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

8

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

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