I was not sure what to expect with this book. All I knew was that Keith kept exclaiming over it every other page or so when he read it. So I went in expecting great things. And found them.
People have a habit of treating the Old Testament like it is passé and no longer useful. I know that I grew up hearing so often that it was no longer in effect that I wondered if we really needed to study it anymore. Others must have felt the same because, as a child, I remember men bringing "testaments" to church—small, slim editions of the New Testament only. Oh, and the Psalms too, which I could never figure out since they were in the Old Testament. A friend told me that when her husband preached in a church we will not name, that he was told not to preach any more lessons from "the Old Bible—we don't need it now." Thankfully, I have learned better and I hope the majority of the church has as well.
This book kept amazing me. Mr. Wright starts in Matthew 1, and manages to cover most of the Old Testament in its first 17 verses. What? In a genealogy? Trust me, it's there. We have just trained ourselves to ignore it. As the author says, "…the Old Testament tells the story which Jesus completed. It declares the promise which he fulfilled. It provides the pictures and models which shaped his identity. It programmes a mission which he accepted and passed on. It teaches a moral orientation to God and the world which he endorsed, sharpened, and laid as the foundation for obedient discipleship." That statement summarizes the six chapters, all of which are lengthy, but handily divided into digestible sections.
My favorite section was probably the one where he proves the Deity of Jesus—by using the Old Testament! It is far more obvious than just the well-known events of John 8 where Jesus ultimately declares, "Before Abraham was, I AM!" It becomes more and more apparent that Jesus very carefully chose his words and actions to parallel passages in the Old Testament that apply to God the Father in order to astound, and even appall, the religious leaders of his day. But then, as God, he had every right to.
This book has two companions, one each for God and the Holy Spirit. I will let you know how those go too. This one has more than passed muster.
Knowing Jesus through the Old Testament is published by InterVarsity Press.
Dene Ward
People have a habit of treating the Old Testament like it is passé and no longer useful. I know that I grew up hearing so often that it was no longer in effect that I wondered if we really needed to study it anymore. Others must have felt the same because, as a child, I remember men bringing "testaments" to church—small, slim editions of the New Testament only. Oh, and the Psalms too, which I could never figure out since they were in the Old Testament. A friend told me that when her husband preached in a church we will not name, that he was told not to preach any more lessons from "the Old Bible—we don't need it now." Thankfully, I have learned better and I hope the majority of the church has as well.
This book kept amazing me. Mr. Wright starts in Matthew 1, and manages to cover most of the Old Testament in its first 17 verses. What? In a genealogy? Trust me, it's there. We have just trained ourselves to ignore it. As the author says, "…the Old Testament tells the story which Jesus completed. It declares the promise which he fulfilled. It provides the pictures and models which shaped his identity. It programmes a mission which he accepted and passed on. It teaches a moral orientation to God and the world which he endorsed, sharpened, and laid as the foundation for obedient discipleship." That statement summarizes the six chapters, all of which are lengthy, but handily divided into digestible sections.
My favorite section was probably the one where he proves the Deity of Jesus—by using the Old Testament! It is far more obvious than just the well-known events of John 8 where Jesus ultimately declares, "Before Abraham was, I AM!" It becomes more and more apparent that Jesus very carefully chose his words and actions to parallel passages in the Old Testament that apply to God the Father in order to astound, and even appall, the religious leaders of his day. But then, as God, he had every right to.
This book has two companions, one each for God and the Holy Spirit. I will let you know how those go too. This one has more than passed muster.
Knowing Jesus through the Old Testament is published by InterVarsity Press.
Dene Ward
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