My personal study through the sermons of Acts have left me with three very broad observations.
1. The apostles have a single agenda in Acts: Jesus is Messiah and Lord.
This goes for Jewish and Gentile audiences.
2. The apostles only used the OT with people who knew the OT.
We usually find them using the OT in synagogues. Except for the Ethiopian official and Felix/Festus/Agrippa they only use the OT with Jews.
3. Because of #1 and in light of #2 the apostles' goal in their sermons was to prove to Jews that Jesus is Messiah and Lord using the OT Scriptures.
The key was to show from the OT that the Messiah had to suffer and then rise from the dead. Since Jesus claimed to be Messiah and rose from the dead, He is Messiah and Lord. The exception to this, as we have seen, is Stephen’s sermon. To help validate that Jesus was alive, the apostle’s preaching was accompanied by miraculous signs that were done in the name of Jesus. The Jews in Palestine had personally witnessed Jesus miraculous ministry for several years. The contamination of these miracles proved that Jesus was as alive as He was before His crucifixion.
Passages they use to show that the Messiah had to suffer:
Ps 2 Why do the Gentiles rage?
Ps 118 The stone that the builders rejected
Isa 53 He was led like a sheep to the slaughter
Passages they use to show that the Messiah would rise from the dead:
Ps 2 You are my Son, today I have become Your Father
Ps 16 You will not leave your Holy One in Hades
Isa 55 I will grant you the faithful covenant blessings made to David
Is any of this helpful for our preaching of the OT?
Only indirectly. The apostles used the OT to show a Jewish audience that the Jesus they had just killed was pre-determined to die at their hands and then rise from the dead. I don’t have the privilege to preach to a Jewish audience that just killed Jesus. In fact, I don’t think I have ever preached to a Jewish audience, friendly or hostile. My audience has never seen Jesus make a lame person walk. I have never made a lame person walk. When I preach the OT I preach it with a different agenda, for a different audience, in a different century.
What I can take away from it, though, is that the apostles testify that the OT is about Jesus. The cross has changed the way I must look at the OT. Jesus has fulfilled the prophetic expectation. The OT is a Christian book.
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1 comment:
I think it was your final paragraph that wrapped up this post well for me. As I read along, I was a little concerned that your observations were going to be a little too narrow, not necessarily taking in the bigger picture. Silly me! What was I thinking doubting you? :)
Excellent summary: The OT is a Christian book. The application may be different to our audiences, but the substance is still the same. Jesus is the message--always.
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