JESUS AND THE BIBLE

(MT. 5:17-20)

INTRODUCTION:

ILLUSTRATION:

One time a woman entered a Christian bookstore and asked for a Bible. The salesman asked the lady, “What type of Bible would you like? We have different sizes, different versions, different print sizes, and different colors.”

The customer replied, “I want the kind of Bible where everything Jesus said is in red print.” The attendant went to a shelf and returned with a beautiful Bible. After removing the Bible from the box, the customer began to thumb through the Old Testament and was heard to say: “Hmmm, He didn’t have much to say, did He?”

1. The title to my lesson this morning is “Jesus and the Bible.”

2. The text that we will use to discuss these issues is (Mt. 5:17-20).

I. FIRST, WHAT DID JESUS THINK ABOUT THE BIBLE?

1. Jesus believed that the Bible was the Word of God.

2. In (Mt. 4:4), after the devil tempted Jesus to turn some stones into bread, Jesus said, “It is written: ‘Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.”

3. Jesus believed so much in the Bible that He came to fulfill everything that was written in it.

• (Mt. 5:17) “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.”

4. Since Jesus believed that the Bible is the Word of God, we should believe it as well.

• “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness” (2 Tim. 3:16).

5. The Bible is not a collection of stories, fables, myths, or merely human ideas about God. It is not a mere human book. It is the Word of God.

II. SECOND, JESUS NOT ONLY BELIEVED IN THE BIBLE, HE STUDIED THE BIBLE.

1. From the time He was a young boy, Jesus went to the synagogue to study the Bible (Lk. 4:16-22).

2. Jesus was so knowledgeable in the Scriptures that the people “were amazed at the gracious words that came from his lips.”

3. Jesus was a student of the Word of God and we must be as well.

ILLUSTRATION:

A story is told of a devout father whose son was studying for the ministry. The son decided to go to Europe for an advance degree, and the father worried that his simple faith would be spoiled by sophisticated, unbelieving professors.

“Don’t let them take Jonah away from you,” he admonished, figuring the swallowed-by-a-great-fish story might be the first part of the Bible to go.

Two years later when the son returned, the father asked, “Do you still have Jonah in your Bible?” The son laughed. “Jonah! That story isn’t even in your Bible!” The father replied, “It certainly is! What do you mean?” Again the son laughed and insisted, “It’s not in your Bible. Go ahead, show it to me.”

The old man fumbled through his Bible, looking for the Book of Jonah, but he couldn’t find it. At last he checked the table of contents for the proper page. When he turned there, he discovered the three pages comprising Jonah had been carefully cut from his Bible.

The son said, “I cut those pages out before I went away.” He said, “Dad, what’s the difference whether I lose the Book of Jonah through studying under non-believers or you lose it through neglect.”

4. Brethren we cannot neglect the Word of God. Instead, we must study it on a daily basis.

5. We need to be like Ezra the Scribe and Priest who “devoted himself to the study and observance of the Law of the Lord” (Ezra 7:10).

III. THIRD, JESUS OBEYED THE BIBLE’S TEACHINGS.

• (Mt. 5:19) “Anyone who breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven.”

1. One of Jesus’ missions was to obey all of God’s commandments. He fulfilled that mission so well that Peter in (1 Pet. 2:22) said that “He committed no sin, and no deceit was found in His mouth.”

2. As Disciples of Christ, one of our goals must be to practice the commandments of God.

3. Even though we will slip and fall and not obey ever commandment like Jesus, we still are to strive for perfection.

• (Mt. 5:48) “Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.”

• (2 Cor. 13:11) “Finally, brothers, good-by. Aim for perfection.”

ILLUSTRATION:

During his service in the Navy, Jimmy Carter applied for the nuclear submarine program. The legendary Admiral Hyman Rickover interviewed him for the job. Toward the end of the interview the Admiral asked, “How did you stand in your class at the Naval Academy?”

Carter proudly answered, “Sir, I stood fifty-ninth in a class of 820.” He fully expected congratulations from his superior but got a much different response. Rickover asked, “Did you do your best?” The former president started to say, “Yes, sir,” but when he took a moment to reflect he had to admit there were times when he had not given his best. He finally replied, “No, sir, I didn’t always do my best.”

Admiral Rickover looked at Carter for a long time, then asked one final question, “Why not?”

God knows that we will not live up to every commandment in the Bible like Jesus did, however, God expects us to strive for excellence. And if we do not strive for excellence, then God will ask us “Why not?”

CONCLUSION:

1. All in all, Jesus believed, studied, and obeyed the Bible. His love for the Scriptures should inspire us and motivate us to be students of the Bible.