Leave The Older Testament Behind?

But he said to him, ‘If they do not hear Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded though one rise from the dead.’ ”  Luke 16:31

From the parable of our Lord Jesus that has a name in it, we have His conclusion in our verse for today. Sometimes it is tempting to think that we can leave the Old Testament behind, which is a strange thought given how often our Lord and His apostles quote the older testament. That would be like taking the novel, dividing the pages roughly in two and then in two again, and starting our reading in the middle of the latter half of the story. So many times is the older testament quoted in the newer story that we can't help but want to know the laws, prophecies and stories that our Lord and His followers referred to in their own stories and messages. But what about that more stunning revelation? 

Jesus said in His parable that the brothers of the tormented rich man would still not believe even if Lazarus were sent back to them from the dead! If a dead person came back with a message, it seems that any of us would give them a hearing and carefully consider the message. But according to the parable of our Lord Jesus, we would not if we did not already believe the message sent by the prophets and Moses. And yet, I feel an elephant in the room sneaking up on us. Do you suppose our Lord Jesus, the storyteller they listened to so long ago, would Himself rise from the dead and bring a message of repentance and hope? Well, that's just disingenuous, we already know from the rest of His story that He did just that!  From the conclusion of His parable though, let us not forget the older testament which was not replaced by our Lord Jesus but established by Him. 

Have a great and wonderful day in Christ!

Bucky