Jesus Referenced and Lived by the “Old Testament” Scriptures (it took years before His life was written down)
When Jesus says, "It is written", He is not referencing anything in the New Testament, it was not written yet. Yeshua was talking about God’s Word in the TaNaKH (Torah, Prophets, and Writings).
He’s appealing to already-recognized Scripture—what Christians call the Old Testament and what’s commonly referred to as the TaNaKH (Torah, Prophets, Writings). The New Testament writings weren’t composed yet, so He wouldn’t be citing a “New Testament” text.
NOTE: …for Yeshua and His audience, the “Word of GOD” was the TaNaKH: the Torah (Law), Nevi’im (Prophets), and Ketuvim (Writings).
When He taught, Yeshua used the phrase “It is written” to appeal to the settled authority of these Scriptures.
EXAMPLE: During His temptation in the wilderness, He quoted Deuteronomy 8:3 to refute Satan, showing His submission to the written Word.
…and He [GOD] humbled you and let you go hungry, and fed you with the manna which you did not know, nor did your fathers know, in order to make you understand that man shall not live on bread alone, but man shall live on everything that comes out of the mouth of the LORD.
He often used this phrase to contrast GOD's written Word with the "traditions of men" or oral interpretations taught by other religious leaders of His day.
The New Testament is a record of His life and the early believer’s {to include those not of Judean heritage] growth, which only began to be written down in the mid-to-late 1st century. That is why the New Testament came later.
Initially, the Teachings of Jesus were shared through eye-witness testimony and oral tradition.
NOTE: Many historians agree that the letters of Paul were the first parts of the New Testament to be written, that timeframe was roughly 20 to 30 years after Yeshua's death, followed by the retelling of His life from eye-witnessed accounts—found in the Besorah (Gospels).
During Yeshua’s earthly ministry, “Scripture” meant the TaNaKH (as stated above). These Writings were read publicly in synagogues and treated as the settled written Authority. The Teachings of the Messiah, however, were first received in real time–spoken, remembered, and repeated by disciples within active communities.
HISTORICAL DETAILS: Once the message spread beyond Judea into the nations, timing and distance changed the need: communities faced new questions (Jew/Gentile fellowship, food, calendar, persecution, leadership), and the original witnesses could not be physically present everywhere. The apostolic (12 sent ones) letters were written to correct misunderstandings, apply Yeshua’s Teaching to specific situations, and settle disputes, so the Words of Jesus began to function not only as Instruction for those who first heard them, but as a portable Standard for congregations who had not.
When the Besorah (4 Gospels) were later written, They did more than record events; They preserved eyewitness testimony in a stable form and placed Yeshua’s Words in narrative context for later believers. This meant hearing Him through a Written Account rather than only through local oral reports.
Doing so reduced the natural alteration that can occur as stories are retold, increased accountability to what was actually taught, and clarified how His Teaching made whole (and never contradicted) the TaNaKH.
Because the TaNaKH was the shared Scriptural framework of Yeshua, the apostles, and their first audiences, referring to It, and understanding It, adds essential foundation to the Besorah (Gospels) and the Renewed Testament as a whole. The language, Covenant categories, Feasts, priesthood, purity concepts, and prophetic expectations assumed by the Gospels come from Israel’s Scriptures and Second-Temple Judean culture.
In other words, the Gospels were not created in a vacuum; They were written into an existing story, and They make Their fullest sense inside that story.
CONTEXT MATTERS: Statements like, “You have heard that it was said… but I say to you…” helped correct misunderstandings and misapplications of God’s Word (for example, moving from merely “do not murder” to confronting anger and contempt in the heart). In the Sermon on the Mount, Yeshua was not overturning the TaNaKH; He was addressing what people had heard taught (common interpretations and applications) and then clarifying, intensifying, and re-centering the Torah’s intent at the heart level.
The importance of referring to, and understanding the Scriptures (Word of GOD), will shed light on, add foundation and the proper context and culture meaning to the Besorah.
That distinction matters: He wasn’t replacing Scripture with opinion; He was calling His listeners back to faithful obedience in its fullest meaning.
Notice how Yeshua refers to Scripture Itself. In Matthew 4, when He is tested, He does not appeal to a new revelation or personal authority—He answers by anchoring His words in what God had already spoken and what His hearers already recognized as Scripture.
“It is written” — Matthew 4:4
“Again, it is written” — Matthew 4:7
That pattern closes the circle. The TaNaKH is the Foundational Authority Yeshua quoted, obeyed, and taught from, so we understand the Besorah and the Renewed Testament best when we read Them in continuity with that same written Word.