The Scriptures according to Jesus

The Bible is not a systematic textbook; but it does, in its various scattered statements, reveal a comprehensive and consistent system of doctrine. Moreover, it insists that that system of doctrine should be known by all - it should be believed and taught throughout the world. Just because it is not explicitly systematised in the Bible does not mean its significance is in any way reduced (e.g. Jude 1:3, Titus 1:13, 2 Timothy 2:2, 4:7).

In family worship this morning we read some of the words of Jesus to the Sadducees when they brought their "clever" question about the resurrection. Notice what Jesus believed about the Scriptures and who they were addressed to (emphasis mine):

Jesus answered and said to them, 'You do greatly err, not knowing the scriptures or the power of God. ... But as touching the resurrection of the dead, have you not read that which was spoken to you by God, saying, "I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob"? God is not the God of the dead, but of the living.'

Where was that quote in Scripture? It's in Exodus chapter 3, at the burning bush. Who wrote it? Moses did. Who, according to Jesus, did he write it to? To you, who are alive today and whose beliefs and lives today are intended to be regulated by it. In the ancient Scripture, God today tells you what to believe and then how to live. That's Jesus' doctrine of the Scriptures. It's not a dead piece of history, but a living word, addressed to all people of all times - and which will one day judge us.