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.