Making Sense of the New Testament
I never travel without a book. Go ahead and play games on your phone or watch a video, but for me, the forced downtime of sitting on a plane is a great time to read. On one trip, I finished my book, so during a layover, I purchased a novel in the terminal bookstore. I settled down to read my book, and I wasn’t through the first chapter before I felt like I was missing something. I was. This was a book in a series of books centered around the same detective and his compadres. While I could follow the plot well enough, it lacked something because I was clueless of the backstory and history of these characters that came in the earlier books.
A book is much more enjoyable when you know the full story. I was not content to only know part of the story. Later, I hit the library and read the earlier volumes.
It’s the same mindset that drives me to read the full Bible—both the Old Testament and the New Testament.
I’m still amazed at the people I run into who prefer the New Testament over the Old. Certainly, these 27 New Testament books give us the best part of the whole story: Jesus! The cross. The resurrection. The love displayed on the cross. But we’re missing so much if we only read the New Testament.
A lot of that can be blamed on those of us in church leadership. We tend to preach more out of the New Testament. We like to stress that we are a New Testament church. By that we mean we now live under grace and not under the law, but we give the impression that the Old Testament is irrelevant or unnecessary.
Many people assume “new” means better or improved. There is a sense in which the New Testament is better, but only in the sense that it builds on and completes what was begun in the Old Testament. As Jesus said:
“Don’t think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to abolish but to fulfill” (Matt. 5:17).
New cars are typically better than old cars (although I don’t think Ford has yet to improve on the ’66 Mustang). You can buy a new car without ever knowing the history behind that model or the manufacturer. You don’t need to know the history of automobiles in general. But our grasp of the depth and beauty of the New Testament is woefully incomplete without the Old Testament. We don’t have to know the Old Testament to be saved, but the wonder of that salvation is enriched when we read the history and discover how God worked.
Let me give you a few reasons why the Old Testament needs to be a part of your Bible reading for 2024.
The Old Testament helps us understand the New. Jesus didn’t just show up on the scene and start some brand-new religion. Christianity is an outgrowth and fulfillment of the faith of the Jewish people. Jesus was a Jew. He spoke to Jews. His disciples and early church leaders were Jewish. To understand the context in which Jesus ministered and spoke calls for us to appreciate and understand the faith of His fellow Jews.
The importance of the Old Testament writings should be clear in how often Jesus and the New Testament writers quoted it. The book of Hebrews is deeply embedded in understanding the Old Testament. To read and study the Old Testament law and customs is to understand the life and ministry of Jesus.
The Old Testament points to Jesus. There are prophecies and statements throughout the Old Testament that point to Jesus. They point to His birth, life, ministry, mission, and ultimate reign over all creation. We love to study about Jesus, and the Old Testament is a great resource for doing just that.
The Old Testament contains spiritual truths and principes that are applicable for today. The Old Testament is more than history; we see worthwhile examples to follow. We also see examples of what not to do! Paul stressed this twice in his writings.
“For whatever was written in the past was written for our instruction, so that we may have hope through endurance and through the encouragement from the Scriptures” (Rom 15:4).
“These things happened to them as examples, and they were written for our instruction, on whom the ends of the ages have come” (1 Cor. 10:11).
It is God’s Word. The Old Testament is God’s Word—and it is still His Word. That should be reason enough right there for us to dig into the Old Testament! But we don’t just read the Old Testament for a history lesson or to look smart on Jeopardy. God still speaks through these ancient books! He teaches. He instructs.
“All Scripture is inspired by God and is profitable for teaching, for rebuking, for correcting, for training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work” (2 Tim. 3:16-17).
Choose a good Bible reading plan for 2024. Stick with it. If you falter, don’t give up. Just pick up where you left off. And enjoy your journey through the Old Testament.
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