“‘For truly I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or stroke shall pass from the Law until all is accomplished’” ( Matthew 5:18 18 For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass away from the law, till all things be accomplished. ).

Repeatedly during His earthly ministry, Jesus referred to the Old Testament as authoritative truth (e.g., Matt. 19:4; 24:38–39; Mark 12:26 26 But as touching the dead, that they are raised; have ye not read in the book of Moses, in `the place concerning' the Bush, how God spake unto him, saying, I `am' the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob? ; Luke 11:51 51 from the blood of Abel unto the blood of Zachariah, who perished between the altar and the sanctuary: yea, I say unto you, it shall be required of this generation. ; 17:29; John 3:14 14 And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up; ; 8:56), always confirming its accuracy and authenticity. On one occasion, in defending His messiahship before the unbelieving Jewish leaders, He declared, “The Scripture cannot be broken” ( John 10:35 35 If he called them gods, unto whom the word of God came (and the scripture cannot be broken), ).

For Jesus, it was clear that God gave His Word to lead people to salvation. In His parable of the rich man and Lazarus, Abraham tells the rich man that if his brothers, whom he did not want to follow him to hell, “do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be persuaded even if someone rises from the dead” ( Luke 16:31 31 And he said unto him, If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, if one rise from the dead. ). Scripture is more than sufficient to bring sinners to salvation.

More than once, Christ used Scripture’s authority to establish His own. At a Sabbath service in the Nazareth synagogue, He appealed to the book of Isaiah: “‘The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor. He has sent Me to proclaim release to the captives, and recovery of sight to the blind, to set free those who are oppressed, to proclaim the favorable year of the Lord.’… And He began to say to them, ‘Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing’” ( Luke 4:18 18 The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, Because he anointed me to preach good tidings to the poor: He hath sent me to proclaim release to the captives, And recovering of sight to the blind, To set at liberty them that are bruised, –19, 21; cf. Isa. 61:1; Matt. 11:3–5; Mark 11:17 17 And he taught, and said unto them, Is it not written, My house shall be called a house of prayer for all the nations? but ye have made it a den of robbers. ).

Scripture’s authority is Jesus’ authority, and to obey Him is to obey His Word ( John 6:68 68 Simon Peter answered him, Lord, to whom shall we go? thou hast the words of eternal life. ; 8:47).

Ask Yourself

What argues against our confidence in the convicting, converting power of the Word of God? What could we do to ensure that our hearts aren’t blinded to this truth, to put ourselves in positions where we can see God at work through the Scriptures?

From Daily Readings from the Life of Christ, Vol. 1, John MacArthur. Copyright © 2008. Used by permission of Moody Publishers, Chicago, IL 60610, www.moodypublishers.com.

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