Luke’s Gospel gives us two powerful illustrations in the fourth chapter of how and why Christians should use the Bible, which is the inspired word of God!
First, in response to the devil’s attempts to seduce Him, Jesus Christ applies the words of His Father. Subsequently, in the Nazareth synagogue, after receiving the prophet Isaiah’s scroll, He reads aloud the exact purpose for His earthly ministry.
Examples of what the Bible meant for Jesus
The New Testament had not yet been written when Jesus was carrying out His mission. Christians refer to what Jesus read and quoted as the Old Testament. The Greek “Septuagint” translation, which is the source of many New Testament quotations, is what he would have translated using. Jesus had studied Scripture for decades before He began His ministry, and the Holy Spirit had inspired the verses that He used to communicate with God.
After forty days of fasting in the wilderness, Jesus has already [resisted the devil’s temptations], according to Luke 4:3 (also found in Matthew 4).
- The devil tries to get Jesus to utilize supernatural power to make food, but Jesus corrects him by bringing up Deuteronomy 8:3.
- Luke 4:7 describes the devil’s scheme to get Jesus to side with him rather than God. Jesus uses Deuteronomy 6:13 and 10:20 to refute the devil.
- The devil even makes an attempt to have Jesus commit suicide by plunging from the temple roof in verse 9. The devil appears to cite a biblical passage, but Jesus stops him by citing Deuteronomy 6:16, after which the devil departs.
Therefore, Jesus “picks up” the sword of the Spirit and the belt of truth mentioned in Ephesians 6:14–18 because he knows God’s Word better than the devil.
In the second instance, according to Luke 4:17, Jesus is given the scroll of Isaiah to read in the synagogue. Verse 21 makes it clear that Jesus was aware of the subject of these words. When Jesus first discovered that the words “The Spirit of the Lord God is upon Me, because the Lord has anointed Me” (Isaiah 61:1) applied to Him, just think of how pleased He must have felt!
Not long after, He bestows a similar blessing on John the Baptist. John had sent his own disciples to question Jesus if He was the One they were expecting, as recorded in Luke 7:22. First, while John’s disciples watch on, Jesus cures a great number of people of illnesses, calamities, and bad spirits. He also gives sight to a great number of blind people. He then reads passages from Isaiah 29:18, 35:5, and 61:1, which include prophecies of similar occurrences. John would have recognized Jesus right away upon hearing these passages since, as he had stated in Luke 3:16, “I am not worthy to untie the strap of His sandals.”
Why we should use the Bible
Jesus always learnt about God the Father through Scripture, whom He had known as His heavenly Father since He was twelve years old and had stayed behind in the Jerusalem temple. Scripture is beneficial to us if it was beneficial to Jesus. According to Ephesians, we too can use it as a “sword” and “belt of truth,” and we can utilize it [to learn about God].
Christians believe in God, our Creator, and in Christ. Thus, it is imperative that we pay close attention to what They say. God’s words were recorded for our guidance, according to Romans 15:4. Written words guarantee that the message is sent to others precisely as the Holy Spirit intended. We require Jesus’ Word in the exact form that He stated it since He does not repeat His ministry to each of us individually.
How do we know that Jesus hasn’t changed His mind?
According to Revelation 22:18, there should be no alterations made to His words. This is so because God and Jesus never change. (Note: Isaiah 40:8, Numbers 23:19, and Hebrews 13:8) Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever. Today, we apply the Bible to:
- lead us toward the life that God has intended for us (Psalm 119:105, for example)
- protect us against the enemy (Ephesians 6:14-18)
- enjoy God’s promises for us (Isaiah 41:10, Deuteronomy 31:8, John 16:33 etc.)
- educate us about His will (Romans 15:4), and
- comfort us (see Biblword articles on the Holy Spirit)
We are aware that, in this day and age, Jesus would inform us just as He did for the throngs and His disciples throughout His ministry.
But the Bible is…. really old….?
Jesus cited passages from Deuteronomy in Luke 4, but they were written more than 1,400 years before He was born. About 700 BC, the Book of Isaiah was composed. However, on the day that Jesus quoted the passages, they were absolutely accurate.
The “newest” portions of the Bible are, in our opinion, almost 2,000 years old. Does this imply that we should disregard them because they are “outdated”? Absolutely not! The Word of God is the Bible. Jesus and the authors of the Word were inspired by God to reveal to us everything that is necessary to understand God’s character, will, and salvation strategy. God does not need to wait until 2022 to inspire truth for that year since He is omniscient, which means that He knows everything. He already knew what He would like to disclose to us today before the world was started.
It is obvious that the Bible has nothing to say about bit coins, cell phones, or Zoom meetings. That is unimportant. The fundamental aspects of our identities, relationships with God and others, the decisions we must make, the challenges we face, the moments when we must exercise patience or obedience, etc., do not change much.
What if the Bible says something I don’t like?
“I am not Jesus; the Bible was not written for me,” one may argue. It was written for you, even though it wasn’t written about you! Just as passages from Old Testament texts inspired Jesus, so too the Holy Spirit can use Scripture to speak to us directly and encourage us or make things clearer for us.
There are several verses that are universally applicable as well. The Bible occasionally says things that are not particularly popular nowadays. People are quick to point out that biblical truths are out of date since society has evolved. But God’s intentions have always been benevolent. What more evidence do we need that Jesus’ teachings and advice are not meant to impede or frustrate us than the fact that He died on the cross for our salvation? His everlasting Word serves as our “Guide to God’s Will” and is just as important to us now as it was to Jesus’ disciples.
