Rob Grunden | October 2022 | Originally written as a term paper for an Old Testament Introduction course.
The value of the Old Testament Scriptures, as one thinks about the proclamation of the Lord, cannot be measured. Even so, it can be tempting for the preacher to stick with the New Testament Scriptures when working systematically verse by verse through books of the Bible. The New Testament has obvious and numerous things to tell us regarding Christ. It begins with 4 accounts of his incarnate life on earth. And each of those 4 accounts begins with the incarnation itself in its own way. Everything that follows decidedly revolves around the person and work of Christ Jesus. The reasons to preach Christ from the New Testament need not be mentioned since, in its entirety it is very plainly focused on Christ and his work. Conversely, the Old Testament can seem cryptic. It is filled with odd writings of seemingly unintelligible prophecy, genealogies filled with unpronounceable names, and narrative accounts that seem to largely say nothing about Christ. Not to mention the other obvious struggles with preaching from the Old Testament, such as the vast cultural differences, the language and communication barriers presented by those differences, and the sheer length of the books themselves.[1]
Despite the difficulties involved, it is an absolute necessity to preach Christ from the Old Testament Scriptures. Norman Geisler calls it our “divine imperative[2]” This is a multifaceted issue. Firstly, one cannot preach Christ thoroughly from the New Testament without drawing directly from Old Testament truths, allusions, types, and examples. Without utilizing the immense wealth of knowledge about Christ in the Old Testament, the New Testament, to give a robust proclamation of Christ, would be found lacking in substance. It would be missing necessary foundational information. Secondly, since Christian preaching clearly denotes preaching “Christ and Him crucified” (1 Cor. 2:2), it would be at least a disservice to the Old Testament Scriptures for the preacher to neglect the subject of Christ in the Old Testament. Thirdly, if the example is to be followed that was laid down by Christ himself and the writers of the New Testament, then preaching will default to the utilization of the Old Testament as the foundation for understanding Christ. This does not mean one must always preach Christ from Old Testament passages rather than the New Testament. It does mean, however, that even as the preacher is proclaiming Christ through a New Testament text, that preacher will inevitably use the Old Testament as well. Clowney states that as one attempts to preach Christ from the Old Testament Scriptures, one must produce “sermons that take account of the full drama of redemption, and its realization in Christ.”[3] To help with understanding this, several instances will be explored, in which Christ is preached from the Old Testament Scriptures in the New Testament itself is observed. Lastly, though every narrative, prophecy, and Song within the Old Testament is not directly about the subject of Christ, they are collectively leading to the climax of Christ and are to be read, studied, and interpreted in light of Christ and his work.
While it isn’t a mainstream idea that one should not preach Christ from the Old Testament, there are those who buck against it.[4] Much of the reasoning for this adverse reaction seems to be grounded in the idea that the Old Testament is indefensible to the unbeliever; the idea that if Christians are to be effective evangelists, then truths and stories in which the unbeliever does not already believe should be avoided. This is a wrongheaded view of evangelism, and it does not account for the Gospel being the “power of God for salvation to everyone who believes” (Rom. 1:16). While it would not be helpful to intentionally seek out the most fantastic portions of the Old Testament or the most controversial and misunderstood verses in the Old Testament to preach Christ, one could certainly say that there are several biblical reasons for preaching Christ, even for evangelistic purposes, from the Old Testament.
Beginning with the most compelling reason, Christ himself preached Christ from the Old Testament Scriptures. Early in his earthly ministry, he returns to his hometown in Nazareth. He went into their synagogue and read Isaiah 61:1-2. After the reading, while everyone was paying explicit attention to him, wondering what he would say about this text, he declared that “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing” (Lk. 4:21). So here is an example of Jesus, in the Synagogue on the Sabbath, reading a messianic prophecy from the Old Testament Scriptures, and then declaring in front of all in attendance that him being there was the fulfillment of this prophecy. This is an express example of Christ declaring Christ from the Old Testament Scriptures.
In John, chapter 5, Jesus is confronted by some unbelieving Jews who longed to kill him for his deeds on the Sabbath and his claiming that he was God’s Son. Jesus begins to give a small defense of his actions and claims by referencing his mighty works, and the testimony of the Father through his word. Jesus makes his point very plain when he tells them, “You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; it is they that testify about me” (Jn. 5:39). So, here is an instance in which Jesus is making the claim that the Scriptures testify about him, the Christ. It should be noted that when Jesus refers to the Scriptures, he is certainly not referring to the Gospel of Luke or Paul’s letter to the Galatian church. The Scriptures that Christ is referring to in this text are the Old Testament Scriptures.
In other places, Jesus utilized the Psalms to preach, teach, and answer questions about himself. In chapter 21 of the book of Matthew Jesus tells a parable that points to his coming death at the hand of the rogue shepherds of Israel and then references Psalm 118:22 to make a point about those evil religious leaders and their coming abuse and rejection of the Christ. And then, on the same day when all the Pharisees were gathered (and a host of others), he poses a question to them that they simply cannot answer. In the question, he specifically references “the Christ” (Matt. 22:42) and then quotes Psalm 110:1 as a psalm that was expressly written about the Christ to which he referred in his question. Only a few days after the previous two incidents, and just before he found himself in the Garden of Gethsemane, he quotes Isaiah and then says that “this which is written must be fulfilled in me” (Lk. 22:37). Well, one might ask why it must be fulfilled in him. And the answer to that lies at the end of the same verse when he states that the prophecy in Isaiah “refers to” him, the Christ.
While the examples of Christ himself teaching and preaching about Christ from the Old Testament Scriptures are ample, only one more moment will be added that happened near the end of Jesus’ earthly ministry; an example that sums the point up nicely. After his resurrection, Jesus caught up with some disciples on their way to Emmaus, and at first, they were prevented from recognizing who he was. However, at a certain point in the conversation, Jesus became clearly visible to them, and they understood who he was. Then Luke tells the reader that, “beginning with Moses and with all the prophets, he explained to them the things concerning himself in all the Scriptures” (Lk. 24:27). Jesus himself preached Christ from the Old Testament Scriptures on numerous recorded occasions as our first and most important example on this topic.
Though Jesus is perhaps the weightiest example that could be given on the necessity of preaching Christ from the Old Testament, he is by no means alone in the New Testament example of this. Paul is another example, this time of an Apostle, of preaching Christ from the Old Testament. Ladd writes that Paul’s “primary concern in using the Old Testament is…to show that redemption in Christ stands in direct continuity with the revelation in the Old Testament and is in fact the fulfillment of that revelation.”[5] Paul viewed the Old Testament as more than instrumental in teaching and preaching the gospel of Christ. Reymond says as much when he uses text from 2 Timothy 3:15 to illustrate, saying, “Paul believed that the Old Testament contained revelational information about ‘salvation through faith in the Messiah.’”[6] Throughout the book of Acts lies documentation of moments in which these things are demonstrated in Paul’s proclamation of Christ to Jews and Gentiles alike. Paul began to proclaim Christ in the synagogues almost immediately upon his conversion in Acts chapter nine, and we’re told that Paul was “confounding the Jews who lived at Damascus by proving that this Jesus is the Christ” (Acts 9:22).
In chapter 13 of Acts, we’re given a more detailed description of what it would’ve been like to sit in the synagogue for a portion of Paul reasoning with the people and proclaiming Christ. He begins addressing them by recalling some details about Israel’s history. From their being set apart at first, all the way to their exodus, wilderness wandering, and subsequent conquest of the promised land. He went on to describe the rule of God-given judges until Israel asked God to set a king over them. Then he briefly mentions Saul, then David. It’s at this point in his address that he shifts gears and brings it to the recent past. He says, “From the seed of [David], according to promise, God has brought to Israel a Savior, Jesus” (Acts 13:23). Paul continued with more details about the Christ and what had recently happened. His starting line for the address was the Old Testament, the history in which the coming of the Christ is grounded.
Acts chapter 17 tells us that it was Paul’s “custom” (Acts 17:2) to enter the synagogues to preach Christ. He made it a normal part of the rhythm of his life. Luke then tells the reader that “for three Sabbaths reasoned with them from the Scriptures, explaining and setting before them that the Christ had to suffer and rise again from the dead, and saying, ‘This Jesus whom I am proclaiming to you is that Christ’” (Acts 17:2-3). This instance clearly makes the point that Paul reasoned with them and explained that Jesus was the Christ that was to come. And he did it by utilizing the Scriptures, the Old Testament. Not only that but it can also be deduced that he did this for three subsequent Sabbaths and that he made this a regular practice.
It is learned in chapter 18 of the book of Acts that Paul, while in Corinth, was “reasoning in the synagogue every Sabbath and trying to persuade Jews and Greeks” (Acts 18:4). Though at this point, clarification is not likely needed about the subject matter of Paul’s reasoning with the people, the audience is told right away that Paul was “testifying to the Jews that Jesus was the Christ.” (Acts 18:5) How, one might ask, was doing this reasoning? What was his weapon, his standard, or his evidence? It was the same on all occasions. One must not assume that Paul was using differing means everywhere he went. It was always the Old Testament Scriptures that were in use as Paul explained the gospel of Christ to both Jews and Greeks.
Though Paul’s use of the Old Testament in his preaching about Christ is a regular occurrence in the book of Acts, he is not the only one doing this work this way.[7] Peter was the first preacher God used as the Church began. The first moment preaching is seen after the ascension of our Lord is found in Acts chapter 2. Peter famously addressed a nationally diverse crowd with the gospel of Christ, and it was used mightily by the Spirit of God as it states that “those who had received his word were baptized; and that day there were added about three thousand souls.” (Acts 2:41) And, as one would expect, Peter, like Paul and Christ himself, leaned upon the Old Testament to present the crowd with the truth of Christ. In fact, more than half of the recorded words of this first Christian sermon are quotes from the Old Testament scriptures. Peter quotes from or alludes to Joel 2, Psalm 16, Psalm 132, 2 Sam. 7, and Psalm 110. And as each of the Old Testament texts of which he speaks are observed, each of them is Messianic in nature. So, here exists the first sermon in the history of the Christian Church, a sermon in which Christ is proclaimed and by which 3,000 souls were saved, and that sermon was over half filled with the Old Testament Scriptures.
Not long after this first sermon, God healed a man through Peter and that ended up presenting Peter with the opportunity to preach Christ again. While Peter, in this second of his recorded sermons, does quote from Deut. 15 and Gen. 22, he says something that is worth our attention, considering our subject matter. Peter declares to the crowd that “the things which God announced beforehand by the mouth of all the prophets, that his Christ would suffer, he has thus fulfilled” (Acts 3:18). Peter is plainly and unquestionably saying that God revealed certain things about the Christ in the Old Testament and that Jesus was the fulfillment of those things. Observed in this text, is not only Peter’s example as he quotes from the Old Testament but his explicit claim that the Old Testament predicts Christ. It is for this reason that one so clearly witnesses the preaching of Christ in the New Testament from the Old Testament Scriptures.
Finally, Peter finds himself presenting the gospel of Christ to gentiles in Acts chapter 10, particularly to Cornelius and his household. On this occasion, he tells them that Jesus “ordered us to preach to the people, and solemnly to testify that this is the one who has been appointed by God as Judge of the living and the dead” (Acts 10:42). He followed this statement about their being ordered to preach with a statement about the Christ who gave them the command. He said, “of him all the prophets bear witness” (Acts 10:43). As Peter carries out the command of Christ, to proclaim him to all in their path, he is compelled to use the Old Testament because it testifies about Christ.
Many other examples exist, examples that do not include the seemingly most prominent preachers in the New Testament, Peter, and Paul. In Acts chapter 8 an Ethiopian official is found reading from a Messianic text in Isaiah when the Spirit of God brings Phillip to the man. Phillip asks him if he understands what he’s reading and when the official responds with his need for help in understanding the text, Phillip preaches Christ to him from the Old Testament prophecy the man was reading (Acts 8:25-35). Only a chapter before Luke tells the reader of the first recorded Christian martyr, Stephen. When Stephen was brought before the Sanhedrin to give a defense of actions he had not actually committed (Acts 6:11-12), he spent careful time walking through a brief history of the people of Israel (Acts 7:2-50). This history was followed by a startling connection, linking those in the past who “killed those who had previously announced the coming of the Righteous One” directly to the Sanhedrin before which he was standing who had, in turn, murdered that same “Righteous One” (Acts 7:52).
While dissonance exists among scholars, many hold that the book we know as Hebrews was a sermon or possibly an array of them.[8] If that is true, then it becomes the exemplification of preaching Christ from the Old Testament. With countless references to the Old Testament, both in direct quotation and in word picture, the book of Hebrews is the second most Old Testament saturated work in the New Testament. The only book in our New Testament that wins that battle of Old Testament saturation is the book most seem to call Revelation. That book is significant as well in this subject matter because a more apt title for the book mimics the first words in the book, “The Revelation of Jesus Christ”.[9] These are not only the first words in the book, but they describe the book; they give a reason for the book.[10] It is a revelation of Jesus Christ, given by Jesus Christ, to the people of Jesus Christ, for comfort and faith in Jesus Christ, using many Old Testament Scriptures predicting, alluding to, and describing Jesus Christ.
Ample arguments have been given. Attestation of the necessity to preach Christ from the Old Testament has been made from the weightiest source possible, the Holy Scriptures. And because the Scriptures themselves are “God-breathed” (2 Tim. 3:16), the weight these pieces of evidence bring to bear, insomuch as they represent a proper understanding and interpretation of the texts, is completely sufficient to put the subject to rest. In short, if all our evidence in the exampled New Testament preaching of Christ, not only includes, but treats as invaluable the use of and dependence on the Old Testament Scriptures, then we can make no heavier contrary case.
It is necessary, then, to spend some time teasing out the methods one might put into use in order to preach Christ from the Old Testament in today’s context. However, before methods are discussed, one more thing must be addressed first. When the passage in which Jesus speaks to some disciples on the road to Emmaus tells us that “beginning with Moses and with all the prophets, he explained to them the things concerning himself in all the Scriptures” (Lk. 24:27), the text has two typical readings. One of those is good and one potentially leads to a vast array of Old Testament misinterpretations. What has to be noted and remembered is that every Scripture does not speak of Christ. The correct way to think about what Jesus says in Luke 24:27 is that, while there are many specific texts in the Old Testament that do indeed speak directly about the Christ, the entirety of the Old Testament begs for him. All of it looks forward to the day when the savior will come. Daniel Block makes this point well when he says about this subject, “Not every text of Scripture points to Jesus Christ as Messiah, but every text presents a vital part of that story of Jesus, ‘who is also called the Christ”.[11] If a preacher reads Christ into every set of verses in the Old Testament it is as damaging as inserting oneself into every text as well. Everyone who dawns a pulpit would do well to remember this common error before presenting Christ.
Sidney Greidanus has produced what is perhaps the most extensive work on preaching Christ from the Old Testament that Menikoff calls “an excellent resource that has yet to be replaced.”[12] he presents seven ways in which the preacher may present Christ from the Old Testament and remain faithful to the text.[13] This is an exhaustive work on the subject and is of great benefit to the preacher. Though any preacher will find it beneficial to study each of the seven methodologies presented, the first method Greidanus presents gives the reader what is arguably most important when preaching Christ in either testament. While introducing the reader to the redemptive-historical method, he describes it as “the foundational way of preaching Christ from the Old Testament.”[14] He also states that “redemptive history is the bedrock for preaching Christ from the Old Testament.”[15] These are statements to be remembered. As each man stands in front of a congregation or a crowd of any sort, he must remember that to preach Christ is to preach the unmatched story of redemption found throughout all the Holy Scriptures, and that grand story begins in the Old Testament.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Block, Daniel I. “Christotelic Preaching: A Plea for Hermeneutical Integrity and Missional Passion.” The Southern Baptist Journal of Theology 22, no. 3 (2018):14
Clowney, Edmund P. Preaching Christ in All of Scripture. Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2003.
Geisler, Norman. To Understand the Bible Look for Jesus: The Bible Student’s Guide to the Bible’s Central Theme. Eugene, OR: Wipf and Stock Publishers, 2002.
Greidanus, Sidney. Preaching Christ from the Old Testament: A Contemporary Hermeneutical Method. Grand Rapids, MI; Cambridge, U.K.: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1999.
Grisanti, Michael A. The World and the Word: An Introduction to the Old Testament. Nashville, TN: B&H Academic, 2011.
Gryboski, Michael. “Christians must ‘unhitch’ old testament from their faith, says Andy Stanley.” The Christian Post, May 9, 2018, https://www.christianpost.com/news/christians-must-unhitch-old-testament-from-their-faith-says-andy-stanley.html.
Ladd, George Eldon. A Theology of the New Testament. Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1993.
Magnum, Douglas. Lexham Context Commentary: New Testament. Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2020
Menikoff, Aaron. Review of Preaching Christ from the Old Testament: A Contemporary Hermeneutical Method, by Sidney Greidanus. In 9Marks Journal 4, no.4 (2007): 37
New World Encyclopedia Contributors. “Book of Revelation.” In the New World Encyclopedia. Accessed on October 5, 2022. https://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/p/ index.php?title=Book_of_Revelation&oldid=1064562.
Reymond, Robert L. Paul, Missionary Theologian. Fearn, Scotland: Christian Focus Publications, 2000.
Selvaggio, Anthony T. “Preaching Advice from the ‘Sermon’ to the Hebrews.” The Gospel Coalition. Accessed October 5, 2022. https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/themelios/ article/preaching-advice-from-the-sermon-to-the-hebrews.
Wilson, Douglas. When the Man Comes Around: A commentary on the Book of Revelation. Moscow, ID: Cannon Press. 2019
[1] Michael A. Grisanti, The World and the Word: An Introduction to the Old Testament. (Nashville, TN: B&H Academic, 2011), 13. [2] Norman Geisler, To Understand the Bible Look for Jesus: The Bible Student’s Guide to the Bible’s Central Theme. (Eugene, OR: Wipf and Stock Publishers, 2002). 31 [3] Edmund P. Clowney, Preaching Christ in All of Scripture (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2003), 11 [4] Michael Gryboski, “Christians must ‘unhitch’ old testament from their faith, says Andy Stanley,” The Christian Post, accessed September 27, 2022, https://www.christianpost.com/news/christians-must-unhitch-old-testament-from-their-faith-says-andy-stanley.html. [5] George Eldon Ladd, A Theology of the New Testament (Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1993), 433 [6] Robert L. Reymond, Paul, Missionary Theologian (Fearn, Scotland: Christian Focus Publications, 2000), 383 [7] Douglas Magnum, Lexham Context Commentary: New Testament (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2020) Acts 1:1-28-31 [8] Anthony T. Selvaggio, “Preaching Advice from the ‘Sermon’ to the Hebrews,” The Gospel Coalition, Accessed October 5, 2022, https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/themelios/article/preaching-advice-from-the-sermon-to-the-hebrews. [9] New World Encyclopedia contributors, “Book of Revelation,” New World Encyclopedia, Accessed October 5, 2022, https://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/p/index.php?title=Book_of_Revelation&oldid=1064562. [10] Douglas Wilson, When the Man Comes Around: A commentary on the Book of Revelation (Moscow, ID: Cannon Press, 2019, 4. [11] Daniel I. Block, “Christotelic Preaching: A Plea for Hermeneutical Integrity and Missional Passion,” The Southern Baptist Journal of Theology 22, no.3 (2018): 14 [12] Aaron Menikoff, review of Preaching Christ from the Old Testament: A Contemporary Hermeneutical Method, by Sidney Greidanus, in 9Marks Journal 4, no. 4 (2007): 37 [13] Sidney Greidanus, Preaching Christ from the Old Testament: A Contemporary Hermeneutical Method (Grand Rapids, MI; Cambridge, U.K.: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1999), 234-277 [14] Ibid., 234 [15] Ibid., 235
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