“Ignorance of scripture is ignorance of Christ” St. Jerome
He didn’t say which Scripture, and there are people who think reading the New Testament or just the Gospels is enough for the average person in the pew. But you can’t get through even the first chapter of Matthew and understand it without knowing the whole history of Israel from Abraham on, and you can’t possibly understand why Jesus came without knowing what happened at the beginning in the Garden of Eden. The “Messiah,” the “anointed one” the Gospels are about, is someone who’s announced and prepared for and yearned for from the beginning of time.
“The New Testament has to be read in the light of the Old,” the Church tells us. “As an old saying put it, the New Testament lies hidden in the Old and the Old Testament is unveiled in the New” (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 129)
You need to read the whole Bible to fully understand and see Jesus. Reading only the Gospels may seem good, and it is a good start. But, reading Genesis and Exodus, Isaac and Psalms and so much more, allows you to see Who Jesus is more fully and why He is needed.
Reading the Gospels and the New and Old Testaments is like seeing God with both eyes. To focus on just the New Testament or Gospels is like covering one eye. Yes, you can still see, but, you can focus so much better with both eyes.
The goal of the devil is to divide. He knows scripture better than we often give him credit. Look at Matthew’s Gospel to see how he even tried to use his knowledge of scripture against Jesus (Matthew 4:1-11). Of course, using the word against THE WORD was a mistake. The devil even tries to divide scripture and make one more important than another or get us to not see the full story. He knows we will gain more wisdom and knowledge when we see the whole story.
Knowing the story as God has shared it, from beginning to end, helps us to see ourselves as well. When we read Joseph’s story, we see how God is using even what we see as bad in our own lives for good. We see the story of the prodigal even in this story, or maybe it’s the story of what the older brother could have. Remember, Joseph’s older brothers sold him to get rid of him and them told their father he was dead. Sounds like the reaction of the prodigal son’s older brother. But, here we get to see how even after that reaction, the younger brother just wanted his brother(s) back. And we see how the return of the young brother brought forgiveness and mercy back into the older brother(s) hearts.
Open both eyes to the full story of the Bible. You don’t have to be a Bible scholar and recite verses or know exactly where to find a verse. Just reading the stories of old and new and knowing the psalms and proverbs and the ‘words in red’ make it all come together as the love letter from God that the Bible is. It also helps in moments of stress. You never know when a story or two will connect and bring comfort and strength.
The whole of scripture, everything between each cover of the Bible, has the power to transform your life and more importantly, your eternity.
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