What role does Jesus' teaching play in understanding "Moses, Prophets, and Psalms"? Setting the Scene in Luke 24:44 “Jesus said to them, ‘These are the words I spoke to you while I was still with you: Everything must be fulfilled that is written about Me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets, and the Psalms.’ ” Jesus as the Key Interpreter • Jesus treats the entire Old Testament as a unified testimony about Himself. • He affirms its reliability (“must be fulfilled”) and positions His own teaching as the lens through which every section is rightly understood (cf. Luke 24:27). • Because He is both Author and Fulfillment, His words provide the authoritative commentary that ties every thread together. Unlocking the Law of Moses • Fulfillment, not abolition – “I have not come to abolish them, but to fulfill them” (Matthew 5:17). • Mosaic rituals and sacrifices foreshadow His atoning work (Leviticus 16 → Hebrews 9:11-12). • Moral commands are deepened by His exposition (e.g., anger = heart-level murder, Matthew 5:21-22). • Direct testimony – “If you believed Moses, you would believe Me, because he wrote about Me” (John 5:46). Jesus’ teaching reshapes our reading of Genesis–Deuteronomy from a rulebook to a Christ-centered narrative of promise, pattern, and prophecy. Revealing the Prophets • Prophetic hope culminates in Him: “God has fulfilled what He foretold through all the prophets, saying that His Christ would suffer” (Acts 3:18). • Jesus owns Isaiah 61:1-2 at Nazareth: “Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing” (Luke 4:21). • He links Daniel 7’s Son of Man to His own authority (Matthew 26:64). • Through His teaching we see dual horizons—immediate historical context and ultimate messianic fulfillment. Singing the Psalms with New Eyes • Messianic psalms become personal biography—Psalm 22 (crucifixion), Psalm 16 (resurrection, Acts 2:25-31), Psalm 110 (ascension and priest-king). • He cites Psalm 110:1 to silence critics and reveal His divine status (Matthew 22:41-45). • The worship language of the Psalms finds its fullest voice when spoken to, by, and about Him. Putting It into Practice • Read the Old Testament expecting to meet Christ; His teaching authorizes that expectation (John 5:39). • Trace themes of sacrifice, kingdom, covenant, and redemption through His explanatory lens. • Allow His fulfillment to strengthen confidence in every promise—“For all the promises of God are Yes in Christ” (2 Corinthians 1:20). Jesus’ teaching is the master key: it validates, clarifies, and completes the witness of Moses, the Prophets, and the Psalms, inviting us to see one grand, Christ-centered story from Genesis to Malachi. |
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