Key Texts: Matt. 4:1–11; Matt. 22:37–40; Luke 24:13–35, 44, 45; Luke 4:25–27; Acts 4:24–26.
Part I: Overview
The cry of the Reformation was ad fonts—“back to the sources.” In the context of the Enlightenment, this motto meant that the Reformers decided to go back to Scripture as the original source in order truly to understand the nature of Christianity and the duties of a Christian. The Reformers rejected basing their understanding of Scripture on the traditions and abuses that had come to characterize the medieval church. Today, modern presuppositions that come from a secular worldview minimize the Bible and assume it is based on misguided and primitive ideas that need either to be adjusted or rejected. Thus, Christians also must “go back to the sources.”
The primary example by which we should orient ourselves is Jesus Christ. How did He view the Scriptures? Did He express doubt about certain parts of scripture? Or did He instead quote from the Bible (the Old Testament in His time) as authoritative for all areas of life? This modern, scientific age denies the existence of God. At most, it claims that God does not interact in human history. Rather than follow these presuppositions, should we not test any such claim by what Scripture says that Jesus taught, and by example, believed? What about His disciples, the apostles, who wrote large portions of the New Testament? Did they not also follow His example? This week we are going back to Jesus and the apostles to see how they used and interpreted Scripture. We posit that their methods of interpretation and application still serve as a reliable guide and inspiration for us today.
Part II: Commentary
Illustration
In 1521, Martin Luther was summoned by the Roman emperor to Worms, Germany, where he awaited trial by the council, or Diet. It was a turning point for the Reformation. Was Luther going to recant and repudiate his writings that had stirred all of Europe? Or would he uphold sola Scriptura, “the Bible alone,” as his standard? Luther stood before the emperor and the highest civil and ecclesiastical authorities. An etching from the artist Lucas Cranach that same year presents the clear-cut profile of Luther projecting strength and determination. When the moment came, he spoke in a straightforward manner and with honesty: “ ‘Inasmuch as Your Majesty and Your Highnesses ask for a plain answer, I shall give one . . . . Unless I am proved to be wrong by the testimony of Scriptures and by evident reasoning—for I cannot trust the decisions of either popes or councils, since it is plain that they have frequently erred and contradicted one another—I am bound in conscience and held fast in the Word of God by those passages of the Holy Scriptures which I have quoted. Therefore, I cannot and will not retract anything, for it is neither safe nor salutary to act against one’s conscience. . . . God help me! Amen.’ ”—Heinrich Boehmer, Martin Luther: Road to Reformation (New York: Meridian Books, 1957), p. 415.
Scripture
A pivotal moment in earth’s history came when Satan tempted Jesus after His baptism and wilderness experience. Just 40 days earlier, the Father said at Jesus’ baptism, “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased” (Matt. 3:17). Satan now challenged this position. Was Jesus who His Father said He was? The issue was the reliability of God’s Word. In His first response, Jesus quotes a passage from Deuteronomy 8:3: “ ‘That He might make you know that man shall not live by bread alone; but man lives by every word that proceeds from the mouth of the LORD’ ” (NKJV). The context of this passage is God’s sustaining providence to ancient Israel when they wandered in the wilderness for 40 years. God humbled them and sustained them so that they would rely wholly on Him. By quoting this Scripture, Jesus is saying, “My Father who sustained Israel for 40 years will sustain Me. I trust in His Word alone because I know that He is not only the Source of sustenance, but the Source of life itself.” There is also a deeper implication here. Jesus is submitting Himself to His Father, just as ancient Israel was taught to submit to the Word of God. Jesus speaks not of His own authority but from the authority of Scripture as spoken by Moses. The argument in Deuteronomy is that because God sustained Israel and preserved them as His people to enter the Promised Land, they “shall keep the commandments of the LORD your God, to walk in His ways and to fear Him” (Deut. 8:6, NKJV).
“Jesus met Satan with the words of Scripture. ‘It is written,’ He said. In every temptation the weapon of His warfare was the word of God. Satan demanded of Christ a miracle as a sign of His divinity. But that which is greater than all miracles, a firm reliance upon a ‘Thus saith the Lord,’ was a sign that could not be controverted. So long as Christ held to this position, the tempter could gain no advantage.”—Ellen G. White, The Desire of Ages, p. 120. How do we approach temptation today? Do we have Scripture hidden in our hearts that we may call upon in order to respond to the tempter? We are never forced to submit our wills to temptation, and we have the same resource as Jesus did—His Word.
Illustration
On October 23, 1844, there was intense grief and disappointment when the Advent believers woke up to the reality that Jesus had not returned to take them home as they had expected. They had sold homes and property. They had given everything for the proclamation of the news that Jesus was coming that day. Now their greatest hope was crushed. Some of the believers left the faith. Many faced the ridicule of skeptics who had doubted all along. What had gone wrong? Was everything that they learned from the study of the prophecies for nothing? But as they went back to Scripture, they were led to understand that the date was not wrong; rather, they had misunderstood the nature of the “cleansing of the sanctuary.” The cleansing of the sanctuary was not the destruction of the earth; it was the movement of Christ into the Most Holy Place to begin another phase of His atoning work. Study led the Advent believers to understand the prophecy of Revelation 10:9, 10—the sweet message of the book that became a bitter disappointment. This disappointment was not a new experience for the believers in Jesus. It had happened before.
Scripture
The disciples could not understand Christ’s death on the cross. They had believed with the rest of Judaism that the Messiah would establish an earthly kingdom that would free them from the oppression of the Romans. Now that Jesus was dead and buried, they were devastated. The answer to their disappointment was the same as the answer to the early Advent believers. It was to turn back to Scripture. Jesus showed them the way. “And beginning with Moses and all the prophets, he interpreted to them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself” (Luke 24:27, RSV). This was a thorough exposition so that the disciples could see that everything written about Him “ ‘in the law of Moses and the prophets and the psalms must be fulfilled’ ” (Luke 24:44, RSV). Here we have another explicit reference to the three divisions of the Old Testament as encompassing “all scripture.” Jesus had prayed for His disciples, “ ‘Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth’ ” (John 17:17, NKJV). For Jesus, all Scripture was authoritative and the basis for His authority, ministry, and mission.
The disciples took the teaching of Jesus to heart and made it the core of the gospels and letters to the church. Matthew quoted extensively from the prophecies of the Old Testament. Luke began his Gospel with the genealogies, demonstrating that Jesus was the Messiah. Paul affirms that “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work” (2 Tim. 3:16, 17, NKJV). In Hebrews 11, Paul lists many of the men and women who were heroes of the faith, doing so in a way that takes their stories and original settings in the Old Testament at face value. Never do we find any New Testament writer doubting the authenticity, historicity, prophecies, or teachings of the Bible. They do not view the Scripture accounts in any way other than as authoritative. The examples of Jesus and the apostles give us the clearest evidence of how to approach the Scriptures. They allowed Scripture to interpret Scripture. They relied on Scripture as their defense during temptation and required a clear “thus saith the Lord” in the plainest understanding of the biblical text and its applications.
Part III: Life Application
In the 1990s, the WWJD movement became popular among Christians. Young people wore plastic bracelets with the acronym WWJD, for “What Would Jesus Do?” This question might also be appropriate when we contemplate the question of how to approach the Bible. We might rephrase the acronym to WWJS, or “What would Jesus say?” What would Jesus say about modern interpretations that deny the historicity of major events in the Old Testament? What would Jesus say about arguments in favor of the belief that the Old Testament teaches a different message than the New Testament and should be minimized and relegated to a position of lesser authority? What would Jesus say to someone in the church who insists that certain passages of the New Testament are only applicable to the church (e.g., Ephesus or Corinth) to which a particular letter was addressed? Would Jesus limit the authority of the Bible? As Christ’s disciples, how do we emulate His approach to Scripture? Will we try to interpret and twist words as the Pharisees and Sadducees did to trap Jesus?
1. Ask your class to recount experiences in which certain Scriptures came to mind when they were tempted to leave the side of Jesus. What kind of blessings do we receive from memorizing the Bible and storing it in our hearts? How many promises of God have you stored for a time when the Bible may not be in your possession any longer?
2. Think of other examples of when Jesus and the apostles based their arguments on Scripture. How effective were such arguments?
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Key Texts: Matt. 4:1–11; Matt. 22:37–40; Luke 24:13–35, 44, 45; Luke 4:25–27; Acts 4:24–26.
Part I: Overview
The cry of the Reformation was ad fonts—“back to the sources.” In the context of the Enlightenment, this motto meant that the Reformers decided to go back to Scripture as the original source in order truly to understand the nature of Christianity and the duties of a Christian. The Reformers rejected basing their understanding of Scripture on the traditions and abuses that had come to characterize the medieval church. Today, modern presuppositions that come from a secular worldview minimize the Bible and assume it is based on misguided and primitive ideas that need either to be adjusted or rejected. Thus, Christians also must “go back to the sources.”
The primary example by which we should orient ourselves is Jesus Christ. How did He view the Scriptures? Did He express doubt about certain parts of scripture? Or did He instead quote from the Bible (the Old Testament in His time) as authoritative for all areas of life? This modern, scientific age denies the existence of God. At most, it claims that God does not interact in human history. Rather than follow these presuppositions, should we not test any such claim by what Scripture says that Jesus taught, and by example, believed? What about His disciples, the apostles, who wrote large portions of the New Testament? Did they not also follow His example? This week we are going back to Jesus and the apostles to see how they used and interpreted Scripture. We posit that their methods of interpretation and application still serve as a reliable guide and inspiration for us today.
Part II: Commentary
Illustration
In 1521, Martin Luther was summoned by the Roman emperor to Worms, Germany, where he awaited trial by the council, or Diet. It was a turning point for the Reformation. Was Luther going to recant and repudiate his writings that had stirred all of Europe? Or would he uphold sola Scriptura, “the Bible alone,” as his standard? Luther stood before the emperor and the highest civil and ecclesiastical authorities. An etching from the artist Lucas Cranach that same year presents the clear-cut profile of Luther projecting strength and determination. When the moment came, he spoke in a straightforward manner and with honesty: “ ‘Inasmuch as Your Majesty and Your Highnesses ask for a plain answer, I shall give one . . . . Unless I am proved to be wrong by the testimony of Scriptures and by evident reasoning—for I cannot trust the decisions of either popes or councils, since it is plain that they have frequently erred and contradicted one another—I am bound in conscience and held fast in the Word of God by those passages of the Holy Scriptures which I have quoted. Therefore, I cannot and will not retract anything, for it is neither safe nor salutary to act against one’s conscience. . . . God help me! Amen.’ ”—Heinrich Boehmer, Martin Luther: Road to Reformation (New York: Meridian Books, 1957), p. 415.
Scripture
A pivotal moment in earth’s history came when Satan tempted Jesus after His baptism and wilderness experience. Just 40 days earlier, the Father said at Jesus’ baptism, “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased” (Matt. 3:17). Satan now challenged this position. Was Jesus who His Father said He was? The issue was the reliability of God’s Word. In His first response, Jesus quotes a passage from Deuteronomy 8:3: “ ‘That He might make you know that man shall not live by bread alone; but man lives by every word that proceeds from the mouth of the LORD’ ” (NKJV). The context of this passage is God’s sustaining providence to ancient Israel when they wandered in the wilderness for 40 years. God humbled them and sustained them so that they would rely wholly on Him. By quoting this Scripture, Jesus is saying, “My Father who sustained Israel for 40 years will sustain Me. I trust in His Word alone because I know that He is not only the Source of sustenance, but the Source of life itself.” There is also a deeper implication here. Jesus is submitting Himself to His Father, just as ancient Israel was taught to submit to the Word of God. Jesus speaks not of His own authority but from the authority of Scripture as spoken by Moses. The argument in Deuteronomy is that because God sustained Israel and preserved them as His people to enter the Promised Land, they “shall keep the commandments of the LORD your God, to walk in His ways and to fear Him” (Deut. 8:6, NKJV).
“Jesus met Satan with the words of Scripture. ‘It is written,’ He said. In every temptation the weapon of His warfare was the word of God. Satan demanded of Christ a miracle as a sign of His divinity. But that which is greater than all miracles, a firm reliance upon a ‘Thus saith the Lord,’ was a sign that could not be controverted. So long as Christ held to this position, the tempter could gain no advantage.”—Ellen G. White, The Desire of Ages, p. 120. How do we approach temptation today? Do we have Scripture hidden in our hearts that we may call upon in order to respond to the tempter? We are never forced to submit our wills to temptation, and we have the same resource as Jesus did—His Word.
Illustration
On October 23, 1844, there was intense grief and disappointment when the Advent believers woke up to the reality that Jesus had not returned to take them home as they had expected. They had sold homes and property. They had given everything for the proclamation of the news that Jesus was coming that day. Now their greatest hope was crushed. Some of the believers left the faith. Many faced the ridicule of skeptics who had doubted all along. What had gone wrong? Was everything that they learned from the study of the prophecies for nothing? But as they went back to Scripture, they were led to understand that the date was not wrong; rather, they had misunderstood the nature of the “cleansing of the sanctuary.” The cleansing of the sanctuary was not the destruction of the earth; it was the movement of Christ into the Most Holy Place to begin another phase of His atoning work. Study led the Advent believers to understand the prophecy of Revelation 10:9, 10—the sweet message of the book that became a bitter disappointment. This disappointment was not a new experience for the believers in Jesus. It had happened before.
Scripture
The disciples could not understand Christ’s death on the cross. They had believed with the rest of Judaism that the Messiah would establish an earthly kingdom that would free them from the oppression of the Romans. Now that Jesus was dead and buried, they were devastated. The answer to their disappointment was the same as the answer to the early Advent believers. It was to turn back to Scripture. Jesus showed them the way. “And beginning with Moses and all the prophets, he interpreted to them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself” (Luke 24:27, RSV). This was a thorough exposition so that the disciples could see that everything written about Him “ ‘in the law of Moses and the prophets and the psalms must be fulfilled’ ” (Luke 24:44, RSV). Here we have another explicit reference to the three divisions of the Old Testament as encompassing “all scripture.” Jesus had prayed for His disciples, “ ‘Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth’ ” (John 17:17, NKJV). For Jesus, all Scripture was authoritative and the basis for His authority, ministry, and mission.
The disciples took the teaching of Jesus to heart and made it the core of the gospels and letters to the church. Matthew quoted extensively from the prophecies of the Old Testament. Luke began his Gospel with the genealogies, demonstrating that Jesus was the Messiah. Paul affirms that “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work” (2 Tim. 3:16, 17, NKJV). In Hebrews 11, Paul lists many of the men and women who were heroes of the faith, doing so in a way that takes their stories and original settings in the Old Testament at face value. Never do we find any New Testament writer doubting the authenticity, historicity, prophecies, or teachings of the Bible. They do not view the Scripture accounts in any way other than as authoritative. The examples of Jesus and the apostles give us the clearest evidence of how to approach the Scriptures. They allowed Scripture to interpret Scripture. They relied on Scripture as their defense during temptation and required a clear “thus saith the Lord” in the plainest understanding of the biblical text and its applications.
Part III: Life Application
In the 1990s, the WWJD movement became popular among Christians. Young people wore plastic bracelets with the acronym WWJD, for “What Would Jesus Do?” This question might also be appropriate when we contemplate the question of how to approach the Bible. We might rephrase the acronym to WWJS, or “What would Jesus say?” What would Jesus say about modern interpretations that deny the historicity of major events in the Old Testament? What would Jesus say about arguments in favor of the belief that the Old Testament teaches a different message than the New Testament and should be minimized and relegated to a position of lesser authority? What would Jesus say to someone in the church who insists that certain passages of the New Testament are only applicable to the church (e.g., Ephesus or Corinth) to which a particular letter was addressed? Would Jesus limit the authority of the Bible? As Christ’s disciples, how do we emulate His approach to Scripture? Will we try to interpret and twist words as the Pharisees and Sadducees did to trap Jesus?
1. Ask your class to recount experiences in which certain Scriptures came to mind when they were tempted to leave the side of Jesus. What kind of blessings do we receive from memorizing the Bible and storing it in our hearts? How many promises of God have you stored for a time when the Bible may not be in your possession any longer?2. Think of other examples of when Jesus and the apostles based their arguments on Scripture. How effective were such arguments?