament, he did ensure its accurate content, recording, and preservation through the Holy Spirit. In summary, Warfield states, Thus clear is it that Jesus occasional adduction of Scripture as an authoritative document rests on an ascription of it to God as its author. His testimony is that whatever stands written in Scripture is a word of God. 25 Through his teaching and engagement with his disciples, the Pharisees, the Sadducees, and even Satan himself, Jesus demonstrated his view of Scripture was the Word of God, authoritative, divinely inspired, permanent, and binding. Christ also explained in many Scriptures and in no uncertain terms that he believed that the Scriptures were a testament to himself, his ministry, his life, and his mission here on earth. On one occasion, on the Road to Emmaus, Jesus explained to a group of his disciples, O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! 26 Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and enter into his glory? 27 And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things 23 ESV, Jn 16:12-15. 24 Ibid, 1216. 13
concerning himself. 26 The Scriptures were revelatory about Jesus himself, the anointed one of God. Jesus also in several instances in the gospel of John affirmed the divinely inspired New Testament through the work and guidance of the Holy Spirit after he had left his disciples. As followers of Christ, it is imperative, therefore, that we also have the same view of Scripture as did our Lord. We must view the Scriptures with reverence, as the divine and unbreakable Word of God. We should follow the example of Christ and use the Bible as our rule for faith and life. We should ultimately defer to it in all theological disagreements and questions, when under temptation by our flesh or our enemy, and for moral and life issues. As we as Christ followers hold the Scriptures in as high regard as did our Lord, then we will ultimately have the highest regard for its author. 25 Ibid. 26 ESV, Lk 24:25-27. 14
Appendix Matt 2:5 They told him, In Bethlehem of Judea, for so it is written by the prophet: Matt 4:4 But he answered, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God. Matt 4:6 and said to him, If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down, for it is written, He will command his angels concerning you, and On their hands they will bear you up, lest you strike your foot against a stone. Matt 4:7 Jesus said to him, Again it is written, You shall not put the Lord your God to the test. Matt 4:10 Then Jesus said to him, Be gone, Satan! For it is written, You shall worship the Lord your God and him only shall you serve. Matt 11:10 This is he of whom it is written, Behold, I send my messenger before your face, who will prepare your way before you. Matt 21:13 He said to them, It is written, My house shall be called a house of prayer, but you make it a den of robbers. Matt 26:24 The Son of Man goes as it is written of him, but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would have been better for that man if he had not been born. Matt 26:31 Then Jesus said to them, You will all fall away because of me this night. For it is written, I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be scattered. Mark 1:2 As it is written in Isaiah the prophet, Behold, I send my messenger before your face, who will prepare your way, Mark 7:6 And he said to them, Well did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written, This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me; Mark 9:12 And he said to them, Elijah does come first to restore all things. And how is it written of the Son of Man that he should suffer many things and be treated with contempt? Mark 9:13 But I tell you that Elijah has come, and they did to him whatever they pleased, as it is written of him. Mark 11:17 And he was teaching them and saying to them, Is it not written, My house shall be called a house of prayer for all the nations? But you have made it a den of robbers. Mark 14:21 For the Son of Man goes as it is written of him, but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would have been better for that man if he had not been born. Mark 14:27 And Jesus said to them, You will all fall away, for it is written, I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered. Luke 2:23 (as it is written in the Law of the Lord, Every male who first opens the womb shall be called holy to the Lord ) Luke 3:4 As it is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet, The voice of one crying in the wilderness: Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight. Luke 4:4 And Jesus answered him, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone. Luke 4:8 And Jesus answered him, It is written, You shall worship the Lord your God, and him only shall you serve. Luke 4:10 for it is written, He will command his angels concerning you, to guard you, Luke 7:27 This is he of whom it is written, Behold, I send my messenger before your face, who will prepare your way before you. Luke 10:26 He said to him, What is written in the Law? How do you read it? Luke 19:46 saying to them, It is written, My house shall be a house of prayer, but you have made it a den of robbers. Luke 22:37 For I tell you that this Scripture must be fulfilled in me: And he was numbered with the transgressors. For what is written about me has its fulfillment. Luke 24:46 and said to them, Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, John 6:31 Our fathers ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written, He gave them bread from heaven to eat. John 6:45 It is written in the Prophets, And they will all be taught by God. Everyone who has heard 15
John 8:17 John 10:34 John 12:14 31 verses and learned from the Father comes to me In your Law it is written that the testimony of two men is true. Jesus answered them, Is it not written in your Law, I said, you are gods? And Jesus found a young donkey and sat on it, just as it is written, Matt 12:3 Matt 12:5 Matt 19:4 Matt 21:16 Matt 21:42 Matt 22:31 Mark 2:25 Mark 12:10 Mark 12:26 Luke 6:3 10 verses He said to them, Have you not read what David did when he was hungry, and those who were with him: Or have you not read in the Law how on the Sabbath the priests in the temple profane the Sabbath and are guiltless? He answered, Have you not read that he who created them from the beginning made them male and female, and they said to him, Do you hear what these are saying? And Jesus said to them, Yes; have you never read, Out of the mouth of infants and nursing babies you have prepared praise? Jesus said to them, Have you never read in the Scriptures: The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; this was the Lord s doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes? And as for the resurrection of the dead, have you not read what was said to you by God: And he said to them, Have you never read what David did, when he was in need and was hungry, he and those who were with him: Have you not read this Scripture: The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; And as for the dead being raised, have you not read in the book of Moses, in the passage about the bush, how God spoke to him, saying, I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob? And Jesus answered them, Have you not read what David did when he was hungry, he and those who were with him: Matt 5:18 Matt 24:35 Mark 13:31 Luke 16:17 Luke 21:33 5 verses For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished. Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away. Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away. But it is easier for heaven and earth to pass away than for one dot of the Law to become void. Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away. 16
Matt 21:42 Matt 22:29 Matt 26:54 Matt 26:56 Mark 12:10 Mark 12:24 Mark 14:49 Luke 4:21 Luke 22:37 Luke 24:27 Luke 24:32 Luke 24:45 John 2:22 John 5:39 John 7:38 John 7:42 John 10:35 John 13:18 John 17:12 John 19:24 Jesus said to them, Have you never read in the Scriptures: The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; this was the Lord s doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes? But Jesus answered them, You are wrong, because you know neither the Scriptures nor the power of God. But how then should the Scriptures be fulfilled, that it must be so? But all this has taken place that the Scriptures of the prophets might be fulfilled. Then all the disciples left him and fled. Have you not read this Scripture: The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; Jesus said to them, Is this not the reason you are wrong, because you know neither the Scriptures nor the power of God? Day after day I was with you in the temple teaching, and you did not seize me. But let the Scriptures be fulfilled. And he began to say to them, Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing. For I tell you that this Scripture must be fulfilled in me: And he was numbered with the transgressors. For what is written about me has its fulfillment. And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself. They said to each other, Did not our hearts burn within us while he talked to us on the road, while he opened to us the Scriptures? Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures, When therefore he was raised from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this, and they believed the Scripture and the word that Jesus had spoken. You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me, Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water. Has not the Scripture said that the Christ comes from the offspring of David, and comes from Bethlehem, the village where David was? If he called them gods to whom the word of God came and Scripture cannot be broken I am not speaking of all of you; I know whom I have chosen. But the Scripture will be fulfilled, He who ate my bread has lifted his heel against me. While I was with them, I kept them in your name, which you have given me. I have guarded them, and not one of them has been lost except the son of destruction, that the Scripture might be fulfilled. so they said to one another, Let us not tear it, but cast lots for it to see whose it shall be. This was to fulfill the Scripture which says, They divided my garments among them, and for my clothing they cast lots. So the soldiers did these things, John 19:28 After this, Jesus, knowing that all was now finished, said (to fulfill the Scripture), I thirst. John 19:36 For these things took place that the Scripture might be fulfilled: Not one of his bones will be broken. John 19:37 And again another Scripture says, They will look on him whom they have pierced. John 20:9 for as yet they did not understand the Scripture, that he must rise from the dead. 24 verses Matt 5:17 Matt 7:12 Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. So whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets. 17
Matt 11:13 Matt 22:40 Luke 16:16 Luke 24:44 John 1:45 7 verses For all the Prophets and the Law prophesied until John, On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets. The Law and the Prophets were until John; since then the good news of the kingdom of God is preached, and everyone forces his way into it. Then he said to them, These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you, that everything written about me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled. Philip found Nathanael and said to him, We have found him of whom Moses in the Law and also the prophets wrote, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph. Matt 4:4 Matt 15:6 Mark 7:13 Mark 10:24 Luke 3:2 Luke 5:1 Luke 8:11 Luke 8:21 Luke 11:28 Luke 24:19 John 3:34 John 8:47 John 10:35 13 verses But he answered, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God. he need not honor his father. So for the sake of your tradition you have made void the word of God. thus making void the word of God by your tradition that you have handed down. And many such things you do. And the disciples were amazed at his words. But Jesus said to them again, Children, how difficult it is to enter the kingdom of God! during the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John the son of Zechariah in the wilderness. On one occasion, while the crowd was pressing in on him to hear the word of God, he was standing by the lake of Gennesaret, Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God. But he answered them, My mother and my brothers are those who hear the word of God and do it. But he said, Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and keep it! And he said to them, What things? And they said to him, Concerning Jesus of Nazareth, a man who was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people, For he whom God has sent utters the words of God, for he gives the Spirit without measure. Whoever is of God hears the words of God. The reason why you do not hear them is that you are not of God. If he called them gods to whom the word of God came and Scripture cannot be broken 18