knowing Jesus through the Old Testament

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LIBERTY UNIVERSITY
BOOK REVIEW
KNOWING JESUS THROUGH THE OLD TESTAMENT
BY CHRISTOPHER H.H. WRIGHT
PAMELA BERRY
STUDENT ID: L25272130
CLASS: OBST 515
SUBMITTED TO: DR. JOHN McLEAN
FEBRUARY 10, 2014

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Introduction
Revealing Jesus in the Old Testament, the author walks the reader through the book to
reveal the identity of Jesus Christ. Wright points out Jesus’s connection in the Old Testament
with which the New Testament is based upon. Christopher J. H. Wright, focuses on Jesus’ story,
the story of Israel in the Old Testament, the heart, person, and the deity of Jesus.
The background data about the book, right needed to remind himself that this book was
not to be written for his fellow scholars, but for the people who wanted a deeper understanding
and knowledge of Jesus and the Scriptures that meant so much to him. He found it hard to
decide whether his book about Jesus was in light of the Old Testament, or the book about the Old
Testament in light of Jesus. Perhaps it is both (x).1
Christopher J. H. Wright, the author of Knowing Jesus Through the Old Testament, was
born in 1947 in Belfast, Ireland where he earned his doctorate in Old Testament ethics from
Cambridge University and is a director of international ministries for the Langham Partnership
international (known in the United States as John Scott Ministries). For five years 1983 – 1988,
Wright taught in India at Union Gospel Seminary. Knowing Jesus to the Old Testament helps
the reader to understand Jesus as the son of man, son of God, the full feeling of God’s plan and
promise as the light of the world. Wright also wanted the reader to know that the Old Testament
is the beginning of knowing Jesus.
1
Christopher J.H. Wright, Knowing Jesus through the Old Testament (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press,
1995), x

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One of the issues that I see in Christians today is that besides knowing who they are in
Jesus, they really do not know him through the Old Testament. Jesus made reference too many
events from the Old Testament such as Luke 24:27 that says, “And beginning at Moses and all
the prophets, he expounded unto them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself.”
Critical Interaction with the Book
The author’s points that this is where he finds the shape of his identity and the goal of his
mission. The deeper you go into understanding the Old Testament, the closer you, come to the
heart of Jesus (ix).2
The author walks the reader through the Old Testament tells the story Jesus
completes, and see him in the light of the history and the light he shed backwards (2).3
He
points out the foundational beginning of Jesus’s identity as the promised Messiah to be the
blessing to all nations. Many sermons are preached from the New Testament about Jesus’s
identity for lack of knowing him through the Old Testament.
The theological issues become prevalent when Wright points out that it may be helpful to
review the Old Testament story that follow three divisions observed in Matthew (8).4
The
review given by Scott Fillmer points out that, “pulling heavily from the book of Matthew,
Wright takes time in the first section to examine the importance of the genealogy of Jesus in a
way not often addressed by the casual congregant.”5
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Fillmer, Scott. (2010). Book Review: Knowing Jesus Through the Old Testament. (accessed February 10, 2014).
http://www.scottfillmer.me/wp-content/uploads/docs/knowing_jesus_wright_critique_fillmer.pdf

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The story from Abraham to David, from David to the exile, and from the exile to the Messiah”
(9-26).6
This is a declaration from God to Abraham down to David that Jesus would be the
coming Messiah for all nations. Wright’s assessment of the story is that he feels that many
Christians seem to know very little of the story of Jesus in the Old Testament. Wright wants the
reader to understand that the promises involve ongoing levels of fulfillment to the guarantee
promise” (64-77).7
Many Christians today do not have the foundational knowledge concerning
the promises from the Old Testament by knowing the identity, and the person of Jesus.
All throughout the Old Testament Scriptures, Jesus is there, and the reader is given the
opportunity to study and search the Scriptures for themselves. He points out that in reaching an
understanding of what is meant by saying that Jesus fulfills the Old Testament promise, we can
move on to explore how the concept of promise helps us to a better understanding of the Old
Testament itself, which is part of the overall purpose of the book” (62).8
James Testerman states
in his book review what Wright contends is that, at the time of Jesus’ baptism,
“Presumably God the Father knew that His Son, by age thirty, was so steeped in His Hebrew
scriptures that He would not only recognize the texts but also understand all that they meant for
His own self-identity” (7).9
Wright also states that a prediction is a fairly flat of failure that can come true or not, and
if it does, that is the end of it. If it does not come true, you can either say that the prediction was
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Christopher J.H. Wright, Knowing Jesus Through the Old Testament (Downer Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1995)
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9
Testerman, James, Bert. (2012). Book Review: Knowing Jesus Through the Old Testament. (Accessed February 10,
2014). http://revjimtesterman.files.wordpress.com/2012/11/knowing-jesus-through-the-old-testament3.pdf

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mistaken was not properly understood. A promise involves personal relationships and
commitments and as a dynamic quality that goes beyond the external details involved” (70).10
Wrights theological and biblical perspective on the subject is for the reader to understand
that to know Jesus in the Old Testament is to know his story. This is a story of who Jesus the
man is at his mission as the Son of Man, and the son of God. “In Jesus he brought to completion
what he himself had prepared for. This means that it is Jesus who gives meaning and validity to
the events of Israel Old Testament history. Wright also points out that the Old Testament is
much more than a promise box full of blessed predictions about Jesus. It is primarily a story -
the story of the acts of God in human history out of which those promises arose and in relations
to which they make sense” (27).11
In David Shields book review, he states that, “Jesus‟
genealogy in of itself is a theological message that the anointed one of God is both Jew and
Gentile and that the defining promises of the Noahic, Abrahamic, Mosaic, and Davidic covenants
are not absent in his person” (5).12
The connection with the Light on the Old of events in history of the Old Testament in the
light of Christ, and the Light on the New where the achievements of Christ, in the light of all that
the Exodus was as an act of God’s redemption, and it is understood in the Old Testament” (30).13
In the Old Testament, God gave us a promise of the light in the coming Messiah as a light of the
world. Scott Fillmer’s review states that, “This premise used to describe our modern day luke-
warm Sunday going Christians of our culture today is not only something that Wright brings to
light, but he also indirectly charges those current teachers and pastors with the responsibility of
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Shields, David. (2009). Book Review: Knowing Jesus Through the Old Testament. (Accessed February 10, 2014).
http://www.davidshields.name/docs/PeerReview-Wright.pdf
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connecting Jesus with the Old Testament, and therefore bringing discipleship to the
‘Caroling Christians’, and the Church body” (6).14
Many Christians today echo what the
promises are concerning Jesus, but when faced with chaos they forget the promise keeper.
Wright’s goal is that people would dig deeper into the Old Testament in order to gain a
better understanding and knowledge of Jesus that begins in the story of Israel as designed by
God. Wright wants the reader to focus on each chapter of the book beginning with ‘Jesus Old
Testament Story’, Jesus in the Old Testament Promise’, Jesus in the Old Testament Identity’,
Jesus in the Old Testament Mission’, and Jesus and the Old Testament Values’.
Wright does prove his point that Jesus completed his mission, fulfill the promise of the Old
Testament and covenant. He wants the reader to understand Jesus and the Scriptures of the Old
Testament as it reveals his identity as the son of God, the Son of Man, mission completed, and
the covenant fulfilled.
Wright’s analysis of the story begins from Abraham to David, from David to exile, and
from the exile to the Messiah” (9-21).15
The strengths of Wright’s argument is that he knew how
to handle and view typology in the Old Testament. “This kind of typology has a tendency to
indulge in fanciful to interpret every detail of the Old Testament ‘type’ as in some way
foreshadowing of some other obscure detail about Jesus” (115). Wright makes the distinction
between a prediction and a promise’ (70-77).16
Anyone can make a prediction and a not come
true, but God made a promise concerning Jesus to be a blessing to all nations. Many predictions
have been made, and have not come to pass, but the promises of God are yea and amen.
14
Fillmer, Scott. (2010). Book Review: Knowing Jesus Through the Old Testament. (Accessed February 10, 2014).
http://www.scottfillmer.me/wp-content/uploads/docs/knowing_jesus_wright_critique_fillmer.pdf
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The weakness of Wrights argument is that Jesus was not certain of his identity or his
mission. “The awareness of God being his father and himself being God’s Son is probably the
deepest foundation of Jesus is selfhood” (117).17
When Jesus was born into this world, that the
father’s side, he knew exactly what his mission was and it was to save a dying nation. He is the
blessed hope that so many long to see and will one day.
In research and publish reviews of this book, the review is Murray A. Rae, and he points
out several erroneous negative judgments of the Old Testament. He stated that, “the remarks that
follow up hold the judgment that the rejection of the Old Testament by Christians is indeed
heretical” (1).18
Another negative judgment is that, “The Old Testament has little to do with
Christ and minimal prevalence and authority for Christians. This too, I believe is erroneous”
(2).19
Rae agrees with Wright that, “It is not primarily as scholars but as Christians deeply
engage in the life of discipline ship that we are open to the possibilities of recognizing the voice
of Christ.
Wright did make some assumptions, stating them to be true. Identify myself somewhat confused
with his style of writing. There were times where I wished he would have given more
information on his topics. Wright truly loves studying the Old Testament Ethics, but again I
would have liked to have read the book when information and less conclusion.
For many pastors, lay readers, this is a good read that would give preaching more outlook
of becoming less practical, and not to just preach from the New Testament. This is also a good
read for anyone who wants to go deeper in understanding the Old Testament of Jesus, his
identity, and the person of Jesus. James Pruch states in his review that, “Knowing Jesus will
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Murray A Rae, CHRIST IN THE OLD TESTAMENT. Journal of Theological Interpretation 2.1 (2008) 1-22.
(UNIVERSITY OF OTAGO).
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help pastors, in particular, winsomely preach the OT so that the gospel is made central in every
sermon. This will be help pastors disciple Christians to embrace the OT in personal devotions
and cherish it as God’s word to them today. Knowing Jesus challenges Christians to do the hard
work of learning God’s story and standing it awe of it, but it also calls them to find their place in
the story and live in a manner worthy of such an awesome redemption. Finally, knowing that the
OT is a story about Jesus can aid pastors and laypeople in responding to non-Christians and their
often antagonistic view of “the Old Testament” God” (4).20
Conclusion
Wrights book open my eyes to many different resources concerning the identity of Jesus
in the Old Testament that can be used as a pastor and for the people in the congregation. He
gives the reader a deeper understanding of Jesus both historically, but spiritually, and empowers
the body of Christ to not just be an echo of what you have heard, but to seek and obtain the
knowledge for themselves. The information in the book can also be used in Bible studies and
other auxiliaries of the church in order that they too may come to know Jesus to the Old
Testament. Wright book overall was a good resource for anyone in Christian leadership.
Baptist, “we have tended to avoid embracing prepared creeds or other statements that
might compromise our obligation to interpret Scriptures as individuals within the community of
faith under the guidance of the Holy Spirit. “Presbyterian, Creeds and confessions consist of
Apostles’ Creed, Nicene Creed, and Westminster Confession.” The Baptist sources of doctrine
is that “We hold the Scripture, the Old and New Testament, as our final authority. We accept no
humanly devised confession or creed as binding. “For the Presbyterian, “Our standards of belief
20
Pruch, James. (2012). Book Review: Knowing Jesus Through the Old Testament. (Accessed February 10, 2014).
http://jamespruch.files.wordpress.com/2010/06/review-of-knowing-jesus.pdf

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are to found in the Bible and in the Church’s historic Confession of Faith” (Codcb).21
When
Christians come to the knowledge of knowing Jesus in the Old Testament, they will also come to
know that if he says it then it’s so. We do not have to waver on the promises of God or reason
about truth, we should know that he will always keep his word and his promises. The promise
God gave concerning Jesus in the Old Testament is truth from Genesis to Revelation and because
of that heaven and hell has not passed away, and therefore God’s words shall forever stand.
21
Religion Facts. (2013). Comparison of Christian Denominations” Beliefs. Retrieved February 10, 2014 from
http://www.religionfacts.com/christianity/charts/denominations_beliefs.htm

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BIBLIOGRAPHY
Alexander, Paul. (2014). Book Review: Knowing Jesus Through the Old Testament. Retrieved
February 10, 2014 from http://www.9marks.org/books/book-review-knowing-jesus-
through-old-testament.
Fillmer, Scott. (2010). Book Review: Knowing Jesus Through the Old Testament. (Accessed
February 10, 2014). http://www.scottfillmer.me/wp-
content/uploads/docs/knowing_jesus_wright_critique_fillmer.pdf
Murray, A.Rae, Christ in the Old Testament. Journal of theological Interpretation 2.1 (2008) 1-
22. (UNIVERSITY OF OTAGO).
Pruch, James. (2012). Book Review: Knowing Jesus Through the Old Testament. (Accessed
February 10, 2014). http://jamespruch.files.wordpress.com/2010/06/review-of-knowing-
jesus.pdf
Religion Facts. (2014). Comparison of Christian Denominations” Beliefs. Retrieved February
10, 2014 from
http://www.religionfacts.com/christianity/charts/denominations_beliefs.htm.
Shields, David. (2009). Book Review: Knowing Jesus Through the Old Testament. (Accessed
February 10, 2014). http://www.davidshields.name/docs/PeerReview-Wright.pdf

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Testerman, James, Bert. (2012). Book Review: Knowing Jesus Through the Old Testament.
(Accessed February 10, 2014).
http://revjimtesterman.files.wordpress.com/2012/11/knowing-jesus-through-the-old-
testament3.pdf
Wright, Christopher J.H., Knowing Jesus through the Old Testament (Downers Grove, IL:
InterVarsity Press, 1995).