The Old Testament (OT) seems strange and dense to us. It seems so much the thing of another time and place: the writings of an ancient Palestinian culture about their dealings with a powerful, mysterious God (is he even the same as Jesus' loving Father?). Why should we read the OT as Christians today? How could it be relevant to us? I’m sure there are many good reasons but there is one reason that alone should compel us. We should read the OT because it points us to Jesus.
Let’s have a brief look at a couple of places where the New Testament (NT) refers to the OT. The NT had not been collected when its various authors were alive, so whenever we see the word scripture in the NT, it’s typically referring to the OT itself.
Luke 24:44-47
Jesus has just appeared to his disciples after he’s come back from the dead. They’ve realised, astonished, that it is truly him, and Jesus spends some time showing them that his shocking reappearance was actually to be expected:
44 [Jesus] said to them, “This is what I told you while I was still with you: Everything must be fulfilled that is written about me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms.” 45 Then he opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures. 46 He told them, “This is what is written: The Christ will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, 47 and repentance and forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem”.At first glance, that sounds like a very strange summary of the OT! Here’s how our Lord Jesus retells the entire OT in one sentence: The Christ will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, and repentance and forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. Sorry, what? That strikes me as unusual! The disciples seem to have been somewhat confounded themselves. I guess I need to keep reading to see if I can get the Jesus'-eye view on it!
2 Timothy 3:14-17
Paul writes to Timothy,
14 But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of, because you know those from whom you learned it, 15 and how from infancy ou have known the holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. 16 All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, 17 so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.By the time of Paul's writing, the apostles may have begun referring to each other’s writings as Scripture, part of God’s revelation. Even so, Paul is still referring predominantly to the OT, so verse 15 contains a remarkable statement: the holy Scriptures -- that is, the OT -- are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. Now, did you ever find yourself thinking that? I need wisdom for salvation so I’m going to… search the OT. I need faith in Christ Jesus so I’m going to… look in the OT. Isn't that odd? Paul is saying that the OT contains wisdom for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus! On top of that, the OT is God-breathed so it’s useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work. It sounds like the complete package. I gather that if we didn't need the teaching and interpretation of the apostles, we wouldn't even need the NT!
Jesus and his apostles say that the OT is hugely important for us. And they say that it’s important because it points to Jesus. If you want to be learning about Jesus, you need to be reading your OT! Let me put it to you strongly: The NT does not make sense apart from the OT. Jesus does not make sense apart from the OT. Our Christian faith does not make sense apart from the OT. The OT is not an option if you want to go a bit deeper. If you’re a Christian believer, the OT is vital to your life as part of God’s people. We need to read the OT in our personal devotions, study it in our small groups, teach it on Sunday nights. As Jesus said (Matthew 4:4), ‘Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God’. (Did you know he was quoting the OT?) Every word that comes from the mouth of God is vital for us: it’s essential for us to have life. If we miss out on the OT, we’re missing out on some of God’s words. Let’s get all we can out of God’s words.
3 comments:
studying for my OT1 exam currently. Like the post!
Can't help thinking that if Marcion wasn't a heretic life as a Christian would be so much easier... :-)
And now i need to type moust to publish this comment.
Everybody must read the OT in orther to realize how a big pile of bullshit is that stuff about that Jewish zombie born from a virgin that can walk on the water, fly, who asked to his mates to canybalize him, and whose father sent him for being tortured and killed FOR NOTHING, because the sin is still out there as you say.
Anyway, in the OT you can read lot of stuff about a blood-thirsty mad god who likes genocides, baby-killing, slavery... As a matter of fact, the devil is a good lad compared to the mass-killer god worshiped by you. The very first of all, kicking out Adam and Eve. They don't know about good and evil before eating the apple, so they didn't know it was bad, and even if they did, why the f... that psycho god of you put the tree right there instead of where they couldn't reach it?
I don't believe in any mythology at all, but I do believe in the human kind, so I do believe in you guys, and I'm positive people who can't tell what is good and evil by themselves have an ethical problem, and people who worship such a psycho-killer deity is because cowardice and stupidity.
Hi Anonymous
Here's hoping that you're not just a drive-by.
I like to think I know my bullshit, and it doesn't smell all that bad to me.
Is there only one way to read a story?
Let's take the story from Eden you mentioned. It's hardly about God crushing humans in their ignorance (they knew what they were doing because God had already explained it to them). Humans eating from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil represents us taking truth into our own hands, asserting that we can determine truth for themselves. According to the story, part of what defines us is our constant quest to "choose our own adventure".
That may sound like a wonderful thing (and that was the serpent's angle on it). But then, how can truth be determined? The story is talking about the root of all conflict. When each different tribe and ruler and religion has their own take on truth, there's room for disagreement and not much else. When Adam and Eve turned against God, they also turned against each other.
There was another tree in the garden, the tree of life. The story is saying that humans grasp at control rather than choose life.
What do you make of that?
Always keen to talk further!
Cheers
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