Around a thousand years ago, the English language existed in what we now call Old English, a language quite different from modern English and closer to German in structure and vocabulary. Extant writings from this period include poetry, prose, religious texts, and legal documents. Notable examples of poetry are Beowulf, The Wanderer, The Seafarer, The Wife’s Lament, and The Dream of the Rood, often preserved in manuscripts like the Exeter Book, the Vercelli Book, and the Nowell Codex. Prose works include the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, homilies by Ælfric of Eynsham, and sermons by Wulfstan, as well as translations of parts of the Bible and legal codes. Many of these works survive in manuscripts that are now preserved in libraries and cathedrals. Old English texts are largely unintelligible to a modern English speaker without specialized study, though translations help convey their themes, such as exile, divine mercy, and human suffering, often in ways reminiscent of biblical psalms.
The Psalms of David, by the time of Jesus, would have been about as ancient and revered to him as the Exeter Book is to us today. They were composed centuries before his time and had become sacred texts central to Jewish religious life. They were written in Biblical Hebrew, which was no longer a vernacular language, and so listeners in synagogues typically relied on Aramaic translations or paraphrases called Targumim to understand their meaning. Even with such explanations, the poetic and symbolic nature of the texts meant that their full significance often remained somewhat obscure. Expectations of a Messiah varied widely, and the prophecies themselves were rich in metaphor and layered meaning, which made straightforward understanding difficult for the average person. Ordinary worshipers heard texts that were both familiar and ancient, but comprehension of how those texts pointed to the Messiah required interpretive guidance and insight.
When Jesus stood in the synagogue and read from Isaiah, declaring that the prophecy was fulfilled in him, he bypassed the usual interpretive steps. Whereas a typical synagogue service involved hearing Scripture in Hebrew, receiving an Aramaic paraphrase, and perhaps listening to a homily, Jesus cut directly to the living reality he embodied. His audience did not need to trace the connections or rely on human interpretation; the meaning was present in him. This act exemplified the dynamic Paul later articulated between letter and Spirit: while the letter, or mediated reading of Scripture, could instruct or even constrain, the Spirit gives life. Jesus’s reading was Spirit-filled, revealing that the purpose of the prophecy was fulfilled in the immediate encounter with him. This made the ancient text living and accessible, not through intellectual labor but through the presence of one anointed by God, offering life and revelation directly to his hearers. His approach transformed the reception of Scripture from abstract interpretation into a personal encounter with the divine, embodying the Word itself and demonstrating that the ultimate significance of the sacred writings was realized in him.
(With wording by AI)
