Liberty University

Book Review:
Knowing Jesus Through the Old Testament
Submitted to Dr. Gary Schnittjer in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for
OBST 515

Liberty Baptist Theological Seminary

by
CURTIS TERRY

Lynchburg, Virginia
Tuesday February 18, 2014

Table of Contents
Introduction 3
Summary 3
Critical Interaction5
Conclusion8
Bibliography9

Introduction
Dr. Christopher J.H. Wright love for Hebrew scripture played a major role in his decision to write Knowing Jesus Through the Old Testament. Dr. Wright wrote that he was saddened that so many Christians love Jesus but know so little about who he thought he was and what he had come to do. Dr. Wright background is one of Anglican descent born in Belfast, North Ireland during World War II. He is the son of missionaries and a graduate of Cambridge. Dr. Wright was ordained by the Anglican Church of England in 1977 and has served in the capacities of high school teacher, associate pastor, Old Testament scholar. Dr. Wright has served at Union Biblical Seminary in India as seminary professor and served as Principal of All Nations Christian College from 1993-2001. Dr. Wright has authored numerous books and currently serves as the International Director for Langham Partnership International. This paper will provide a review of Dr. Wright’s Knowing Jesus Through the Old Testament by providing a summarization of the work and provide an analysis of various theological topic discussed by Dr. Wright.
Summary
Dr. Wright divides Knowing Jesus Through the Old Testament into five major chapters or sections. Each section focuses on Jesus and his relationship to the Old Testament writing. Dr. Wright focuses on the topic of Jesus relationship to actual Old Testament story. He shows the connection between the genealogy provided by Mathew in his introduction in the Gospel of Matthew to Jesus. Dr. Wright demonstrates that Christ was indeed human and also Jewish. He shows how the events of the Old Testament pointed to coming of the true Messiah, Jesus Christ. Dr. Wright provides clarity to meaning of son of Abraham and son of David, titles that are constantly used to reference Jesus Christ. According to Dr. Wright, Jesus’ mission was to liberate the oppressed, restore peace among mankind and nature to name a few.
Dr. Wright provides a discussion on promises and notes that despite a promise made by God, man must still respond. He notes that the Old Testament is a book filled with many promises by God, one that was fulfilled by Jesus Christ. There is a extensive detail the covenants God made with Noah, Abraham, Moses on Mt. Sinai, the Davidic covenant, and the New covenant. Dr. Wright notes that the book of Matthew records five scenes from Jesus early life tie in to the five covenants God made with Israel.
Wright also examines the various ways the Old Testament foreshadow Jesus as the coming Messiah. He provides a discussion on the subject of typological interpretation. Typology according to Wright is sometimes used to describe the way of viewing the relationship between the Old Testament and Jesus. Dr. Wright goes on to explain that typology is not the way to interpret the Old Testament after providing a detailed explanation of what typology is and the components of it.
Dr. Wright identifies the mission of Christ and Christ knowledge of his mission. He notes however that the Jews had a different outlook on what Christ mission was. The Jews were expecting Christ to restore their earthly kingdom but Christ mission was to ingather all nations which had deep roots in the Old Testament writing. Wright uses the example of God delivering Jews from Egypt as to the deliverance that Jesus would provide for all mankind. Jesus was providing the ultimate freedom which was freedom from sin.
Wright concludes focusing on Christ values and how they were formed by the Old Testament. According to Wright, Jesus was a student of the Old Testament specifically Deuteronomy. Wright examines Christ use of Old Testament scripture and his teachings. He concludes depicting how Jesus’ ministry was center around Old Testament teaching and fulfilled Old Testament teachings.
Critical Analysis
The first theological theme that Wright tackles is redemption. Wright walks the reader through the first eleven chapters of Genesis beginning with the fall of mankind and concluding with the story of the Tower of Babel. Wright establishes that there was indeed a problem with mankind which resulted from the fall of mankind in the garden of Eden. Wright indicates that by the Tower of Babel the effects for sin had reached a global level. Wright indicates that this indeed was problem and one that God would answer with a seventy-five year old man which ties into why Matthew begin the genealogy of Christ with Abraham. Wright conveys the message that Abraham was actually the beginning of what Christ was going to do for mankind. Wright writes, “So the story of Israel which begins in chapter 12 is actually God’s answer to the problem of humanity. It is obvious that Dr. Wright had every intention of conveying that God had a plan for redemption for mankind in the beginning and it was through Christ. Dr. Wright does an outstanding job of conveying this message to reader and does a great job of how God set in action his plan for the ultimate redemption of mankind thousands of years ahead. Dr. Wright does an excellent job of also conveying to the reader the actual purpose of Matthew providing a genealogy of Christ and the uneducated believer leaves with an understanding of the importance of this genealogy provide by Matthew in his gospel. Wright’s theme of redemption allows the believer to see how both the Old Testament and New Testament are intertwined and Christ was every present from the beginning. A major strength of his argument is Wright’s discussion on God’s promise to Abraham which laid the groundwork for various matters discussed in this work.
Another theological theme that Wright deals with is Christ finding himself through the Old Testament. According to Wright, the Old Testament helped Jesus understand Jesus. The author also mentions Jesus being temped by Satan and how Christ reading the Old Testament helped Christ fight Satan. This theme in my opinion is problematic. This theme conveys a message that Christ did not know who he was until he studied the Old Testament and also when God the father acknowledged him during his baptism. According to Wright, Matthew 3:17 which says, “This is my Son, whom I love, the one in whom I delight,” is correlated with Old Testament passages to show how Jesus would have understood his position as the Son of God. This theme can possibility bring into many truths about Christ, truths that make Christ unique and separate him from other entities. This particular theme by Wright gives the impression that Christ was human who realized later in his earthy life that he was the Messiah and son of God. Wright asserts that Christ realization of his mission during adulthood caused him to go through an intense struggle. Obviously, there are many weaknesses to Wright’s argument that Christ found out who he was by reading the Old Testament. Christ according to the gospel of John and 1st John were present during the creation process. Also in studying Old Testaments, there are many times where Jesus makes appearances on behalf of mankind. This theme is a problematic theme and can possible lead to many misconceptions about the Christian faith and divinity of Jesus Christ. Wright’s asserts that it was during Christ’s earthly journey that he decided to take on the identity of Israel as their Davidic king and also taken on their mission to world and their commitment to God. The problem with this assertion is that Christ actually volunteered to give his life for mankind for the redemption of sin. In addition, there is evidence from the New Testament that Christ knew who he was even as a youth. The account of Jesus in the temple handling the scriptures disputes the notion that Christ studied and learned the Old Testament during his wilderness experience and learned his true identity during that time. In addition, another key point in the Luke Chapter 2 text was the response Jesus gave to his mother when he was found at the temple. Jesus acknowledged at this time when questioned by his mother that he had to be in his father’s house, God the father. The passage of scripture defeats the notion that Christ did not realize or understand his mission until adulthood. Wright’s position could cause misconceptions on what Christ actually did on the cross. It is possible that based on Wright’s position that the misinformed reader could interpret from his writings that anyone could fulfilled Christ mission.
The theological theme of Christ as a promise instead of a prediction is another theme that is discussed by Wright. He notes that a prediction may or may not come true but notes predictions in the bible did come true. He noted that a promise involved personnel relationship and commitment which causes it to differ from the prediction. An uninformed believer without a strong biblical foundation often view Christ as being a prediction that was made by the Old Testament prophets who is confirmed in the writings of the gospels. Wright makes strong arguments regarding promises versus prediction with Christ being a promise. This concept and theme is important today because a promise is a guarantee and mankind has assurance that Christ can will save the lost if they accept him as their Lord. It is also important because the believer understands that there must be a personal commitment on their part to Christ in order to realize the promise.
Conclusion
This book is an excellent resource for the bible student trying to gain a greater understanding of the Old Testament and its relationship with the New Testament and Jesus Christ. Wright was able to show the connection between the Old Testament scriptures to Jesus Christ and the work that Christ was going to do for mankind. Wright obviously expressed some views that some may not exactly agree with but overall his analysis allows the reader to see the importance of knowing and understanding the Old Testament. This book challenges the bible study to spend more time in the word of God to gain a more complete understanding of the scriptures. The simplicity of the work and the author’s thorough analysis will cause the reader invest in other works written by the author. This book is definitely a must for beginning and serious bible students.

Bibliography

Christopher J.H. Wright. https://www.ivpress.com/cgi-ivpress/author.pl/author_id=343 (accessed February 18, 2014).
Wright, Christopher J.H. Knowing Jesus Through the Old Testament. Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 1995.

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[ 1 ]. Christopher J.H. Wright, Knowing Jesus through the Old Testament (Downers Grove, IL: IVP Academic, 1995), ix.
[ 2 ]. Christopher J.H. Wright. https://www.ivpress.com/cgi-ivpress/author.pl/author_id=343 (accessed February 16, 2014)
[ 3 ]. Christopher J.H. Wright, Knowing Jesus through the Old Testament (Downers Grove, IL: IVP Academic, 1995), 5
[ 4 ]. Ibid.,102.
[ 5 ]. Ibid., 56.
[ 6 ]. Ibid., 110.
[ 7 ]. Ibid., 176.
[ 8 ]. Ibid., 182.
[ 9 ]. Ibid., 9.
[ 10 ]. Ibid.
[ 11 ]. Ibid., 36.
[ 12 ]. Ibid., 108.
[ 13 ]. Ibid., 107.
[ 14 ]. Ibid., 107.
[ 15 ]. Ibid., 182.
[ 16 ]. Ibid., 70.