The Old Testament and Christ

In Preaching and Teaching from the Old Testament, Walter C. Kaiser Jr. argues that preaching the Old Testament helps us see that "the life, ministry, death, and resurrection were clearly anticipated long before the events occurred." The Messiah, he writes, "is at the heart of that neglected portion of the Bible."We do not need to "resort to settling for a double set of meanings in order to squeeze out of the Old Testament some messianic possibilities." The Old Testament writers were aware the nexus between their temporal and historic events, and their "climatic fulfillment in the Messiah…The Old Testament cannot have a more obvious meaning along with a hidden Christian meaning." The texts speak to God's unchanging plan from all of history.Jesus himself said of Old Testament texts: "You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me" (John 5:39).So how can we preach Christ from the Old Testament? Tomorrow we'll look at seven ways. Early next week, we'll talk about how one preacher approaches this task.