Jesus' Word Is Scripture

“For Scripture says, ‘Do not muzzle an ox while it is treading out the grain,’ and ‘The worker deserves his wages.’” (1 Timothy 5:18)

Sometimes the smallest detail in the Bible can alert us to something profound. In this verse, the apostle Paul quoted two verses from Scripture to prove that church workers are to be paid for their work.

The first verse he quoted is from Deuteronomy 25:4 in the Old Testament: “Do not muzzle an ox while it is treading out the grain.” This is the second time in the New Testament that Paul quoted that same verse. He also quoted those same words in 1 Corinthians 9:9.

What’s surprising is to study the second verse that Paul quoted as Scripture: “The worker deserves his wages.” Do you know where that verse is found? Luke 10:7. Do you know what’s surprising about that? Luke is in the New Testament! Here we have a book of the New Testament (1 Timothy) quoting another book of the New Testament (Luke). Clearly, the Gospel of Luke was already written down and known throughout Christianity by the time that Paul wrote this letter of 1 Timothy.

This is profound. Many critics of the Bible insist that the Gospels weren’t written down until long after the time of Jesus’ disciples. Those who want to undermine the authority of Scripture insist that the New Testament itself wasn’t developed until the 300s A.D. Their devious efforts lead people to doubt the message of the Bible and call into question whether it’s really God’s Word.

Don’t. History tells us that Paul was executed in or before the year 68 A.D. That means that before 68 A.D., Jesus’ words had already been written down in the Gospel of Luke. Not only had they been written down, but Jesus’ words—the whole Gospel of Luke—were recognized in the Christian Church as being part of the Holy Scriptures and equal in authority to the book of Deuteronomy in the Old Testament.

If you have doubts right now about the Bible, keep studying. The more you study the Bible, the more you will be amazed to see how God the Holy Spirit inspired many different authors from many different places at many different times to write down one perfectly united message of God’s grace and salvation.

Here’s one little proof: Paul knew Jesus’ words. Already in the 60s A.D., Jesus’ Word is Scripture.

Dear Jesus, it’s an amazing blessing that you have provided your Word for us. Already in the lifetime of your disciples, your words were written down as the Word of God. Help us believe your Word. Amen.

Pastor Nathan