Dr. David Murray is professor of Old Testament and Practical Theology at Puritan Reformed Theological Seminary and Pastor of Grand Rapids Free Reformed Church (Grand Rapids, MI) and author of the new Jesus On Every Page: Ten Simple Ways to Seek and Find Christ in the Old Testament. We love the title and the subject matter of the book, and so we asked Dr. Murray to address some questions for our readers.
Books At a Glance:
Dr. Murray, let’s begin on a personal note. In your own background were you exposed to preaching that “found Jesus” in the Old Testament well? Was it taught or exemplified well for you in your academic training? What factors influenced your interest in this area of study?
David Murray:
No, I did not have good models growing up. The Old Testament was taught either in a very historical way, almost like a lecture on an ancient culture and religion, or else it tended to be speculative and fanciful, especially when dealing with the Old Testament typology.
My Academic training did not help me either, tending to focus again on the historical.
The biggest influence upon me was my father-in-law who was a wonderful preacher of the Old Testament, and whose pastoral focus was often Christ-centered preaching from the Old Testament. It was not only warm and spiritual, but also based on sound exegesis and hermeneutics.
My interest was stimulated by being “forced” to train students for the ministry. My thought was, there has to be a better way of doing this, and there had to be a way of teaching what my father-in-law practiced.
Books At a Glance:
There have been ways of approaching this subject that you would want to distance yourself from. So let’s clarify: When you say that Christ is the focus and subject of the Old Testament, what do you mean? And perhaps also, what don’t you mean?
David Murray:
When I say Jesus is on every page of the Old Testament, I don’t mean He is on every page in the same way. For example, in some places, He is there as Angel of the Lord; in other places, He is revealed in direct Messianic prophecy; in other places, He is there simply as the Sovereign creator and upholder of all things, moving History forwards towards its redemptive end. The biggest mistake people make in applying a Christocentric hermeneutic to the Old Testament is taking one method, say typology, and applying it in the same way to every text.
Books At a Glance:
Highlight for us, please, the Old Testament warrant for our conviction that Jesus is, in fact, its subject.
David Murray:
Graeme Goldsworthy argues that we should begin our study of the Old Testament by starting with the New Testament. What he means by this is that the New Testament provides us with infallible principles of Old Testament interpretation, not just how we should interpret the Old Testament but also how Old Testament believers interpreted the Old Testament. For example, Jesus said that Moses wrote of Him (John 5:46). Abraham rejoiced to see Christ’s day (John 8:56) and Moses chose Christ’s reproaches (Hebrews 11:25-26). He said that Old Testament believers should have understood that the Old Testament predicted His sufferings and glory, because the law and the prophets testified of Him (Luke 24:4-7). Peter tells us that the prophets had the Spirit of Christ, predicted his sufferings and glory, and knew that these things would be clearer to later believers (1 Peter 1:10-12).
These verses, and a number of other similar verses, taken together tell us that the Old Testament was about Jesus and provide the lens with which to understand Old Testament Scripture and believers.
This all confirms to us that verses such as Genesis 3:15, Genesis 12:1-3, Genesis 49:10, Deuteronomy 18:18, and numerous others are about the coming Messiah and that the whole Old Testament from Genesis 3:15 onwards has a Christ-centered and Christ-directed momentum.
Books At a Glance:
Christ-centeredness (in hermeneutics and in ministry) is “in” again, which we think is a good thing. And there is a growing body of literature given to address the subject. What contribution do you hope to make in your new book?
David Murray:
I wanted my book to be a more accessible treatment of the subject. There’s a lot written for pastors and academics, but I felt there was a need for a more entry-level book. I also felt that many books dealt with one or two ways of finding and enjoying Christ in the Old Testament. I wanted to highlight many more ways.
Books At a Glance:
We were interested to see that you devoted an entire chapter to the book of Proverbs, a book often puzzling to teachers and preachers in this regard. The moral, ethical, and “live like this” point of a given proverb is usually obvious enough, but how do you suggest these are intended to point us to Jesus?
David Murray:
The whole book of Proverbs cries out for the ideal Wisdom, for Mr (or Mrs) Wisdom. We read it, see the ideal Wisdom, and think, “That’s not me, and it’s not like anyone I know either. Where is such Wisdom to be found?” It creates a longing for Wisdom. It causes men and women to look away from themselves.
But that’s not all, the book also highlights Wisdom as part of the Godhead (Proverbs 8, especially verse 22 onwards). This means that Wisdom’s appeals in Proverbs 1-9 are coming directly from God and calling to Him as the source of all wisdom. Proverbs 8 hints at one of the persons of the Godhead embodying that wisdom. But it’s the New Testament that finally reveals Jesus as the Wisdom of God (Matthew 11:19; 1 Corinthians 1:24; Colossians 2:3), as the One who perfectly embodied all that Wisdom was in Proverbs. He lived out the book perfectly.
Books At a Glance:
Finally, please offer some suggestions for pastors and others who teach and preach. How can we develop a “Christocentric eye?” What steps can we take to develop a more consistent and responsible reading of the Old Testament that sees Jesus there as he is intended to be seen? And perhaps you could address Old Testament narrative specifically, a notoriously puzzling genre for preachers who wish to be Christ-centered.
David Murray:
Wow! That’s about ten lectures you are asking for! I think the best thing I can do is refer you to 7 Tips for Preaching from the Old Testament. Some other helpful resources can be found at Top 200 Online Resources on Christ in the Old Testament and here are 70 Articles on Christ in the Old Testament that I wrote myself.
Books At a Glance:
Thanks so much for your taking the time to talk to our readers … and for your interest and dedication to make Christ known.
