The Old Testament Witness to Christ and His Kingdom, Mentor's Guide, MG09

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T H E O L D T E S T A M E N T W I T N E S S T O C H R I S T A N D H I S K I N G D O M

as a type of Christ. Why do you think that in many churches the role and function of the prophet is so seldom spoken of or highlighted? How does this absence of emphasis affect our ability to understand the OT office of the prophet as a clear and compelling witness to Jesus of Nazareth, as a prophet, God’s last and true prophet, in the midst of his people?

Types of Christ: Intriguing, but not Very Practical

With the devotional use of the Bible in the last 40-50 years, the ordinary use of the Bible is as a handbook for ethical living. In fact, many preachers have abandoned approaches like typology precisely for the reason that they think it is simply impractical. What is the practical use of knowing that Jesus has a linkage to the Brazen Altar of the Tabernacle? What difference will it make in the life of a believer, they argue, to simply know that Jesus is the manna from heaven for us like the manna fed the people in the wilderness? In this day of controversial contemporary issues such as abortion, euthanasia, political corruption, and economic injustice, these argue that we need homilies and sermons dealing with these and other similar hard-hitting contemporary issues, not rummaging around the OT to find types of Christ in the Bible! For them, they see no way that using the OT to understand how it points to Christ as practical for one’s spiritual journey. Many find this argument compelling—what about you? Why might it be absolutely important to study Jesus in the lives of David, Moses, or Melchizedek, and how might the study of types actually be very practical for one’s life and ministry? For many, the use of the OT has become either a chore or a task that they have given up on altogether. It is such a complex library of diverse literature, they feel it is nigh impossible to master it, let alone find it helpful and practical in their lives. They argue that while some pieces are more helpful than others, most of it is difficult to understand. Filled with frustration at the inability to understand much of it, and somewhat guilty for their negligence in reading it, many Christians surrender to the idea that the OT is too difficult to comprehend, and they settle on reading the portions that make “immediate sense,” the Psalms and Proverbs, and some of the narrative material. The study of typology and analogy suggests that the OT has profound depth and wisdom especially for those willing to pursue it according to its own structure and logic. If Jesus is right in saying that the OT Scriptures were Retrieving Our Sense of the Wonder of the Word

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