Some time ago, I wrote an article, Redemption or Romance? Musings on the book of Ruth. The idea was to share the learnings from a Bible plan I’d just completed. A lot of times, I hear people ask, “Old or New Testament?”. Is it a valid question? Let’s think through.
In Luke 24:27, Luke records that Jesus expounded the Scriptures to the 2 disciples He encountered after the resurrection. On closer look, you see how the verse says, “Beginning at Moses & all the Prophets.” While we may now have Genesis to Revelations, the people in the New Testament had Genesis to Malachi as their Scriptures.
Honestly, I’m even more fascinated when Luke says in the same verse that Jesus showed the disciples things concerning Himself from Genesis to Malachi. Do you mean the same one we have today?
Once, I heard someone say, “The Old Testament is Jesus concealed, and the New is Jesus revealed.” Quite often, when we approach Scriptures, we move from what is known to what is unknown. Hence, no wonder we start in the New Testament.
Whatever the conclusion we arrive at in the New, should be the same one we arrive at in the Old Testament. Why? They say the same thing.
Do you ever wonder how the Apostles in the book of Acts referenced Joel and the Psalms and concluded that it spoke about Jesus? As a child, I loved reading Bible stories. Now, all grown up, it’s wonderful to see that all my beloved stories point to Jesus.
Once in Church, someone asked why the God of the Old Testament was different from the God of the New Testament? If anything, God doesn’t change. James 1:17 records “with God, there’s no variation nor shadow of turning. ” Why the disparity then? Well, it boils down to language and action.
With most of the old Testament, the name Jesus is concealed, but the majority of the actions point to what Jesus will do, with the Israelites depicting it.
However, in the New, we see Jesus fulfil these prophecies, and the Apostles, just like the Prophets, document their encounters according to the leading of the Holy Spirit.
So what do you think now? Old or New Testament? For me, I’ll say they equally point to Jesus. Hence, there is no need to ask the question.
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Thank you for reading – Funmi
2 responses
Hii Funmi! Great post, it was a really clear explanation, and true too. I really liked that you pointed out we should arrive at the same conclusion reading the Old and the New, which is super cool because both are written by a variety of people in different eras filled with the Spirit
Hi Seyi!! Thank you for always always leaving a comment. I appreciate it ❤️. Yesss, I’m glad you got the point of the article.