Knowing Jesus Through the Old Testament
Knowing Jesus Through the Old Testament_
_By Christopher Wright The role of Jesus in the New Testament can hardly be disputed. He is the foundation, the source, and the completion of salvation into the Church for all who would believe. A question that is often ignored, though, is how does Jesus relate to the Old Testament. Is there a relation between Jesus and the Old Testament? If so, then what factors are involved in that relationship? Is knowledge of the Old Testament essential for understanding Jesus, or can one get by without it? Christopher Wright attempts to answer these questions and to bring out the substance of the relationship between Jesus and the Old Testament in his book _Knowing Jesus Through the Old Testament_. Summary
Wright's purpose in writing this book was to inform his readers, specifically non-scholars, of the importance of valuing the Old Testament when attempting to understand Jesus, and of valuing Jesus when attempting to understand the Old Testament (_x_). The author accomplishes this goal in the first chapter by drawing out the relationship between Jesus and the storyline of the Old Testament. He begins this section by sketching a cultural picture of Jesus as an authentic Jewish man who was the end of the royal genealogy found in Matt 1:1-17. As a member of this genealogy, Jesus was found to be of the royal line of David, which when combined with the promise to Abraham to bless the nations through his seed, shows the birth of Jesus to be not only of importance for the nation of Israel, but of universal significance as well. He was the end of the genealogy, but also the beginning of the kingdom of God. The author's purpose of valuing the Old Testament is then accomplished by investing examination into the Old Testament to understand better the basis for Jesus' claim to the role of Messiah, as well as valuing Jesus when interpreting the Old Testament. This latter value does not mean that a pre-Christ interpretation of the text is
_By Christopher Wright The role of Jesus in the New Testament can hardly be disputed. He is the foundation, the source, and the completion of salvation into the Church for all who would believe. A question that is often ignored, though, is how does Jesus relate to the Old Testament. Is there a relation between Jesus and the Old Testament? If so, then what factors are involved in that relationship? Is knowledge of the Old Testament essential for understanding Jesus, or can one get by without it? Christopher Wright attempts to answer these questions and to bring out the substance of the relationship between Jesus and the Old Testament in his book _Knowing Jesus Through the Old Testament_. Summary
Wright's purpose in writing this book was to inform his readers, specifically non-scholars, of the importance of valuing the Old Testament when attempting to understand Jesus, and of valuing Jesus when attempting to understand the Old Testament (_x_). The author accomplishes this goal in the first chapter by drawing out the relationship between Jesus and the storyline of the Old Testament. He begins this section by sketching a cultural picture of Jesus as an authentic Jewish man who was the end of the royal genealogy found in Matt 1:1-17. As a member of this genealogy, Jesus was found to be of the royal line of David, which when combined with the promise to Abraham to bless the nations through his seed, shows the birth of Jesus to be not only of importance for the nation of Israel, but of universal significance as well. He was the end of the genealogy, but also the beginning of the kingdom of God. The author's purpose of valuing the Old Testament is then accomplished by investing examination into the Old Testament to understand better the basis for Jesus' claim to the role of Messiah, as well as valuing Jesus when interpreting the Old Testament. This latter value does not mean that a pre-Christ interpretation of the text is