Some of my favourite stories are from the Old Testament. One is the story of David and Goliath where the little guy wins the battle because he has God on his side. I love to read the Psalms and find much soul refreshment from reading them. From them, I am reminded that He restoreth my soul, or that He lights my lamp. One might be tempted to overlook the Old Testament in favour of the The New Testament because they love the story of Jesus. However, the story of Jesus is not limited to the New alone but is enriched by all of scripture as the following passages help us to realize.
The first passage comes from Luke. Luke was a Doctor in the time of Jesus’ disciples. He wrote a narrative of Jesus for Theophilus. In one account, he tells the story of two of Jesus’ disciples, walking along the road, after the death and burial of Jesus. They are very distraught as they talk together. While they are talking, a stranger approaches and walks with them. They invite the stranger in to break bread with them, only to realize that the stranger is actually Jesus, himself. On this occasion, Luke tells us that Jesus, starting with Moses, revealed to them all the things about himself that were found in the scriptures. Jesus is in all of scripture.
The second passage is from 1 Corinthians. The apostle Paul writes to the new Christians at Corinth. He talks to them about the forefathers. They escaped Egypt with Moses, they walked across the Red Sea, they ate the manna in the wilderness. they had it all spiritually, in fact, the rock that followed them was actually the Christ. Nevertheless, God was not pleased with many of them because of their unbelief and complaining which kept them, till their deaths, in the wilderness. Paul tells us that these things happened and were recorded so we could learn from their examples. There are both good and bad examples to learn from.
The third passage is from a document Paul writes to his spiritual son Timothy. He tells him the purpose of scripture in 2 Timothy 3:16:
“All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.”
Paul lays out for Timothy the value of all scripture. It is through the Old and New Testament that we become fully equipped as believers.
We, as believers in Jesus, find him in all of scripture. As the eyes of his disciples were opened to see Jesus, and to receive his revelation throughout the Old and New Testament, our eyes will be opened. We will see Jesus in both the Old and the New. As our spiritual forefathers learned about God and walked through life under his protection, we also learn from their experiences as recorded in the Old and the New Testament. As Timothy was taught, we also find both the Old and the New Testament to be our teacher, a means by which we can be fully equipped for good works.
The Old and the New work together. We need them both.
Grace and peace to you!