What was Jesus' view on the authority of Scripture?

Question

What was Jesus' own personal view on the nature of the Scripture as far as the divine authority of the OT? Can his view on this issue be determined through his own use of it?

Answer 1

Jesus felt that Isaiah was authoritative:

“But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.” (Matthew 4:4)

“Jesus said unto him, It is written again, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God.” (Matthew 4:7)

“Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.” (Matthew 4:10)

We also have him quoting from Deuteronomy, compared to Matt 4:4 above, so he felt that it was authoritative.

Deuteronomy 8:3 (ESV) And he humbled you and let you hunger and fed you with manna, which you did not know, nor did your fathers know, that he might make you know that man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord.

We also have the Jesus seemed to believe that Isaiah was written by only one author:

“that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Esaias the prophet, saying Himself took our infirmities, and bare our sicknesses.” (Matthew 8:17)

which related to

Isaiah 53:4 (ESV)
4   Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him
stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted.

and then compare Matthew 1:22-23 with Isaiah 7:14, about the prophecy regarding the birth of Christ.

In Matt 12:1-8 we see Jesus affirming the truthfulness and reliability of 1Samuel 2:16, Exodus 25:30, Leviticus 24:5-9, Numbers 28:9-10, Hosea 6:6, Genesis 2:3.

Then we have Matt 19:1-6 where Jesus reaffirms the Genesis creation account, about God creating man and woman.

Then we have Matthew 22:41–46 where Jesus is stating that David was inspired

41 Now while the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them a question, 
42 saying, “What do you think about the Christ? Whose son is he?” They said to him, “The son of David.”
43 He said to them, “How is it then that David, in the Spirit, calls him Lord, saying,
44  “ ‘The Lord said to my Lord,
“Sit at my right hand,
until I put your enemies under your feet” ’?
45 If then David calls him Lord, how is he his son?” 46 And no one was able to answer him a word, nor from that day did anyone dare to ask him any more questions.
and in Matt 27:35 where Jesus sees David as a prophet.

And they crucified him, and parted his garments, casting lots: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, They parted my garments among them, and upon my vesture did they cast lots.

So by going by just one Gospel we can see that Jesus felt the OT was authoritative, at least a representative sample of the OT.

Answer 2

My own personal answer would be no different than the one found here:

http://www.greatcom.org/resources/reasons_skeptics/ch_06/default.htm

Here are some excerpts.

He considered it to be divinely inspired:

Jesus believed that the Old Testament was divinely inspired, the veritable Word of God. He said, "The Scripture cannot be broken" (John 10:35). He referred to Scripture as "the commandment of God" (Matthew 15:3) and as the "Word of God" (Matthew 15:6). He also indicated that it was indestructible: "Until Heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or stroke shall pass away from the law, until all is accomplished" (Matthew 5:18). Notice that he mentions even the words and letters!

Since He considered it to be inspired by God, He considered it authoritative.

When dealing with the people of His day, whether it was with the disciples or religious rulers, Jesus constantly referred to the Old Testament: "Have you not read that which was spoken to you by God?" (Matthew 22:31); "Yea; and have you never read, 'Out of the mouth of infants and nursing babes thou hast prepared praise for thyself'?" (Matthew 21:16, citing Psalm 8:2); and "Have you not read what David did?" (Matthew 12:3). Examples could be multiplied to demonstrate that Jesus was conversant with the Old Testament and its content. He quoted from it often and He trusted it totally.

When confronted by Satan, Jesus appealed to the Old Testament as a source of authority by stating, "It is written," (Matt. 4:4, 7, 10).

Jesus appealed to Scripture when correcting false doctrine stating, "You are mistaken, not understanding the Scriptures nor the power of God," (NASB, Matt. 22:29).