Isn't it incredible how we can walk into a bookstore and buy books? That smell of a new book is amazing and I think most people would agree that digital copies spread across a screen just don't reach the same heights.
And one invention changed it all - the printing press. Before the advent of the printing press, books were painstakingly copied by hand, often by monks in monasteries. This process was time-consuming and made books incredibly rare and expensive. The introduction of the printing press by Johannes Gutenberg in the 15th century revolutionized the production of books. It allowed for mass production, drastically reducing costs and making literature accessible to a wider audience. This technological breakthrough paved the way for the spread of knowledge and ideas, significantly impacting education, science, and religion.
With this information in mind, a question a Christian might think is - What did the early church and Yeshua teach from? Since the printing press only came about in the 1400s, how did they access the Bible? And beyond that, when Yeshua did teach from the Word, what part of the Bible was He referring to?
Let's dive into this teaching!
A Divided Faith
It baffles me sometimes that Christians are told to start in a place other than page 1 when reading the Bible. Have you ever started a series on episode 6? A book on Page 150? Do comedians tell a joke by starting with the punchline?
Well, this is what has happened in our faith. What has arisen, is an arbitrary divide in every Christian's mind whenever they think of the Bible. The normal Christian thinks of the Bible as two parts. Old and New Testaments. This thinking further extends to believing that the Old Testament = Law for Israel/Jew and the New Testament = Gospel for me.
The Bible is one book. One that compliments, verifies, and links to each chapter, and as I will show you now, The Old Testament is the ONLY thing that Jesus taught from.
What Did Yeshua and the Disciples Teach From
Yeshua and all New Testament writers and apostles taught from the Old Testament. Because that is the ONLY Scripture that they had.
People could not bring Bibles to church (or even scrolls) as copies did not exist until the printing press in the 1400s. Texts were written on scrolls which were copied by hand. Imagine handwriting over 150 Psalms by hand. It would take forever! This same problem applied to all the disciples. Paul did not have a Bible with him when he evangelized. Most likely, he did not have any scripture with him, as that would be very expensive.
What Material Did They Teach?
If we read Yeshua's words in the Bible, we see He ONLY spoke about these three topics:
- The Law / The Law of Moses / God's Commandments to Israel
- Writings from the Prophets (Isaiah, Jeremiah, etc...)
- Psalms and Songs
These 3 collections are what Yeshua referred to as Scripture:
Mat 21:42 Jesus said to them, “Have you never read in the Scriptures: “ ‘The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; the Lord has done this, and it is marvelous in our eyes’?
Mar 12:10 Haven’t you read this passage of Scripture: “ ‘The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone;
Jhn 5:39 You study the Scriptures diligently because you think that in them you have eternal life. These are the very Scriptures that testify about me,
All of the many examples in the Bible where Yeshua mentions 'Scriptures', he is referring to Old Testament Laws! The New Testament had not even been written yet!
Even the disciples keep the theme of only talking about Old Testament Law, Prophets, and Psalms:
Luk 24:27 And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself.
Jhn 2:22 After he was raised from the dead, his disciples recalled what he had said. Then they believed the scripture and the words that Jesus had spoken.
Act 8:32 This is the passage of Scripture the eunuch was reading: “He was led like a sheep to the slaughter, and as a lamb before its shearer is silent, so he did not open his mouth.
Here is one of the most famous Scriptures of Christianity, which almost every Christian knows (Written by Paul):
2Ti 3:16 All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness,
With the New Testament not even written yet (the earliest letter only being written and sent in 70AD), what do you think Paul is referring to here? He is clearly saying that the OLD Testament Laws, Prophets, and Psalms are God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training in righteousness.
Paul is not speaking about the New Testament Bible when he says this. He is referring to what He had at the time - The Old Testament.
Yeshua already knew the Scriptures as they came from His Father. All other early Christians at the time would learn about the Scriptures from scrolls, which were exclusively kept in the Temples and Synagogues. These scrolls would be read/recited/memorised to the congregation and that is how people would receive the Word during this time. This is not to say that the New Testament is not God-breathed or can't be used for teaching and rebuking, OF COURSE it is, they had the Holy Spirit as well as Yeshua's literal words from Heaven, but when you actually read and understand that the ONLY thing Yeshua taught, followed, practiced and fulfilled was THE OLD TESTAMENT, your spirit will be AWAKENED to understanding Yeshua better, God better and what it means to ACTUALLY follow His commands (John 14:15 “If you love me, you will obey my commandments).
And just remember, you are a Christ follower, NOT a Paul follower!
Conclusion
In today's world, many Christians disregard the Old Testament, as they are told it is not applicable today. Churches even hand out Bibles that only contain the New Testament. In this teaching, we showed that Yeshua and all the disciples did not have a Bible or New Testament to teach from. Instead, all they had was the Old Testament Laws, Writings of Prophets and Psalms to teach from. These are collectively referred to as 'Scripture' by Yeshua.
We also showed that Yeshua and His disciples taught from scrolls and teachings they had at synagogues, and did not have access to printed Bibles or even scrolls, as these were only made by scribes.
Whenever you see Yeshua or a disciple talking about Scriptures in the New Testament, they are referring to the Old Testament. We used the example of a famous scripture:
2Ti 3:16 All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness,
To show that this is referring to Old Testament Laws, and not our New Testament Bibles today.
So, next time someone tells you to skip the Old Testament, just remember that your Lord and Saviour taught from them.
