Preaching Christ from the Old Testament: An Examination of Three Approaches (Part 2)
The Redemptive-Historical, Christocentric Approach
This series of posts comes from a research paper I wrote for a class at Covenant Baptist Theological Seminary.
This is the second of three approaches to Christ in the Old Testament that we are examining. If you need to catch up, you can go back to last week’s post.
The Redemptive-Historical, Christocentric Approach
The “Redemptive-Historical, Christocentric Approach” stands opposed to the former approach (examined in last week’s post). This view sees Christ, in His redemptive work, as first priority in all Old Testament exegesis. Jason Derouchie is a proponent of this view. He says, “The flow of God’s saving purposes in history demands that Christian Old Testament exposition starts and ends with Christ.”[1] The preacher who holds this view is going to approach his text with this as his first question. Where is Christ in this passage? As Dr. David Murray says, “Searching for and finding Christ is still the key that unlocks the Old Testament.”[2]
Strength
The strength in this approach is obvious in that it holds up Christ in every passage of Scripture. Dr. Murray is right in saying that searching for Christ is pivotal. After all, Scripture proclaims that all revelation started with Christ and will culminate in Him (Jn. 1:1-5; Col. 1:15-17; Eph. 1:9-10). Knowing this, every sermon, from every passage, ought to exalt Christ. Jared Bumpers is right to say, “Preaching the Word without preaching the Word made flesh misses the mark of faithful Christian preaching…When preachers fail to preach Christ weekly, they fail to honor Christ as the central figure of Scripture.”[3]
Weakness
This approach makes up for what is lacking in the “First Testament Priority” approach. However, it loses that approach’s strength as well. Herein lies the weakness of the “Redemptive-Historical, Christocentric” approach. Though it maximizes the place of Christ in the Old Testament, it threatens to minimize proper contextual considerations.
Though Christ ought to be held forth in the Old Testament, it is neither necessary nor helpful to skip over the immediate context in pursuit of that goal. Dr. Fred Malone says that the method of preaching Christ in every sermon “recognizes that every Old Testament text reaches its full meaning as contributing to the revelation of Jesus Christ in all the Scriptures.”[4] That is true. However, it does not require trading the original context for a “beeline” to the messianic vision of the text. A better practice would be to use the original context to work toward its fulfillment in Christ.
Example
Let us revisit Isaiah 41 according to the approach currently under consideration. The preacher influenced by this approach will be quick to make an appeal to Matthew 12:17-21. He is likely to emphasize the messianic fulfillment of the passage from the start. He may touch briefly on the promise of God to be with His chosen people, but the bulk of his message is going to be on expositing Christ as the fulfillment of Isaiah’s words.
Whereas the first approach leads the preacher to proclaim the practical promise of God’s presence, this approach leads him to proclaim the theological significance of Christ as the Messiah. The congregation will likely leave with a greater appreciation for the magnificence and centrality of Christ, as well as a deeper understanding of how Christ fits into the narrative of Scripture.
As a result, the hearers will comprehend “the centrality of Christ in NT preaching and teaching, in the process of sanctification, and in NT affirmations concerning the significance of the OT.”[5]
Next week, we will examine one final approach, the “Christotelic” approach.
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[1] Jason S. DeRouchie, “Redemptive-Historical, Christocentric Approach,” in Five Views of Christ in the Old Testament: Genre, Authorial Intent, and the Nature of Scripture, ed. Brian J. Tabb, Andrew M. King, and Stanley N. Gundry, Counterpoints: Bible and Theology (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Academic, 2022), 186.
[2] David Murray, “Bright Shadows (2): Preaching Christ from the Old Testament,” Puritan Reformed Journal 1, no. 2 (2009): 5-11.
[3] Jared Bumpers, “Christ Crucified: The Necessity of Preaching Christ from All of Scripture,” Southeastern Theological Review 13, no. 2 (2022): 37-44.
[4] Fred Malone, “Preaching Christ in Every Sermon,” Founders Journal, Issue 97 (Summer 2014): 9-15.
[5] Vern S. Poythress, “Christocentric Preaching,” The Southern Baptist Journal of Theology 22, no. 3 (2018): 47-66.