A Biblical Vision, Part I: Mastering the Old Testament Witness to Christ

F O U N D A T I O N S

M I N I S T R Y S E R I E S f o r

Biblical Studies

A B IBLICAL V ISION , P ART I: M ASTERING THE O LD T ESTAMENT W ITNESS TO C HRIST

D r. Don L . Da v i s

B2-402

T h e U r b a n M i n i s t r y I n s t i t u t e , a m i n i s t r y o f W o r l d I m p a c t , I n c .

© 2004, 2012. The Urban Ministry Institute. All Rights Reserved. Copying, redistribution and/or sale of these materials, or any unauthorized transmission, except as may be expressly permitted by the 1976 Copyright Act or in writing from the publisher is prohibited. Requests for permission should be addressed in writing to:

The Urban Ministry Institute 3701 E. 13th Street Wichita, KS 67208

The Urban Ministry Institute is a ministry of World Impact, Inc.

All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise noted, are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version, copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bible, a division of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All Rights Reserved.

Contents

About the Author

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Preface

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Session 1 Introduction

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Session 2 Promise and Fulfillment in the Old Testament’s Witness

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Session 3 The History of Israel as Type and Analogy in the Old Testament’s Witness to Christ

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Session 4 Jesus as Fulfillment of the Tabernacle, the Priesthood, the Sacrifices, and the Festivals

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Session 5 Character Types of the Prophet Ministry, Priesthood, and Kingship of Jesus Christ

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Session 6 The Old Testament and the Fulfillment of Messianic Predictions

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Session 7 Gentile Inclusion in Old Testament Prophecy

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Appendix

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Bibliography

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About Us

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About the Author

Rev. Dr. Don L. Davis is the Director of The Urban Ministry Institute. He received a B.A. in Biblical Studies from Wheaton College, an M.A. in Systematic Theology from the Wheaton Graduate School, and holds a Ph.D. in Theology and Ethics from the University of Iowa School of Religion. Dr. Davis has taught as professor of religion and theology at a number of colleges and seminaries, including Wheaton College, St. Ambrose University, and the Houston Graduate School of Theology. Since 1975, he has served with World Impact, an interdenominational missions agency dedicated to evangelism, discipleship, and urban church planting among the inner cities of America. A frequent speaker at national conventions and conferences, Don also serves as World Impact’s Vice President of Leadership Development. He is a Staley Lecturer and a member of the American Academy of Religion. Over the years Dr. Davis has authored numerous curricula, courses, and materials designed to equip pastors, church planters, and Christian workers for effective ministry in urban settings, including the Capstone Curriculum, The Urban Ministry Institute’s comprehensive sixteen-module seminary-level curriculum designed specifically for developing urban church leaders.

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The Urban Ministry Institute is a research and leadership development center for World Impact, an interdenominational Christian missions organization dedicated to evangelism and church planting in the inner cities of America. Founded in Wichita, Kansas in 1995, the Institute (TUMI) has sponsored courses, workshops, and leadership training events locally for urban leaders since 1996. We have recorded and reformatted many of these resources over the years, and are now making them available to others who are equipping leaders for the urban church. Our Foundations for Ministry Series represents a significant portion of our on-site training offered to students locally here in Wichita. We are thankful and excited that these materials can now be made available to you. We are confident that you can grow tremendously as you study God’s Word and relate its message of justice and grace to your life and ministry. For your personal benefit, we have included our traditional classroom materials with their corresponding audio recordings of each class session, placing them into a self-study format. We have included extra space in the actual printed materials in order that you may add notes and comments as you listen to the recordings. This will prove helpful as you explore these ideas and topics further. Remember, the teaching in these sessions was actually given in class and workshop settings at our Hope School of Ministry. This means that, although the workbooks were created for students to follow along and interact with the recordings, some differences may be present. As you engage the material, therefore, please keep in mind that the page numbers on the recordings do not correspond to those in the workbook. Our earnest prayer is that this Foundations for Ministry Series course will prove to be both a blessing and an encouragement to you in your walk with and ministry for Christ. May the Lord so use this course to deepen your knowledge of his Word, in order that you may be outfitted and equipped to complete the task he has for you in kingdom ministry!

This course’s main purpose is to explore together how the Old Testament Scriptures provide us with a clear understanding of the

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nature of the promise of the Messiah, which the New Testament identifies as Jesus of Nazareth. The Old Testament’s subject proper is the hope of the promised Messiah, the anointed One of Yahweh and descendant of Israel through whom God will restore his reign over creation. Further, we will closely examine various dimensions in which the Old Testament points to and foreshadows these truths, showing specifically how Jesus fulfills the Old Testament testimony of God’s promised Messiah. As a result of taking this course, each student should be able to: • Quote, interpret, and use effectively key Scriptures from the Old Testament regarding Messiah. • Show how the types, analogies, and stories of the Old Testament point to Jesus as the Christ. • Be able to recite a general bird’s eye view of the Old Testament literature. • Identify the key issues surrounding Old Testament scholarship as they relate to Messianic prophecy. • Recite an overview of Old Testament literature as a witness to the Messianic hope. • Communicate the role of typology in biblical interpretation, and teach and preach the types of Christ in Scripture. • Build more effectively the use of the Old Testament in teaching, preaching and counseling as it provides a foundation for the person of Jesus Christ. • Memorize a selected Scripture text related to the Old Testament’s testimony of the Messiah and how Jesus of Nazareth fulfills this testimony. To live as a disciple of Jesus Christ is to share his revolutionary view of God, creation, and history. No one can possibly do the works of Jesus without a fundamental shift in paradigms and life assumptions, being transformed by the renewing of one’s mind through the Word of God and repudiating the shallow petty explanations of the world (Rom. 12.1-2). The Old Testament offers in shadow and figure a clear testimony of the coming Champion of the world, and provides a life-changing witness to the true Messiah, Jesus of Nazareth. May the Lord grant you insight into the Old Testament’s rich storehouse of truth that gives authoritative and final witness to the person of Jesus Christ, our Lord and the fulfillment of the promise to the fathers. ~ Don Davis

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Assignments and Grading For our TUMI satellites, all course-relevant materials are located at www.tumi.org/foundations . Each course or workshop has assigned textbooks which are read and discussed throughout the class. We maintain our official Foundations for Ministry Series required textbook list at www.tumi.org/foundationsbooks .

For more information, please contact us at foundations@tumi.org .

Session 1 Introduction

What is the correct way to interpret the Bible? It is sometimes imagined that there are as many different interpretations of the Bible as there are readers. How should the Bible be understood? As the Ethiopian eunuch asked, with the Bible in hand, “How can I [understand] unless someone guides me?” The answer to this problem for the Christian is clear. Christ is our guide; he is the key to the interpretation of the Bible. Jesus claimed five times that he is the theme of the entire canon of Old Testament Scripture. Speaking of the Law and Prophets he said, “I have come not to abolish them but to fulfill them” (Matt. 5.17). Jesus walked with two disciples on the road to Emmaus, and “beginning with Moses and all the prophets, he interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself” (Luke 24.27). Later, to the ten disciples in the upper room Jesus said, “Everything written about me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled” (Luke 24.44). In dialogue with the Jews Jesus charged, “You search the Scriptures . . . and it is they that bear witness to me” (John 5.39). The writer of Hebrews ascribes to Christ these words of Ps. 40: “It is written of me in the roll of the book” (Heb. 10.7). These five times our Lord affirmed that he is the theme of the whole Old Testament. We may conclude then, on the authority of Christ, that he is the theme of the entire Bible. The Bible must be interpreted Christocentrically (i.e., Christ-centered). There is no other way for a Christian to understand it. There are at least three basic senses in which we may see Christ in the Bible as we survey its content: (1) Christ is the theme of both testaments of the Bible, (2) Christ is the theme of each of the eight sections of Scripture, and (3) Christocentric themes and truths may be found in each of the sixty-six books of the Bible. Like a puzzle, once the overall picture (theme) is understood, it is much easier to put all the pieces together.

~ Norman L. Geisler. A Popular Survey of the Old Testament . Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 2003. p. 19-20.

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I. Basic Overview of the Scriptures

But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it [15] and how from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.

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[16] All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, [17] that the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work. ~ 2 Timothy 3.14-17

A. The meaning of the word “Bible”

1. The English word “Bible” derived from the Greek biblion , “roll” or “book.” (Cf. Rev. 10.2, biblaridion = “little scroll.”)

2. A biblion = a roll of papyrus or byblus, a reedlike plant whose inner bark was dried and made into materials used for writing in the ancient world.

3. Greek use of biblion was less significant than current use: we use the term “Bible” to refer to the 39 books of the Old Testament and the 27 of the New Testament as the Book above all other books, the record of God’s revelation to humankind.

a. Biblion used to designate books of magic (Acts 19.19)

b. A bill of divorcement (Mark 10.4)

c. Biblion could also refer to other kinds of writings, including sacred books

4. Roots of the meaning of Biblion go back to the Old Testament

a. In Dan. 9.2 of the Septuagint (LXX) ta biblia refers to the prophetic writings.

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b. In the Prologue to Sirach of the Apocrypha it refers generally to the Old Testament Scriptures.

c. The early church used the term Biblion in this way (2 Clem. 14.2), used of the entire Bible at the turn of the fifth century (i.e., ta biblia ) used in the Western church.

5. In 13th Century referred to as a single book ( biblos , Bible), with both Old Testament and New Testament understood as “one utterance of God rather than a multitude of voices speaking for him.”

B. Inspiration and inerrancy of the Scriptures

1. The Scriptures are inspired by God: theopneustos (2 Tim. 3.16), literally, God “spirated” or breathed out the Scripture as the “product of his creative breath.”

2. The profitability of the Scripture is tied directly to its inspired origins (cf. opheleo , “to advantage”) for teaching, reproof, correction, and instruction in righteousness.

3. The Hebrew writings are said to be the veritable “oracles of God” (Rom. 3.2).

4. Peter suggests that the words of prophecy given by God in Scripture are the very words of God himself, 2 Pet. 1.19-21 – And we have something more sure , the prophetic word , to which you will do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts, [20] knowing this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture comes from someone’s own interpretation . [21] For no prophecy was ever pro duced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit .

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a. The Scriptures are neither of human origin or interpretation.

b. Holy men were carried along by the Holy Spirit, who himself is the author of the writings of Scripture.

5. The definition for the inerrancy of the Scriptures: Definition of inerrancy: “Inerrancy is the view that when all the facts become known, they will demonstrate that the Bible in its original autographs and correctly interpreted is entirely true and never false in all it affirms, whether that relates to doctrine or ethics or to the social, physical, or life sciences.”

6. The case for the inerrancy of the Scriptures

a. Scriptures are God-breathed, (2 Tim. 3.16).

b. God’s message is absolutely true, (Deut. 13.1-5; 18.20-22).

c. The Scriptures are absolutely authoritative, Matt. 5.17-20; John 10.34-35.

d. The Scriptures use of Scripture supports it (e.g., an entire argument resting on a single word “gods” in John 10.34-35 with Ps. 82.6) or the tense of a verb (e.g., the present tense in Matt. 22.32), or the difference between a singular and a plural noun (e.g., “seed” in Gal. 3.16).

e. God’s character guarantees it: God simply cannot lie (Num. 23.19; 1 Sam. 15.29; Titus 1.2; Heb. 6.18).

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C. Canon of the Scriptures

1. “Canon” = a group of books held by the early church to be spiritually superior and authoritative, seen together as the “rule of faith and practice” (cf. Greek kanon , which designated a carpenter’s rule, possibly borrowed from a Hebrew term, qaneh , referring to a measuring reed six cubits long).

2. Those not acknowledged to be in the canon were deemed to be of secondary authority for faith and use in the Church.

3. Canon views

a. The Hebrew canon: The Hebrew Scriptures = our Old Testament (39 books)

b. Protestant canon: Our Old and New Testaments (66 books)

c. Catholic canon: Our Old and New Testaments, and the Apocrypha (88 books) (note: the Apocrypha are regarded by most as of deuterocanonical status)

4. Canonical processes are not absolutely known for either the Hebrew or Christian canon. What were the standards used?

a. Jewish understanding of their own inspired literature

b. Jesus’ endorsement of the Old Testament (cf. Luke 24.44-49)

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c. The apostolic use of the Old Testament (Rom. 1.16-17)

d. The Church’s use and acknowledgment of apostolic authorship (1 Cor. 15.1-3)

5. Old Testament Canon: the dominant role of Moses (Exod. 24.4, 7), called the Pentateuch (the five writings, our first five books of the Bible)

a. Joshua’s writing in the book of the law of God, Josh. 24.26. (note: the law was always considered to be from God , Deut. 31.24; Josh. 1.8).

b. Two other divisions of the Hebrew canon, The Prophets and the Writings , were selected out of a larger litera ture (15 or more books of this literature are mentioned in our Old Testament) (see “book of the Wars of the Lord,” Num. 21.14; “book of Jasher,” Josh. 10.13; “book of the Acts of Solomon,” 1 Kings 11.41; “book of Samuel the seer, book of Nathan the prophet, book of Gad the seer,” 1 Chron. 29.29, etc.; fifteen or more such books are named in the Old Testament). 6. Why and when was the Old Testament finally brought into being as a canon? Answer: The coming into being of many apocryphal and pseudepigraphical writings during the intertestamental period (between Malachi and the period of Jesus’ appearing).

7. By the appearance of Jesus, the Old Testament (i.e., Tanaach in modern Judaism) consisted of the Law, Prophets, and Writings (the first book of which was the Psalms, Luke 24.44).

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D. Authority of the Scriptures

1. The authority of Scripture is rooted in God’s very own person as he who is Lord and sovereign over all, Dan. 4.34-35.

2. God is the God of absolute truthfulness and faithfulness; his word, therefore, is absolutely authoritative (i.e., Hebrew ‘emet , rendered “truth” or ”faithfulness,” e.g., Deut. 32.4; Ps. 108.4; Hos. 2.20).

3. God’s absolute faithfulness touches all that God is and does, including his word (cf. Ps. 117.2; 57.3; 119.89).

a. God is not a man who can lie, Num. 23.19; cf. 1 Sam. 15.29; Ps. 89.35.

b. God’s word is the word of truth (completely trustworthy and therefore authoritative), cf. Ps. 119.160.

4. The entire Old Testament is seen to be “the word of God” designated as “the Scripture of truth” (Dan. 10.21 AV).

5. The word of the Scriptures actually share, therefore, God’s very own character and reality, 2 Tim. 3.16-17; 2 Pet. 1.20-21.

E. Summary

1. The Old Testament is the inspired, inerrant, veracious word of the living God.

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2. As such it is infallible (authoritative) along with the New Testament for both faith and practice.

II. Critical Outline: Christ is the theme of the Bible (both Old and New Testament)

And the Father who sent me has himself borne witness about me. His voice you have never heard, his form you have never seen, [38] and you do not have his word abiding in you, for you do not believe the one whom he has sent. [39] You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me, [40] yet you refuse to come to me that you may have life. ~ John 5.37-40

What is the proper way to read and interpret the core meaning of the biblical texts?

Matt. 22.29 But Jesus answered them, “You are wrong, because you know neither the Scriptures nor the power of God.” Mark 12.10 Have you not read this Scripture: “The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone.” John 5.46 If you believed Moses, you would believe me; for he wrote of me. Matt. 5.17-18 Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. [18] For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished.

A. Christ is the theme of both the Old and New Testaments

1. Testament = covenant or pact between God and his people

2. The Old Testament = Christ by anticipation , the New Testament = Christ by realization

3. The Old Testament is incomplete without the New Testament; the New Testament provides a full understanding of the Old Testament.

4. The Old Testament = commencement (beginning), the New Testament = completion (fulfillment)

5. The Old Testament’s relationship to the New is specifically Christocentric .

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a. In terms of its structure: promise and fulfillment

b. In terms of its ceremony: ritual performance and actual substance

c. In terms of its moral teaching: moral precept and Christ’s perfect righteousness

d. In terms of its predictions: Messianic prophecy and literal fulfillment in Jesus of Nazareth

B. Christ is the theme of each of the eight sections of the Bible. (Cf. Geisler, A Popular Survey , pp. 21-24).

1. The Law (Genesis - Deuteronomy): Laying the Foundation for Messiah

2. History (Joshua - Esther): The Preparation for Messiah

3. Poetry (Job - Song of Solomon): The Aspiration for Messiah

4. Prophecy (Isaiah - Malachi): The Expectation of Messiah

5. Gospels (Matthew - John): The Manifestation of Messiah

6. History (Acts): The Propagation of Messiah

7. Epistles (Romans - Jude): The Interpretation and Application of Messiah

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8. Prophecy (Revelation): The Consummation of All Things in Messiah

C. Christ is found in all sixty-six books of the Bible (cf. Geisler, A Popular Survey , pp. 24-25).

III. Principles and Implications for Old Testament Study

And he said to them, “O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! [26] Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and enter into his glory?” [27] And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself. ~ Luke 24.25-27

What is the heart and soul of authentic biblical exegesis?

A. Principles in our study of the Old Testament

1. Jesus Christ is the core of all genuine spirituality , and therefore, all credible biblical interpretation.

a. John 5.39-40 – You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me, [40] yet you refuse to come to me that you may have life.

b. Matt. 17.5 – He was still speaking when, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him.”

c. John 1.14 – And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.

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d. John 1.17-18 – For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. [18] No one has ever seen God; the only God, who is at the Father’s side, he has made him known.

e. John 3.16 – For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.

2. Interpretation that does not make the explanation and interpretation of the Messianic hope its core cannot be entirely effective theology.

a. Deut. 18.15 – The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your brothers – it is to him you shall listen.

b. Deut. 18.18 – I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their brothers. And I will put my words in his mouth, and he shall speak to them all that I command him.

c. Luke 24.27 – And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself.

d. Luke 24.44 – Then he said to them, “These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you, that everything written about me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.”

e. John 1.45 – Philip found Nathanael and said to him, “We have found him of whom Moses in the Law and also the prophets wrote, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.”

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f. Acts 26.22-23 – To this day I have had the help that comes from God, and so I stand here testifying both to small and great, saying nothing but what the prophets and Moses said would come to pass: [23] that the Christ must suffer and that, by being the first to rise from the dead, he would proclaim light both to our people and to the Gentiles. 3. God’s final word to humankind has been given in the person of Jesus of Nazareth ; credible biblical hermeneutics makes plain how God has spoken and is speaking to us through his Son, Jesus of Nazareth, Heb. 1.1-4 – Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, [2] but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world. [3] He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, [4] having become as much superior to angels as the name he has inherited is more excellent than theirs.

B. Critical implications

1. The study of Scripture must simultaneously become the study of Jesus Christ.

2. The Scriptures can be expertly known but spiritually misapplied.

3. Authentic Christian leadership interprets the Scriptures in light of their raison d’etre : Jesus of Nazareth, John 5.39-40.

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IV. Connections for Urban Ministry Today

To them God chose to make known how great among the Gentiles are the riches of the glory of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. [28] Him we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom, that we may present everyone mature in Christ. [29] For this I toil, struggling with all his energy that he powerfully works within me. ~ Colossians 1.27-29

How do we rediscover the Old Testament in light of its true purpose – to give witness to Jesus Christ and his Kingdom?

A. Connection to your handling of the Old Testament Scriptures for devotional reading and use

1. We must commit ourselves to a disciplined rediscovery of the Old Testament as the Bible of Jesus and the apostles .

2. We must unlearn our gentilized ways of reading and experiencing the Old Testament.

3. We must be delivered from our bigotries regarding the Old Testament’s usefulness to our lives.

B. Connection to your critical study of the Old Testament

1. We must learn the structure of the Old Testament for the sake of understanding its connection to the person of Jesus Christ.

2. We must deliberately de-protestantize ourselves from our neglectful, naive ways of reading the Old Testament.

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3. We must strive to understand the Old Testament in the light of Jesus and the apostles’ use of the Old Testament Scripture.

C. Connection to your use of the Old Testament in preaching and teaching in urban ministry contexts

1. We must revive our use of the entire Old Testament Scriptures.

2. We must refuse any credible understanding of the New Testament that neglects the Old Testament.

3. We must commit to teaching the whole gospel of God, and affirm the equal inspiration and usefulness of both Old and New Testaments.

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Prayer and Affirmation to God

Then he said to them, “These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you, that everything written about me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.” Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures, and said to them, “Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, and that repentance and forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things.” ~ Luke 24.44-48

Session 2 Promise and Fulfillment in the Old Testament’s Witness to Christ

Think about the relationship of the Old Testament to the New . . .

• In what specific way is the Old Testament teaching and experience related to the New?

• How are we to connect the many diverse and broad categories of literature, teaching, and history in the Old Testament to the person of Jesus Christ in the New? • What specifically is the motif or theme that can help us integrate the two streams of truth into one continuous whole story about God, the Kingdom, and the Church?

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I. Progressive Revelation: Affirming the Connection Between the Old and New Testaments through Jesus Christ

Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, [2] but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world. ~ Hebrews 1.1-2

A. Definition of progressive revelation: God has revealed himself progressively through history and finally through Jesus Christ

1. God has revealed himself : the God of heaven has made himself known to humankind.

2. God’s revelation is progressive : God has expanded and enriched his revelation of himself until it culminated in Jesus Christ.

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a. Gal. 4.4 – But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law.

b. Eph. 1.10 – as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth.

B. Aspects of progressive revelation

1. Through human history, God has provided a continuity (connected reality) of revelation to humankind.

2. God communicated on numerous occasions in the past using many different ways to speak to diverse individuals and groups.

3. God’s earlier words, although entirely true, were partial and required completion .

a. God’s latter revelations explain the meaning of the earlier .

b. God’s earlier revelations give shape and meaning to the latter .

4. In these last days, God has spoken to us through his Son .

a. Jesus as the center of biblical revelation bridges the testaments, himself being the Shadow of the Old Testament and the Substance of the New.

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b. He fulfills the sayings of the Old Testament , including the prophecies of the Law and the Prophets, Luke 24.25-27.

Matt. 3.17 . . . and behold, a voice from heaven said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.” Matt. 17.5 He was still speaking when, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him.” John 1.14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. John 1.17-18 For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. [18] No one has ever seen God; the only God, who is at the Father’s side, he has made him known.

c. He reveals the very person of God in his own person (i.e., he is the express image of his glory, the “Word made flesh,” cf. John 1.14-18).

5. The Old Testament explains and reveals the meaning of the New Testament.

C. Implication of progressive revelation for Christ-centered approach to Scripture interpretation

1. The Bible is a diverse collection of literature and genres, but essentially and thematically it focuses on a single theme: the person of Jesus Christ .

2. The testaments are intimately connected to each other.

3. The Scriptures must be understood as unified system of teaching regarding the person and work of Christ.

a. Do not reduce the Bible to ethical and moral visions.

b. Do not try to summarize the Bible in primarily terms of “handbook for living” scenarios.

c. Realize that the Old Testament is the necessary and significant foundation upon which all New Testament revelation is based.

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d. Avoid the modern tendency to run past, avoid, or completely deny the validity and importance of the Old Testament vision and revelation.

4. The testaments both focus on God’s revelation regarding Jesus Christ and his kingdom reign .

II. Complementary Concepts that Connect the Old and New Testaments

Augustine’s epigram (little saying) about the relationship between the two testaments:

“In the Old Testament the New Testament lies hidden; in the New Testament the Old Testament stands revealed.”

A. Introduction and conclusion: The Old Testament provides us an introduction to the truths about Christ and his Kingdom, and the New Testament brings these to a conclusion (e.g., the teachings of Isaiah of the Servant in chapters 42-55 introduces a figure who in fact is shown to be Jesus Christ at his first advent [cf. 1 Pet. 1.22-25]).

1. Without the beginnings of the Old Testament, the New Testament is unintelligible .

2. Without the conclusion of the New Testament, the Old Testament is unfulfilled .

B. Anticipation and climax: What is anticipated regarding Christ in his Kingdom in the Old Testament is brought to its final climax in the New Testament (the salvation of the remnant of Israel in Zech. 12.10-13.1 anticipates the climax of Jesus’ return in Rev. 19).

1. The Old Testament anticipates all of the work of Jesus of Nazareth in the New Testament.

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2. The New Testament brings to a full climax the promise of God in the Old Testament.

C. Shadow and substance: What is embodied and prefigured in the Old Testament regarding Christ and his Kingdom is revealed and given substance in the New (the physical tabernacle of Heb. 8.5 is the shadow of the true tabernacle mentioned regarding Jesus as priest in heaven) .

Heb. 10.1-7 For since the law has but a shadow of the good things to come instead of the true form of these realities, it can never, by the same sacrifices that are continually offered every year, make perfect those who draw near. [2] Otherwise, would they not have ceased to be offered, since the worshipers, having once been cleansed, would no longer have any consciousness of sin? [3] But in these sacrifices there is a reminder of sin every year. [4] For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins. [5] Consequently, when Christ came into the world, he said, “Sacrifices and offerings you have not desired, but a body have you prepared for me; [6] in burnt offerings and sin offerings you have taken no pleasure. [7] Then I said, ‘Behold, I have come to do your

1. The Old Testament prefigures provide pictures of God’s Messiah in metaphor, story, image, and symbol what the New Testament makes visible in Jesus.

2. The New Testament serves as the actual substance and meaning behind all of the pictures, visions, stories, images, and analogies mentioned in the Old Testament.

D. Ineffective former and consummated latter: What is demonstrated and found to be ineffective in the Old Testament is finalized and consummated in the New (e.g., the entire book of Hebrews speaks of the insufficiency of the old sacrificial system to actually take sins away; Jesus’ death is the effective reality behind the Old Testament example).

1. The Old Testament prefigures a system that was ineffective in actually solving the problem of humankind’s bondage to satanic deception and sin.

2. The New Testament builds upon and fulfills the Old Testament picture through the blood sacrifice of Jesus of Nazareth.

E. Particular and universal: what is particularized in the experience of the people of Israel in the Old Testament is extended and expanded to all who believe in the New

will, O God, as it is written of me in the scroll of the book.’”

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1. While the Old Testament provides clues as to Gentile inclusion in the plan of God, its focus and foundation is traced through the promise of God through Abraham .

2. The New Testament not only fulfills the divine promise to Abraham, but also expands and enlarges that promise to include the Gentiles as well.

III. Promise and Fulfillment: the Christocentric Nature of the Old Testament Revelation

A. Definition of the promise-fulfillment motif: The promise of God for someone to redeem humankind from its sin and destroy the devil’s work is fulfilled in the person of Jesus Christ.

1. To destroy the devil’s work, Gen. 3.15

2. To propitiate God’s wrath against sin through blood sacrifice, Heb. 9.22 – Indeed, under the law almost everything is purified with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins.

B. Jesus gives convincing testimony within Scripture that the Old Testament’s purpose is to give witness concerning his person and work

1. The road to Emmaus

a. Luke 24.25-27, 32 – And he said to them, “O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! [26] Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and enter into his glory?” [27] And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he interpreted to them in all the Scriptures

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the things concerning himself. . . . [32] They said to each other, “Did not our hearts burn within us while he talked to us on the road, while he opened to us the Scriptures?”

b. Here is a picture of Christ interpreting all the Scriptures (i.e., Old Testament) as to how they explain and point toward his own identity as Messiah, and his fulfillment of the Messianic mission.

2. Messiah’s post-resurrection appearance to his own

a. Luke 24.44-48 – Then he said to them, “These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you, that everything written about me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.” [45] Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures, [46] and said to them, “Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, [47] and that repentance and forgive ness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. [48] You are witnesses of these things.”

b. Christ opened their minds to understand the Scriptures (i.e., the Old Testament) concerning himself.

3. Declaration during the Sermon on the Mount

a. Matt. 5.17-18 – Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. [18] For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished.

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b. Christ’s explicit teaching that he had come not to abolish the Scriptures but to fulfill them completely.

4. Theological dialogue with the Pharisees

a. John 5.39-40 – You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me, [40] yet you refuse to come to me that you may have life.

b. Jesus explaining to the experts in Scripture that reading them without having his identity in mind is poor, ineffectual exegesis.

5. Prophetic quotation in Heb. 10.5-10 cf. Ps. 40.6-8

a. Ps. 40.6-8 – Sacrifice and offering you have not desired, but you have given me an open ear. Burnt offering and sin offering you have not required. [7] Then I said, “Behold, I have come; in the scroll of the book it is written of me: [8] I desire to do your will, O my God; your law is within my heart.” b. Heb. 10.5-10 – Consequently, when Christ came into the world, he said, “Sacrifices and offerings you have not desired, but a body have you prepared for me; [6] in burnt offerings and sin offerings you have taken no pleasure. [7] Then I said, ‘Behold, I have come to do your will, O God, as it is written of me in the scroll of the book.’”[8] When he said above, “You have neither desired nor taken pleasure in sacrifices and offerings and burnt offerings and sin offerings” (these are offered according to the law), [9] then he added, “Behold, I have come to do your will.” He abolishes the first in order to establish the second. [10] And by that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.

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c. Jesus Christ here attributed Psalm 40 to the sacrificial offering of his own body.

IV. Principles and Implications for Old Testament Study

Christ at once sums up in himself the perfection of the Old Testament precepts, the substance of the Old Testament shadows and types, and the fulfillment of Old Testament forecasts. Those truths about him which bud forth in the Old Testament come into full bloom in the New Testament; the flashlight of prophetic truth turns into the floodlight of divine revelation. The Old Testament foreshadows find their fulfillment in the New Testament in several ways: (1) The moral precepts of the Old Testament become fulfilled or perfected in the life and teachings of Christ. (2) The ceremonial and typical truths were only shadows of the true substance to be found in Christ. (3) The Messianic prophecies foretold in the Old Testament were finally fulfilled in the history of the New Testament. In each of these relationships it can be seen that the Testaments are inseparably connected. The New is not only supplementary to the Old but it is the necessary complement to it. As the book of Hebrews puts it, “God had foreseen something better for us, that apart from us they [Old Testament believers] should not be made perfect” (Heb. 11.40). For what was contained in the Old Testament is fully explained only in the New Testament.

~ Norman Geisler. To Understand the Bible, Look for Jesus . Eugene, OR: Wipf and Stock Publishers, 2002. p. 68.

“What is contained in the Old Testament is fully explained only in the New Testament.”

A. Principles in our study of the Old Testament

1. In the history of the Patriarchs, the nation of Israel, and its historical and spiritual development, the Old Testament provides us with a clear picture of the person and work of the Messiah, Jesus of Nazareth.

2. The central promise of God in the Old Testament (i.e., that God would send of a Seed/Servant who would remedy the downfall of his creation and all humankind) is fulfilled in

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the manifestation of Jesus Christ recorded in the New Testament.

1 Cor. 1.22-24 For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom, [23] but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, [24] but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. Gal. 6.14 But far be it from me to boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world. surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ [9] and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith— [10] that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death. Phil. 3.8-10 Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the

3. The actual subject matter of the Scriptures is singular and dynamic: the revelation of Jesus Christ .

4. The Old Testament can be profitably studied as the outline of God’s promise for salvation and Kingdom restoration of which the New Testament is its fulfillment.

B. Critical implications

1. The promise of the Messiah in the Old Testament is brought to a climatic fulfillment in the person of Jesus in the New Testament.

2. In order to fully grasp the biblical meaning of the person of Jesus Christ, we must give ourselves unreservedly to Old Testament exegetical and thematic study.

V. Connections for Urban Ministry Today

How do we so reconnect ourselves with the Old Testament that it reignites our understanding and appreciation of the New Testament?

A. Connections to your life and spiritual development

1. When I study the Old Testament, do I look for the ways in which Jesus of Nazareth might be seen in the texts and stories?

2. How do I relate to the promises of God in the Old Testament , especially in light of the hope of the Messiah?

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3. Do you understand how Jesus is foreshadowed in the entire Old Testament , not merely in those texts which speak of him directly in prophecy and promise?

4. What habit of studying the Old Testament most interferes with your ability to read and understand it from a Christocentric vantage point?

5. How can this motif of promise and fulfillment begin to impact your ability to read and study the Old Testament profitably?

B. Connection to your ministry in the city and the Church

1. What part does the Old Testament currently play in my preaching and teaching ministry in the Church, and with unbelievers?

2. How can this idea of promise and fulfillment change the way in which I use both the New Testament and the Old Testament?

3. How might this teaching suggest I change the way in which I teach and preach the person of Jesus to those who are outsiders ?

4. Is it ever appropriate to refer to the Old Testament with no reference whatever to its relationship to Jesus of Nazareth in the New? Explain.

5. Why does this lesson suggest that no full knowledge of Jesus is possible that ignores or under uses the Old Testament to explain both his person and his work?

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6. How ought we to use the Old Testament in our discipling and training of new believers to understand God’s plan for his creation?

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Prayer and Affirmation to God

I find my Lord in the Bible, wherever I chance to look, He is the theme of the Bible, the center and heart of the Book; He is the Rose of Sharon, he is the Lily fair, Where ever I open my Bible, the Lord of the Book is there. He, at the Book’s beginning, gave to the earth its form, He is the Ark of shelter, bearing the brunt of the storm, The Burning Bush of the desert, the budding of Aaron’s Rod, Where ever I look in the Bible, I see the Son of God. The Ram upon Mount Moriah, the Ladder from earth to sky, The Scarlet Cord in the window, and the Serpent lifted high, The smitten Rock in the desert, the Shepherd with staff and crook, The face of the Lord I discover, where ever I open the Book. He is the Seed of the Woman, the Savior Virgin-born, He is the Son of David, whom men rejected with scorn, His garments of grace and of beauty the stately Aaron deck, Yet he is a priest forever, for he is Melchizedek. Lord of eternal glory Whom John, the Apostle, saw; Light of the golden city, Lamb without spot or flaw, Bridegroom coming at midnight, for whom the Virgins look. Where ever I open my Bible, I find my Lord in the Book.

~ Author Unknown

For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. ~ 1 Corinthians 2.2

Session 3 The History of Israel as Type and Analogy in the Old Testament’s Witness to Christ

Think about the relationship of the Old Testament to the New . . .

• What is the doctrine of recapitulation, and how does it help us to understand the structure and style of the Old Testament related to the New?

• In what specific ways does the story of the people of Israel help us to understand the hope of the promised Messiah in the New?

• How do the types in the Old Testament enable us to see the person and work of Christ in story, ceremony, event, and person?

Jesus Embodies Adam, Israel, and Human History: The Doctrine of Recapitulation

The doctrine of recapitulation (Latin recapitulation; Greek, anakephalaiosis ; a “summing up”) was derived from Eph. 1.10. It is especially associated with Irenaeus, although later authors picked up its themes. There are two principal interpretations of the meaning which Irenaeus gave to recapitulation: 1) Christians retraced the steps of Adam and humanity, an interpretation which accords with Irenaeus’s presentation of Christ’s career; 2) Christ comprehended or brought to a head in himself the whole of humanity, an interpreta tion which better accords with the meaning of Eph. 1.10. Irenaeus elaborated the parallels between Adam and Christ. Adam was made of virgin soil, was tempted by Satan, and brought sin and death into the world through disobedience at the tree. Christ was born of the Virgin Mary, resisted temptation by Satan, and overcame sin by obedience to death on the cross. Irenaeus further suggested that Christ passed through all ages of life–infant, child, youth, and old man–in order to sanctify all who are born again to God through him. He became what we are in order to make us what he is. As a result of his life, death, and resurrection all that was lost in Adam is regained in Christ. The human race was given a new start, and saved humanity is gathered together as one in Christ. Christ also summed up and completed in himself the revelation of God. The doctrine of recapitulation was important in the context of the Gnostic controversy because it secured the reality of the incarnations, the unity of man kind, and the certainty of redemption. ~ E. Ferguson. “Recapitulation.”

Evangelical Dictionary of Theology . Ed. Walter Elwell. Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1984. pp. 916-17.

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