Sacred Writings: The Bible Jesus Read

Strength to Strength welcomed Chuck Pike to explore Jesus’ Bible with us.

Have you ever wondered why Jesus and the apostles misquote Old Testament texts? Are these sloppy quotations, sketchy transmission over the millennia, or shoddy translation in modern times? Or perhaps New Testament authors were trying to revise the Old Testament text to better represent their goals?

For example, Isaiah says,

The Spirit of the Lord God is upon Me,
Because the Lord has anointed Me
To preach good tidings to the poor;
He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted,
To proclaim liberty to the captives,
And the opening of the prison to those who are bound.

Isaiah 61:1 NKJV

But when Jesus quoted this in Luke, He inserted the phrase “and recovery of sight to the blind:”

The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me,
Because He has anointed Me
To preach the gospel to the poor;
He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted,
To proclaim liberty to the captives
And recovery of sight to the blind,
To set at liberty those who are oppressed.

Luke 4:18 NKJV

If these discrepancies concern you, join Chuck as he illustrates Jesus’ and the apostles’ frequent use of a different Old Testament text than the one most English Bibles are translated from today. If you’ve heard confusing terms like “Masoretic” and “Septuagint” – that confusion is about to melt away.

An interactive question-and-answer period follows.

Recommended resources:

• Orthodox Study Bible
• “Discovering the Septuagint” audio CD’s by David Bercot
• “Discovering the Septuagint” ebook by David Bercot
• “Why Don’t We Use the Same Bible as the Apostles?” audio CD’s by David Bercot

Chuck Pike’s greatest passion is for studying and teaching the Word of God. He has taught in North America, Europe and the Middle East, and developed online lessons and teaching resources in English and Farsi. His teaching emphasizes restoring the simple Christian faith of the early Church, “the faith once for all entrusted to the saints”. His approach features practical expository teaching, explaining interconnections between the New and Old Testaments, sharing insights from the pre-Nicene Christian writers, and using the evidence of fulfilled prophecies to convince unbelievers. He is a contributing teacher to The Historic Faith, which offers online Christian courses.

He is married to Alison; they have a son and a daughter and two grandsons. He grew up in New Jersey but has lived in the Boston area for most of the past forty years. Chuck is actively involved in a house church-based Christian fellowship, A Church of Christ in Woburn.