Jesus and the Old Testament

Jesus quoted the OT in a way that revealed His respect for its divine authority. He said it was “the word of God.” Jesus referred to each of its main divisions and said that each of those division foretold His appearance, His mission and His work. Jesus accepted the OT as true in its prophecy and normative ethics.

Gentle Jesus took a strip of those who did not believe the OT regarding Him and His work. Although Jesus was and is God incarnate, He never put that position above the authority of Scripture; in fact He deferred to and referred to Scripture regarding His teaching and actions as well as His messianic ministry. In fact, Jesus made sure that His ministry adhered to OT prophecy.

“This happened so that prophecy may be fulfilled.”

Whether Jesus was resisting satan or hanging on the cross, Jesus used the written word to guide His behaviour.

Now, some say that Jesus was just a product of His culture. This is ridiculous. Jesus’ culture was King of kings and Lord of lords. All through His ministry Jesus showed and lived a direct opposition to His culture. Jesus did not come from a human culture. He assumed a human consciousness, a human nature; an unfallen human nature; one that was foretold in the Old Testament.