St. Jerome famously wrote, “Ignorance of scripture is ignorance of Christ.” This is not only in the obvious sense that we learn about Jesus by reading of the things he said and did in the four gospels. It also includes what we call the Old Testament. The followers of Jesus came to understand his identity in light of the history of Israel. St. Paul wrote we come to know Jesus through his prophets in the holy Scriptures. Jesus himself in his teaching would refer to the Jewish scriptures to illustrate his message. He spoke of Jonah and the people of Nineveh; he spoke of the Queen of the South (Queen of Sheba). If you don’t know the Biblical stories you won’t understand Jesus. Having a personal relationship with Jesus demands that we understand him as part of the story of the Jewish people.
