My article from this week's edition of the Rockford Squire:
Often when people read the Bible,
they’re not quite sure what to do with the Old Testament. Sometimes the way God acts in the Old
Testament seems to be quite a contrast from what we see Jesus saying and doing
in the Gospels, and many errant solutions arise in attempts to solve this
apparent discrepancy. Among these are
such ideas that Jesus is the kind member of the Trinity and God the Father is
the harsh one, or even that the OT God and Jesus are different deities
entirely. Other readers have thought that
God had different standards and different methods of rescuing people at
different times or from different genealogical heritage, and some have even
developed elaborate charts and systems to explain how they conclude this
works.
However, the true key to reveal understanding of the Old Testament is actually
quite simple. It’s ALL about Jesus! Sometimes it is obvious when something is
about Jesus, such as when Isaiah prophesies, “the virgin shall conceive and
bear a son,” or when God tells Eve that her descendant will crush the serpent’s
head. Other times, the connection is
less obvious, so try out these introductory tips to noticing Jesus in the Old
Testament:
1. Ask yourself what role the
person or event you are reading about plays in the big picture story of leading
to the arrival of Jesus in the world.
2.
Consider how the event you are reading carries out restoration or
reconciliation in the world. These
events are often little versions of what will be more fully accomplished in the
cross of Christ or on the Last Day.
3. Consider how human sin and
divine forgiveness interact in what you are reading. God actually saves the same way in both
testaments: by grace, through faith,
because of Jesus.
4. Watch for terms like “Word of
the Lord,” “Angel of the Lord,” or “Glory of the Lord.” These are frequently appearances of God the
Son before He took on human flesh in Jesus.
5.
Look for common elements like wood, water, bread, or wine. Frequently events involving these elements
are pointing us forward to promises or events God makes more clearly evident in
the New Testament. Wood points you to
the cross, water to Baptism, and bread or wine to the Lord’s Supper.
Scripture is more than just
instructions to live by or proverbs to inspire.
It is above all else the revelation of Jesus—the one in whom all
blessing from God is found, whether by trusting God’s promise that He would
come, or the Apostolic testimony that He has come.