Why Read the Old Testament? (4)

 

 Dear Friend,

 

We concluded our previous reflection with two questions on Luke 26 – 27:

 

When you read the word “Moses” what do you think of? When Luke writes, “…beginning with Moses…” what do you think of? What does Luke mean?

 

Here’s the next question, when Jesus says, “Was it not necessary for the Christ to suffer these things and to enter into His glory?” what is behind Jesus’ question? Why is He asking this?

 

Regarding “Moses,” perhaps we think of the man Moses and the things he did. Perhaps we think of the Ten Commandments. Perhaps we think of those elements of Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy which regulate the civic and religious life of Israel.

 

What do people think when they read, “Then beginning with Moses and with all the prophets…”? Do most people gloss over the word “Moses,” not considering what the name means in this context?

 

Let’s consider these passages:

 

“But regarding the fact that the dead rise again, have you not read in the book of Moses, in the passage about the burning bush…” (Mark 12:26a).

 

“But Abraham said, ‘They have Moses and the Prophets; let them hear them…If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be persuaded even if someone rises from the dead.’” (Luke 16:29, 31).

 

“We have found Him of whom Moses in the Law and also the Prophets wrote – Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.” (John 1:45).

 

“For if you believed Moses, you would believe Me, for he wrote about Me. But if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe My words?” (John 5:46 – 47).

 

“For Moses from ancient generations has in every city those who preach him, since he is read in the synagogues every Sabbath.” (Acts 15:21).

 

“…and he [Paul] was explaining about the kingdom of God and trying to persuade them concerning Jesus, from both the Law of Moses and from the Prophets, from morning until evening.” (Acts 28:23b).

 

In Luke 24:27 the word “Moses” is a term that refers to the first five books of the Bible, what is also known as the Torah (from Hebrew, to teach, to guide), and also known as the Pentateuch (from Greek, essentially meaning “five books”). These are the books that God inspired Moses to write, and they are essentially one book – a unity. This is like the writings of Paul were once collectively termed The Apostle by some in the Early Church.

 

Therefore, when Luke’s first readers read the term “Moses” in 24:27 they instinctively thought of one scroll, of one volume, of a unity. We might say that they though of one book with five main chapters, or sections: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy – and of its content, its testimony, its Message.

 

As I write this I am looking at my bookshelves. I am looking at a one volume edition of the Chronicles of Narnia, all seven tales of Narnia are within this one volume. If I open the book I will see a listing of each of the seven books, beginning with The Magician’s Nephew and concluding with The Last Battle. If I turn to each individual book I will find chapter headings and page numbers.

 

What do I “see” when I look at this one volume? Yes, I see a physical book, but if all I see is a physical book then I have seen nothing. When I look at the volume, or when I think about the volume, I see the Narniad unfold, I see Aslan revealing H/himself throughout the Story – the Story is embedded in me and I am embedded in the Story.

 

Now if you have never loved a Story and if a Story has never loved you, then you may not understand this. Let me try this from another area of life…baseball.

 

One of the greatest World Series games of all time was played on October 21, 1975, between the Cincinnati Reds and the Boston Red Sox. It culminated in a game-winning home run by Carlton Fisk in the bottom of the 12^th inning. The drama behind the home run is amazing, the video of Fisk’s reaction iconic – I’ll leave it to you to explore.

 

In the top of the 11^th inning when Pete Rose came to the plate to bat, he said to Fisk, the Boston catcher, “This is some kind of game, isn’t it?” Fisk replied, “Some kind of game.”

 

Pete Rose and Carlton Fisk were playing a game they loved and a game that loved them, and they both recognized that they were experiencing a “game”, a “story”, that was remarkable. That game, that home run, and that World Series has been with them ever since October 1975, and it has been with their teammates and with countless baseball fans. All certain fans need to do is to see a photo of Fisk trying to “will” the ball to stay fair, or the hear the words, “Fisk’s home run,” and a “story” opens up in the imagination, a narrative unfolds.

 

(Did all of the players on the Reds and Red Sox have the experience that Rose and Fisk had? Did they all share the sense of awe in the game they were playing? What do you think?)

 

Perhaps there is some area of your life, some experience, that you embrace and which embraces you, that can help you relate to what I’m saying.

 

I have a dear friend, Stan, who knows Narnia. I can call Stan right now and we can be in Narnia – we can range from The Magician’s Nephew to The Last Battle and never pick up the actual book. O yes, we may have to get the volume at some point and refresh our memories, or clarify a quotation – but we can have a jolly good time together with Aslan and the Narnians.

 

One of many reasons I so miss my dear friend Bruce Harrison is that we could romp and jump and dance and stop and ponder from Genesis to Revelation and from Colossians to Ezra, seeing the Book as a Whole in Jesus Christ and seeing Jesus Christ in His Book – as naturally as breathing.

 

And so the term “Moses” means more than most of us “see” and experience – and yet this is how Jesus Christ revealed Himself, and reveals Himself!

 

Those well-meaning folks who only see Jesus Christ through evidentiary passages miss the glorious holistic testimony of Moses and the Prophets (more on this to come).

 

Those folks who say that they don’t read the Old Testament because they are “New Testament Christians” are a contradiction; because Jesus Christ and the writers of the New Testament saw the unity of Scripture and taught the unified and holistic and unfolding revelation of Christ Jesus through the Law and the Prophets and the Writings.

 

Of course, if we ourselves don’t read Moses and the Prophets then we can’t “see” Luke 24:25 – 27, and we really can’t see much of the other elements of the New Testament – such as Revelation and Hebrews and Galatians…well, I suppose I could include all of the 27 books.

 

The wonderful news is that our kind heavenly Father, our dear Lord Jesus, and our blessed Holy Spirit are waiting to meet us in Moses, in all the Prophets, and in the Writings…as well in the New Testament. We can trust them to meet us and reveal themselves to us…but of course we must open the Book and ask God to open us to the Book.

 

Hebrews 11:6.