What was the Bible Jesus read? Philip Yancey wrote an excellent book making the point that Jesus read the Torah, the Writings, and the Prophets which still comprise our Old Testament. As part of his worship in the synagogue, he would have heard these words, “Eye for an eye and tooth for a tooth.” Moses gave rules for the community to share life together. When people harmed others, the law prescribed consequences. Ideally, this deterred people from harming each other.
Now imagine the disciples walking with Jesus along the road to Emmaus. Without revealing who he was, Jesus listened to the disappointed disciples express their dismay. They had hoped Jesus was the Messiah, but his suffering and death convinced them he had not been the Messiah, after all. Luke tells us Jesus started with the Old Testament and showed them that the Messiah had to suffer.
Instead of various disconnected stories, the scriptures represent one story: God’s redemption of the world through Jesus Christ. The whole scriptures pointed to Jesus. He fulfilled the scriptures, keeping them perfectly. So when he said, “Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,” he moved us to a place beyond “eye for an eye and tooth for a tooth" to loving our neighbors and forgiving those who wrong us.
In a Hollywood narrative, Jesus would have come back from the grave and taken revenge on all the people who had harmed him. But in God’s narrative, Jesus forgave those who crucified him. We read the scriptures through the lens of Jesus. The New Testament is in the Old concealed, and the Old Testament is in the New revealed. The gospel does not call us to return to the enforcement of the law. Instead, the good news points us to Jesus.
What if we are the only Bible others ever get to read? Do they see Jesus in our attitudes, words, and actions? Consider carefully: is there someone who needs your forgiveness today? Let’s forgive as we have been forgiven by Jesus.
