How Jesus Validated the Old Testament

by David Gibson

Jesus repeatedly validated the authenticity of Old Testament characters and events. Here is just a brief sample:

“Have you not read that he who created them from the beginning made them male and female . . . ?” (Matthew 19:4-6 ESV).

“For as were the days of Noah, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day when Noah entered the ark, and they were unaware until the flood came and swept them all away, so will be the coming of the Son of Man” (Matthew 24:37-39 ESV).

“Your father Abraham rejoiced that he would see my day. He saw it and was glad” (John 8:56 ESV; see also Matthew 8:11; 22:31-32; Luke 13:16; 19:9; John 8:58).

“. . . on the day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven and destroyed them all. Even so will it be in the day when the Son of Man is revealed . . . . Remember Lot's wife” (Luke 17:29-30, 32 NKJV).

“For if you believed Moses, you would believe Me; for he wrote about Me” (John 5:46 NKJV; see also Matthew 8:4; Mark 7:10; 10:3; 12:26; Luke 16:29-31; 24:27, 44; John 3:14).

“. . . for just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the sea monster, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. The men of Nineveh will stand up with this generation at the judgment, and will condemn it for they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and behold, something greater than Jonah is here” (Matthew 12:40-41 NASB).

Conclusion

Jesus quoted from the Old Testament to counter Satan’s temptations and to refute the errors of the Pharisees and Sadducees.

In His hometown synagogue, Jesus read from Isaiah 61:1-2, and then said, “Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing” (Luke 4:16-21 NKJV).

Jesus’ attitude toward the Old Testament can be summed up in His simple but profound statement: “. . . the Scripture cannot be broken” (John 10:35 NKJV). Since He had such complete confidence in God’s revealed word, should we not also? A diligent study of the Old Testament helps us appreciate even more the greater covenant we now enjoy in Christ!