THE OLD TESTAMENT AND THE NEW COVENANT
In order to understand the redemptive message of the New Testament, it is vitally important to understand the Old Testament. The New Covenant did not appear in isolation. It was the fulfillment of promises, prophecies, patterns, sacrifices, and expectations that God had revealed throughout the Old Testament.
The Old Testament provides the foundation upon which the message of Christ is built. Jesus and the apostles continually appealed to the Old Testament to explain who Christ was, why He came, why He had to suffer, and what His death accomplished.
The Law of Moses served an important purpose in God’s plan of redemption. It revealed God’s holiness and man’s sinfulness. Through the commandments, humanity came to understand more clearly what sin is and how seriously God regards it (Romans 3:20; Romans 7:7).
The sacrifices and priesthood also provided pictures of the greater sacrifice and priesthood that would come through Christ. Paul therefore described the Law as a “tutor” that was intended to bring people to Christ so that they might be justified by faith (Galatians 3:24-25). The Law was never God’s final answer for the salvation of mankind. It pointed beyond itself to the One who would fulfill God’s redemptive purpose.
Paul made this point when he reminded Timothy that from childhood he had known the Holy Scriptures, which were able to make him “wise for salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus” (2 Timothy 3:14-15). The Scriptures Timothy had known from childhood were the Old Testament Scriptures. They were able to make him wise for salvation because they testified of God’s promises and ultimately pointed to Christ. Paul was not teaching Timothy that the Old Testament was itself the Christian covenant. Rather, he was showing the continuing value of the inspired Scriptures that had prepared the way for the coming of Christ and testified about Him.
The writer of Hebrews explains the progression of divine revelation: “God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, has in these last days spoken to us by His Son” (Hebrews 1:1-2). God truly spoke through Moses, the prophets, and the other writers of the Old Testament. Their message was inspired and authoritative for the people to whom God gave it. Yet the revelation reached its fullness in Jesus Christ. The Son is greater than the servants, and the New Covenant established through Him is greater than the covenant made through Moses.
This distinction is important because Christians are not under the Law of Moses as their covenant. At the transfiguration, Moses and Elijah appeared with Jesus, but the Father’s voice directed the disciples’ attention to Christ: “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Hear Him!” (Matthew 17:5).
Jesus is the One to whom we now listen as the mediator of the New Covenant. He did not come to destroy the Law and the Prophets but to fulfill them (Matthew 5:17). Having accomplished His redemptive work, He established the New Covenant by His blood (Luke 22:20; Hebrews 9:15).
The New Testament therefore teaches clearly that the Mosaic Covenant is no longer the covenant under which God’s people live. Christ has fulfilled the Law and established the New Covenant. Paul says that Christ is the end or goal of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes (Romans 10:4). He also explains that believers have died to the Law through the body of Christ so that they might belong to Him (Romans 7:4).
Hebrews declares that Christ took away the first covenant in order to establish the second (Hebrews 10:9). The Law of Moses cannot be imposed upon Christians as the covenant governing our relationship with God.
Yet saying that we are not under the Old Covenant does not mean that the Old Testament has become irrelevant. Quite the opposite is true. The Old Testament remains inspired Scripture and continues to teach us about God, sin, faith, obedience, judgment, mercy, wisdom, and redemption. Paul wrote, “Whatever things were written before were written for our learning, that we through the patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope” (Romans 15:4). He also explained that the things recorded in Israel’s history were written as examples and warnings for Christians (1 Corinthians 10:11).
We therefore read the Old Testament through the fulfillment that has come in Christ. We do not return to the Mosaic Covenant as though Christ had never come, but neither do we discard the Scriptures that prepared the way for Him. The Old Testament tells us where the story begins. The New Testament reveals where that story was going all along. The promises to Abraham, the Law given through Moses, the sacrificial system, the priesthood, the kingship, the prophecies, and the hopes of God’s people all find their ultimate significance in Jesus Christ.
The Old Testament is not our covenant, but it is our Scripture. The Law of Moses is not our law, but it teaches us why we need Christ. The sacrifices are not our means of atonement, but they help us understand the sacrifice of Christ. The prophets are not our covenant authorities, but their writings point us to the One who is. And the history of God’s dealings with Israel teaches us that God is faithful to His promises.
The Christian therefore does not choose between the Old Testament and Christ. We understand the Old Testament because of Christ, and we understand Christ more deeply because we see Him in the testimony of the Old Testament. As Jesus Himself said, “These are they which testify of Me” (John 5:39).
The Old Testament prepares the way. The New Testament reveals the fulfillment. And at the center of it all stands Jesus Christ.
BDD
