Jesse Johnson did us a great favor by giving 6 thoughtful examples of how to preach Jesus from Old Testament texts, where “the coming Messiah” is not the main point. Even when a text doesn’t directly predict the coming of Christ, we ought to make sure we see it climax in the good news about Jesus’ death and resurrection, and/or the message of forgiveness being preached to all nations.
Johnson’s examples are good models of first determining the author’s main point for his original audience, and second connecting that main point to the good news about Jesus. This prevents forced or tenuous gospel connections that fail to land with transformative power. See my post on this topic for further explanation.
Johnson’s examples are:
- Leviticus 13 (leprosy)
- Judges 19 (dismembered concubine)
- Genesis 11 (Babel)
- 1 Kings 18 (showdown on Mt. Carmel)
- 1 Samuel 14 (Jonathan eating honey)
- Proverbs 5 (sexual immorality)
Share or follow:
Leave a Reply