As we’ve been working our way through the book of Acts, we’re seeing that the message of evangelists like Philip and Apostles like Paul can be summed up by the words ‘Jesus Christ’. All they had from which to preach Christ was the Old Testament, but they had no problem doing so.
Given the fact that we can be a lot slower to see Jesus in the Old Testament, one recommended resource on the topic is Jesus on Every Page by David Murray. Here’s a review of the book written by Stephen in 2013 for the Messenger Magazine:
Every so often a book comes along that before even finishing it I start trying to think how I can persuade everyone I know to read it. Last year it was Rosaria Butterfield's The Secret Thoughts of an Unexpected Convert. A few years before that it was Michael LeFebvre's Singing the Songs of Jesus. This year it's David Murray's Jesus on Every Page. As RPCNA pastor Barry York writes in the midst of pages of glowing endorsements: 'If you heard that archaeologists had discovered a genuine book with pictures of Jesus’ life, a diary of his thoughts, and further explanation of his ministry, would you not yearn to have that book in your hands? If you have the Old Testament, you do!'.
The problem the book seeks to tackle is that 'Christians seem to have forgotten that the Old Testament has everything to do with Jesus Christ'. Surveys show that the ratio of Old Testament to New Testament sermons is 1 to 10. Yet even if we sit under a balanced mix of preaching and even if we diligently read as much or more of the Old Testament as we do of the New, we can often fail to see how it relates to Jesus. Occasionally we might come across prophecies or appearances which are pretty clear, but we're far from seeing Jesus on Every Page.
Murray himself took a long time to see the Old Testament in this way. It wasn't until he had gone through 3 years of theological training, been a pastor for a number of years and then been asked to teach Old Testament at the Free Church (Continuing) Seminary before the light even began to dawn. In the first section of the book he retraces the steps of his own journey, focusing especially on how key figures in the New Testament (Jesus, Peter, Paul and John) understood the Bible they preached from.
The ten steps to seek and find Jesus in the Old Testament begin with Creation. Murray recounts how he was asked to speak at a conference on 'Christ in creation'. Sounds like it would be a short talk? He felt the same. Up until then, he thought Genesis 1-2 was all about Creation versus Evolution. Yet being asked to speak at that conference was a turning point for him and in a few short pages he shows that Jesus is everywhere in the Bible's opening chapters; from creating sheep so he could teach sinners about how he is the good Shepherd to creating angels, not because he was lonely but to minister to his needy people - and to himself in Gethsemane.
The next nine steps are similarly short but profound. He covers seeing Jesus in Old Testament characters, appearances, law, history and prophets. His chapter on 'Jesus' Pictures' (Old Testament 'types' or 'visual theology') takes Patrick Fairbairn's 700 page pre-cut-and-paste classic on the topic and reduces it to 10. The chapter on 'Christ's Promises' is really a masterly introduction to what is in fact Covenant Theology, but with the usual jargon replaced by terms like 'The Covenant of the Defeated Serpent'. In fact, the book is really a Christ-centred Bible overview. It's God's Big Picture but simpler and more Jesus-focused.
He also challenges popular conceptions of God's people before 1AD. They didn't trust in works righteousness or an earthly king. Neither did they just have some vague hope of a Messiah to come. They had a lot clearer understanding of Jesus than we often give them credit for. As Mr and Mrs Israelite read the Old Testament, they were always peering over the horizon for the one who was to come.
The book finishes by looking at Christ's Proverbs and Christ's Poems. Proverbs, 'the Old Testament Twitter', and the 10 Commandments are both expositions of Jesus' life. The section on the psalms brings the book towards a fitting climax; the fact that many have thrown out their psalters and replaced them with gospel choruses is 'because of a fundamental misunderstanding of Old Testament theology'. And in light of everything that's gone before, guess what? He doesn't think the Song of Solomon is about marriage guidance!
Every Christian will benefit from this book. Anyone who teaches the Bible in any capacity (whether to your children, in Sunday School or to a congregation) will find help for that task. Murray started off writing this book for pastors but then scrapped that idea and aimed it at everyone. It even includes study questions, which actually look good! I couldn't recommend it more highly.