The relationship of the Testaments: the NT view of the OT

by Paul Lamey @ http://expositorythoughts.wordpress.com

I fear that pastors and theologians have assumed far more than brother Augustine ever meant when he gave his famous line, “The Old is in the New revealed; the New is in the Old concealed.” Somewhat humorously, Willem VanGemeren has caught the spirit of our hermeneutical age with a more fitting, “The Old is by the New restricted and the New is on the Old inflicted.” Humorous as it may be, VanGemeren’s wit reveals a real issue for evangelical hermeneutics and expository preaching.

Is there a discernable view of the OT from the perspective of the NT writers? That is the question before us now. There are a plethora of answers that have been offered in this regard and some have provided valuable insight into what might be one of the most perplexing issues in biblical studies. We need to tread cautiously here as some have rightly pointed out that “The NT use of the OT is a complex matter deserving much more study” [David Turner, “The Continuity of Scripture and Eschatology: Key Hermeneutical Issues,” Grace Theological Journal 6.2 (1985), 282]. In light of Turner’s wise advice I will try to summarize what I perceive to be the pivotal issues and leave the minutia to subsequent posts and future discussions.

I believe some of our overall deficiencies in preaching are cogently related to the dominant idea in evangelicalism that the NT holds the seat of priority. It does not take too many leaps in logic to see how closely this resembles Marcion’s view of the OT. While no evangelical today would affirm Marcion’s denial of the OT canon, his false view is still upheld in practical ways by those who apply a demoted authority to the OT or worse by those who ignore the OT all together. Marcion’s legacy is practically applied by those who would reinterpret the message of the OT as if it is somehow deficient and barren of meaning. I offer the following thoughts in an effort to raise questions about the status quo which assumes the NT has priority over the first testament and examine how the NT writers “used” (not interpreted) the OT.

1. Distinguish the uses of the OT in the NT

According to Roger Nicole, the NT quotes the OT some 295 times. Allusions are more difficult to pin down and estimates range from 442 to 4,105. There is not a one-size fits all when it comes to OT quotes in the NT. What can account for the hundred of quotes and possibly thousands of allusions? Roy Zuck answers that, “By quoting the Old Testament so frequently, the New Testament writers demonstrated their trust in the authority of the Old Testament. Nowhere does a New Testament writer question or repudiate the truth of an Old Testament passage he cited” (Basic Bible Interpretation, 252). So if some “new” piece of information is given in the NT it is not evidence of 1) a disagreement with the OT passage or 2) a NT “interpretation” overturning an OT meaning. I think we must conclude that it is the result of divine inspiration of the text.

There is no discernable hermeneutical pattern used by the writers of the NT when quoting/alluding to the OT. Kaiser has noted five categorical uses of the OT in the NT (apologetic, prophetic, typological, theological, and practical). However, Zuck’s categories are more definitive and practically helpful (summarized below):

• Show accomplishment/realization of an OT prediction
• Confirm that a NT incident is in agreement with an OT principle
• Explain a point given in the OT
• Support a point being made in the NT
• Illustrate a NT truth
• Apply the OT to a NT incident or truth
• Summarize an OT concept
• Use OT terminology
• Draw a parallel with an OT incident
• Relate an OT situation to Christ

Of the 295 quotes, we can safely conclude that there is not a single instance where the NT writer repudiates the original meaning of an OT text nor is there an instance where we can point to a definable hermeneutic used to “reinterpret” the OT.

2. Draw correct conclusions about the OT (from the NT)

The OT is a single work with a single purpose. This is how the NT writers and even Christ viewed the message of the OT. I simply want to emphasize the point that the NT writers were not writing to confirm or prove the validity of the OT. To the contrary, the NT has its literary, prophetic, and theological dependence on the OT. First Century Christians like the Bereans used the OT to verify what they were hearing from the apostles about Jesus (Acts 17:11). Against the stream of popular thought it was the OT that confirmed the claims being made in the ministry of Jesus and the Apostles (in addition to their signs and wonders). This is the point of Jesus calling his hearers to a closer examination of the OT text (Luke 24:44; John 5:39) and the Apostles showing that the grounds of their messianic hope was rooted in the authority of the OT (cf. Acts 8:35; 13:23; 17:2-3; 1 Cor. 15:3-4).

3. Display Christ in the OT

In order to display Christ in the OT, it is not necessary to “re-interpret” the OT so that He can show up in the most unexpected places. The Messiah is not muted in the OT and the writers of the NT well understood this. The key point that I want to emphasize here is that the NT writers didn’t discover the Messiah in the OT they recognized the Messiah already there. That is, there was no need to import Christ from the NT when the claims of the OT are solidly messianic to begin with. Jesus is identified in the NT because of the Messianic authority of the OT. Most reverse this order and identify Jesus in the OT using the NT as the starting point. Jesus in Luke 24 showed that the proof of His messianic claims rested on the authority of the OT not NT claims (for the NT did not exist). Sailhamer has summarized this well by writing, “The NT is not so much a guide to understanding the OT as it is the goal of understanding the OT. Unless we understand the OT picture of the Messiah, we will not understand the NT picture of Jesus. The OT, not the NT, is the messianic searchlight.”

For further reading, Randy McKinion has also dealt with this issue here.