41900 knowing jesus through old testament (1)

Knowing Jesus Through the Old Testament 1

LIBERTY UNIVERSITY

BOOK REVIEW

KNOWING JESUS THROUGH THE OLD TESTAMENT

BY CHRISTOPHER H.H. WRIGHT

PAMELA BERRYSTUDENT ID: L25272130

CLASS: OBST 515SUBMITTED TO: DR. JOHN McLEAN

FEBRUARY 10, 2014

Ajibade Ayodele, 02/27/14,

Hello Pamela,My name is Moyo. I will be your tutor for this session. Thank you for utilizing the Online Writing Center. My approach as a tutor is not to edit your paper or make any corrections for you, but to make suggestions that will help you improve your academic writing. Having said that, my goal is to help you identify possible patterns of errors, understand how to correct those errors, and help you improve on your writing skills. I will do so by providing appropriate academic writing resources. Please keep in mind I will not catch all errors that may need to be addressed. In the Writing Center, we use APA (6th Edition), Turabian/Chicago (8th Edition), and MLA (8th Edition) to review academic writing.


Unless otherwise specified by the professor, the title page typically includes the title and subtitle centered on the upper half of the page. The student's name, course title, and date should be centered on the bottom half of the page (Turabian A.2.1, p. 377-378; see figure A.1). Do not number the title page if it is the only front matter. If there is a table of contents and/or other front matter, the title page will be page i (see p. 386).Here are instructions on creating your title page. The writing format you are using (Turabian) has some changes in the current edition (8th). On the title page, for example, the title and subtitle are in all caps about a third of the way down, while the author name, course info, and date are in sentence-case. If you have a subtitle a colon should separate it from the main title. Example: MY MAIN TITLE: SUBTITLEHere is a link with a sample Turabian 8th edition for your review. Consider using it as a guide. You may also use standard format. Here is a link with a sample of a paper in standard format (Turabian 8th edition).


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.

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

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A new paragraph must contain at least four to five sentences to constitute a “true” paragraph. https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/606/01/ Please apply this guideline throughout your work.


Be mindful to avoid the use of contractions (I’ll, we’re, they’re, etc.) in formal, academic writing. In this sentence, consider substituting the full form of the verb phrase with a more formal tone. Please check for this guideline throughout your writing.Examples:Instead of: He’ll succeed.Consider: He will succeed.OrInstead of: Pam’s known for her brownies.Consider: Pam is known for her brownies.Please check for this throughout your paper.


Please be mindful of correct headline use here and throughout your paper. There are five heading styles for academic papers. Your chapter title/Topic, for example, would follow level 1.Level 1 Centered, Boldface or Italic Type, Headline-Style CapitalizationLevel 2: Centered, Regular Type, Headline-Style CapitalizationLevel 3: Flush Left, Boldface, Headline-Style CapitalizationLevel 4: Flush left, roman type, sentence-style capitalizationLevel 5: Indent ½ inch for run in at beginning of paragraph (no blank line after), boldface or italic type, sentence-style capitalization, terminal period. Sentence starts here.This link will provide more details on how to correctly add heading/subheadings to your paper.Source: See The following link to the Online Writing Center provide s information on headings for APA, Turabian, etc. formats. You may check under “Quick Guides”.


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

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

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4 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


6 Christopher J.H. Wright, Knowing Jesus Through the Old Testament (Downer Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1995)


Be advised this is a sentence fragment. Fragments often occur for two reasons: (1) dependent clauses that have been separated from the rest of the sentence or (2) main clauses without verbs or subjects. Examples 1. Incorrect: Liberty offers many different degrees. Such as youth ministry, psychology, music, and mathematics. Correction: Liberty offers many different degrees, such as youth ministry, psychology, music and mathematics. 2. Incorrect: Dirty clothes thrown all over the room. Correction: Dirty clothes were thrown all over the room.There is an excellent presentation on sentence fragments on the OWC website at: http://www.liberty.edu/academics/graduate/writing/index.cfm?PID=12268


The subordinating conjunction “that” is not used before direct quotations.


The page number should be included with the superscript.


Ibid. is used for footnotes that come from the same source and the citations are on the same page. Please remember that when using Ibid. is actually an abbreviation so it must a period behind it, followed by a comma. Also, remember not to use Ibid. for a footnote on a previous page. You will have to write out the original footnote reference again; and then continue with Ibid., if applicable. Consider making corrections throughout your paper, and reviewing the following resource on correctly constructing footnotes in Turabian format. http://www.liberty.edu/media/2030/Turabian_8_footnote_bibliography_style.pdf Please be mindful in creating your footnotes, each note should be numbered accordingly in superscripts.ExampleInstead of: 1. This is an example of a footnote that is incorrectly numbered in a Turabian paper.Consider: 1 This is an example of a footnote that is corrected numbered in a Turabian paper.


Since the Bible is considered a sacred work, cite it in footnotes, not the bibliography


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

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


8 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

9 Christopher J.H. Wright, Knowing Jesus Through the Old Testament (Downer Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1995)10 lbid

http://revjimtesterman.files.wordpress.com/2012/11/knowing-jesus-through-the-old-testament3.pdf


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

connecting Jesus with the Old Testament, and therefore bringing discipleship to the


12 lbid13 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



‘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.

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

14 lbid15 Christopher J.H. Wright, Knowing Jesus Through the Old Testament (Downer Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1995)16 lbid


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

help pastors, in particular, winsomely preach the OT so that the gospel is made central in every

17 lbid18 lbid19 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


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

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

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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.

BIBLIOGRAPHY


Please remember a Bibliography page must represented on its own page. Also, in the reference, the source of the material you use should be italicized. If your source is from online, the Accessed date along with the correct hyperlink must be provided. Consider reviewing the following links for constructing a proper Bibliography in Turabian format. The web sites have samples you may use in the future.http://www.liberty.edu/media/1410/Turabian_guide.pdf, https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/717/02/ or http://www.press.uchicago.edu/books/turabian/turabian_citationguide.html


Pamela,Good work! I can see you have put a lot of effort into the assignment. There are a few grammatical and formatting issues that detract from your writing. However, if you apply some of the suggestion, you should have a quality graduate paper. Here are some great writing aids that can help you with writing great, academic, graduate level, papers. If you need any other assistance, please let us know.Concise Writing Effective WritingGraduate Writing Plagiarism Punctuation RulesWeb ResourcesWriting in APA, Turabian, or MLA writing formatsTurabian 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_fill

mer.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

http://www.religionfacts.com/christianity/charts/denominations_beliefs.htm

http://www.religionfacts.com/christianity/charts/denominations_beliefs.htm

http://www.9marks.org/books/book-review-knowing-jesus-through-old-testament

http://www.9marks.org/books/book-review-knowing-jesus-through-old-testament


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).



41900 knowing jesus through old testament (1)

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