Have you not read?

There's a surprising amount of confusion about the significance of the Old Testament in Christianity. Many Christians treat it like it's irrelevant at best, and a few even think it's positively evil to refer back to it.

But the thing about the New Testament is that it's grounded in the Old. In fact, a lot of the New Testament is made up of quotes from the Old, along with several allusions to it. We see over and over again "it is written, it is written, it is written". But there is a similar phrase, which in my opinion is a lot more solid than "it is written". Every now and then, Jesus asks "have you not read..."

He only does this a few times, but I think it's a very powerful statement. "It is written" is very powerful, yes. It's like "this is what the word of God says." But "have you not read" is like an attack on the ego. Like, really? You don't know this? You should! It's right there in black and white! Have you really not read this? It's almost like Jesus is saying "why are you asking me when you have the Scriptures?"

And to my fellow Christians, I ask this: Have you not read? If not, why?