The relationship between the Old Testament and the New Testament

23 April

In our study of Luke Gospel (particularly Luke 3), we noted that the preparatory ministry of John the Baptist was to reveal the arrival of the Messiah and King (Jesus); and God’s Messiah and Son’s ministry began with the inauguration of the New Age (Final Age) as contrasted with the Old Age (Former Age which was passing away)- hence the call from both the Baptist and Jesus: “Repent, for the kingdom of God is at hand” – the kingdom refers to the rule of the Triune God and it would be ushered in by the Son of God as he fulfilled his ministry and mission. The coming of the Messiah hence marks the inauguration and announcement of the New Age or New Era in God’s relationship with His people, and His final dealing with sin, evil, and His establishment of a new humanity under the headship of Jesus Christ.

The Former Age and the Final Age can be looked upon as being represented by the Old Testament (Old Covenant) and the New Testament (New Covenant) respectively, both Testaments forming the whole story of God’s revelation in the Bible, the Word of God.

It is therefore imperative that we, as Christians, should understand the relationship between the Old Testament and the New Testament – we need to see the CONTINUITY and the DISCONTINUITY between both Testaments in God’s revelation, and to understand God’s eternal desire to have a people of His own – “You shall be my people and I shall be your God”, punctuated throughout the whole Bible.

THE OLD TESTAMENT’S ‘ENDING’

The Old Testament ends with Israel in an uncertain middle ground. The Israelites had officially returned from their exile in Babylon (although many did not return) yet the promised restoration seemed a distant dream. They had no king and no kingdom. They were part of a larger empire with no changes in sight. They had rebuilt the temple and refocused on the law, but the spiritual platform of the prophets had not been realised.
The Persian Empire finally fell, and the Greeks took over. In the second century BC Israel briefly regained independence and messianic hopes were high, but the Hasmonean Dynasty soon deteriorated under political power struggles, and the Greek overlords were replaced by the Roman ones. Four hundred years went by between the end of the Old Testament and the birth of Christ.

CONTINUITY
In the “fullness of time” (Gal. 4:4), the boldest step in God’s plan would be revealed through the wondrous birth of a son to a simple peasant girl, Mary. In the birth, life, death, and resurrection of Jesus, the dislocation and Fall that came about in Eden found its resolution, for we can find ‘redemption’ and salvation “in Christ” (Eph. 2).
In continuity, we recognise that both testaments deal with the same God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and Jesus saw himself in the line of Moses, David, and the prophets. He did not offer a revised view of the Israelite God or forge his own path to God. Jesus’ teachings were steeped in the tradition of the Old Testament law and covenant. Jesus declared that he did come to abolish the Law and the Prophets but to fulfill them (Matt 5:17). Jesus fulfilled the Law and the Prophets in a number of different ways. The most familiar way is that many prophecies found their fulfillment in him as he began to assume his earthly role as the Messiah – the anointed ideal Davidic king. A more comprehensive view of his fulfillment is related to the whole concept of the covenant in the Pentateuch unit – there the covenant represented God’s program of revelation – Christ is the climax of this revelatory program. If the Old Testament (old covenant) is the story of the covenant and is God’s revelation of himself, then the New Testament (new covenant) can be seen as God’s ultimate revelation of himself through his Son (Heb.1:1-2). Jesus thus fulfils the revelatory plan of God that was introduced by the Law and the Prophets. As God’s ultimate revelation of himself, Jesus, actually represents where the Law and the Prophets were going all along.

God’s grace and love are readily found throughout the pages of the Old Testament (Deut. 4:32-40; Hos. 11) and God’s wrath and judgement play a prominent role in the New Testament (Luke 21; Acts 5:1-11; Heb.10:26-31; Revelation). If we agree that the law was part of God’s program of revealing himself, it is easy to see that the giving of the law was an act of grace – hence there is no dichotomy in the two testaments in relation to ‘law’ and ‘grace’. If we understand Christ as indwelling us as the seal of the new covenant, we accept that he represents the law in our hearts (Jer. 31:33), and his grace is the law that governs our behaviour.

The two great commandments in Jesus’ teaching (Matt. 22:37-40) are also central to the Old Testament (Deut. 6:4; Lev. 19:18). Hence there is a solid line of continuity between the expectations God has of his people across the ages.

One of the most common themes of the Bible from the Law to the Prophets and from the Gospels to the Epistles is the mandate to uphold justice. This is the obligation of God’s people in both the Old and New Testaments. Since God is revealed throughout as a God who has compassion on the needy and cares for the widow and orphan, we are called upon to act on his behalf, showing mercy in his name (Matt. 25:34-46).

DISCONTINUITY

Despite the major points of continuity, we need to recognise some discontinuity, better understood as new initiatives introduced in the New Testament.
Apostle Paul talks about several of these in Ephesians and calls them “mysteries” (Eph. 1:9, 3:3-9; 5:32; Col. 1:26-27; 2:2-3). Among the most significant of these initiatives are the work of Christ, the nature of Christ, the coming of the Holy Spirit, and the character of the church.
We cannot elaborate these initiatives here, for they would cover a great amount of ground; but as we continue to study Luke Gospel, we need to be conscious of the continuity and discontinuity between the Old Testament and the New Testament.
The Old Testament is insufficient to provide a comprehensive understanding of God’s plan, for Jesus is at the center of the plan. If we are going to the Old Testament to understand its role and contribution to the plan of God, we must be careful to link it to the New Testament development of themes and investigate the fruition of the Old Testament initiatives in the New Testament.
At the same time, we must not conclude that the Old Testament is deficient in the revelation of God that it offers. Christians may make the mistake of discarding the Old Testament simply because the New Testament provides the exciting conclusions. Since we believe that the Old Testament is, in and of itself, God’s authoritative revelation of himself, it cannot become obsolete. We cannot afford to ignore or neglect what the Old Testament teaches about God.

It is also helpful to note that one-third of the New Testament is composed of quotations or allusions to the Old Testament. The themes of the Old Testament serve as a backdrop as well as a foundation to the teaching of Jesus and the apostles. Remember also that Jesus himself had only the Old Testament as Scripture in his life on earth.