10 Truths Jesus Holds About Scripture

It seems everyone has a view of Scripture. Some think it is verbatim God’s Word to us. Others believe it is not the words themselves that are important; it is the experience we have while reading it. In other words, the true Word of God lies behind the text. Others believe it is a book merely written by men. Some will even say, “We follow Jesus, not the Bible.” With all these ideas floating around, asking how Jesus views Scripture seems wise. The first chapter of The Doctrine of Scripture: An Introduction by Mark D. Thompson does precisely that and gives us ten truths Jesus holds about Scripture. I have summarized them below.

1. Scripture is the final authority in matters of faith and faithful living.

When Jesus faced temptation in the wilderness, he said, “It is written” each time before quoting Scripture. In doing this, he implies that Scripture settles any question at hand. He appeals to no authority in this situation other than the written Word of God, which decides the question in his mind.

The rich young ruler asks, “What should I do to inherit eternal life?” Jesus responds, “What is written in the law?” Jesus was not trying to mislead the young man; he pointed him where he could find the needed answer. During his ministry on this earth, Jesus appealed to Scripture as the final authority in matters related to faith and practice.

2. The written Scripture was the context for Jesus’ self-understanding and ministry.

Jesus reads Isaiah and says about himself, “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing” (Luke 4:21). Jesus also saw himself in typology. “As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up” (John 3:14). At the Last Supper, he sees himself as the Passover lamb when he says, “This is my blood.”

Jesus saw the Old Testament Scripture as the context of who he was and what he came to do. If Scripture is not true, Jesus was deceived about who he was and, therefore, deceived others.

3. Jesus Identified Scripture as the “Word of God.”

In Mark 7:13, Jesus verbally identifies the written Old Testament Scriptures as God’s Word when he tells the Pharisees they were “making void the Word of God by your tradition.” Jesus did not believe it was merely a man-made book. The very words are the Words of God.

4. Jesus believed the “double agency” of Scripture.

As Jesus believed the scriptures are the Word of God, he also knew men wrote them. Jesus often used words like, “Moses wrote of me.” “David himself says in the Psalms.” “Well did Isaiah prophesy of you.” Jesus believed the “Word of God” was written through human agency, and the one does not diminish the other.

5. Jesus believed Scripture was intelligible.

Jesus expects people to know and understand what Scripture says. He would critique those in error by saying, “Have you not read.” He expects people to read his Word and understand what it is saying. Sure, some passages are more complex than others, and some finer points may take years of study, but the basic message of Scripture is not hard to understand.

When people misinterpreted the Word of God, Jesus indicated that the problem was not with the Word but with the people. “Whoever is of God hears the words of God. The reason why you do not hear them is that you are not of God” (John 8:4). Scripture has a clarity to it that anyone can understand; it is our willful blindness that causes us to suppress the truth in unrighteousness.

6. Jesus believed Scripture was truthful.

Jesus said, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free” (John 8:31-32). He also said, “Sanctify them in the truth; Your word is truth” (John 17:17.)

Jesus even appealed to the truthfulness of the Old Testament on topics like Noah and the flood, the existence of Adam and Eve, Cain killing able, Jonah and the whale, and many others. What some people consider silly stories, Jesus indicates really happened.

Jesus not only believes the Word of God is true, but he also believes it is the truth. It is an axiom. We do not need other things to help us see if the scriptures are true; we need the scriptures to help us see everything else.

7. Jesus believed Scripture was sufficient.

Some people say they cannot believe the scriptures without seeing a miracle. They seem to think that the scriptures are not self-attesting to their truthfulness. This same idea was around during Jesus’ ministry. Someone once suggested that more people would believe if a man was sent back from the dead. Jesus responded, “If they do not hear Moses and the prophets, neither will they be convinced if someone should rise from the dead” (Luke 16:31).

Not only is Scripture self-attesting, but it is also sufficient to meet our needs. “Man does not live by bread alone but by every word that comes from the mouth of God” (Matthew 4:4). Jesus believed Scripture was enough for us to know it is the Word of God and to satisfy our deepest spiritual needs.

8. Jesus believed in the efficacy of Scripture.

Jesus believed the Word of God would not return void. He once said, “Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock.  And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock” (Matthew 7:24). Jesus’ view is that if we believe and live by his Word, we will not be shaken.

9. Jesus believed the Apostles’ words were authoritative.

We have talked about the authority of the Old Testament, but what about the words of the apostles? Speaking to the apostles, Jesus said, “A servant is not greater than his master. If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you. If they kept my word, they will also keep yours” (John 15:20). He also said, “If anyone will not receive you or listen to your words, shake off the dust from your feet when you leave that house or town” (John 15:14). There is a sense in which Jesus saw the apostles’ words and his words on equal footing.

The reason the apostles’ words were authoritative is that they were moved by the Holy Spirit. He told them, “Do not worry what you are to say for it will be given to you in that hour. For it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you” (John 15:19-20).

There is indeed a lesser sense in which those verses also apply to us, but the apostles were especially gifted to establish the church. Jesus said that the Holy Spirit would come and lead them into all truth, and he did so through the writings of the apostles by giving us everything we need in the books of the New Testament.

10. Jesus believed there was an appropriate response to the Word of God

Does it matter how we respond to the Word of God? It certainly does. Jesus sees only one appropriate response when we hear His Word. Jesus said, “As for that in the good soil, they are those who, hearing the word, hold it fast in an honest and good heart, and bear fruit with patience” – (Luke 8:15). Hear it, believe it, and put it into practice.

Jesus’ identity is bound up in the Word of God. He is the Word made flesh. The trustworthiness of the Bible is inextricably tied to the trustworthiness of Jesus. If the Word of God is not trustworthy, neither is Jesus, and if Jesus is not trustworthy, neither are the Scriptures. To follow Jesus, we must obey his word; they cannot be separated.

Written Scripture, penned by the apostles and prophets, is the very Word of God. It is truthful, intelligible, sufficient, and authoritative. It is the rock upon which we should build our lives, and there is only one proper response to it. “Blessed. . .are those who hear the word of God and keep it” (Luke 11:28).

-D. Eaton