Seven Ways to Get to Christ in the OT

Seven Ways to Get to Christ in the OT

Maybe some of you have had a similar experience to mine. I was born and raised in a Christian home where the Gospel was believed and the Bible was taught and God was revered and trusted.

All of that was great, and I am so thankful and blessed for my upbringing, but the Old Testament was always a disconnect for me to the Gospel and the New testament. I wasn’t ever taught false doctrine but I believe that the emphasis was put in the wrong place. As far as I knew, Jesus’ life was just another story of the Bible among others like Daniel, Abraham, David, Esther, etc. You get the idea.

My friend recently described it as if you were given a box full of parts and told to assemble them not knowing that you were supposed to be building a motorcycle.

I think that this comes from an over emphasis on “Bible Study.”  I am not saying that there is anything wrong with Bible study or having a good hermeneutical foundation. Obviously, these are important for context so we don’t miss the original meaning and message. We correctly exegete the word and do not perform the big no no of eisegesis.

When Paul the Apostle refers to the Gospel or sometimes even “the Mystery” he isn’t just talking about the “The Romans Road” or some easy steps to understanding salvation. When Paul uses these terms he is talking big picture; he is looking at the whole story of historical redemption. He is thinking of Creation to New Creation and everything in between. This is where a proper understanding of the Old testament fits in. All the stories, and historical events of the Old Testament are pointing forward to something greater – to some one greater! Jesus himself said to the religious leaders and students of his day:

You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me, yet you refuse to come to me that you may have life.

- John 5:39-40

You see Jesus himself is the great theme and story of the Bible; all other stories point to him! I want to share seven ways to get to Christ from the Old Testament. Hopefully these will help you avoid the mistake that I (and others) have made as you study the scriptures.

Vaya Con Dios

The Below outline is taken from Sydney Greidanus’s book Preaching Christ from Genesis. A few of the comments are mine, just to help explain to simple minded people like myself. I have been helped by Greidanus and many other’s like Graeme Goldsworthy, and Edmund Clowney in my studies of Christ in the Old Testament.

  1.  Redemptive-Historical progression

    • Redemptive-historical progression trace God’s history with the world from his good creation (Gen 1), to the human fall into sin and God’s plan of redemption through the seed of the woman (Gen 3:15), to a long history of God continuing the line of the seed of the woman (Gen 3- Malachi), to Christ (the Gospels), the Church (Acts and the New Testament Letters), and finally to the new creation (Rev 22).
    • In other words, in the bible we can trace a continuous redemptive history which centers in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, who then ascends to rule his church from heaven until he comes again. Creation to New Creation.

  2.  Promise Fulfillment

    • If the text contains a promise of the coming Messiah, then you can easily move to the New Testament to show the ultimate fulfillment of the promise in Jesus Christ.
      • Example: “The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet, until tribute comes to him; and the obedience of the peoples is his.” – Gen 49:10
      • Show the fulfillment in Matthew 1:1-17 Jesus Christ, the king of kings born of the tribe of Judah and the House of David.

  3. Typology

    • Old Testament events, persons, or institutions can function as types which foreshadow the great Antitype – the person and work of Jesus Christ.
      • Examples: The fall of adam and eve. Adam is the human race’s representative, he prefigures Christ the Second Adam, who also is a representative of a New human race.
      • The ark, the tabernacle, the rock in the wilderness, Joshua, King David…etc

  4. Analogy

    • Analogy exposes parallels between what God taught israel and what Christ promises the Church; what God demanded of Israel (the Law) and what Christ demands of his Church.
      • Example: Genesis 12:1-9 Israel must claim Canaan for the Glory of God; in the New Testament Jesus mandates his Church to claim all nations for God (Matt 28:18-20)

  5. Longitudinal Themes

    • Although similar to redemptive-historical progression in some ways, it is distinct in focusing on the development of theological ideas rather than development in redemptive history. Longitudinal themes refers to themes that can be traced through the scriptures from the Old Testament to the New – Themes such as God’s coming kingdom, God’s covenant, God’s redemption, God’s presence, God’s love, God’s faithfulness, God’s grace, God’s judgment, God’s providence.
      • Every major Old Testament theme leads to Christ

  6. New Testament Reference

    • The New Testament reference makes a direct bridge to Christ.
      • Example: God created his good creation by his powerful “word”; John in his gospel tells us that that “Word” is Jesus Christ (John 1:1,3)

  7. Contrast

    • Because of the coming of Christ the text’s message for the contemporary Church may be quite different from the original message for Israel. So we preach by contrast.
      • Example: circumcision was a commanded by God for every Jew; but for us we know that Christ is our circumcision and circumcision is a heart issue. Circumcision was the outward sign of the Old covenant, but in Christ baptism is the sign of the New Covenant- which is an outward expression that we have died with Christ and have been raised with him to new life.. So we contrast the the Old and the New.