The Apostle Paul primarily ministered to Gentiles but also had an undying love for his fellow Jews. That is probably why, against the advice of his brethren, he traveled to Jerusalem at the end of his third missionary journey. When he is warned of the danger of going there, Paul replies, “What are you doing, weeping and breaking my heart? For I am ready not only to be imprisoned but even to die in Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus” (Acts 21:13).
In Jerusalem Paul is accused of blasphemy and of defiling the Temple by bringing Gentiles into it, which is a capital offense. Paul is beaten in an ensuing riot and then arrested by Roman authorities. He ends up standing trial before Governor Felix in Caesarea on charges of inciting riots, being a leader of the Nazarene sect, and attempting to desecrate the Temple (Acts 24:5–8).
Paul denies the charges and pursues an unexpected line of defense. As one who never wastes an opportunity to evangelize—especially by exploiting acts of persecution against him—Paul gives a speech that is as much a celebration of Christ as it is a defense of his own actions. Mindful of his audience, he affirms his faith in Jesus Christ, paradoxically, by declaring common ground with Jewish believers. “But this I confess to you,” he declares, “that according to the Way, which they call a sect, I worship the God of our fathers, believing everything laid down by the Law and written in the Prophets, having a hope in God, which these men themselves accept, that there will be a resurrection of both the just and the unjust. . . . It is with respect to the resurrection of the dead that I am on trial before you this day” (Acts 24:14–15, 21).
Don’t miss the import of Paul’s statement. He’s saying he is not a rabble-rouser and he is not trying to upset his fellow Jews. Far from rejecting their religion, he affirms his belief in Old Testament Scripture, which he refers to as “the Law” and “the Prophets.” As Judaism is protected under Roman law, preaching the truth of its Scripture surely can’t be an illegal act.
Hoping to receive a bribe for Paul’s release and seeking to placate his accusers, Felix leaves Paul in prison for two years despite knowing he is innocent. Felix is later succeeded in office by Festus, who summons Paul to the tribunal, asking him if he wants to stand trial in Jerusalem. Paul knows he won’t get a fair trial there, so he demands to be tried in a Roman court. As a result King Agrippa, the ruler of territories northeast of Palestine, assists Felix in reviewing the charges against Paul so a written report can be prepared and forwarded to Rome.1
In explaining his position to Agrippa, Paul describes his background as a committed Pharisee who was an ardent enemy of Jesus Christ and brutal persecutor of Christians before encountering Jesus on the road to Damascus and undergoing a dramatic conversion. In stressing his innocence, Paul even more emphatically affirms the Jewish religion. “To this day I have had the help that comes from God,” Paul contends, “and so I stand here testifying both to small and great, saying nothing but what the prophets and Moses said would come to pass: that the Christ must suffer and that by being the first to rise from the dead, he would proclaim light both to our people and to the Gentiles” (Acts 26:22).
Realizing Paul is innocent, Agrippa proclaims that he could have been set free had he not appealed to Caesar (Acts 26:31–32). Paul is then sent to Rome and placed in custody there, where he vigorously evangelizes to visitors and writes his Prison Epistles—Ephesians, Colossians, Philemon, and Philippians. The Bible is silent about the ultimate disposition of Paul’s case and his later fate, but the oldest Christian traditions are that he died as a martyr in Rome.2
As we’ll see later in this book, Paul’s insistence that he remains faithful to Jewish Scripture echoes the arguments of Jesus, who had proclaimed that He came not to abolish the Scripture (“the Law”) but to fulfill it. And indeed, Christianity doesn’t abrogate the Old Testament; it completes it. True, the Jews don’t interpret the Old Testament in the same light as converted Christians do—they don’t see that it foretells the coming of Christ, Whom they reject as a false messiah. But as Paul emphasizes to Felix, he still worships the same God as the Jews do. He isn’t embracing a new God, he’s simply explaining that this same God—the God of the Jews—has now manifested Himself in the flesh. Christ is not mandating a new religion, Paul argues, but is completing the Jews’ existing religion and expanding on God’s original revelations to them. John Polhill notes that Paul’s point is that “[h]e believed the same Scriptures, worshipped the same God, shared the same hope. But it was precisely at this point that ‘the Way’ parted ways with the rest of the Jews. The Christians believed that the resurrection already had begun in Christ.”3
Undoubtedly, God’s later revelations are not inconsistent with those of the Old Testament. Instead, the New Testament tells the rest of the story, offering a clearer picture of the eternal, never-changing God, Who can now be seen in His triune nature. Jesus Christ is God, the Holy Spirit is God, and the Father is God—three Persons of the Divine Godhead, all of Whom are featured in the Old Testament, if only in shadowy form. With the benefit of these later revelations, we can see truths in Scriptures that weren’t evident to people in Old Testament times. Based on these revelations we understand those Scriptures in an entirely new light—we can see Christ on every page of the Old Testament as well as the New. It is my goal here to demonstrate that glorious truth.
This book has been a labor of love for me. In a sense, it completes a project I began many years ago. When I first studied the Bible in earnest some two decades ago, I was mildly frustrated, feeling I couldn’t quite get a handle on the big picture, especially the Old Testament. As patience is not my strong suit, I tried various shortcuts to understand the major ideas, but nothing worked fast enough. I floundered until I approached it more deliberately and systematically. After a while I made some progress, but it took considerable effort.
Once I felt more comfortable with the material, I wanted to share what I’d learned, thinking that the process didn’t have to be that difficult for others. I began writing a book on the Old Testament with the goal of publishing a primer from a layman’s perspective. For various reasons, mainly because I just wasn’t ready for the project yet, I finally abandoned it, but not without learning an enormous amount.
When my friend Harry Crocker at Regnery Publishing suggested last year that I write a book on Christian apologetics, I figured this was my chance to tackle the subject that had interested me many years before. Christian apologetics, of course, is different from a survey of the Old Testament, but I was gratified that I might finally write about Christianity as opposed to my usual commentaries on politics.
I found researching, writing, and promoting that book—Jesus on Trial—to be the most satisfying experience of my writing career. Afterward I was anxious to do another Christian book—specifically some sort of overview or introduction to the whole Bible. It was a daunting task, especially for a layman, but I thought I might be able to use my extensive studies over the past twenty years to resume the project I had begun long ago.
I quickly discovered I couldn’t hope to do an adequate job on the entire Bible in one book, so I revisited the idea of covering just the Old Testament—which would still be plenty ambitious. I had titled my unfinished book Roadmap to the Cross because even then I understood that Jesus Christ is the key to understanding the Old Testament—and that is the central argument of The Emmaus Code.
The title refers to the road to Emmaus, which is where Jesus, in one of His resurrection appearances, opens the Old Testament to two men and explains how it all points to Him. None of us knows for sure, of course, exactly what Jesus said to these men, but with the hindsight perspective of the New Testament writers, we can get a pretty good idea. There are so many ways the Old Testament prefigures, anticipates, and predicts Christ and His redemptive plan, and I’m excited to share this material with you.
Many Bible readers seem intimidated by the Old Testament because they don’t understand its grand sweep, they’re overwhelmed by its difficult names and places, and they fail to see Jesus Christ on every page. They also cannot grasp the relevance of the Old Testament and its relationship to the New Testament. Decoding the Emmaus road, I believe, is the key to understanding the entirety of Scripture.
In this book I have set out to kill two birds with one stone in that I provide both an overview of the Old Testament and demonstrate how each of its books points to Christ. I first address the relevance of the Old Testament to the New, then outline Old Testament history, laying out the chronology of major events recorded in the Bible. My assumption is this: just as the Old Testament is foundational to the New, our basic understanding of the Old Testament is crucial to our comprehension of how Christ dominates its pages. This, I think, is what Paul is trying to explain as he is being falsely prosecuted for blasphemy.
Moreover, if you are confused about the historical events recorded in the Old Testament, you will likely find yourself distracted and frustrated as you struggle with its theological messages while failing to perceive Christ’s pervasive presence. But once you grasp the flow of Old Testament history, you’ll be better prepared to delve more deeply into the theological concepts. That was my experience, anyway.
After the historical summary, I discuss the various themes and threads in the Old Testament that point to Christ, from prophecy, to typology, to the biblical covenants, and more. I explain how each of these threads, in different and sometimes overlapping ways, points to Jesus Christ in the New Testament. Then I explore the Christ-centeredness of every book of the Bible while providing an overview of the books themselves.
This book features recurring themes that appear throughout the Bible. Many involve God’s dealings with His chosen nation, Israel. Throughout Old Testament history the Israelites are repeatedly disobedient and sinful, and the prophets pronounce judgment upon them. But when they are obedient and faithful, they earn the prophets’ blessings. The Bible’s repetition of ideas and themes, however, is usually in different contexts and settings, showing God’s consistency and faithfulness.
Christ is so essential to the Old Testament that one could fill tens of thousands of pages demonstrating it. My aim here is to introduce you to the most important categories, themes, and threads pointing to Christ, and to provide you as many examples of each as space permits. Though I hope you will find this book to be valuable, I must emphasize there is no substitute for reading the Bible for yourself.
Nevertheless, study aids and primers can enhance our biblical understanding, and I pray that this book helps you to comprehend the Old Testament and its sublime Christ-centeredness. And I hope that in these pages my enthusiasm for the Bible is apparent and even contagious. It is God speaking to us; how can anyone forego the privilege and opportunity He gives us, the portal He provides into His character, His purposes, His love, and His redemptive plan for our lives?
Jesus illuminates Scripture for the two men on the Emmaus road and does the same for His disciples. The New Testament is strikingly clear that He affirms the Old Testament is all about Him. Therefore, if we believe in Him and that all Scripture is God–breathed, as it professes to be, we too must accept that its singular focus is on our Savior. Once you acknowledge that, your understanding and reverence for the Bible will greatly increase.
I make no claim to being a Bible scholar, but I profoundly appreciate those who are. Accordingly, I tapped into them liberally in my research and have shared their invaluable insights. May the Holy Spirit enlighten you as you travel on your own Emmaus road to examine the Christ-centeredness of the Old Testament.