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What did Jesus say about the Bible
Jesus Says . . .
What Did Jesus Say About the Bible?
The word “Bible” does not appear in the book we call the Bible. The English word “Bible” is transliterated from the Greek word Biblos, which means “book.” This Greek word appears ten times in the New Testament, mostly used to describe books of the Old Testament. In modern times “Bible” means “the Christian scriptures, consisting of the Old and New Testaments.” Jesus spoke only about the Old Testament, because the New Testament had not been written when He lived on earth.
We learn what Jesus thought about the Scriptures from how He used them:
- He used them to defend Himself from Satan (Matt. 4:1-11).
- He used them as sufficient proofs of truth in His confrontations with the Jews (Matt. 22:32).
- He affirmed that “scripture cannot be broken” (John 10:35). What Jesus meant when He said Scripture “cannot be broken” is that Scripture will stand forever and cannot be annulled.
- He believed Scripture prophesied of Him (Matt. 26:54; Luke 24:44).
- He believed every word of Scripture is important (Matt. 5:17-18; 22:32).
- He Himself obeyed the Scriptures perfectly (Heb. 4:15; Gal. 4:4) and condemned those who did not obey Scripture (Matt. 5:19).
Paul expressed this about the Bible: “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work” (2 Tim. 3:16-17). The Lord’s disciple, Peter, said about Scripture, “for prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit” (2 Pet. 1:20-21).
We can conclude that Jesus says the words of Scripture are, therefore, the words of God, not words which men wrote containing their own fallible thoughts about God.
Not everyone who claims to believe in Jesus believes that the Scriptures are “the inspired words of God.” Some pastors and theologians do not hesitate to disagree with what the Bible says on selected subjects (creation, homosexuality, sex outside the bonds of marriage, etc.). Since I am committed to following Jesus, what He says about Scripture carries more weight than what our latest and greatest scholar might believe. If Jesus is who He claimed to be, He is deity, the incarnate Son of God. What He says about any subject settles the matter.
Mike Willis
