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

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A B i b l i ca l Vi s i on, Par t I : Mas ter i ng the Ol d Tes tament Wi tnes s to Chr i s t

New Testament, 2 Cor. 4.6 – For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

III. The Messianic Promise Universalized: Gentile Inclusion in the Hope of Messiah

According to Paul, God in this era is now making known a mystery which stands at the very center of what he is seeking to reveal to humankind regarding his intention to save a people for himself in Jesus Christ.

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Jesus Himself Is Both the Hinge and Link Between Movement for the Restoration of Israel and the Salvation of the Nations

The Gentile mission of the early church is another important clue to an understanding of the aims of Jesus. Scholars who have researched the question we started with in this chapter, ‘What were Jesus’ aims and intentions?,’ point out that at least part of the answer is found by noticing what immediately preceded and what very quickly followed his ministry. John the Baptist came first. And all the New Testament traditions stress that Jesus began his ministry from John. We have already seen how that indicates that Jesus shared John’s vision that the expected restoration of Israel was being accomplished. And very soon after his death, we find that the little group Jesus left behind had become a dynamic movement committed to taking the good news to the Gentile nations, willing to face all the problems that it caused–practical, geographical, cultural and theological. Jesus was launched by a revival movement for the restoration of Israel. He launched a movement for the blessing of the nations. He himself, therefore, was the hinge, the vital link between the two great movements. He was the climax and fulfillment of the hope of Israel and the beginning of the hope of the nations.

~ Christopher J. H. Wright. Knowing Jesus through the Old Testament . Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 1992. p. 166.

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A. The mystery now revealed: Gentile participation in the Covenant as fellow heirs and citizens