¿Qué pensaba Jesús sobre el Antiguo Testamento?

By Ryan Leasure

It’s not uncommon for Christians to throw shade at the Old Testament. These Christians say they love Jesus, but they could do without those early Jewish texts. In fact, many Christians suggest that much of the Old Testament is ahistorical. Events like the flood, Jonah being swallowed by a great fish, or the fiery judgment of Sodom and Gomorrah never happened. And then there’s the infamous quote that Christians simply need to “unhook themselves from the Old Testament” because so much of it is embarrassing or difficult to understand. Why can’t we focus on Jesus?

We can certainly sympathize with these sentiments. After all, the flood and the judgment of Sodom seem pretty incredible, and pretty harsh at that. Wouldn’t it be easier to ignore this ancient corpus? This stance seems reasonable until one realizes that the same Jesus whom these Christians worship also holds the Old Testament in high regard. He not only affirms the inspiration of the Old Testament, but also its historicity and authority.

The Old Testament is inspired

Historically, Christians have affirmed the verbal plenary inspiration of the Bible. That is, they acknowledge that every word of Scripture is “God-breathed” (2 Tim. 3:16-17). At the same time, God spoke through a human agency. Therefore, Scripture not only has a divine author, it also has human authors.

Jesus affirmed the human authors of the Old Testament. He repeatedly acknowledges that Moses is the one who gave the Law (Matthew 8:4; 19:8; Mark 1:44; 7:10; Luke 5:14; 20:37; John 5:46; 7:19). He will say things like, “Do what Moses commanded” (Mark 1:44). Oh, “Moses said, ‘Honor your father and your mother’” (Mark 7:10). Concerning other Old Testament authors, Jesus states, “Well did Isaiah prophesy…” (Mark 7:6). Also, “David himself, in the Holy Spirit, declared… .” (Mark 12:36). And “So when you see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet…” (Matthew 24:15). It is worth noting that almost all critical scholars question the authorship of these individuals, in clear contradiction to Jesus.

At the same time, Jesus affirms that these individuals wrote divinely inspired Scripture. As just alluded to, Jesus noted in Mark 12:36, “David himself, in the Holy Spirit, declared…” In other words, David wrote, but his writings were the result of the work of the Holy Spirit (2 Pet 1:20-21). He also declared, “Well did Isaiah prophesy…” (Mark 7:6). The mere mention of prophecy suggests that Isaiah wrote from God. Prophecy, after all, is by definition “a word from God.” The same could be said of Matthew 24:15 when Jesus refers to Daniel as “the prophet.” Furthermore, in addressing the scribes and Pharisees, Jesus states, “You forsake the commandment of God and hold to the tradition of men” (Mark 7:8). He then clarifies that God’s commandment was what Moses wrote in Exodus 20.

As John Wenhan points out, “For [Jesus], Moses, the prophets, David, and the other writers of Scripture were truly inspired men with a message given by the Spirit of God.”

The Old Testament is historically accurate

While many are willing to concede the inspiration of the Old Testament, many of these same individuals deny that it is historically accurate on all points. They may affirm its historical nature in general (God created the world, called Abraham and the Jewish people, the Jews were exiled, etc.), but balk at some of the more difficult texts (the flood, Sodom, Jonah, etc.). That said, Jesus has no qualms about affirming the historical character of the Old Testament, even the most difficult texts to believe. Here are some examples:

He believed that Cain killed Abel (Luke 11:51), that God sent a flood but spared Noah on the ark (Matthew 24:37-39), and that God destroyed Sodom because of its wickedness (Matthew 11:23-24). He even adds, “Remember Lot’s wife” (Luke 17:32). Furthermore, Jesus believed that God sent manna from heaven (John 6:31), that the Israelites were healed by looking at the serpent (John 3:14), and that Jonah was swallowed by a great fish only to be put to death three days later (Matthew 12:39-41).

The last text about Jonah is especially significant because it shows that Jesus did not view these events merely figuratively. Indeed, at the end of the text we read: “The men of Nineveh will rise up with this generation in the judgment and condemn it, because they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and behold, something greater than Jonah is here” (Mt 12:41 ESV). It is difficult to imagine how Jesus could claim that Nineveh would rise up in the final judgment against the people who rejected him, if it was a farce. The same could be said of Jesus’ statement in Matthew 24:37: “For as the days of Noah were, so will be the coming of the Son of Man” (ESV). In other words, just as God’s judgment was poured out in the days of Noah, so it will be again at the final judgment.

Again, Wenham comments, “It is evident that [Jesus] was familiar with most of our Old Testament and treated it all equally as history.”2

The Old Testament has authority

Because Jesus believed the Old Testament was divinely inspired, he also claimed its full authority. He demonstrated this authority by appealing to the scriptures dozens of times.

When asked what the greatest commandments are, He declares that “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind . . . And the second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself” (Matthew 22:37-39). Jesus said that these two commandments (Deut. 6:4-6; Lev. 19:18) summarize the entirety of the Old Testament and are the guide for all ethical questions.

When faced with temptation, Jesus appealed to the authority of Scripture to fight Satan. He repeatedly declared, “It is written, it is written, it is written” (Matthew 4:1–11). Even when facing death, the last words He spoke were from the Old Testament (Psalm 22:1; 31:5).

Jesus appeals to Genesis 1-2 when speaking of marriage and divorce . He asks, “Have you not read that he who created them from the beginning made them male and female, and said, ‘ For this reason a man shall leave his father and his mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’? They are no longer two but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let no man separate . ” (Mt 19:4-6 ESV) By alluding to Genesis 1-2 here, Jesus is asserting that his position on marriage and divorce is rooted in the authority of the Old Testament text. In contrast, Jesus’ opponents rooted their position in different rabbis (Shammai and Hillel).

In disputing with the Sadducees about the resurrection, Jesus rebukes them: ” But Jesus answered and said to them, ‘ You are mistaken, not understanding the Scriptures nor the power of God . . . ‘” (Matthew 22:29 ESV). In other words, the Scriptures give us the definitive, authoritative word on the resurrection. Jesus goes on to ask them: “Have you not read what God said to you: ‘I am the God of Abraham . . . ‘” (Matthew 31–32). Again, Jesus appeals to the Old Testament text to affirm God’s power over the resurrection.

Jesus goes so far as to say that ” and the Scripture cannot be broken ” (John 10:35 ESV). For Jesus, Scripture is so powerful that nothing can undo it.

Jesus and the Old Testament

All the evidence taken together suggests that Jesus held the Old Testament in high regard. Those who claim to hold Jesus in high regard but reject some of the Old Testament teachings are being inconsistent. If Jesus is held in high regard, then the Old Testament must also be held in high regard. As John Wenham points out:

“For Christ, the Old Testament was true, authoritative, and inspired. For him, the God of the Old Testament was the living God, and the teaching of the Old Testament was the teaching of the living God. For him, what Scripture said, God said.”3

*For more information on this topic, see John Wenham’s book Christ and the Bible .

Recommended resources in Spanish:

Stealing from God ( Paperback ), ( Teacher Study Guide ), and ( Student Study Guide ) by Dr. Frank Turek

Why I Don’t Have Enough Faith to Be an Atheist ( Complete DVD Series ), ( Teacher’s Workbook ), and ( Student’s Handbook ) by Dr. Frank Turek

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Ryan Leasure is the pastor of Grace Bible Church in Moore, SC. ​​For more information about his background and interests, click here .

Original Blog Source: https://bit.ly/35RC9P5

Translated by Yatniel Vega Garcia

Edited by Jennifer Chavez