By Tanja

What Scripture Did They Read?

Can you imagine that the Old Testament Scriptures already existed even before Jesus set foot onto our earth as the incarnation? The inspired Word of God has been carefully written down in the Pentateuch, the Hebrew Bible, or the Tanakh, which consists of the Torah (Law), Nevi’im (Prophets) and Ketuvim (Writings).[1] Jesus and the first-century Christians used the Old Testament as their reliable source of Scripture. Jesus taught that the Old Testament was pointing to Him and that He was the fulfilment of the Scripture.[2]  In other words, all the Scripture that the ancient readers had been reading all along, the main character of that Scripture, had just arrived in person. Now, you could ask Him anything you wanted to clarify any questions, so why wouldn’t you? He is the way, the truth, and the life, as explained in John 14:6.

Adobe Stock Images; (Closeup of Hebrew word Abraham in Torah page. Selective focus. Banner)

When Jesus Got Excited About Scripture:

Even though Scripture was Jesus’ storyline, He was excited about Scripture even as a young boy of twelve. He had been so enthusiastic that He decided to stay back one day with the teachers at the temple and study and analyse the Scripture. When His anxious parents questioned Him about His actions, He said, He needed to be with His Heavenly Father. Jesus knew His purpose early in His life to do the Father’s will, and He knew His unique relationship with the Heavenly Father.[1]

Are you Excited?

Are you excited about the Word of God? Will you let it ignite the fire in your heart to live for your Heavenly Father? Can you see that just like Jesus knew His purpose to be in a unique relationship with the Heavenly Father, you, too, can have that purpose? God has created you to worship Him and live for His purposes. Sometimes we need to remember that our life is not our own, but we live for something greater. We live for God and for His glory.

Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters,  since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.

Colossians 3:23-24
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[1] Darrell L. Bock, Luke: The NIV Application Commentary from Biblical Text–to Contemporary Life, The NIV Application Commentary Series (Grand Rapids, Mich: Zondervan Pub. House, 1996), 101

[1]https://www.britannica.com/topic/Tanakh, accessed 5th July, 2023.[2] Ronald E. Heine, Reading the Old Testament with the Ancient Church: Exploring the Formation of Early Christian Thought, Evangelical Ressourcement (Grand Rapids, Mich: Baker Academic, 2007), 35.