Jesus and the Bible

What we believe about the Bible is key to our faith. It is key to understanding the gospel that the Bible reveals to us. How authoritative is it? What does it say about God and about us? Do we trust it? These are all questions we need to explore. Today, I want to ask you another question, one that may come off as strange at first.

What did Jesus think about the Bible? What did He believe about it? Not what we assume about Him or what we assume because of what we think about the Bible but what did Jesus Himself believe and teach about the Scriptures? That is what we are going to dive into this morning.

Russ Bush, a seminary professor said,

“The issue of biblical authority is ultimately a question of Christological identity. What you think about Jesus will ultimately influence what you think about the Bible. Your theology of the living Word (Jesus) and the written Word (the Bible) go hand in hand.”

This morning, Lord willing, we are going to look at what Jesus believed about the Bible and then see if we are with Him in this or if we have bought into some religious and legalistic or lawless ideas along the way.

PRAY

Matthew 5:17–20 ESV

“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. 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. Therefore whoever relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.

I. The scriptures are about Jesus.(v17)

A. Jesus accomplished.

B. Jesus fulfilled.

The Greek word used that we translate “to fulfill” refers to carrying something out. Jesus performed or upheld, carried out all that was required by the law and he also did all of the things predicted about Him in the prophets. He is the fullest expression of the Law and the Prophets (the whole of the OT).

His teachings were new and striking in their contrast of what the religious leaders of the day taught and did.

John 7:46 ESV

The officers answered, “No one ever spoke like this man!”

Jesus wants them to know that there is no break between His teaching and the Law. They should not assume that He came to destroy the law but rather He is the fullest expression of the Law and the Prophets. He’s the Word made flesh.

John 1:1–2 ESV

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God.

John 1:14 ESV

And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.

Jesus clearly states the purpose for His coming. To fulfill the Scrptures. He never meant to set them aside. He was rather, bringing them to fruition. All Scripture… the Bible is a testimony about Christ. It’s God’s Word revealing Himself to us in Jesus.

John 5:39 ESV

You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me,

John 17:17 ESV

Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth.

Luke 24:25–27 ESV

And he said to them, “O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and enter into his glory?” And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself.

Luke 24:44–45 ESV

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.” Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures,

Jesus Christ is the theme of the entire Bible. He’s the main character, the hero of the story. It all points to Him.

There is an anonymous poem written years ago that goes like this:

Exalting Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount What Did Jesus Believe about the Bible? 5:17-20

“I Find My Lord in the Book”:

I find my Lord in the Bible wherever I chance to look,

He is the theme of the Bible the center and heart of the Book;

He is the Rose of Sharon, He is the Lily fair,

Wherever I open my Bible the Lord of the Book is there.

He, at the Book’s beginning, gave to the earth its form,

He is the Ark of shelter bearing the brunt of the storm,

The Burning Bush of the desert, the budding of Aaron’s Rod,

Wherever I look in the Bible I see the Son of God.

The Ram upon Mt. Moriah, the Ladder from earth to sky,

The Scarlet Cord in the window, and the Serpent lifted high,

The smitten Rock in the desert, the Shepherd with staff and crook,

The face of my Lord I discover wherever I open the Book.

He is the Seed of the Woman, the Savior Virgin-born;

He is the Son of David, whom men rejected with scorn,

His garments of grace and of beauty the stately Aaron deck,

He is a priest forever, after the order of Melchizedek.

Lord of eternal glory whom John, the Apostle saw;

Light of the golden city, Lamb without spot or flaw,

Bridegroom coming at midnight, for whom the Virgins look.

Wherever I open my Bible, I find my Lord in the Book.

When you read the Word, look for Jesus there.

II. The Word of God is perfect and endures. (v18)

In verse 18 we have this statement the keys into the personal authority of Jesus. His teaching had authority because of who He was and is.

The Greek word that we have translated as truly, or assuredly, or I tell you the truth, or I assure you, is the Greek word, amen. When we see this, know that in the Greek it was an alert that the following words are authoritative and highly important.

Jot - a reference to the smallest letter of the Hebrew alphabet

Tittle - the smallest part of a Hebrew letter

Luke 16:17 ESV

But it is easier for heaven and earth to pass away than for one dot of the Law to become void.

Jesus affirms the reliability of the scriptures, as well as the truthfulness of them in the strongest possible language.

John 10:35 ESV

If he called them gods to whom the word of God came—and Scripture cannot be broken—

H.C.G. Moule says,

Exalting Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount What Did Jesus Believe about the Bible? 5:17-20

[Jesus] absolutely trusted the Bible; and though there are in it things inexplicable and intricate that have puzzled me so much, I am going, not in a blind sense, but reverently, to trust the Book because of Him. (Quoted in Pache, Inspiration and Authority, 223)

III. The Bible should be both taught and obeyed. (v19)

The authority of the Bible applies to even the smallest details.

To break even a single command has serious consequences.

To teach others to do the same has terrible consequences as well.

Teaching that any command of God is no big deal in infact, a very big deal.

James 3:1 ESV

Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness.

KEEPING THE LORD’S COMMANDS IS NOT A SMALL THING.

John 14:15 ESV

“If you love me, you will keep my commandments.

John 15:10 ESV

If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love.

1 John 3:24 ESV

Whoever keeps his commandments abides in God, and God in him. And by this we know that he abides in us, by the Spirit whom he has given us.

1 John 5:3 ESV

For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome.

Scripture is more than a guide book for how to live life. It’s the revelation of Jesus Christ. It is also like the guiding tracks on which the Christian life is driven.

IV. The focus of the Bible is on the heart and spirit of the law.(v20)

The scribes and Pharisees were seen as very righteous groups. They were looked at with respect and admiration by the people. To hear a statement like verse 20 would have been shocking and even scandalous to the hearers. How were they supposed to surpass the righteousness of these religious experts? First let’s look at who these two groups were as summed up by Charles Quarles:

Exalting Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount What Did Jesus Believe about the Bible? 5:17-20

The “scribes” (5:20) were highly trained experts in the interpretation and application of the law. They normally began their training as children and continued their studies until formal ordination at age 40. The scribes were greatly respected by most Jews of the day. When scribes walked down the streets in their distinctive robes, others would stand in their honor, greeting them with titles like “rabbi,” “father,” or “master.” Hosts typically offered the scribes the seat of honor at banquets (23:6).

Exalting Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount What Did Jesus Believe about the Bible? 5:17-20

The “Pharisees” were members of a movement in Judaism that was committed to meticulous observance of the law. They particularly emphasized matters such as tithing, ritual purity, and Sabbath observance. Scribes and Pharisees belonged to two distinct groups. Serving as a scribe was a profession. The Pharisees, on the other hand, were a Jewish sect. Some scribes were Pharisees, and the Pharisees likely chose their leaders from among the scribes. The scribes and Pharisees shared in common a commitment to the study and observance of the law. (Sermon, 100–101)

248 regulations

365 prohibitions to fence and protect the law

ONLY SKIN DEEP. Focused on outward activity alone.

Verse 19 - warns of lawlessness

Verse 20 - warns of legalism

The righteousness of a Christian must be more than simply skin deep. It is a surpassing righteousness.

This is how they surpass the righteousness of these two groups… by not focusing only on external legal adherence but by having pure spirits… their motivations, their desires were to be different. The Beatitudes explain the righteous living of a believer in Christ and that only comes when someone has a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. When they have grieved over their sin and repented and called out to Jesus as their only hope of salvation. It must start with repenting of sin and believing the gospel message that Jesus, all God and all man, came from heaven, born of a virgin, lived a perfect, law fulfilling life and willingly died on the cross in the place of sinners as a substitute, the wrath of God that we deserve being poured out on Him as our substitutionary sacrifice. And he bodily rose from the grave after three days and and appeared to at least 500 people before ascending into heaven where He waits for the day of His return for His people. Those who believe this, whom He has given the sweet gift of repentance, are adopted into the family of God and get to be joint heirs with Christ. They get Christ’s righteousness. He takes their sin and in turn bestows His righteousness upon us.

So what does this surpassing righteousness that goes beyond skin deep and beyond the scribes and pharisees?

Here is one scholar’s accurate four-fold description:

Focuses on the spirit of the law, not the letter of the law. (not looking for loopholes)

Focuses on the internal rather than the external.

Focuses on more important matters of the law rather than minor points of law.

Matthew 23:23 ESV

“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and cumin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness. These you ought to have done, without neglecting the others.

4. Focuses on the Christian displaying divine character.

You see, it’s not about beating the scribes and Pharisees at their own game. It’s not even the same game. It’s not like playing chess while they play checkers. It’s like the difference between playing chess and driving a race car. It’s a completely different concept of righteousness all together. And the legalists didn’t get it. They still don’t. Because righteousness is not tied to our outward actions alone but to a personal relationship with Jesus. Why you are surrendered to and serving…what you believe about the gospel will put you on this track or tell whether you’re still just playing a game.

Conclusion:

What do you believe about the Bible?

I can watch your life and tell what you really believe.

For many years I served and attended Southern Baptist Churches. I have yet to find a better and more complete statement written by men that explains the bible’s truth and reliability than this particular section of the Baptist Faith and Message 2000. The document says this:

Exalting Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount What Did Jesus Believe about the Bible? 5:17-20

The Holy Bible was written by men divinely inspired and is God’s revelation of Himself to man. It is a perfect treasure of divine instruction. It has God for its author, salvation for its end, and truth, without any mixture of error, for its matter. Therefore, all Scripture is totally true and trustworthy. It reveals the principles by which God judges us, and therefore is, and will remain to the end of the world, the true center of Christian union, and the supreme standard by which all human conduct, creeds, and religious opinions should be tried. All Scripture is a testimony to Christ, who is Himself the focus of divine revelation. (Baptist Faith and Message)

I want to close with a story told by I.R. Scarborough. He spoke of B.H. Carroll who he succeeded as president of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary.

Exalting Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount What Did Jesus Believe about the Bible? 5:17-20

B. H. Carroll, the greatest man I ever knew, as he was about to die, a few days before he died, expecting me, as he wanted me, to succeed him as president of the seminary, I was in his room one day and he pulled himself up by my chair with his hands and looked me in the face. There were times when he looked like he was forty feet high. And he looked into my face and said, “My boy, on this Hill orthodoxy, the old truth, is making one of its last stands and I want to deliver to you a charge and I do it in the blood of Jesus Christ.” He said, “You will be elected president of this seminary. I want you, if there ever comes heresy in your faculty, to take it to your faculty. If they won’t hear you, take it to the trustees. If they won’t hear you take it to the conventions that appointed them. If they won’t hear you, take it to the common Baptists. They will hear you. And,” he said, “I charge you in the name of Jesus Christ to keep it lashed to the old Gospel of Jesus Christ.” As long as I have influence in that institution, by the grace of God I will stand by the old Book. (227–28)

What a strong statement. It’s a statement that our lives should be defined by and our church should stand on. We stand on the authority and accuracy and truthfulness of the Word. It is the Word about Jesus. He is the Word made flesh.

What do you believe about the Bible? Does it match with what Jesus believes about it? If not, what are you going to do about that?

The thing is: You can watch someone’s life and tell what they believe about the Bible. It’s not about the outward action alone but the outward action will be driven by what is in the heart.

I can watch your life and tell what you really believe.

So this morning, do you need a truth adjustment?

Repent and believe the good news of the gospel. Trust Jesus and follow Him. He is the only way to TRUE righteousness.