Jeremiah’s Message for New Testament Christians

 

The Old Testament prophet Jeremiah may play a much more prominent role in the New Testament than we at first realize. At one point Jesus asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” They said, “Some say John the Baptist; and others, Elijah; but still others, Jeremiah, or one of the prophets” (Matt 16:13-14).  Why would some see and hear Jesus, and think that he was … Jeremiah?

Perhaps Jesus reminded them of the OT preacher by his behavior, his preaching, and/or his impressive boldness and perseverance under fire. With a broken heart, Jeremiah had begged God’s people to repent. Then he angered them by telling them to surrender. He was threatened, tried for his life, put in stocks, and thrown into a pit. His book was burned. He also promised future hope and a new covenant. Through it all, he persevered by faith.

In addition, we can see the significance of prophets like Jeremiah for Christians by noting passages quoted or alluded to in the New Testament.

Quotations/Allusions to the Book of Jeremiah in the New Testament

Jeremiah	New Testament
Jer 5:21 – ‘Now hear this, O foolish and senseless people, Who have eyes but do not see; Who have ears but do not hear.	Mk 8:18
Jer 6:16 – Thus says the Lord, “Stand by the ways and see and ask for the ancient paths, Where the good way is, and walk in it; And you will find rest for your souls. But they said, ‘We will not walk in it.’	Mt 11:29
Jer 7:11 – “Has this house, which is called by My name, become a den of robbers in your sight? Behold, I, even I, have seen it,” declares the Lord.	Mt 21:13; Mk 11:17; Lk 19:46
Jer 9:23 – Thus says the Lord, “Let not a wise man boast of his wisdom, and let not the mighty man boast of his might, let not a rich man boast of his riches; 24but let him who boasts boast of this, that he understands and knows Me, that I am the Lord who exercises lovingkindness, justice and righteousness on earth; for I delight in these things,” declares the Lord.	1Co 1:31; 2Co 10:17
Jer 10:7 – Who would not fear You, O King of the nations? Indeed it is Your due! For among all the wise men of the nations And in all their kingdoms, There is none like You.	Re 15:3, 4
Jer 12:3 – But You know me, O Lord; You see me; And You examine my heart’s attitude toward You. Drag them off like sheep for the slaughter And set them apart for a day of carnage!	Jas 5:5
Jer 12:15 – “And it will come about that after I have uprooted them, I will again have compassion on them; and I will bring them back, each one to his inheritance and each one to his land.	Acts 15:16
Jer 31:15 – Thus says the Lord, “A voice is heard in Ramah, Lamentation and bitter weeping. Rachel is weeping for her children; She refuses to be comforted for her children, Because they are no more.”	Mt 2:18
Jer 31:31 – “Behold, days are coming,” declares the Lord, “when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah, 32not like the covenant which I made with their fathers in the day I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, My covenant which they broke, although I was a husband to them,” declares the Lord. 33“But this is the covenant which I will make with the house of Israel after those days,” declares the Lord, “I will put My law within them and on their heart I will write it; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. 34“They will not teach again, each man his neighbor and each man his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for they will all know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them,” declares the Lord, “for I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more.”	He 8:8, 9, 10, 11, 12 He 10:16, 17 Ro 11:26

Credit: https://www.wednesdayintheword.com/jeremiah-in-the-new-testament/