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Luke 10:25–37
“[Jesus] said to him, ‘What is written in the Law? How do you read it?’” (v. 26).
In yesterday’s study, we affirmed that the Scriptures are inspired, infallible, and inerrant. But on what ultimate basis do we hold these convictions? Considering this question leads to another: What did Jesus think about Scripture? If Jesus is Lord, then His view of the Bible must be our view as well, and we cannot claim to follow Him while dismissing what He taught about the Word of God.
Some modern scholars have attempted to affirm Christ’s lordship while denying the inerrancy of Scripture. They suggest that Jesus, in His humanity, may have accommodated Himself to the erroneous beliefs of His contemporaries. Others argue that the biblical record of Jesus’ words is itself unreliable. Both approaches face serious problems. If Jesus knowingly taught something false about Scripture, He sinned, for it is wrong to assert what one knows to be untrue (Ex. 20:16). If He unknowingly held a false view, then His claim to be the way, the truth, and the life is compromised (John 14:6). In either case, a Jesus who was wrong about the Bible cannot be the sinless Savior.
When we examine what the Gospels record, the evidence is clear. Jesus consistently treated Scripture as the final word in every dispute. In today’s passage, when a lawyer tested Him, Jesus did not appeal to rabbinic opinion or cultural consensus but directed the man to the written Word: “What is written in the Law? How do you read it?” (Luke 10:26). Throughout His ministry, Jesus settled questions by pointing to what God had spoken in the text. He rebuked the Sadducees for not knowing the Scriptures (Matt. 22:29). He confronted the devil in the wilderness by quoting Deuteronomy (Matt. 4:1–11). He built His understanding of His own mission on what Moses, the prophets, and the Psalms had written about Him (Luke 24:44).
Jesus also affirmed the complete truthfulness of Scripture. He declared that the Scriptures “cannot be broken” (John 10:35). He told His disciples that not the smallest letter or stroke of a letter would pass from the law until all is accomplished (Matt. 5:18). He affirmed the historicity of Old Testament events that modern skeptics dismiss, such as the creation of Adam and Eve, the flood of Noah, and the account of Jonah. John Calvin rightly observes that when we hear the name of the Son of God, we ought to consider that His words are not to be disputed but are to be received with solemn reverence. If we claim Jesus as our Lord, intellectual honesty demands that we embrace His view of Scripture.
Coram Deo Living before the face of God
We cannot honor Christ as Lord and simultaneously set aside His teaching about the Scriptures. His reverence for the written Word was total, His confidence in its truthfulness absolute, and His appeal to it as the final authority in every dispute unwavering. To follow Him is to receive the Bible on His terms, not our own.
For further study
- Deuteronomy 8:1–6; 18:15–22
- Numbers 23:19
- Luke 4:16–21
The bible in a year
- Psalms 39–41
- Acts 25