Jesus never rebuked the Jews
One of the most significant points in affirming the Hebrew Old Testament canon is that Jesus never rebuked the Jews over the extent of their Scriptures. Although Jesus frequently challenged the religious leaders (such as the Pharisees and Sadducees) on matters of tradition, interpretation, and hypocrisy (e.g., Matthew 15:3; Mark 7:13; Matthew 23), He never corrected or disputed their accepted body of Scripture.
The Threefold Division of the Old Testament
Instead, Jesus affirmed the threefold division of the Hebrew Bible (The Tanakh) — “the Law, the Prophets, and the Psalms” (Luke 24:44) — which matches the traditional Jewish canon. He also referred to the Scriptures as a unified, authoritative body (e.g., Matthew 5:17–18; John 10:35) and quoted from it extensively without questioning its boundaries.
This silence is profound: given how sharply Jesus confronted theological errors, His lack of rebuke regarding the canon strongly suggests that the Jewish Scriptures recognized in His day were accurate and complete — corresponding to the 22 (or 24) book Hebrew Bible, not including later Apocryphal additions.
Thus, Jesus’ acceptance of the established Jewish canon indirectly affirms the Protestant Old Testament canon.
Although it is sometimes argued that Jesus may have used the Septuagint, which included the Apocryphal books, this does not imply that He regarded them as Scripture. There is no evidence in the New Testament that Jesus or His apostles affirmed the Apocryphal writings as divinely inspired or canonical.
The Blood of the Righteous from Abel to Zechariah
In Matthew 23:35, Jesus says:
“so that on you may come all the righteous blood shed on earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah the son of Barachiah,[a] whom you murdered between the sanctuary and the altar.”
- Abel is found in Genesis (the first book of the Hebrew Bible).
- Zechariah son of Berechiah was murdered as recorded in 2 Chronicles 24:20–22, which is the last book of the Hebrew Bible (in Jewish order).
- This is equivalent to saying “from Genesis to Chronicles,” indicating a recognition of the entire Hebrew canon, excluding the Apocrypha.
Jesus never quotes the apocrypha
Although Jesus frequently quoted from and alluded to the Law, the Prophets, and the Writings of the Hebrew Scriptures, He never directly cited any Apocryphal or Deuterocanonical books as Scripture. Throughout the Gospels, Jesus references the authoritative Jewish canon (e.g., Genesis, Exodus, Psalms, Isaiah, Daniel), but there is no instance where He appeals to the Apocryphal writings with the formulaic language typically used to introduce Scripture, such as “it is written” or “have you not read.” This silence is significant and supports the conclusion that Jesus did not regard the Apocrypha as part of the inspired biblical canon.
