How To Read The Old Testament

I want to introduce to you an approach to understand the OT. First of all, I show you how the NT writers read the OT, and then I use Genesis 14 as example to illustrate how to use the approach that was used by them.

What is the basic content of the OT? The basic content of the OT is to convey how God saved the Israelites to demonstrate how He would work out the salvation for the whole world. It always consists of types, prophecies and promises, concerning God’s salvation in time to come, whereas the NT is the testament of the fulfilment of the types, prophecies, and promises. So, on the one hand, the NT writers need to read the OT in the perspective of typology (ref to the last post in my blog).

On the other hand, the NT writers view and use each independent episode, for example, how the main character making decision in a moral dilemma, as an object lesson to explain ethical principles or spiritual reflections to educate, edify or warn NT readers.

So, NT writers use the OT’s materials as types, models and analogies:

1. Types: The New Testament tells us about the fulfillment of what the OT promised. This is testified by Jesus himself, “And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself (Lk. 24:27)  -- Jesus explained to the two disciples during their walk to the village called Emmaus that what had happened to Him had to happen according to the scriptures. There were prophecies embedded in OT figures, events, or things and we call them Types. The images of a perfect high priest, king, prophet, or of a lamb, sacrifice, feast, temple and even the entire ritual system are intended to be types.

2. Models: “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness” (2 Tim. 3:16). Here, “all scripture” refers to the OT.  We can see that whether Jesus or NT writers always take OT stories or laws of Moses as basic reference to explain further what they means in the new era. NT writer has viewed Abraham as our spiritual model. In fact, the religious and ethical aspects of the laws are also treated as models.

3. Analogies: In the NT, writers like to use OT believers to make comparison with Christians in order to draw spiritual lessons. 1Cor 10:1-12, “For I do not want you to be unaware, brothers, that our fathers were all under the cloud, and all passed through sea, and all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea, .. nevertheless, with most of them God was not pleased, or they were overthrown in the wilderness… Now these things happened to them as an example, but they were written down for our instruction,…” From this OT events quoted by Paul to warn the Corinthian church, we see a typical example of an analogical use for spiritual reflection.

These three: types, models, and analogies, are vivid and self-explanatory illustrations of instruction used by the NT writers to encourage modern believers so that their lives can be encouraged, corrected, reproved, and trained and that they may be “complete, equipped for every good work” (2 Tim. 3:17)

Let’s take Genesis 14 as an example. The Story of Gen 14 is about this. After leaving from Abraham, Lot settled in Sodom. Lot and his family became captives after four kings invaded Sodom and Gomorrah. When Abraham heard the news, he deployed his servants to fight against the four kings. After Abraham won the battle, the kings of Sodom and Salem went out to congratulate Abraham in the Valley of Shaveh. Abraham gave a tenth of everything to Melchizedek, the king of Salem, who was the high priest of the Most High God, but rejected goods given by Bera, the king of Sodom, who was a wicked king.

1. A Spiritual Lesson from an Analogical Perspective:

Abraham offers a tithe to Melchizedek, who serves the same God as he serves. This testifies of his faith on and gratitude to God: God the one and only one who has led him to win the battle shall be acknowledged and honored. On the other hand, by not receiving the gifts of Bera, Abraham shows that he hates what God hates, stands firm not to be an ally of God’s enemy, and makes it explicit that his wealth is not gained from the evil king (ref to Gen 14:23). Thus, Abraham’s action exemplifies to whom a modern Christian should accredit his success, and how one can solely rely on God’s power in a world hostile to Christianity.

This is what I mean by a “spiritual lesson”, because it reflects Abraham’s faith at a particular stage of his spiritual journey.

2. A Moral Lesson through Exemplary Behavior:

Abraham and his servants are not trained officers and soldiers. In a state of emergency, out of love, to rescue his nephew, Abraham risks his life and the lives of his servants to fight against the well-trained military alliance of the four kings, who have just proven strong and ferocious enough to defeat the five kings. Abraham is not only courageous but also forgiving as Lot’s departure is due to the disputes between their individual herdsmen at the time when both of them lived in the hill country between Bethel and Ai. Abraham demonstrates how an elder should treat a young relative and be ready to help in time of need.

The above is classified as a moral lesson because it reveals a high moral standard of how one should relate to his fellow brothers and sisters.

3. A Typological Lesson from the NT perspective:

Melchizedek means “righteous” and the king of Salem, means “king of peace.” Melchizedek appears only in Genesis 14. Neither his genealogy nor his parents’ names are mentioned. And there is no record of his beginning of days and end of life, which is rare among OT heroes, whose lineage can always be traced back to Noah.

In the book of Hebrew, Melchizedek is used as a type or a symbolic feature to explain the everlasting priesthood role of Christ. All characteristics of the person Melchizedek fit well to explain Jesus, who plays the role of a high priest, which is not based on the legal requirement, according to the priestly line passing down from Aaron, but is based on the power of an endless and indestructible life after the order of Melchizedek  (ref. Hebrew 7:15-17).

I have shown to you how we can learn three lessons in one same story through the approach. However, not all the three lessons are always implied in a given passage. It is possible but difficult for us to learn typological lessons from the OT without referring to the New Testament.

To explain to you further how a careful reading of a passage can help in understanding typology, I use Luke 13:10-17 to illustrate.

In Luke13:10-17, Jesus heals the crippled woman, who is bound by the Satan for eighteen years. The Jewish leaders are angry because Jesus does not even want to delay a day for the healing, as it seems that there is no difference for the woman who has already suffered for eighteen years. “But the ruler of synagogue, indignant because Jesus had healed on the Sabbath, the Synagogue ruler said to the people, ‘There are six days for work. So come and be healed on those days, not on the Sabbath.’” (Luke 13:14).

This incident has been commonly interpreted by saying that Jesus was acting with God’s authority. However, in this narrative, Jesus is actually portrayed as a Redeemer who rescues the woman from the bondage of Satan, and the Sabbath is portrayed as a day for deliverance. “That is why it was not merely generally appropriate that this woman should be healed, and if it happened to be on the Sabbath, well and good. The claim was that the Sabbath day was the most appropriate day, because that day celebrated release from captivity, from bondage, as well as from work.”

Therefore, the Lord answers the synagogue ruler, “You hypocrites! Don’t each of you on the Sabbath untie his ox or donkey from the stall and lead it out to give it water? Then should not this woman, a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan has kept bound for eighteen long years, be set free on the Sabbath day from what bound her?” (Luke 13:15-17). Thus the common doing of untying one’s ox and donkey from the stall on Sabbath becomes an effective illustration of Jesus’ justification.

Sabbath is a type, prophesizing the day of deliverance and healing. It is the day to manifest God’s power.

I gave a series of teaching on Old Testament Background in Mandarin:

Lesson 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F7ELJXUvKHY

Lesson 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6kCZIRhl0NQ

Lesson 3: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x-d1n68bmy8

Lesson 4: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n8Fgqx-enO8

Typology

God uses historical events or persons or things as “types” to prefigure the Messiah. The original occurrence is called the “type” while the fulfillment is called the “anti-type”.

The writer of the Gospel of John uses a number of OT events as types to allow readers to recognize that Jesus is the Messiah. For example, John uses the “tabernacle” as a type to allow readers to recognize that Jesus is the “tabernacle among us” (John 1:14; the word dwell is “to spread a tent”); he uses “temple” to imply that Jesus is the one who replaces the temple with his body (John 2:18–22; 4:20–24). Other “types” that John uses are 1) the Passover, prefiguring Jesus the Lamb of GOD (John 1:29, 36); and 2) the manna, Jesus the bread of life (John 6:35; ref Ex16:35); and 3) the 24-hour lighted candlestick in the tabernacle, Jesus the light of the world (John 7: 12; ref. Ex 25:31-40) .

In Jesus’ conversation with Nicodemus, Jesus used the event of Moses lifting up a brass-made serpent in the wilderness to heal those who were bitten by the poisonous serpent (Num 21:9) to foretell that when the cross was lifted up, people would be attracted to it and the effect of their belief is eternal life (John 3: 14, 15).

How amazing it is, that in OT time, God uses many “types” to forecast about the Messiah to Jews of different generations before Jesus came. However, until now, many Jews still fail to recognize Him as the promised Messiah. It is amazing that we as Gentles can learn to recognize Jesus is the “anti-type,” the Messiah, and understand the relationship between the OT and the NT!

In His Time John 2:1-11

In the last Sermon (titled “In His Time”; John 2:1-11), I interpreted that Jesus intervened to resolve crisis according to what he perceived as the best timing. Here, I would like to share a bit more concerning his timing in the plot of the story.

In His Time

Jesus’ words: “My Hour has not yet come” (John 2:4b) and the concluding statement of this episode: “This, the first of his signs, Jesus did at Cana in Galilee, and manifested his glory. And his disciples believed in him” (Jn. 2:11) draws our attention to the bigger picture of the story.

The fact that Mary knows Jesus has power to perform miracles and asks him for help shows that many other miracles may have not been recorded. There was a time of the hiding of his power. Jesus starts to reveal himself as the Son of God in the “first sign” and will gradually reveal himself according to his timing. Every sign that Jesus performs manifests the glory of God but brings him closer to death at the same time. This is because the Jews will put anyone who claims himself as either Lord or God. Therefore, timing is the important factor to determine the duration of his public ministry on earth.

In the book of John, Jesus was revealed as Lord (13:14; 20:28; 21:7) and God (1:1; 5:18; 10:30, 33, 37-39; 14:11; 20:28), the One who existed before Abraham and revealed himself to Moses as the great “I AM” (8:57-58). It happened in a gradual and intended manner. In the Synoptic Gospels, we also read about Jesus commanding those who had had a personal encounter with him not to disclose his messianic identity.

Observing beyond the text

Therefore, when studying a text, we should also observe the literary context: what was written before and after the text, and together, where does the writer want to bring us to. This kind of observation will enable us to see a cohesive message or overarching theme of the book. John 1:14, which is one of the key verses, contains the cohesive message

“And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth”

In his time, the Word enters the wedding, performing a miracle that resulted in glorifying God; in his time, the Word enter the temple, causing a conflict before the Passover festival. In different occasions, the Word yields different effects and consequences. More importantly, the Word also reveals the hearts of the people.

As I explore the meaning of John 2:12-25 on this coming Sunday, we see that the Word reveal the hearts of the people involved

1.      Worshippers

2.      dealers/Money exchangers

3.      The Jews (refer to the authorities or leaders in the Jerusalem)

4.      The disciples

Your Shepherd,

Pastor Paul Tong

John 2:1-12 and OIA Interpretation Method

In today's post, I will briefly describe what OIA is and then use this method to explain how I work out my interpretation of John 2:1-12.

OIA

OIA is a basic principle by which a biblical passage can be interpreted and applied.

O stands for Observation. The first step to understand a given biblical passage is to observe: observe what the text actually says. If the English translations do not agree with one another, we have to check closer meanings from their original languages (either it is a word’s meaning or sentence’s meaning) in view of its historical, sociological or literary contexts.

The correct interpretation of the passage is based very much on the information we have obtained from our observation. A legitimate interpretation develops a particular theological message. Theological messages are principles of faith and living. Principles of faith are where our Christian doctrines come from.

I stands for Interpretation. The second step is to make sense of the obvious observations. These can be marked by repetition of a word or phrase. In narrative texts, sometimes detailed description, or intentions of the characters of the story are not mentioned and there may be some clues hiding in the text. Therefore, readers are invited to detect and are granted a space for visualization in order to figure out a logical flow of the story.

Any theological message that comes out from an interpretation based on not so obvious observation has to be substantiated by other certain interpretation of the scripture elsewhere in the Bible.

A stands for Application. The third step is to make the derived message relevant and applicable in our own context.

John 2:1-12

As we do observation and Interpretation, it is like a detective making sense of everything at the crime scene. The physical clues will help him to reconstruct what happened at the time of the crime. But here, our objective is to find out who the protagonist is and what the core truth is.

Obvious observations:        

a.       Repeated word, or related word or phrase:  “hour” (v4) , “now” (v8, 10). Time could be the critical element contributing to what has happened and to the resolution of the crisis.

b.      From the concluding statement (v11), we know that Jesus is the Protagonist;

c.       Among the minor characters (Mary, disciples, servants, bridegroom, feast master and the guests), Mary plays a role in making the miracle happen but her faith is not mentioned in the concluding statement.

d.      Though disciples are not the protagonist but they are highlighted in the concluding statement.

           Historical background:

a.       The Wedding normally runs for 7 days

b.      Though the bridegroom had to ensure there was enough wine for all the guests, the feast’s master has the control of the distribution of the amount of wine.

            Checking the meaning of any word that is obscure in translation on verse 10: “when people has drunk freely” (ESV) or “when men have well drunk” (KJV)  -- the word “drunk” is “cause to become intoxicated” in Greek.
     
     Interpretation:

     General interpretation: Mary who is a relative of the bridegroom or bridge, in the middle of the wedding ceremony, she observed that the wine is running out and was very concerned about it. She believed that Jesus could help. So she approached Jesus when she felt the urgency. Jesus expressed to her that his hour has not yet come. So Mary told the servants to be ready to carry out exactly what Jesus instructed.

The miracle was not witnessed by the bridegroom, feast master, and the guest;  Mary and the servants’ faith are not mentioned. The climax of the story and the concluding statement highlights that it was the right timing of the sign (miracle) that Jesus wanted to bring glorify to God and to bring disciples’ faith to another level.

2.       Possible scenario: The feast master who is supposed to control the wine might lost the control of making the wine last to the final day. He thought that he had to render the good wine first to satisfy the guests and even to the point that they got drunk (v10). It could be Jesus’ purpose to serve his best wine in the last hour, a gift to bridegroom, not just to save his face but to bring honor to him.

Applications:

1.       The most important guest to be invited in our “wedding ceremony” is Jesus.

2.       The transformation power that brings glory to God can happen in our life as we face crisis

3.       Running out of human resources is the beginning of God’s providence.

4.       By faith, we have to wait for the divine time that will bring glory to God and bring us to the next level of faith.

John 1:19-51

This Morning I preached the sermon based on John 1:19-51. The followings are my observation and related historical background.

The primary role of Priests and Levites was to conduct religious rituals in the temple. In John 1:19, it is written that because many had followed John the Baptist, they were sent to the wilderness to check out the true identity of John the Baptism who was born in the priestly family but not following his father’s career. This prompts readers to think about what could be the contextual situation. In chapter 2, while we read about the event of Jesus cleansing the temple, we are quite certain that there was a corruption in the priestly system. As I check out the historical background, the correction of the society was pervasive at that time.

Alfred Edersheim (1825-89), in his book, The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah, wrote this:

“It has been rightly said, that the idea of conscience, as we understand it, was unknown to heathenism. Absolute right did not exist. Might was right. The social relations exhibited, if possible, even deeper corruption. The sanctity of marriage had ceased. Female dissipation and the general dissoluteness led at last to an almost entire cessation of marriage. Abortion, and the exposure and murder of newly-born children, were common and tolerated; unnatural vices, which even the greatest philosophers practiced, if not advocated, attained proportions which defy description”

In the first century, there was a pious Jewish group called Essenes. They dedicated themselves not to marry, not to possess material wealth and devoted to study God’s words. They were famous because they built a library in caves at Qumran, collecting all the Old Testament manuscripts or scrolls. The collections were destroyed by fire during the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 DC. In 1949 the remaining few were discovered in 1949 and they are called the Dead Sea Scrolls. Some scholars thought that it was possible that John the Baptist was mistaken to be one of the Essenes because he used to conduct baptism in the wilderness near Qumran.

In different generations, God raised up His servants, separated from the secular life, to awake His people. James VanderKam:  “The Essenes who lived in Qumran were just a small part of the larger Essenes movement.” (The Dead Sea Scrolls Today, p. 127)

Your Shepherd,

Pastor Paul Tong

John Chapter 1

In today sermon, I expounded John 1:1-18.

Here, I would like to share with you, my own observation, interpretation, application and some background information, and a brief introduction of the book.

Observation

When I read John 1:1-18, I observed that verbs are either perfect or aorist (past) tense, except:

Verse 5 - The light shines in the darkness (φαίνει – “shines”)

Verse 9 - The light gives light to everyone (φωτίζει -- “gives light”)

Verse 18 - the only God who is at the Father's bosom

It reveals to us that

1.      The Word was operative then and is operative now: to shine in the darkness and give light to everyone. The Word  is operative in the function of “shining” and “giving light”

2.      There should be a deliberate intention of using two different verbs to describe different functions of the light: φαίνει – “shines” and φωτίζει -- “gives light”;

I also observe that the power of creativity of the Word is specified by the creation of the spiritual life from v4 onwards.

1. The metaphorical meaning of light could be two folds: a. the light is the source of life (v4); b. the light that opposes the sinful nature of the world. Anyone who rejected the light rejected the source of life.

2. In nature, we who are in the darkness would reject the light but by God’s determination and grace, we are born in the light (v12, 13).

I also observe that in verse 6-8, the brief introduction of John the Baptist is used for comparison to clarify that he is not the true light.

Interpretation

v18 “No one had ever seen God; the only God, who is at the Father’s side, he has made him known” is a concluding statement of the passage.

So from above observation and v18, I concluded: the purpose of the incarnation is 1. to make God known; 2. to shine to the darkness to allow the world to see the holiness of God so that they will be convicted guilty; 3. to give light/life for those who receive.

Application

If we are born-again Christian, the life and light will be activated within us, and we should be able to become an effect witnesses for Christ, imparting others with life and light. The Word is operative now!

Background Information

(ref. Encountering the New Testament by Walter A. Elwell and Robert W. Yarbrough)

The Bible consists of old and new testaments. The word “testament” means solemn declaration. The Old Testament is about how God saved the Israelite people, and through this particular salvation for the Israelites, it also foretells the readers how God going to actualize the salvation for the whole world in the NT’s era. It thus consists of many prophecies and promises concerning God’s salvation in time to come.

The NT was the testament of God’s saving work that the ancient people hoped for. So, the relationship of the two is that the New Testament tells us about the fulfillment of what the OT promised.

Jesus' Ministry
According to the Synoptic Gospels, Jesus' ministry seems lasted only one year. However, the Gospel of John mentions three Passovers (with other festivals in between). This suggests a three-year ministry.

Brief Introduction of the Gospel of John

(ref. Encountering the New Testament by Walter A. Elwell and Robert W. Yarbrough)

The purpose of the book of John is clearly stated in John 20: 30,31, “Jesus did many other miraculous sign in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.”

John emphasizes a number of truths about the person and work of Jesus to accomplish his purposes. However, the first and foremost distinctive feature of John is his emphasis on the divine glory of Christ. He attempts to portray Jesus as God the Son, who is the second person of the Trinity God.

Firstly, John emphasizes Jesus’ essential deity. The essence of the person Jesus in John’s writing moves from the abstract to the concrete. Jesus is or embodies life (1:4; 5:21; 6:57; 11:25; 14:6), light (1:4,5,9; 3:19; 8:12), truth(1:14; 14:6; 18:37), glory (1:14; 2:11; 11:4; 12:41; 17:5,24) and grace (1:14,17) because he is the Word of God (1:1).

Besides, all these transcendent divine attributes; Jesus is also depicted as a concrete person. He is the personal expression of God as the Son (1:34, 49; 3:116-18; 3:36; 5:25, 26; 10:36; 17:1; 19:7), or the one and only son (1:14, 18), of God himself. Though a sinful man can be God’s children by faith in Christ, only Christ is God’s eternal son. A more explicit way to describe Jesus as the Son of God is God the Son – the second person of the trinity God.

He is referred to as Lord (13:14; 20:28; 21:7) and God (1:1; 5:18; 10:30, 33, 37-39; 14:11; 20:28), nothing less than the One who existed before Abraham and revealed himself to Moses as the great “I AM” (8:57-58)

He is the one who makes the invisible Father known (1:18).

Secondly, John emphasizes Jesus as unique divine messenger

Jesus is presented as the one who finds his eternal source in God (3:31; 8:23), coming down to earth from him. As such, he is the one who qualifies as a teacher come from God, the true bread from heaven, the one who possesses all power, the one through whom the Holy Spirit speaks, the one who conquers the world, the judge who raises all up at the last day, and the one who when his earthly mission is finished returns to his true home in heaven with God above.

Thirdly, John point to Jesus as the long-waited savior who filled Israel’s and all mankind’s hopes and needs.

He is the Messiah prophesized in the OT (1:41; 4:25-26; 7:41; 10:24-25; 11:27),

He is the King of Israel (1:49; 18:37; 19:19), the Lamb of God (1:29,35),

He is the Son of Man (1:51; 3:31-14; 6:27, 53, 61; 13:31),

He is the Prophet par excellence (4:44; 6:14),

and the one to whom the OT pointed.

Israel as God’s people is exemplified and prophetic. It is the representative of humanity at large. In this sense, Jesus is depicted as

The savior of the world

The one who gives eternal life

The one who sets people free from sin

The one who is the light of the world and the light of life

He is the gate of the sheep

He is the good shepherd

He is the true vine

He is the bread of life

He is the only way to heaven

He is the resurrection

First post

Hi brothers and sisters in Christ,

I am a full-time pastor of Evangelize China Fellowship, Holy Word and adjunct lecturer of Biblical Graduate School of Theology and Theological College of Asia (Chinese Department).

The purpose of creating this blog is to supplement my Sunday message. I always feel sorry for those who attends church on Sunday but struggle with the weekly sermon. They either feel being bombarded with too many unnecessary background information of the scripture and little spiritual lessons to take away or feel difficult to relate to the biblical story because of lack of general knowledge of its background.

I believe a good sermon should be grounded well in its historical and contextual background. If not, the message conveyed may not do justice to the biblical text or may even be a wrong interpretation.

Given the limited time and attention span of a younger congregation, I feel extremely challenged as a pastor to preach a good sermon when I intend to keep the sermon short. This blog, therefore, is called to exist.

This coming Sunday, I will start a series of teaching on the book of John. I will give a brief introduction on the book.

Your Shepherd,

Pastor Paul Tong