If he called them gods to whom the word of God came—and Scripture cannot be broken—
John 10:35 (ESV)
Jesus was in a debate with the Jews about His claim to be the Son of God. And He quoted from Psalm 82:6 in support of that claim. Then, almost as an aside, He made the statement that the “Scripture cannot be broken.”
The Scripture cannot be broken. What did Jesus mean by this? In Matthew 5:17-18, Jesus said that nothing from the Law and Prophets would pass away until it was fulfilled. Jesus held that the Law and Prophets had relevance in His day, and into the future. And this statement in John would seem to expand that to include all Scripture.
So what did Jesus mean when He referenced the Scripture? Jesus frequently referred to the Law and the Prophets. But in this passage, He was referring to the Psalms. Much of what we call the Old Testament today would have been considered as sacred writings, or Scripture, in Jesus’ day.
As Gentile believers, we are not under the Law and understand much of it to be fulfilled in Christ. But we err if we hold that the Old Testament no longer has relevance to us. It has not been broken or abolished. Its truth is just as applicable today as it was in the early days of the church. A church that did not have the gospels and the writings of the apostles.
While Jesus’ words here do not refer to the inspiration of the Scripture (like 2 Timothy 3:16-17 does), they do speak to its timelessness and relevance for us today. Jesus had a very high opinion of the Old Testament, the Scripture of His day. Should ours be any less? Study the gospels and the writings of the apostles. But don’t neglect the Law, the Prophets, and the Writings found in the Old Testament.
