Jesus and the Bible

So today’s topic might not be the most interesting, but who knows…some might find it quite interesting to chew on and think about (ooh, ending a sentence in a preposition! Mrs. Cramer, my eighth grade English teacher, would have my hide!).

Yesterday’s message reflected something of Jesus’ own view of the Bible. Now, a few points are worth mentioning. 1., If you don’t claim to follow Jesus, you still need to know that he had his own views and understanding about the Bible itself. 2., Jesus, most likely, didn’t have a personal copy of the Bible (his Bible were scrolls of the Old Testament and they were housed in the synagogues of the day). 3., This blog will have nothing to do with canon formation or textual criticism (if you don’t know what those are, then probably all the better…).

Now, we said that Jesus’ own view of the OT was that all of it pointed to him. This was neither a show of megalomania nor one of brash hubris. Through his life and teaching, he actually validated what the entirety of his Bible “pointed towards.”

A very important point arises at this point (Dang it! Same word twice, in one sentence, each with a different sense. I hear you coming, Mrs. Cramer). We said that the OT pointed forward to a coming Messiah, but what sort of Messiah would he be? This question is HUGE!!! Was he going to be a great moral guru? A social activist? A dude who tossed-out pithy platitudes, hoping that some would listen? Or, something else altogether? This question seems to be of the utmost importance (i.e., though the OT pointed to a Messiah, what kind of Messiah would he be? Moreover, how would he, in fact, prove this Messiah-ship?). It seems to me that that the type of Rescuer (read: Messiah) that the OT points towards is one who would die and his death (and subsequent resurrection) would “set the world” right.

In what ways do you see is as significant that we get the correct type of Messiah? Thanks for your thoughts…

--Ryan