1 Feb 2024

As we study the gospels (particularly Matthew and Luke), we would realise that Jesus claimed to exhibit in himself what the Old Testament actually meant. He presented himself to the Jews as the fulfiller of Scriptures; in life and death, the Lord devoted himself to fulfilling the Scriptures.
“Do you think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them” (Matt. 5:17).
In Luke 4:18-21, Jesus declared his manifesto by quoting Isaiah 61:1-3 and claimed that these verses and prophecy were fulfilled in him, causing the hearers to be flabbergasted.
In the closing chapter of Luke, chapter 24, Jesus, after his resurrection, was walking with two disciples on the road to Emmaus. The two were discouraged that Jesus was crucified; but Jesus ‘corrected’ them and revealed to them how the Scriptures referred to what had happened to the Messiah, and what was to follow,

The Gospels assure us that the historic Israelite belief in the divine authority of the Old Testament was the foundation of Christ’s whole ministry. There were some Christians in the church history who claimed to believe only in the New Testament and that the Old Testament was obsolete – these were false teachers. What is significant is to note that Jesus saw the Old Testament Scripture as the key to understanding God’s plan and it is also the key to himself. In other words, Jesus believed in the Old Testament as Scripture and part of God’s revelation to us. Together with the New Testament, the canon had been instituted to affirm the authority and inerrancy of Scripture as God’s revelation to God’s people throughout history.

It is from Scripture that theology emerged; both theology and Scripture are very important for believers and the church to study, to uphold and to apply. Jesus himself upheld the Old Testament, and the New Testament was penned by men as co-authors with God’s Spirit (although the ultimate author is God himself in His Spirit).

Christians cannot afford to ignore sound doctrines (and theology); they definitely cannot ignore the revelation of the Bible (for All scripture is inspired by God and is profitable for teaching, rebuke, correction and training in righteousness). In the history of the church, wrong teaching, wrong interpretation, even by supposedly sincere individuals, have caused much harm to God’s kingdom and the church.