Truth Magazine

By Frank Jamerson

In spite of the fact that there are many scientists who believe the Bible to be the word of God, the common conception is that you must choose either the Bible or science. This condition exists partly because of false theories about the Bible and partly because of false theories about science. Science really involves experimentation, observation and classification of facts. Conflict often comes because an interpretation is placed upon the facts which contradicts Bible teaching, or because an interpretation is placed upon Scripture which contradicts scientific fact. We believe that the God of Nature is the God of the Bible and, therefore, the two “books” cannot be contradictory.

We must realize that the Bible is not written as a book of science. Bernard Ramm made the following observations about the language of the Bible that are worthy of our careful consideration. “The language of the Bible with reference to natural matters is popular not scientific.” By “popular” he means the language in which the common man converses. “The scientist writes his essay for his technical journal in the jargon of his speciality, and this jargon is a most valuable tool for the communication of his ideas. When he chats with his neighbor as they meet in some social gathering the scientist prudently recourses to the vocabulary of popular speech.” Also, he observed, “The language of the Bible is phenomenal. By phenomenal we mean `pertaining to appearances.’ The Bible uses a language that is not only popular but restricted to the apparent. For example it speaks of `the four corners (wings) of the earth’ (Isa. 11:12) because the division of something into quarters is a frequent human operation and a convenient method of indicating place. . . such expressions are neither scientific nor anti-scientific, but the popular and phenomenal expressions of daily conversation.”(1)

Men who have not understood these facts have claimed that the Bible is anti-scientific because it speaks of the sun as “going down” or “rising.” The truth is that such expressions do not imply an earth-centered universe, and the very scientists who would make such criticism probably speak of the sun “rising in the East” or a “beautiful sunset.” Such expressions are “popular and phenomenal expressions” and not anti-scientific.

Why the concern over whether the Bible and science agree or disagree? Some would say that the two are in separate realms and that we should not be concerned about harmonizing them. We disagree with this concept for three reasons. First, because some have used “science” to create anti-Scriptural systems. When men of science place an interpretation upon facts which contradicts plain Bible teaching, then their interpretations must be challenged. Second, the Bible does state some facts that are scientific. If these facts are rejected, the the whole Bible is unreliable and not to be trusted in anything. For example, the Bible teaches that matter was created, therefore is not eternal, that everything reproduces after its “kind” and that God created man from the dust of the earth. If scientists contend that matter is eternal, that every “kind” came through the process of organic evolution and that man descended from the ape, their theories must be challenged. Both cannot be right! Third, miracles have been attacked as non-scientific and, therefore, not to be accepted. “If the biologist denies the virgin birth and the astronomer the long day of Joshua and the geologist the creation record”(2) the Christian must stand opposed to such views. The Christian knows that he cannot reproduce the virgin birth, the creation of woman from a rib or any other miracle recorded in the Bible, but this does not contradict science. Science simply does not deal with the miraculous.

We will now notice some scientific laws and show their harmony with Bible facts. The law of biogenesis says that living organisms can be generated only by pre-existing living organisms. The Genesis account says that everything reproduces “after its kind” (Gen. 1:21). Today, many scientists deny this law in order to propagate the theory of organic evolution. A person must either accept the fact that God created and that things reproduce after their own kind, or that matter is eternal and that life originated from spontaneous generation. “Organic evolution, as usually defined, means that gradual development of all forms of life by natural processes from complex chemicals in the earth’s primeval ocean …. But there is an overwhelming scientific objection right at the beginning, namely, the impossibility of accounting for the development of living organisms from nonliving chemicals in the first place. The notion of `spontaneous generation’ was widely held until demolished by Pasteur and others a hundred years ago. It is known beyond doubt that there is no such process occurring in the present world . . . .”(3) The evolutionist, in denying the Bible account, must believe in spontaneous generation though he knows that not one case is documented and that it is contrary to the law of biogenesis!

Another scientific law that harmonizes with the Bible teaching is called the First Law of Thermodynamics. In 1841, “Mayer formulated the law of mass and energy conservation …. This law of energy conservation states that the sum total of all energy in the universe remains constant, but one form of energy may be converted into another. A companion law is the law of mass conservation, which states that although matter may be changed in size, shape, form, etc., the total mass cannot be changed.”(4) The Bible says that the “heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them” (Gen. 2:1).

The Second Law of Thermodynamics says that the universe is running down, which harmonizes with the Bible teaching that it was created. “The atheist ridicules the concept of an Eternal God, yet he himself believes in the eternal existence of matter. His belief in the eternal existence of matter is not only without reasonable evidence, it is contrary to one of the best established scientific laws, the Second Law of Thermodynamics . . . .”(5)

The Christian accepts the statements of Scripture by faith. We did not see God create the world and the various kinds of creatures, but the facts of science do not contradict the facts of Scripture. The evolutionist accepts his position by faith also. He has not observed life springing from non-living substance, nor an ape changing into a man. He believes that time, chance and environment can, and in fact have, produced the universe and all that it contains.

Why have scientists accepted this unscientific theory? In 1921, the British botanist D.H. Scott, said: “A new generation has grown up which knows not Darwin. Is even then evolution not a scientifically ascertained fact? No! We must hold it as an act of faith because there is no alternative.”(6) D.M.S. Watson, Professor of Zoology in London University said: “Evolution is a theory universally accepted, not because it can be proved to be true, but because the only alternative, `special creation,’ is clearly impossible.”(7)

The book, “Why Scientists Accept Evolution” by Robert T. Clark and James D. Bales documents the fact that the nineteenth century scientists “accepted evolution because of their anti-supernatural bias, and not because of the weight of scientific evidence” (p. 108). They also conclude that many today “accept it for the simple reason that certain men, who were supposed to know, accepted it.” Many science teachers today are totally ignorant of any objection to the theory of organic evolution. They are unaware that scientific facts can be interpreted to harmonize with the creation account.(8)

There are many other evidences that could be given of the harmony between the Bible and science. We must be careful however, not to read into the Bible so-called “pre-scientific” statements that were not intended. The amazing fact that no anti-scientific statements are found in the Bible should fortify our faith in the word of God. We believe it because of its unity, fulfilled prophecy and profound teaching, but its scientific and historical accuracy confirms our faith. It is from God and the false theories of men are not found therein.

Endnotes

1. Bernard Ramm, The Christian View of Science and Scripture, p. 46.

2. Ibid., p. 30.

3. Henry M. Morris, The Bible and Modern Science, pp. 33, 34.

4. A.O. Sehnabel, Has God Spoken?, p. 50.

5. Wayne Jackson, Fortify Your Faith, p. 10.

6. Bolton Davidheiser, Evolution and Christian Faith, p. 155.

7. Ibid.

8. There is an excellent booklet, “The Theory of Evolution and Special Creation,” by John L. Clark and David A. Eakin which gives scientific facts and then the evolutionary and creationist interpretations of these facts.

Guardian of Truth XXVII: 1, pp. 16-17
January 6, 1983

By Aude McKee

The Bible is a divinely inspired record of the creation of all things, including man, and of God’s dealings with the human race. The Bible is not a history book, just as it is not a book written for people with a scientific turn of mind, or for people with interests in other fields of learning. But it is a fact that whenever God’s Word touches incidentally on any of these areas, it is always accurate. Someone has made the observation that the Bible is not only amazing in the accuracy with which it deals with whatever subject it may touch, but it is also an amazing book from the standpoint of what is does not say. Writers of books in years past would parrot the errors held at the time as though they had been proven and then, if they lived long enough, have to blush as they were proven wrong. God’s Word.is absolutely dependable in every -statement made and every fact presented. No new editions have ever been printed to remove errors from the Bible that the Holy Spirit made.

Those things that vitally affect the eternal welfare of man are matters of faith. It has never been possible, nor will it ever be as long as this world stands, for men to “prove” there is a God, a devil who is as real as we are, a heaven and a hell, etc. But it is just as true that it is impossible for infidels, rationalists, and atheists to disprove such things. So, to accomplish their goal, these people have had to resort to other lines of attack. Since “faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God,” they have made the Bible the battle ground. They have tried to cast doubt on the authorship of the books of the Bible, their date of writing, the miracles, and the historical accuracy of the book, to name a few. German rationalists of the late 18th, 19th, and early 20th centuries have led in this attack.

We stated a moment ago that the Bible is not a history book, but since it is a record of God’s dealings with man, the setting of the events of both the Old and New Testaments had to be included. What coinage and weights and measures were in use at the time? Who was on the thrones of nations about? These, and a host of other things, the Bible deals with incidentally, and these are some of the things that rationalists have denied when proof of their accuracy did not already exist.

This line of attack is a valid one. If the Bible cannot be relied upon when making a statement about some historical matter, then why would a person be inclined to believe a statement about heaven or salvation? This type of argument was used by a fellow named Lorenco Valla to disprove the authenticity of the document “Donation of Constantine.” This document was supposed to have been addressed. by Constantine the Great to Pope Sylvester I back in the 4th century. For many years it was used by the Catholic Church to back up its claims for the Papacy. But then in 1440, Valla gave a brilliant demonstration of its spuriousness. He said, “How in the world . . . could anyone speak of Constantinople as one of the partiarchal sees, when it was not yet a partiarchate, nor a see, nor a Christian city, nor even named Constatinople, nor founded nor planned!” And so the Catholics were forced to discontinue using the document. It was not historically accurate!

Have the attacks of the rationalists against the historical accuracy of the Bible had the same effect that Valla’s attack on the “Donation of Constantine” had? Far from it! In fact, these attacks have probably been partially responsible for the interest taken in archaeological efforts in areas where-Bible events unfolded. In turn, these diggings into the ruins of such areas have provided the proof of facts previously denied. Julius Wellhausen, a German rationalist, declared that “we can learn nothing from the Pentateuch about the history of patriarchal times, but only about ideas, customs and rituals that came into being many centuries later.” He also said that “Abraham is certainly not the name of a person – he is not to be considered a historical person. He might rather be thought of as a free creature of unconscious art” (Christianity Today, Sept. 19, 1980, p. 35). It is interesting that William F. Albright, the author of the above article, said that “Wellhausen never showed any interest in the discoveries of archaeology.” It is well that he showed no interest in archaeology (if he wanted to remain in ignorance), because archaeological material (according to Albright) “has been accumulating at an accelerated pace. We know from discoveries all over the Near East how well the Patriarchal narratives fit into the Middle Bronze age, between ca. 1900 and 1500 B.C. The excavations of Mari on the Middle Euphrates since 1933 has yielded many thousands of cuneiform tablets belonging to the then recently settled Northwestern Semites of Abraham’s time, whose language and customs were very close to those of the early Hebrews” (History, Archaeology and Christian Humanism, p. 29). In his book, Rivers in the Desert, Nelson Glueck deals with that part of the world that was Abraham’s.

Probably most of our readers know that skeptics long denied that a nation called Hittites ever existed, even though they were mentioned over twenty times in the Old Testament. Archaeologists have dug up thousands of clay tablets with incriptions that attest to the fact that the Old Testament is historically accurate. It was once popular to argue that Belshazzar, king of Babylon, and Nineveh, the capital of Assyria never existed. These have been confirmed by the spade. Moses makes mention of growing grapes and making wine in Egypt. This, in the past has been used as an example of historical inaccuracy, but archaeologists have unearthed Egyptian paintings showing that grapes were grown and wine was made. Those who have wished to discredit the Bible have said that secular history does not mention some forty-seven kings that are listed in the books of Chronicles and Kings, but archaeologists have uncovered evidence that proves these kings were not fictitious. Nelson Glueck, an archaeologist of some renown, says, “. . . it may be stated categorically that no archaeological discovery has ever controverted a Biblical reference. Scores of archaeological findings have been made which confirm in clear outline or in exact detail historical statements in the Bible. And, by the same token, proper evaluation of Biblical descriptions has often led to amazing discoveries. They form tessarae in the vast mosaic of the Bible’s almost incredible historical memory” (Rivers in the Desert, p. 31). Albright says, “The narratives of the Patriarchs, of Moses and the Exodus, of the conquest of Canaan, of the Judges, the Monarchy, Exile, and Restoration, have all been confirmed and illustrated to an extent that I should have thought impossible forty years ago . . . . There has been a general return to appreciation of the accuracy, both in general sweep and factual detail, of the religious history of Israel” (History, Archaeology and Christian Humanism, pp. 293-294). John Clark says that “archaeology has gone a long way in correcting the false idea that was very popular in the last part of the 19th century and in the first part of this century – that the Bible is not trustworthy in its history. The historical accuracy of the Bible is highly regarded today” (God’s Book Is Inspired, p. 11).

What has been said about archaeology confirming Old Testament history, could be repeated about the New Testament. A check of the shelves of the public library will reveal a number of books that deal with archaeological discoveries that confirm the history of the New Testament, but let’s hasten to one more point. Had you ever thought about the fact that both the prophecies of the Bible and the miracles therein recorded, are proof of the historical accuracy of God’s Word? Was Daniel in Babylon, did Nebuchadnezzar have a dream, did Daniel correctly explain the dream and accurately foretell the establishment of the kingdom of Christ and the time it would occur? Daniel (Dan. 2) correctly described the four world empires and then stated that the Lord’s Kingdom would be established during the fourth one. This prophecy was beautifully fulfilled when the church was established during the reign of the Caesars of Rome. Included in all this is both miracle and prophecy, followed by fulfillment and the historical accuracy of the Bible is confirmed.

In Matthew 14, we read of Jesus feeding five thousand men besides the women and children. In chapter 15, He fed four thousand and the women and children were not counted. Would twenty thousand people fed be an exaggeration? Don’t you know this was the talk of the whole country? The record of these two events were recorded probably within twenty or thirty years of when they occurred. Do you think the Bible could have been inaccurate in its record of an event of such magnitude with most of the participants still living?

Without doubt, the resurrection of Christ is one of the most astounding miracles recorded in God’s Word. Is the account of that great event historically reliable? How could anyone in his right mind deny the accuracy of the account in view of the number of witnesses that were available at the time the account was written? After His resurrection, Jesus remained on earth for forty days! Paul, in his sermon to King Agrippa, pointed out that “this was not done in a corner,” and the same point could be made regarding Jesus’ resurrection. Literally hundreds of people saw Him, spoke with Him, etc., during that forty day period. Paul, in the first epistle to the Corinthians (chapter 15), bore witness to the resurrection of Christ, listed some of the witnesses, and speaks of the tragic consequences had Christ not been raised. We need to bear in mind that this epistle was written and circulated not more than twentyfive years after the event occurred! If such things as this are declared to be historically inaccurate by rationalists, then no historical document could be regarded as accurate.

Conclusion

In closing this article, we need to say that archaeological discoveries and whatever other proofs of historical accuracy may be presented, do not prove the Bible to be inspired. Other books may be historically accurate and not be inspired. But these proofs of historical accuracy do increase our confidence in the fact that “all scripture is given by the inspiration of God,” because they show the Bible innocent of the charge made by its critics that the Bible blunders in history.

Guardian of Truth XXVII: 1, pp. 14-16
January 6, 1983

By Johnny Stringer

God did not reveal His message to mankind only to have it lost to extinction. Intending it to continue to serve its vital function forever, God promised:

For all flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of grass. The grass withereth, and the flower thereof falleth away: But the word of the Lord endureth for ever (1 Peter 1:24-25).

This promise follows a reference to the word of God as incorruptible seed “which liveth and abideth forever” (I Peter 1:23).

Indeed, through the marvelous providence of God, His revelation to man has been preserved. The copyists and others whose labors contributed to the preservation of the Scriptures were instruments used by God to serve His purpose.

There is good reason to believe that nothing less than the hand of God is responsible for the Bible’s endurance, for it was preserved in circumstances which would seemingly make its survival impossible. It has survived despite all the efforts of its many powerful enemies to destroy it.

The Old Testament Period

The Jews successfully preserved the Old Testament Scriptures as they were written. Their turbulent history, however, was certainly not conducive to the preservation of such a group of writings. They were often in a state of turmoil, sometimes from within and other times from outside enemies. They were often oppressed and subdued by enemy powers. Yet, through it all, their sacred writings were kept secure. In 586 B.C. their holy city was destroyed, the Temple burned, and they were taken from their land to captivity in Babylonia; but their holy writings survived.

The Jewish preservation of the Scriptures is remarkable in view of the severe denunciations of the Jewish people and predictions of their downfall that are found in them. Upon hearing a portion of Jeremiah’s prophecy, Jehoiakim, King of Judah, was so incensed that he cut it up with a penknife and threw it into the fire (Jeremiah 36). It is a wonder that the Jewish people did not destroy the Scriptures, but rather preserved them so diligently.

They were successful in preserving the Scriptures despite the efforts of their enemies to destroy them. In 198 B.C. the Seleucids (Syrians) took control of Palestine. One of the Seleucid rulers, Antiochus Epiphanes, set out to eradicate the Jewish religion. In 170 B.C. he marched on Jerusalem, plundered the Temple, and set up a viceroy to complete the task of exterminating Judaism. Among other things, all the holy writings were to be burned. Then, however, the seemingly impossible happened. Against all odds, the Jews revolted; and under the leadership of Mattathias, and later his son Judas Maccabeus, this tiny nation which would have appeared to be helpless before the mighty Syrians, held its own so that its religion survived. The most ardent enemies of the Scriptures, with all their military might, could not destroy them!

The New Testament Period

Enemies of the Scriptures continued to try to destroy them after the New Testament became God’s law for men. When the religion of the New Testament entered into the world, it found itself in a hostile environment: The powerful Roman Empire set itself in opposition to Christianity. The early centuries of the New Testament age were characterized by persecutions of the severest kind. Some of the emperors were particularly fierce in their efforts to destroy Christianity and the Scriptures on which it depended.

Diocletian fiercely strove to eradicate Christianity and the Scriptures. Regarding this emperor’s reign of terror, the historian Eusebius said, “Royal edicts were published everywhere, commanding that the church be leveled to the ground the Scriptures destroyed by fire” (Church History, Book VIII, Ch. 1). Diocletian ordered anyone having a copy of the Scriptures to surrender it that it might be burned. Anyone who refused to do so would be killed. In fact, if anyone knew of someone else who had a copy of the Scriptures, he was obligated to report it. Failure to comply was punished by death.

Consequently, many copies of the Scriptures were burned during Diocletian’s reign. Many Christians surrendered their copies of the Scriptures to be burned, but many others endured horrible tortures because they refused to do so. Rimmer says that after Diocletian’s edict had been in force for two years, the emperor boasted, “I have completely exterminated the Christian writings from the face of the earth!” (Seven Wonders of the Wonderful Word). In truth, however, all the efforts of the powerful Roman Empire failed to destroy Christianity and the Scriptures.

Even some claiming to be friends of the Bible have in practice been among its worst enemies. During the Middle Ages, when the Roman Catholic popes exercised great political power, the Roman Catholic Church vigorously suppressed the Bible. That institution fiercely opposed all efforts to translate the Bible into the languages understood by the common people. Those who made and published translations of the Bible were condemned as heretics. They risked their lives to make Bibles available to people in their own tongues. For his strenuous and courageous efforts to accomplish this noble task, William Tyndale was strangled and burned at the stake on October 6, 1536, at the command of Charles V. Others also died. During this period thousands of Bibles were burned. The Jesuits in Bohemia boasted of burning 60,000 Bibles in a single year (1637).

Of course, much of the opposition to the Bible has been of a philosophical nature, not involving physical violence. Men have ridiculed it, scoffed at it, and made every possible effort to disprove it. In fact, some skeptics have thought the Bible incapable of surviving their attacks. Voltaire, the French skeptic (1694-1778) said, “In less than a hundred years the Bible will be discarded and Christianity swept from the earth.” Yet, in less than a hundred years the printing press upon which Voltaire had printed his attacks on the Bible, was being used to print more copies of the Bible. Thomas Paine triumphantly declared that his book, The Age of Reason, would destroy the Bible and Christianity. Voltaire and Paine have long since departed the earth, but the Bible survives. Very few people have ever read anything written by Voltaire or Paine; multitudes continue to read and profit from the Bible.

Conclusion

By the powerful hand of God, the Bible has been preserved, and it has been preserved in an atmosphere not conducive to its survival. It has withstood every assault that has been made upon it by its many enemies. Some of the mightiest powers that have existed have sought to destroy it, only to fail. The Bible’s indestructibility is impressed upon us by the following poem:

Last eve I paused beside a blacksmith’s door

And heard the anvil ring the vesper chime;

Then, looking in, I saw upon the floor

Old hammers worn with the beating years of time.

“How many anvils have you had,” said I,

“To wear and batter all these hammers so?”

“Just one,” said he; then said with twinkling eye,

“The anvil wears the hammers out you know.”

And so, I thought, the anvil of God’s word

For ages skeptic blows have beat upon,

Yet, though the noise of falling blows was heard,

The anvil is unharmed – the hammers gone.

Guardian of Truth XXVII: 1, pp. 13-14
January 6, 1983

By Earl E. Robertson

Jesus’ attitude toward the Scriptures is manifested in manifold ways. The Scriptures affected every aspect of Jesus the Christ: His co-existence with the Father, the testimony of the prophets foretelling His coming, His birth, His life and ministry, trial, death, burial, resurrection and ascension. No person ever had so much written about Him and required of Him as Jesus. And in minute detail, He filled full every demand and expectation required of Him by the Scriptures. He did not meet the expectations some assumed of Him, but He met every requirement demanded of Him in Scripture. This, within itself, is sufficient for anyone to know Jesus’ attitude toward the sacred writings. Just before His ascension to glory He said, “These are the words which I spike unto you, while I was yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled, which were written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the psalms, concerning me” (Lk. 24:44). His testimony regarding scriptural events to transpire in His life reveals His total consciousness of the absoluteness of the Scriptures. Jesus’ testimony shows that He regarded the Scriptures as the voice of God, eternal in their nature, complete and adequate to the accomplishment of all right living in bringing human behavior into acceptance with God.

The testimony of Jesus declares His acceptance of the accuracy of Scripture. He relied upon what they said, believing they held the solutions to human problems. He believed the Scriptures held the answers to the problems and difficulties of the human family: the problems within one’s self; problems between two or more; and the difficulties between man and God because of sin. Jesus’ question, “Have ye not read” (Matt. 19:4; Mk. 12:10), reveals the essential place for Scripture within the lives of all, and the urgency for all to see the scriptural answers for us couched therein.

It Is Written

When tempted of the devil in the wilderness, Jesus repeatedly responded, “It is written” (Matt. 4:4, 7,10). The Son of God incarnate appealing to the Scriptures as a weapon of defense against the bold Satanic efforts to lead him away from right, said, “It is written.” The one who is unable to say, “It is written,” is defenseless having no spiritual panoply. Jesus could not only quote the Scriptures but he could properly apply them. Only when that which “is written” is rightfully used does it bless the user. Satan, Jesus’ enemy, quoted Scripture to Jesus, but he misused it. Scripture can’t be properly used without it accomplishing God’s intent (cf. Isa. 55:11). Scripture is to the Christian “the sword of the Spirit” (Eph. 6:17), and it was this very sword that the Lord used against the enemy of all man-kind by which He retained His rightful place before God as Redeemer.

The wonderful writings of the prophets about Jesus were used by Jesus often in His ministry. Peter said to Cornelius, “To him give all the prophets witness, that through his name whosoever believeth in him shall receive remission of sins” (Acts 10:43). To the unbelieving Jews, Jesus said, “Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they that testify of me” (John 5:39). These scriptures Jesus could quote and accurately use seeking to benefit the very ones who also knew them but did not know their meaning. Being able to rightfully say, “it is written” as Jesus did, is the chart and compass of all true religion. Any religious leader who cannot appeal to the Scriptures for authority to support his teaching and practice is not of God.

Must Be Fulfilled

Jesus’ testimony to the absoluteness of scripture is found in His declaration, “the scriptures must be fulfilled” (Mk. 14:49; Matt. 26:54). Unfulfilled Scripture would make its author a liar. As Paul preached to the Gentiles in Pisidia, “And we declare unto you glad tidings, how that the promise which was made unto the fathers, God hath fulfilled the same unto us their children, in that he bath raised up Jesus again; as it is also written in the second psalm, Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee” (Acts 13:32, 3), so did Jesus testify that Scripture must be fulfilled (Lk. 22:37). Peter testified the same, saying, “But those things, which God before had showed by the mouth of all his prophets, that Christ should suffer, he hath so fulfilled” (Acts 3:18).

Jesus believed the Scripture could be understood and properly applied. Jesus did for His disciples what the evangelist Philip did for the eunuch through a proper use of Old Testament writings. Philip preached Jesus to the eunuch (Acts 8:35) from Isaiah 53:7,8. On the day Jesus arose from the dead two disciples went to a village, Emmaus, talking about the things that had happened. During this, Jesus “himself drew near, and went with them.” Seeing their astonishment, Jesus said, “O fools, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken: Ought not Christ to have suffered these things, and to enter into his glory? And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself” (Lk. 24:25-27). Philip also said to Nathaniel, “We have found him, of whom Moses in the. Law, and the prophets, did write, Jesus of Nazareth” (Jn. 1:45).

This testimony is further corroborated by the testimony of the Samaritan woman. She said to Jesus, “I know that Messias cometh, which is called Christ: when he is come, he will tell us all things” (Jn. 4:25). The supernatural behavior of Jesus caused her to relate Him to the prophesies concerning Him. She said, “Sir, I perceive that thou art a prophet” (Jn. 4:19). Ending her conversation with Him she ran into the city, and said to the men there, “Come, see a man, which told me all things that ever I did: is not this the Christ?” (Jn. 4:29). Her understanding of Scripture led her to this conclusion.

Jesus was the master teacher in using Old Testament Scripture. His use of Isaiah 61:1,2 in the synagogue at Nazareth is a good illustration of this. He read the verses before the Rabbis and others in the synagogue service and made application of them to Himself. He told them, “This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears” (Lk. 4:16-21). The people “bear him witness” and wondered at the gracious words He had spoken.

Jesus told His disciples “that all things must be fulfilled, which were written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the psalms, concerning me” (Lk. 24:44). Jesus not only said “all things must be fulfilled,” He meant all things. All things in the law, the prophets, the psalms!

Scripture Can Stand Alone

Jesus went to the city of Nain, and getting near the gate, He met some men carrying a dead man out. The dead man was the only son of a widow. Jesus had compassion on her and raised her dead son to life. The people seeing this declared “that a great prophet is risen up among us; and, That God hath visited his people” (Lk. 7:16). John the Baptist heard of this ministry of Jesus and sent two of his own disciples to Jesus for them to ask Him, “Art thou he that should come? or look we for another?” In the presence of them Jesus “cured many of their infirmities and plagues, and of evil spirits; and unto many that were blind he gave sight.” Upon this, he told the two disciples to go and “tell John what things ye have seen and heard; how that the blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, to the poor the gospel is preached” (Lk. 7:22). In this Jesus did not say, “Yes, I am he” or “No, I am not the one.” Jesus knew that John the Baptist knew the Scriptures and that he believed what they said about the Christ that should come. John knew that Isaiah 35:5, 6 said certain things would be done by the Christ when he would come into the world, and, furthermore, John knew that only Christ would be doing these things. He could believe Jesus was the one for His works bore witness to such (Jn. 10:25, 38). The world had never seen the blind receive their sight (Jn. 9:32). John, hearing that Jesus was performing such miracles, knew that he had to be the one of whom the prophets had testified. Jesus knew this much about John.

When the Pharisees came to Jesus and asked Him if it is lawful for a man to put away his wife for every cause, He knew their effort to entrap Him would not be successful if he continued to testify the rightful place of Scripture in giving answer to them. Jesus did not bother Himself to deal with either school of the Rabbis’ efforts in interpretation of Deuteronoray 24:1-4, the bill of divorcement. Rather, He pitched His battle for the pattern of marriage; He appealed to the beginning. Jesus said in answer to them, “Have ye not read, that he which made them at the beginning made them male and female . . . . Moses because of the hardness of your hearts suffered you to put away your wives: but from the beginning it was not so” (Matt. 19:4, 8). Jesus was willing to let plain statements of Scriptures stand alone in giving answer to the agonizing questions and problems faced by the people of his day. This example should be emulated by the followers of Jesus today.

Furthermore, Jesus testified the “scripture cannot be broken” (Jn. 10:35). Inasmuch as Scripture is bound in heaven prior to its being bound on earth (Matt. 16:19), it cannot be invalidated or loosed by man. Man has no power to loose what God binds, and neither can he bind what God does not. The teaching of Jesus regarding Scripture causes profound reverence toward the Sacred Oracles. His whole life was made up of doing what Scripture required of Him. What an example (cf. 1 Cor. 11:1)! Jesus never asked for a meeting with the prophets at a conference table to “negotiate” with them about the things they said of Him. Neither should any follower of the Christ today ask for such a meeting for compromise! Man lives by every word of God, says Jesus (Matt. 4:4).

Conclusion

When time is no more and the elements are melting with fervent heat (2 Pet. 3:10), and the judgment comes for each of us, it will then again be that we must face the Scriptures. Jesus says, “He that rejecteth me, and receiveth not my words, hath one that judgeth him: the word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day” (Jn. 12:48). Since one’s whole life (cf. Eccl. 12:13) has to do with Scripture, and then the judgment, too, should we not give the proper testimony about the Scriptures? We obey it to be saved from sin, walk in it to have fellowship with God, and will face it in the judgment at last.

Guardian of Truth XXVII: 1, pp. 11-12
January 6, 1983