Bright Shadows (2): Preaching Christ From The Old Testament

By Dr. David Murray

In the last issue of this journal, we examined Christ’s view of the Old Testament by considering His words on the Emmaus Road (Luke 24:25 –32). In this article, we will probe the prophets’ view of the Old Testament, as described to us by Peter (1 Pet. 1:11-12). This will further underline Christ’s view of the Old Testament—that it testified of Him. Specifically, we will learn that Christ and His salvation were anticipated by the prophets, announced by the apostles, and analyzed by the angels.

Anticipated By The Prophets

Peter taught that Old Testament prophets made predictions, studied these predictions, and understood them. Let’s investigate these three stages of prophetic experience.

The Prophets Predicted

1 Peter 1:10-11 Of which salvation the prophets have inquired and searched diligently, who prophesied of the grace that should come unto you: searching what, or what manner of time the Spirit of Christ which was in them did signify, when it testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ, and the glory that should follow.

The “Spirit of Christ” was in the Old Testament prophets (v. 11). This term, “the Spirit of Christ” is used interchangeably with “Spirit of God” in Romans 8:9, and, in Acts 16:7, “the Spirit of Jesus” is the same as “The Holy Spirit” (v. 6). So, just like the New Testament apostles, the Old Testament prophets were inspired by the Holy Spirit. Wayne Grudem goes further to argue that the title “Spirit of Christ” “suggests that predicting the coming Messiah was the primary focus of his [the Holy Spirit’s] activity in the Old Testament prophets.” [1] This unbreakable bond between all Scripture, Christ, and the Holy Spirit is described succinctly by the Apostle John: “the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy” (Rev. 19:10).

We should not, therefore, be surprised to read that the Old Testament prophets, like the New Testament apostles, were focused on “salvation” and “prophesied of the grace that should come” (v. 10). Indeed, not only did they preach salvation by grace, but they also preached the way this would be accomplished—by a suffering Messiah (v. 11).

So, through the prophets, the Spirit of Christ “testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ, and the glory that should follow” (v. 11). The Spirit took the things of Christ and showed them to the prophets ( John 16:15). Regarding the scriptural location of these predictions, Grudem wrote:

If we are to look for examples of this predicting activity, we may in fact look through the whole of the Old Testament, for the New Testament authors can sometimes speak of the whole of the Old Testament as the writings of “the prophets” (see Luke 24:27; also Acts 2:30 on David as a prophet). In this sense the predictions of the sufferings of the Messiah begin with the prediction of the “seed” of the woman who would be bruised in the heel by the serpent (Gen. 3:15), and continue through much of the Old Testament writings…. yet all these verses are only a beginning, for they do not include the “acted-out prophecies” seen in the historical events of the Old Testament, where in the lives of people like Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, Joshua, David, Solomon, Jonah, and often the nation of Israel generally, God brought to pass events which foreshadowed a pattern of life that would be later followed by “one greater than Solomon,” one who was David’s greater Son. [2]

The Prophets Studied

It was not always immediately or entirely clear to the prophets what their predictions meant. They therefore “inquired and searched diligently” into the salvation they prophesied (v. 10). Specifically, they searched ”what, or what manner of time the Spirit of Christ which was in them did signify when it testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ and the glory that should follow” (v. 11). The Greek words used for “inquire” and “search” indicate an active, earnest, careful, and diligent pursuit of the meaning of their own and of previous prophecies (e.g., Dan. 9:2). As J. Ramsey Michaels writes, these are Christ-centered inquiries:

Even though the prophets’ ministry was long before the fact, Peter depicts them as pointing not to an undefined messianic figure but specifically to Jesus Christ. “Christ” is a name to Peter rather than a title, and he writes as if the prophets viewed matters in the same way. [3]

This brings us to the much debated question over the phrase in verse 11: τίνα ἢ ποῖον καιρὸν [tina e poion kairon], translated quite literally by the Authorized Version as “what or what manner of time.” This implies that the prophets did not puzzle so much over who the person was, but only over what time and what manner of time — the time and the circumstances. This translation and interpretation maximizes their knowledge.

Other versions translate the phrase τίνα ἢ ποῖον καιρὸν as “what person or time.” This translation implies that the Old Testament prophets knew little or nothing about the person of whom they prophesied. They did not know who, what, when, or how. This maximizes their ignorance.

The former translation and interpretation, which maximizes the prophets’ knowledge, is to be preferred. It is more consistent with the surrounding verses, which indicate the prophets knew much. From 1 Peter 1:10-12, Walter Kaiser outlines five truths that the prophets were certain of:

They knew they were predicting that: (1) the Messiah would come; (2) the Messiah would suffer; (3) the Messiah would be glorified (in kingly splendor); (4) the order of events 2 and 3 was that the suffering came first, and then the glorious period followed; and (5) this message had been revealed to the prophets not only for their own day, but also for a future generation such as the church of Peter’s audience (v. 12). What then were the prophets all stirred up about in their searching and inquiring? It was the question of time…. Therefore, 1 Peter 1:10 –12 does not teach that these men were curious, yet often ignorant as to exact impact or meaning of what they wrote and predicted. Theirs was not a search for the meaning of what they wrote; it was an inquiry into the temporal aspects of the subject, which went beyond what they wrote. [4]

In further support of this, there are Old Testament examples of prophets asking the “When?” question (Dan. 9, 12:5 –13; Hab. 2:1-4).

Having said all that, however, we must emphasize that the rejection of the “Who?” translation does not imply that the prophets had comprehensive and complete knowledge of Christ. Kaiser illustrates this: “There is, of course, a sense in which we now do understand the predictions of the prophets and apostles better than they did. Consider the difference between a man who visits a country and describes it and one who writes about it only from the perspective of extensive studies, but who never personally visited that country.” [5]

Our conclusion, then, is that the prophets knew enough to answer the “Who?” question, and so their major inquiry surrounded the “When?” question. They also, at times, considered the “How?” question—what events and features would characterize the Messiah’s day.

The Prophets Understood

1 Peter 1:11-12 Searching what, or what manner of time the Spirit of Christ which was in them did signify, when it testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ, and the glory that should follow. unto whom it was revealed, that not unto themselves, but unto us they did minister the things, which are now reported unto you by them that have preached the gospel unto you with the Holy Ghost sent down from heaven; which things the angels desire to look into.

Having predicted and then researched the meaning of their predictions, the prophets subsequently came to an understanding about their predictions. They learned that “not unto themselves, but unto us they did minister the things which are now reported unto you by them that have preached the gospel unto you with the Holy Ghost sent down from heaven” (v. 11). They would have gradually grown in understanding of the Messiah they were looking for. But Peter tells us that they especially came to understand that their predictions would be better understood by, and therefore would be more useful to, those who lived in Messiah’s day than to themselves. They recognized that many of their prophecies would make sense to their readers only once they had happened. Sidney Greidanus highlights this: “The power and grace of Christ’s redemption are present in the Old Testament long before he is born. At the same time, Old Testament believers look forward to the coming of Christ, when they will receive ‘far more light.’ In the meantime, God gave many promises of the coming Messiah and raised up types that prefigured him.” [6]

This does not mean that the Old Testament presents only the broad, general characteristics of Christ’s person and work while the New Testament fills in the details. Although the New Testament is more detailed in some respects, the Old Testament is more detailed in other respects. For example, nowhere in the New Testament are we given such insight into the emotions and feelings of the Lord Jesus during His sufferings as we are in Psalms 22 and 69. Likewise, Isaiah 53 contains considerable detail.

Thus, it is not lack of detail that is taught here, but a lack of full understanding. That lack was not due to a lack of spirituality or holiness, but simply because many of the predicted events could not be understood until they happened. Even the disciples of Christ had limited understanding of the person and work of Christ until after His resurrection.

Announced By The Apostles

The same “things” that were predicted, studied, and, in a measure, understood by the prophets “are now reported unto you by them that have preached the gospel unto you with the Holy Ghost sent down from heaven” (v. 11). The prophets ministered the same “things” which the apostles “now reported”; the Old Testament “things” and the New Testament “reports” were identical in substance. The major difference, apart from the clothes the truths were dressed in, is that, since Pentecost, the New Testament “reports” are accompanied by a greater measure of the “Holy Spirit sent down from heaven,” giving the preaching greater power and better enlightening the minds of the hearers (Luke 24:49; Acts 1:8, 2:33).

Analyzed By The Angels

The same things that were predicted by the prophets and announced by the apostles are analyzed by angels: “Which things the angels desire to look into” (v. 12).

ἐπιθυμεω epithumeo means “desire” or “long” and is used of strong desires both for good and for evil. Here it is the sinless longings of angels that are being revealed. 

παρακύπτω parakypto means to “peek or peep into a situation from the vantage point of an outsider, usually one who is not seen by those being watched.” [7] Here then we have unseen and curious heavenly observers who bend down to take a closer look at something.

And what is it that they want to analyze? They have a great range of possible subjects, but they all uniformly choose one: the salvation of sinners. They know more about this subject than any living person and yet, to this day, want to learn even more, as the present tense of the verb makes clear. How do they learn? It is “by the church” that the “principalities and powers in heavenly places” come to know “the manifold wisdom of God” in salvation (Eph. 3:10).

Their interest in this subject stems not from their own need of salvation—they have no need. Neither does their interest stem from interest in the plight of fallen angels — they have no remedy. Rather, they care about what God cares about. Grudem concludes:

Though the world may think such Christians insignificant and worthy of pity or scorn, angels — who see ultimate reality from God’s perspective — find them to be objects of intense interest, for they know that these struggling believers are actually the recipients of God’s greatest blessings and honored participants in a great drama at the focal point of universal history. We too may rightly think of our Christian lives as no less privileged and no less interesting to holy angels than the lives of Peter’s readers. [8]

Principles Of Interpretation

• like the New Testament apostles, all the Old Testament prophets were inspired by the Spirit of Christ.
• like the New Testament apostles, all the Old Testament prophets spoke and wrote about Christ’s sufferings and subsequent glory.
• like the New Testament apostles, all the Old Testament prophets preached a message of salvation by grace alone.
• The Old Testament prophets knew “who” they were predicting (the Messiah), their “ignorance” being largely concerning the timing and circumstances of His coming.
• There is an essential continuity between the Christ-centered salvation message of the Old Testament and that of the New.
• We can expect to find the sufferings and glories of Jesus Christ in Old Testament prophecies.
• Searching for and finding Christ is still the key that unlocks the Old Testament.9
• We may legitimately preach Christ in His fullness from the Old Testament, even where the prophet did not fully understand all that he was writing.
• While the Old and New Testament have the same gospel message, there is a difference in the efficacy due to the greater measure of the Holy Spirit.

Notes

1. Wayne Grudem, Commentary on 1 Peter (leicester: IVP, 1995), 69.
2. Ibid., 70.
3. J. Ramsey Michaels, Word Biblical Commentary on 1 Peter (logos library System, Electronic Edition).
4. Walter C. Kaiser, The Uses of the Old Testament in the New (Chicago: Moody, 1985), 20.
5. Ibid., 23.
6. Sidney Greidanus, Preaching Christ from the Old Testament (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1999), 136.
7. Wayne Grudem, Commentary on 1 Peter (leicester: IVP, 1995), 73.
8. Ibid., 73.
9. Michael Barrett, Beginning at Moses (Greenville: Ambassador, 2001), 23.