Jesus and the Apostles: Using the Old Testament as a Living Story

1. Scripture as a Unified Narrative

When Jesus and the apostles refer to the Old Testament, they engage with scripture as a unified, coherent story—a living conversation between God and His people that spans centuries. They do not merely quote scripture to prove a point but show how these ancient words are still unfolding in their own time. The Old Testament is part of an ongoing narrative that speaks to its present context.

Example: Matthew 19:4-6 (Genesis 1 and 2)

When Jesus discusses marriage, he seamlessly draws from Genesis 1:27 and 2:24. Rather than treating these as separate creation accounts, Jesus combines them to highlight a foundational truth about marriage’s divine origin. This teaching transcends a legal argument about divorce and returns to the core of creation—marriage as God’s design. Jesus points back to this origin to underscore that marriage is not merely a social institution but something embedded in creation.

2. The Synthesis of Scriptural Passages

Throughout the Gospels and the epistles, we see Jesus and the apostles weaving together passages from various parts of scripture to form a fuller understanding. They move beyond the modern divisions of books and chapters, treating scripture as a continuous thread that connects different parts of the story to build an expansive picture.

Example: Matthew 4:1-11 (Deuteronomy in Jesus’ Temptation)

In the wilderness, Jesus resists Satan’s temptations by quoting Deuteronomy 8:3, 6:16, and 6:13. Each verse comes from different sections of Moses’ speech to Israel. Still, Jesus ties them together into a singular, powerful response. He is not simply quoting scripture for effect; he draws a parallel between Israel’s 40 years in the wilderness and His own 40 days, showing that God’s call to obedience and trust transcends time and circumstance.

3. Typology as Theological Interpretation

Beyond merely citing scripture, Jesus and the apostles engage in what scholars call “typology”—interpreting Old Testament events, people, and institutions as foreshadowings of Christ. This method adds layers of meaning, revealing how the Old Testament finds its ultimate fulfillment in Jesus.

Example: Matthew 12:40 (Jonah and the Resurrection)

When Jesus speaks of His death and resurrection, He uses Jonah’s three days in the belly of the fish as a “type” of His own experience. This is not just a clever connection—it reveals how Jonah’s ordeal pointed forward to Christ’s redemptive work. Jonah’s story becomes a foreshadowing of Jesus’s death and resurrection, illustrating how God’s plan for redemption was set in motion long before Christ’s incarnation.

4. Retrospective Use of the Old Testament in Paul’s Letters

Like Jesus, Paul draws on the Old Testament to explain how those ancient words come alive in the present through the lens of Christ’s crucifixion and resurrection. His letters are full of references that bring new understanding to the old covenant, particularly salvation through Jesus.

Example: Galatians 3:13 (Deuteronomy 21:23)

Paul quotes Deuteronomy 21:23: “Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree.” He uses this to show how Jesus’ crucifixion transformed the curse of the law into a means of redemption. Paul is not merely citing legal precedent; he is revealing that the curse described in Deuteronomy points to a larger redemptive story that finds its resolution in Jesus’ death on the cross. In this way, Paul shows how Christ takes on the curse of sin to bring about freedom for humanity.

5. Scripture as a Living and Ongoing Conversation

The way Jesus and the apostles used the Old Testament reveals that they saw scripture as a dynamic, ongoing conversation, not a static set of laws and stories. They viewed it as a narrative still unfolding, part of the larger story of God’s redemptive plan. Their citations and interpretations were connected to something larger than their immediate context—drawing upon the story of God’s work with humanity. This story reached its climax in Christ and continues to speak to us today.

Conclusion: A Unified Approach to Scripture

Whether quoting Genesis to explain marriage or referencing Deuteronomy to teach about the cross, Jesus and the apostles consistently approached scripture as a living, unified story, this story reaches its fulfillment in Christ but continues to have profound relevance. This approach invites us to read the Bible as a collection of ancient documents and as a unified narrative that continues to reveal God’s redemptive work in our lives.

~PW 🌮🛶