Carl Heinrich Bloch: The Sermon on the Mount. Image courtesy of Wikipedia.
Joel Kontinen
Recently, I read John Wenham’s essay Our Lord’s View of the Old Testament. Wenham (1913-1996) was an Anglican clergyman whose theological views were mostly conservative.
According to Wenham, Jesus had a very high regard for the Old Testament. In his essay, he quoted several passages that speak of the authority of Scripture:
” I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished.” (Matt. 5:18)
” It is easier for heaven and earth to disappear than for the least stroke of a pen to drop out of the Law.” (Luke 16:17)
” Scripture cannot be broken” (John 10:35).
(These verses are from the NIV. Wenham used an older translation, but that does not change the message.)
According to Wenham,” To Christ the Old Testament was true, authoritative, inspired. To Him the God of the Old Testament was the living God and the teaching of the Old Testament was the teaching of the living God. To Him, what Scripture said, God said.”
Could anyone say that more explicitly?
Source:
Wenham. John W. 1953. Our Lord’s View of the Old Testament. http://www.the-highway.com/Scripture_Wenham.html
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