MID-WEEK MEET-UP: How should we read the Old Testament?

Hi First Presbyterian Church,

It’s time for our Mid-Week Meet-Up! Today is Day 38 of our one-year Bible reading plan. As Protestants, and Presbyterians in particular, we are “people of the Word.” This means that our faith is guided by our reading and study of the Bible. However, reading the Bible is sometimes very confusing. This can be particularly true when reading the Old Testament. How should we read the Old Testament?  

Last month, we read that Jesus once said that he himself is the fulfillment of the Old Testament (Matthew 5:17). That means, as Christians, we should look to Jesus to help us understand the meaning and purpose of the Old Testament.  

With that in mind, let’s look at our reading from Matthew from last Friday. Jesus was talking to the Sadducees and quoted Exodus 3:6, where God says to Moses, “I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob” (Matthew 22:32). Then, he goes on to say something interesting. He tells the Sadducees that this means “God is not the God of dead people but of living people.” In other words, neither Abraham, nor Isaac, nor Jacob are really dead but will one day be resurrected. God was and is and will be the God of these ancestors of the faith.  

Now, go back and read that section of Exodus 3. In the exchange between God and Moses in that chapter, would you have assumed that this is what God meant by saying those words? Probably not. I certainly wouldn’t have assumed this. What does this tell us? I think it tells us that, sometimes, the meaning of an Old Testament text is not always what it might seem it means at first.  

If you are reading the Old Testament and ever think, “This seems harsh,” or, “This seems confusing,” or even, “This seems offensive to me,” I encourage you to follow up that thought with the question, “What might Jesus say about this text?” or “How does Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection change how I might think about this Old Testament text?” Jesus should inform everything we believe about the Old Testament. This is, in fact, exactly how Jesus taught the early Christians to read the Old Testament (Luke 24:27). 

So, if Jesus is our cipher for interpreting the Old Testament, why shouldn't just read about Jesus and forget the Old Testament? Here are two reasons. First, Christ, through the Holy Spirit, uses the Old Testament to help us understand truth and grace about God. Second, the story of the Old Testament is the Prologue to the story of Jesus, which means we don’t understand the meaning and purpose of Jesus without first understanding the Old Testament.  

Whether it’s trying to understand the meaning of the Old Testament or the purpose of your own life, turn to Jesus and you will find the best and truest answers. Happy reading this week! 

Peace to you,
Pastor Aaron