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

4. In what ways do OT Messianic prophecies offer us the “key to understanding the OT witness to Christ?” Why is this valid, especially since this is the way that Jesus and the apostles applied the OT to his life? 5. Sketch out the main points included in the OT Messianic prophecies covering his birth. What is the overall significance of these predictions as they bear witness to Christ? 6. List the main OT Messianic prophetic predictions about the person and ministry of the Messiah. How does this collection of prophecies and their fulfillment in the person of Jesus help us understand the way in which the OT functions and relates to the NT? 7. What are the major elements of OT prophecy concerning the passion of Christ, and how are these fulfilled in the suffering of Jesus upon the cross? 8. What are the central OT texts which deal with the resurrection of Messiah? What is the critical OT text quoted by Peter and Paul that relates specifically to the resurrection of Jesus? What texts strongly imply the resurrection of Messiah? How do NT predictions of Messiah’s resurrection relate to the OT themes? 9. Why was it difficult for the OT prophets to link Messiah’s sufferings with his coming glory? What are some of the key OT Messianic texts which predict the nature and character of the coming glory of Messiah? How do these enhance our understanding of the OT’s witness to Christ? 10. Read Lindars Barnabas’ insights below on the NT use of the OT. Do you agree with his statement that the “resurrection, interpreted in light of Messianic texts, is the starting point of Christology (i.e., the theology of the Son of God)?”

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The Church Believed that Jesus Was the Messiah Because of the Fulfillment of Messianic Prophecy

From the first, the church proclaimed Jesus, risen and exalted, to be the Messiah in fulfillment of Scripture, and this was proved from Messianic texts. The basic exaltation text is Psalm 110.1, which is quoted in the Gospels, Acts, the Pauline Letters, and Hebrews. Resurrection on the third day may have been supported fromHosea 6.2, which is applied to the resurrection of the dead in Jewish sources,