Mon. July 14th :: Lk. 16 :: Law and Prophets

"The Law and the Prophets were proclaimed until John. Since that time,
the good news of the kingdom of God is being preached, and people are
forcing their way into it. It is easier for heaven and earth to disappear
than for the least stroke of a pen to drop out of the Law.

(Luke 16:16-17)
------------------------------------------------------------

The Old Testament is God’s Word too.

For some of us, reading the Old Testament laws and prophecies can seem a bit daunting. There are all kinds of rules on everything from avoiding pig-meat to when it’s OK to sleep with your spouse. These parts of the Scriptures seem strange to us. And maybe because of this we are tempted to just ignore the first two-thirds of the Bible. Sure we might pull out a nice story here and there, perhaps about David or Joseph or Solomon, but as for the Laws and prophecies, we seem to be in over our heads.

Yet Jesus says this in Luke 16:
The Law and Prophets were inspired by the one true God. The Old Testament is God’s Word too.

So where does this leave us? Should you reconsider that pork tenderloin? Or what about sewing together two kinds of fabric? Is that a sin?

What Jesus says here is important.
He indicates that a new chapter in God’s story began with Him. By coming in the flesh, living a sinless life, and dying a sacrificial death, Jesus opens the way for all people to join God’s family. Subsequently, this family is no longer defined by ethnic origins or Jewish cultural affinities. In the past, these seemingly strange laws of the Old Testament served to set God’s people apart from the nations. Others foreshadowed the sacrificial death that Jesus would die to redeem humanity. Both of these uses of the Law were important, but both reached their fulfillment in Jesus. Thus it is no longer necessary for us to make sacrifices at the temple or avoid pork tenderloins (unless you’re on a diet). The important thing to note, however, is that these Old Testament Laws were never bad, they simply belong to another chapter in the Story. They are like great sailing ships used to carry travelers from England to America. They were essential for the journey, but unnecessary on the new-found land. Jesus came to keep the Law and fulfill the Old Testament prophecies about God’s coming Messiah.

So in this way, even the strangest parts of the Bible point us to God’s Son.

And the Old Testament is God’s Word too.

small caveat: this whole discussion is far too complex to be explained very well in a blog post. Thus I apologize for oversimplifying some very nuanced debates within the field of Biblical interpretation.