Jesus, Paul and Peter's View of the Old Testament
Monday, August 26 Matthew 5:17-19
“To fulfill thepurpose of the Law and the Prophets”
Whileaffirming the continuing relevance and authority of the Old TestamentScriptures, Jesus introduces a new level of interpretation. Jesus himself is the fulfillment of therevelation or self-disclosure of God. Hesays that he did not come to destroy the Law or the Prophets but to fulfillthem; that is, to make their meaning full, or complete. Throughout the Sermon on the Mount (Matthewchapters 5 through 7) we discover what it means for Jesus to “fill full” the purposeof the Old Testament.
While the whole Bible is the Word of God written, our task still remainsto understand and interpret it in a manner consistent with the character of itsdivine Author. To do so means that werecognize the nature of God’s unfolding revelation and see its fulfillment inChrist. All that the Old Testament saysabout God is revealed more clearly in Christ. The Bible is God’s Word written and Jesus Christ is God’s Wordpersonified, for “the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us” (John 1:14).
We praise you, Jesus, for teaching us thecomplete meaning of God’s Law. Amen.
Tuesday, August 27 Matthew 15:1-9
“Isaiah was rightwhen he prophesied about you”
Asthe scribes and Pharisees accused the disciples of transgressing “thetraditions of the elders,” Jesus in turn accused them of transgressing thecommandments of God! The Pharisees’criticism had to do with ritual uncleanness, but Jesus’ criticism had to do withmoral uncleanness. The commandments ofGod require honoring one’s father and mother, meaning to look out for theirwell-being, and helping them financially. But the Pharisees had developed a program to amass economic wealth atthe temple which permitted a churlish son to evade his duty to his parents bysaying that instead of using a particular sum of money to support his parent,the money would be dedicated to the temple.
Jesus calls them “hypocrites” and quotes Isaiah’s words of God’s judgmenton persons guilty of lip worship, or words without deeds, and/or words which excusethe neglect of the deed. Religion, toperpetuate itself, has often developed “commandments of men” and presented themas though they were actually the Word of God.
May my heart be close to you, Lord, that myworship may be true. Amen.
Wednesday, August 28 Luke 24:13-48
“Jesus explainedthe things concerning himself”
We know that the Jewish faith pondered how to put the Old Testamentrevelation together when it came to how God would finally deliver his peopleand bring his rule back to earth. Therewere passages of hope that the end would produce a great prophet, a great king,a great figure who received authority from God, a servant figure who wouldproclaim God’s hope and yet suffer, and a salvation where God would be presentin the life of the community with an intimacy that meant the law written on theheart. The Jews struggled to determinehow many end-time figures there might be and what their relationship to eachother would be.
Into this world Jesus stepped, claiming that the Old Testament promiseswere unified in him. He was the prophetlike Moses, the Son of David, the Suffering Servant, the Messiah, and the Sonof Man all wrapped together in one person. His career involved both suffering and triumph, with the bridge betweenthe two being his resurrection. Thesewere the things Jesus talked about as he walked the road to Emmaus with two ofhis followers.
The more I know yourWord, Lord, the more I know you. Amen.
Thursday, August 29 Acts 28:23-31
“He spoke to them using the Law of Moses and the prophets”
All day long,Paul explained and testified to the true meaning of the kingdom of God and thefulfillment of the prophets and Moses in Jesus as Messiah. Luke uses the verb exetitheto, “expanded,” to indicate the exhaustive detail and carePaul used in explaining the Scripture. He began with the kingdom of God, that is, God’s rule and reign over allhistory. Then he told them about Christ,the Messiah, king of that kingdom. Verse24 tells us of the mixed response. Somewere persuaded, but others did not believe.
Before theydeparted, Paul, grieved by their disbelief, repeated a passage from Isaiah6:9-10, quoting God’s words to the prophet about Israel. The implication was that Paul believed thatthe passage described his listeners. This same passage had also been used by Jesus in response to thedisbelief of the Jews (John 12:40). Paul’s point was to show the leaders that they had come to the dreadful stageof religious dullness. They heard wordsbut did not understand; they saw truth but did not respond.
May my study ofyour Word, Lord, expand my understanding. Amen.
Friday, August 30 2 Timothy 3:14-17
“All Scripture isinspired by God”
To Paul and toTimothy, the Scriptures were the writings contained in the Old Testament, verylikely the same collection of thirty-nine books in our Bible today. As to the nature of the Scriptures, Paulstates that they are all inspired by God. The word that Paul uses here is a compounding of theos (“God”) and pneustos (“breath”). Scriptures are here said to be breathed byGod. Paul does not go beyond this simplebut profound statement. How God didthis, we don’t know.
The greaterconcern of Paul is to state what the Scriptures are able to do. They are able to bring us to salvationthrough faith in Jesus Christ. Withoutthem, we would have little significant – and certainly no saving – knowledge ofJesus. All our teaching must be groundedin them, as they are the standard by which our ideas must be measured. Further, they confront us when we sin,pointing out that which is wrong, and they correct us so that as we go forwardwe may do so without continuing in our sin. Lastly, they instruct us in our relationship with God and with others.
Your Word, Lord, prepares and equips me todo your good work. Amen.
Saturday, August 31 2 Peter 1:12-21
“The prophets spokefrom God”
Peterestablishes the trustworthiness of the prophecies of the Word of God incontrast to the “cunningly devised fables” being propagated by the falseteachers whom he will expose and refute in the second chapter of this letter. He urges paying attention to the words of theprophets for they help Christ’s light to shine in our hearts. In order for that to happen, we need God toreveal truth to us through the prophets in the same way in which he revealedtruth to them originally, that is, through the Holy Spirit.
Trueprophecy comes not from people, but from God. The Holy Spirit is the source and sender of the communication; thewriters of Scripture were merely the human vehicles through whom God chose tocommunicate truth. In the same way, itis important that no prophecy or Scripture be of merely personalinterpretation. Prophecies come from Godand in order to properly interpret and understand them, we need the same HolySpirit who revealed the prophecies originally to reveal their truth to us.
AsI read your Word, Holy Spirit, I pray that you reveal its truth to me. Amen.