WE have thus considered the Scriptures as viewed by Jesus.
Let us now look at the Gospels, Epistles, and book of Revelation, and notice
their relation to the Jewish Scripture.
And here I cannot but express grief
and astonishment at the prevalent neglect of the Jewish Scripture. The term "
Old Testament" may partly have contributed to this, people imagining that what
is old is antiquated. We have already seen that these Scriptures are full of
Christ; and were it but for the circumstance that they are the only writings of
which we know that Christ used and loved them, they ought to be most precious
to us. Christ's favourite book! Christ's only book! The book He always read,
always quoted; his guide and companion during life; his meditation and comfort
in his sufferings and on his cross. If you love Jesus, you ought dearly to love
and diligently to read this book.
But the thought of many is, I can read
all about Jesus, much better described, more clearly and more fully, in the New
Testament. I believe this to be erroneous, and in part bordering on
superstition. Take the Gospels. How can we understand them without Moses and
the prophets? The very first verse of Matthew is unintelligible: "The book of
the generation of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham." Who is
David ? who Abraham ? What meaning is there in this genealogy ? And yet we know
that it is full of the most blessed meaning., viz., that Jesus is the seed of
Abraham in whom all nations are to be blessed; and the Son of David, the
Beloved, the King of the Jews, and the Shepherd of the flock.
The name
Jesus refers to Joshua; the name Christ to the anointing, the significance of
which was well known to Israel, who had been taught the meaning of prophet,
priest, and king.
The expression "Lamb of God," does not refer exclusively,
or even primarily, to the meekness of Christ. The natural symbolism of the lamb
was, indeed, the substratum; but the real symbol is that lamb of which we read
in Exodus, and which finds its perfect and minute fulfilment in Jesus, in his
death on the cross, in the sprinkling of blood on the conscience, in the
believer's partaking of Christ, in the spirit of repentance and separation unto
God with which faith is accompanied. Therefore is Christ called the Lamb of
God. " Bearing sin " is an expression based upon Leviticus, and illumined
by Isa. 43.
When we read the words "generation of vipers," we are unable to
understand their real import, and are in danger of viewing them as the
expressions of an unrestrained anger and abhorrence, except by referring to
Gen. 3.15; Ps. 91 and other scriptures; where we are taught that there are two
seeds, two generations; that of the serpent and the children of God, the seed
of the woman.
If we wish to understand the Gospels, the life and teaching
of Jesus, we require the same preparation as Israel enjoyed. The evangelist
Luke gives us a lovely description of that garden of prepared Israelites who
received the Saviour with joy. Notice, in the first place, Mary, the blessed
Virgin. The angel had announced to her , the birth of the true David, and his
words (an echo of 2 Sam. 7. 11,12; Isa. 9. 6,7; Dan. 2. 44) sufficiently show
that the prophetic word is known and believed in the angelic world. Mary's song
is full of allusions to the promises of God as given to the fathers. So is the
song of Zacharias, who, being filled with the Holy Ghost, praises God for his
gracious fulfilment of his word, "spoken by the mouth of his holy prophets,
which have been since the world began." Simeon, who, according to Luke, waited
for "the consolation of Israel"" (what is this? Read Isa. 40 - 66), rejoiced
when he beheld the holy Child, and confirms the prophecy of Isa. 8. 14, that
the Lord is set for the fall and rising again of many in Israel. The good news
was joyfully received by them that looked for "redemption" in Jerusalem -
people who knew and believed the Scripture.
Again, how did John the Baptist
prepare the way of the Lord? He preached, according to the Scripture, of a
change of mind, of the kingdom of God, of the great harvest, and the separation
between wheat and chaff, of baptism with the Holy Ghost, of the Lamb of God.
(Jer. 3. 12-14; Isa. 58. 6,7; Ps. 1. Isa. 2; Ezek. 36; Ex. 12; Isa. 53) To
prove that the Gospels cannot be fully understood without the Scriptures of
Moses and the prophets would be to go through the whole of the fourfold
narrative. It is not sufficient to say that many of our Lord's actions were
performed expressly with a view to the fulfilment of prophecy; (Matth. 4.
13-16; 12. 16-21; 13. 34,35; 21. 4,5) it is not sufficient to recognize his
references to the written Word. The whole picture of Jesus given us in the
Gospels is the fulfilment of that outline which was sketched in word, and sign,
and fact, in Israel's record. The Gospels, declare that Jesus is He. "We
have found Him." He is come that was to come. But who and what that glorious
and divine HE is, Moses and the prophets explain.
Consider,
moreover, who were the Saviour's first disciples. Andrew said to Simon, "We
have found the Messiah." Philip said to Nathanael, "We have found Him of whom
Moses in the law and the prophets did write." Nathanael welcomed Jesus as the
Son of God, the King of Israel. These men knew the Scriptures. They were
waiting for the promised Messiah, the Anointed One. They had studied Moses and
the prophets, and recognized now the fulfilment. Nathanael knew that God had a
Son; he had learned so from Ps. 2., from Prov. 3. 4; he knew that Israel's King
was to come from above, that David's Son was David's Lord.
Thus we
also ought to enter on the study of the Gospels, on the contemplation of the
life and the words of Him whose goings forth are from of old; and then we shall
see that it is He. And in like manner the apostles preached Jesus, not
from their own writings, which did not exist then, but from the Scriptures.
What was Peter's sermon on the day of Pentecost?
He announced
(1) the
outpouring of the Spirit according to Joel 2.;
(2) the resurrection of
Jesus according to Ps. 16.;
(3) his ascension according to Ps. 110.; and
on this he bases
(4) the lordship of Jesus as the Messiah.
When Peter
is before the Jewish rulers he preaches Jesus from the 118th Psalm; and when
the apostles return to the company of believers, the Church is of good comfort,
because it knows (from Ps. 2.) that Christ, and not it, is the object of man's
persecution. It is on the ground of Scripture that the apostles decide the
great question concerning the Gentiles and the law (Acts 15.), even as it was
the prophetic word which Peter had preached to Cornelius (Acts 10.). What did
the evangelist Philip declare to the Ethiopian? He expounded to him Isa. 53,
and the eunuch believed, and went on his way rejoicing. What did Stephen
testify? Behold him, his countenance like the countenance of an angel; in the
face of death his last word is a summary of Moses and the prophets! How clear
was this word to his mind, how near to his memory and mouth, how dear to his
heart! What was Paul's preaching ? He proved from Scripture that Jesus is the
Christ; he opened the meaning of the prophetic word concerning the Messiah; he
asked not merely the Jews, but also King Agrippa, "Believest thou the
prophets?" He sums up his teaching in these words: "that Christ died for our
sins, according to the Scriptures; and that He was buried, and that He rose
again the third day, according to the Scriptures" (1 Cor. 15. 3,4). Apollos
also was "mighty in the Scriptures."
All the apostles preached Jesus from
Moses and the prophets. The book of Acts is a continuous unfolding of the
ancient Scripture. The Bereans are commended because they compared apostolic
teaching with the Scripture; from which we learn not merely that the apostles
based their preaching on Scripture, but that they were anxious their hearers
should believe the message, because it was in accordance with the infallible
Word of God. Look at the Epistles. What are they but the unfolding of the
gospel of Scripture ? Take that most important Epistle to the Romans. All
Christians regard it as a very fundamental epistle, our great defence and
bulwark, the basis of our instruction; containing so clearly the doctrine of
justification by faith which we teach in our schools and congregations. Now,
analyse the epistle. From the very outset Paul announces as his text and thesis
the words of Habakkuk, "The just shall live by faith." (Yet for a
hundred people who read Romans, is there one who reads the prophet Habakkuk?)
He then proceeds to prove, from the Psalms, the sinfulness of man. Then he
shows justification. But how? By referring to the mercy cover, in Leviticus. If
we understand the tabernacle, the meaning of the ark, of the testimony of the
law against us which it contained, of the mercy cover, of the sprinkling of
blood, we see the force of Paul's words, that "God hath set forth Jesus to be a
mercy cover (Hilasterion), through faith in his blood" (Rom. 3. 25). He goes on
to explain the way in which the sinner is justified, by the Scriptures
concerning Abram (Gen. 15. 6) and David (Ps. 32.). He derives an additional
argument from the date and meaning of circumcision.
In Rom. 5. he shows us
how sin and death are connected with Adam, and righteousness and life with
Christ. Is this chapter not inseparable from Gen. 3.? If you know not the
history of the Fall, can you understand the teaching of Paul ? In chapters 9-11
he explains the doctrine of election, the position of Israel and the Gentiles,
and the final conversion of the Jews as a nation; always quoting and
illustrating the words of Moses and the prophets. In short, the whole Epistle
to the Romans is an unfolding of Moses and the prophets, even as Paul writes to
them - "Whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our
learning." Take the Epistle to the Hebrews, and its most striking points.
Christ's divinity is proved from various Scriptures, his humanity and future
glory from the second Psalm, the glory of his priesthood from the history of
Melchizedek. Hebrews is a commentary on Leviticus. It is a book in a foreign
tongue, unless read in the light of the Scripture. Look at the Epistle to the
Galatians, a Gentile church, only of recent date in their experience of
Christian truth. Paul's argument is about Isaac and Ishmael, about Sara and
Hagar. This most fundamental, evangelical defence of the liberty of the
children of God rests upon Genesis
So with all the apostolic epistles. In
the 1st Epistle to the Corinthians Paul shows from Isaiah and Jeremiah the true
character of the world's wisdom, and that "eye hath not seen, nor ear heard,
neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared
for them that love Him." His exercise of discipline (chap. 5.) he founds on
Deut. 13. 5. In chap. 10. he explains the history of the wilderness, and from
the law of Moses he urges the duty and privilege of the support of the
ministry. I will only add his references to the creation of the woman out of
Adam (chap. 11.), and his exposition of the resurrection (chap. 15.), so full
of the Scripture. How striking and powerful is his quotation in 2 Cor. 6. of
four different passages (Levit. 26. 11, 12; Isa. 52. 11; Jer. 31. 33, and 32.
38), introducing them with the words, "As God hath said!" And it is
truly the voice of God speaking to us to be separate unto Him.
How
beautifully does Paul explain in the Epistle to the Ephesians (this most
characteristic portion of the book of the Church) the words of the sixty-eighth
Psalm. How emphatic is his testimony concerning the Scriptures in his Epistles
to Timothy, possessed of special solemnity in the prospect of his departure,
and of perilous times.
Equally rich in Scripture quotation and illustration
is Peter in his Epistles; indeed, no apostle speaks more decidedly and clearly
on the authority and Divine inspiration and fulness of Scripture, even as no
one uses more beautifully and abundantly the Scriptures for our instruction and
comfort. The Rock on which this rock was founded was Christ, and Christ
according to the Scripture. The little Epistle of Jude refers to Cain, to
Sodom, to Balaam, to Korah, and speaks of the body of Moses, in harmony with
Deut. 34. 6. "The Epistles of John are a powerful exposition of the history of
Cain and Abel." (Kohlbrügge)
James speaks of Abraham offering up
Isaac, of the faith of Rahab, of Elijah and his prayer, of Job's patience and
the Lord's dealings with him, of the law in its unity; and his epistle abounds
in allusions to Scripture thoughts and words.
The book of Revelation is a
compendium of Moses and the prophets, referring especially to Isaiah, Ezekiel,
Daniel, and Zechariah; a summary of all the preceding revelation of God, the
beautiful culminating point of the whole record.
It is not too much to say,
that as a dictionary is necessary to explain the words of a new language, so
the words and facts of the Gospels and Epistles require the explanation of
Moses and the prophets. You cannot read the "New Testament" without using the
"Old" as a dictionary;* and it is a very superficial view to think that,
because we see the word "Jesus," and the word "Lamb," and the words "blood" and
"mercy-seat," we have therefore clear and full views, and solid and substantial
ground of confidence, comfort, and hope;. Unless we know the meaning which God
has attached to these words - a meaning which is explained in the history, the
types, the institutions, and the prophecy given to Israel, we do not rest on a
solid basis; we are not feeding on nourishing food; we are not growing by the
sincere milk of the Word.
* ["The most beautiful
exposition of Moses, the prophets, and the Psalms is the New Testament, and
especially John and Paul; even as the Old Testament is the foundation and
fortress of the New Testament. If I were younger, I would seek all the words of
the New Testament in Moses and the prophets. By placing expressions and texts
of the two together, grand and wonderful expositions of Scripture would be
obtained." Martin Luther, Tischreden, 1.]
Oh that we were wise
and read the Scripture, the whole Scripture from Genesis to Malachi, and the
inspired commentary from Matthew to the Revelation! That we went into God's
school, learning his ideas and language, and explaining his Word, not out of
the dictionary of reason, the opinions of men, and the traditions of the
Church, but out of the dictionary He himself has graciously provided! That we
used a wholesome frugality in our reading of uninspired books and tracts, and
that we possessed a healthy appetite for the nutritious and strengthening Word
of God! That we would not confine ourselves to our favourite chapters, but
launch out into the free, majestic, infinite ocean of Scripture! That we fed on
the green pastures, so spacious and so varied! Let me entreat the young
especially to read the whole Scripture, copiously, regularly, and
systematically. The older people among us enjoyed a training in systematic
theology, according to catechisms. It is not the best way, but it is far
preferable to what, alas! is too much the state of things now, - that is, the
absence of systematic spiritual training. Scripture knowledge derived from
Scripture itself is the best. But what is to be feared at present is, that our
young people, fully sharing in the general and somewhat exaggerated dread of
catechisms and systematic manuals, live chiefly on popular sermons and tracts.
Of too many it must be said, they are not convinced by Scripture. They do not
possess an insight into the scope of the Bible. They know little of Moses, and
still less of the prophets. They do not understand the drift of an epistle. And
therefore they may easily be tossed to and fro by every wind of doctrine. A
good flow of language, solemnity of manner, and plausible philosophy, carry
them away. Our armour is the Word. Read the Scripture, and prayerfully and
diligently study "the whole counsel of God."*
* [There
is much force in the remark of Edward Irving ("Oracles of God," p. 42). " We
lament," he says, " that the catechetical books of any church should have come
to play such a conspicuous part in the foreground of the Christian stage, and
not have kept their proper inferiority of serving as handmaidens to the Book of
God. They are exhibitions, not of the whole of the Bible, as it is often
thought, but of the abstract doctrines and formal commandments of the Bible . .
. We are very discontented that they should have stepped from their proper
place of disarming heresy and preserving in the Church the unity of the faith,
that from this useful office they should have come to usurp it as the great
instrument of religions education." This is true, yet the systematic training
through catechetical books is certainly much to be preferred to the absence of
all systematic teaching; and in order to carry out the more excellent way of
scriptural training, it is most desirable, nay, an urgent necessity, that our
young men and women should be taught the Bible, its history, doctrine, and
prophecy, in a systematic manner. The chief defect of the catechisms seems to
me their utterly unhistorical character. They say nothing about the kingdom of
God, which was the subject of Christ's and the apostles' teaching, nothing
about Israel and the purpose of God; whereas in Scripture all is concrete, full
of life and colour, narrating the dealings of a living God with men, and
connecting the past with the future.]
