Far from setting aside the Old Testament, Jesus stressed that he came to fulfill it, and he highlighted how the Old Testament’s instruction was lastingly relevant for his followers (Matt 5:17–19). In later posts we’ll consider further the significance of this text, but what is important to note here is that, while the age of the old covenant has come to an end (Rom 6:14–15; 1 Cor 9:20–21; Gal 5:18; cf. Luke 16:16), the Old Testament itself maintains relevance for us in the way it (a) displays the character of God (e.g., Rom 7:12), (b) points to the excellencies of Christ, and (c) portrays for us the scope of love in all its facets (Matt 22:37–40).
“For Our Instruction” (Rom 15:4)
Is Christ really part of the Old Testament? Should I as a believer in the twenty-first century claim Old Testament promises as mine? Does the Mosaic law still matter today for followers of Jesus? Is the Old Testament Christian Scripture, and if so, how should we approach it?
This blog series on Delighting in the Old Testament seeks to help Christians make connections to Christ and practical application to the Christian life from every page of the Old Testament. More specifically, it seeks to help you:
- by faith see and celebrate Christ in the Old Testament in faithful ways,
- rightly hope in Old Testament promises through Jesus, and
- genuinely love others with the help of the old-covenant law and its fulfillment in Jesus.
To understand the Old Testament fully, we must read it as believers in Jesus, with God having awakened our spiritual senses to see and hear rightly. That is, we read through Christ. Then, as Christians, biblical interpretation reaches its end only after we have found Jesus and experienced him transforming us into his image. We, thus, read for Christ.
Some Christians may query, if we are part of the new covenant, why should we seek to understand and apply the Old Testament? While I will develop my response throughout this blog series, I give ten reasons here why the “Old” in Old Testament must not mean “unimportant or insignificant.”
1. The Old Testament Was Jesus’s Only Bible and Comprises 75% of Christian Scripture
If space says anything, the Old Testament matters to God, who gave us his word in a Book. In fact, it was his first special revelation, and it set a foundation for the fulfillment we find in Jesus in the New Testament. The Old Testament was the only Bible of Jesus and the earliest church (e.g., Luke 24:44; Acts 24:14), and it is a major part of our Scriptures.
2. The Old Testament Influences Our Understanding of Key Biblical Teachings
Without the Old Testament, we wouldn’t understand the problem for which Jesus and the New Testament supply the solution (Rom 5:18). We would miss so many features of God’s salvation story (9:4–5). And we wouldn’t grasp the various types and shadows that point to Jesus (John 1:29; 2:19, 21). Furthermore, some doctrines, such as the doctrine of creation, are best understood only from the Old Testament (Gen 1:1–2:3). Finally, the New Testament worldview and teachings are built upon the framework supplied in the Old Testament.
3. We Meet the Same God in Both Testaments
Note how the book of Hebrews begins: “Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son” (Heb 1:1–2). The very God who spoke through Old Testament prophets speaks through Jesus!
Isn’t the Old Testament’s God one of wrath, though, whereas the God of the New Testament is about grace? Not exactly. In brief, God is as wrathful in the New Testament as he is in the Old (e.g., Matt 10:28), and the Old is filled with manifestations of God’s saving grace (e.g., Exod 34:6). Certainly, there are numerous expressions of Yahweh’s righteous anger in the Old Testament, just as there are massive manifestations of blood-bought mercy in the New. Nevertheless, what is important is to recognize that we meet the same God in the Old Testament as we do in the New.