GOD’S WORD IS TRUE & JESUS CENTRIC
Seculars and skeptics consider the Bible a myth. Some among the believing doubt the Old Testament; they see it as fantasy and the characters in it are fictional and ignore it. Red Sea parting and Jonah’s story seem out of this world. But God’s word is true he breathed it. Stories are there for a reason and purpose. God inspired human authors to pen the narrative of what he has done, doing and will do. God’s written word, the Bible, is about God’s creation and its fall and what he has done to redeem his people, the judgment of sin, and making all things new in Christ.
God’s written word, given to us as we have it, consists of historical narratives, poetry, psalms, proverbs, songs, etc. One can notice a variety of genres written in different periods. The first five books were written by Moses. These five books are held in the highest esteem by the Jewish people. These five books are called Pentateuch, Torah, and the Law. Reading these five books gives a history of Jewish people, which is widely accepted as true. Some of the Psalms and Proverbs are penned by King David and his son Solomon who is considered as the wisest man ever lived even by the secular world.
Many of us look for proof in archaeology and refer to historians of that period to confirm the events narrated in the Bible. It is very natural for us to do so; as humans, we probe, scrutinize and search, which is a gift. If we can use these gifts and dig into the Bible itself we observe how the bible proves itself. Paul says in 2nd Timothy 3:16, “All scripture is God-breathed……” However, we tend to look outside to check the authenticity of the Bible. But it is very interesting to note that the bible proves itself. There are numerous events, different authors referring to other human author’s writing. The Bible provides internal proof one does not have to look outside for its genuineness and reliability. Also, no other religious text or even any other text has been so critically examined than the Bible. People have questioned every aspect of the Bible. Its theology, history, and details. And that is good because, most of all, the things that are questioned have been proven with more history and archaeology.
Various prophecies have been fulfilled. The exile of the Israelites and their return was foretold in the 2nd Kings, Daniel and Jeremiah. The virgin birth of Jesus was foretold by Isaiah which is fulfilled in Mathew 1:20-23. Isaiah foretold the name of the baby to be born to a virgin. Micah even foretold the place of birth. Isaiah also foretold of Jesus’ suffering on the cross, which is fulfilled. Jesus’ coming fulfilled many of the prophesies made in the Old Testament.
Jesus himself quotes the OT scriptures many times. Before beginning his ministry, he opens the scrolls and reads from Isaiah and claims that it is fulfilled in his coming. Jesus’ reference to Abel, Noah, Moses, Jonah, Zechariah and Daniel confirms the authenticity of the scriptures (OT) and that the people he mentioned are real, not fictional characters. Jonah’s story may seem like fiction, but Jesus mentions Jonah and compares Jonah being swallowed by fish and vomiting out to his death, swallowing him and not bind him as he rose from the dead victoriously . Old Testament proves that they are real. Jesus speaking to scribes In John 5:39 'You study the Scriptures diligently because you think that in them you have eternal life. These are the very Scriptures that testify about me. He goes on to say 'If you believed Moses, you would believe me, for he wrote about me.' (vs. 46). As ones who believe Jesus is the son of God have to believe what he says is also true. He is not quoting fictional characters. So when he talks about Adam or Jonah, they all existed and stories in the Bible are true
Apostles Paul and Peter quote widely from the OT and NT, especially notable is Peters statement referring to Paul’s letters in 2nd Peter 3:16 “ His letters contain some things that are hard to understand, which ignorant and unstable people distort, as they do the other Scriptures, to their own destruction”. Noteworthy is comparison of Paul’s letters with Scriptures.
If we are better followers of Jesus, we need to understand that the Bible is Jesus centric, what is written about him in the Old Testament is breathed out; inspired by God as is New Testament. And we have to come to the Bible with this idea that Jesus is its centre. He is the hero and the ultimate fulfilment of everything in scripture. Otherwise, it will be a book of rules that will crash. But if we find Jesus in the text, he will save us.
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