7 Ways of Preaching Christ from the Old Testament

No pastor wants his preaching to be considered “Christ-less” or something other than “Christ-centered.” Still, it is sometimes difficult to understand what exactly is meant by this kind of terminology. Likewise, no pastor wants to “read into” the text something that is not there.

In the initial chapter of his book, Preaching Christ from Genesis, Sidney Griedanus lays out seven ways that a preacher can legitimately preach Christ from the Old Testament. I’ve adapted the examples for each category in order to keep the focus on how there are multiple ways to preach Christ from an Old Testament account (such as Noah).

1. Redemptive-Historical Progression

The redemptive-historical road to Christ is the “broadest and foundational path from an Old Testament text to Jesus Christ” (3). It takes into consideration the history of redemption which begins with the opening chapters of Genesis and culminates in the vision of a restored paradise in Revelation. This journey from creation to new creation takes us down a path of redemptive history in God’s acts in Israel, through Christ, and then through the church. We take into consideration the place we are in the biblical storyline and then look forward to the climax of Christ’s death and resurrection.

An example would be the story of Noah. More than a simple story of warning against judgment, it is also a continuation of the Genesis plotline, where the seed of the woman must avenge the heel of the serpent. God’s preservation of Noah is the way He keeps His promises, and we anticipate the coming of the Seed – Jesus Christ in His first coming and then His second.     Continue at Trevin Wax

The Gospel of the Old Testament

This is the Gospel. It was preached to Adam after the fall; the seed of the woman should bruise the serpent’s head: the first Gospel-sermon, delivered before the curse of God’s broken law had been pronounced. To Abraham it was preached in clearer terms; ” In thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed;” and by Moses to Israel, ” I am the Lord thy God, that brought thee out of the land of Egypt.” Moses was the typical deliverer. In David, Christ was exhibited still more clearly; he is the true David, the real Beloved. And indeed if Christ was not preached, then were the saints of old not saved; for the Scripture says, “there is no other name under heaven whereby men can be saved.” “By the deeds of the law shall no man living be justified?” “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, to-day, and forever;” yesterday under the law, to-day under the Gospel, and forever, the same one and only Saviour. If therefore, men under the former dispensation were saved at all, and we know assuredly they were, they must have been saved by Christ —by the Gospel. Read the rest HERE

The Imperative of the Indicative: Preaching Christ from the Gospels