Bible reading insights from how the gospels and Acts link the apostles to Jesus: A biblical theological exploration

Tshitangoni C Rabali

doi:10.4102/ids.v54i2.2593

Abstract

This article draws attention to reformed biblical theological insights derived from how the gospels and Acts relate the reading of the Scriptures by the apostles to Jesus. The presentation argues that the central concept in the teaching of Christ was a reading of the Scriptures that identifies him as the divine Saviour that the Old Testament speaks about, and that the gospels and Acts continue to promote such a reading of the Bible. The article is in the domain of biblical theology. The unique contribution of the article is that it highlights the biblical theological significance of recognising the close relationship that the gospels and Acts say exists between the teaching of the apostles by Jesus and their own witness in the early church for the reading of the Bible. The insights are also offered to illustrate the impact of reformed biblical theology on how to read the Bible.

Highlights

The four gospels confirm that Jesus did a lot of teaching (Mt 4:23; Mk 4:1; Lk 4:15; Jn 7:16, 28)
What was the place and role of the Scriptures in the teaching of Jesus in general? What are some of the details that the gospels and Acts preserve to confirm that the way the apostles viewed and handled the Scriptures was to a large extent because of the teaching that Jesus gave them? This article discusses matters pertaining to these questions by looking at the gospels and Acts to highlight that the source of the reading of the Old Testament Scriptures in which Christ is recognised as the fulfilment thereof is Jesus, and that it occupied a critical and prominent role in both the teaching ministries of Jesus and his apostles
The following are some of the insights that this exploration of how the gospels and Acts relate the reading of the Scriptures by the apostles to Jesus yields: 1. did Jesus suffer and die for sinners, but he taught and is the source of the witness of the apostles

Summary

Introduction

The four gospels confirm that Jesus did a lot of teaching (Mt 4:23; Mk 4:1; Lk 4:15; Jn 7:16, 28). This article discusses matters pertaining to these questions by looking at the gospels and Acts to highlight that the source of the reading of the Old Testament Scriptures in which Christ is recognised as the fulfilment thereof is Jesus, and that it occupied a critical and prominent role in both the teaching ministries of Jesus and his apostles. The gospels and Acts are not the only books that preserve what Jesus entrusted to his apostles when he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures (Lk 24:45) Their total witness about Jesus and his unique place in the Scriptures found its full expression in all the books that were written as part of their ministry in the early church; the books which together form the New Testament (Ridderbos 1978:21; Hill 2008:253). Such statements that embody reformed biblical theology can, in turn, further guide towards a proper reading of the Bible when they are not shunned as part of presuppositions that are affirmed when reading the Bible. Silva (2007:88) helpfully indicates that the ‘very possibility of understanding anything depends on our prior framework of interpretation’

Conclusion

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