Should I Interpret the Old Testament like the Apostles Did?

Last updated on: June 8, 2021 at 5:27 am by Michael F. Bird

Should I Interpret the Old Testament like the Apostles Did? 2021-01-10T18:34:29-04:00 Michael F. Bird

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Here is an excerpt from 7 Things I Wish Christians Knew About the Bible, which releases today!

One cheeky thing I do with my students is take them through some New Testament passages to see how the Old Testament is being interpreted by the apostles. I get them to read the infancy narratives of Matthew 1–2, the Johannine passion narrative in John 19, Paul’s lengthy discourse about Israel in Romans 9–11, Paul’s polemical argumentation in Galatians 3–4, and John’s vision of the woman and the dragon in Revelation 11–12. I then ask them, “Should we interpret the Old Testament like the early church did?” These chapters contain some genuinely perplexing examples of how the apostles, evangelists, and early church in general interpreted the Old Testament. I mean, Paul mentions taking things “allegorically” (Galatians 4:24 NRSV); John the Seer says his vision should be understood “spiritually” (Revelation 11:8 CEB); many of Matthew’s Old Testament citations do not strike you as obvious messianic texts when read on their own terms; and Paul’s argumentation about Israel is densely packed with an avalanche of citations and allusions to the Old Testament to the point of being overwhelmed by them. It is no wonder that many of my students feel conflicted, confused, and apprehensive, and that many are reluctant to follow the apostles in their biblical interpretation.

Now this is an allegory: these women are two covenants. One woman, in fact, is Hagar, from Mount Sinai, bearing children for slavery. Now Hagar is Mount Sinai in Arabia and corresponds to the present Jerusalem, for she is in slavery with her children. But the other woman corresponds to the Jerusalem above; she is free, and she is our mother. For it is written, “Rejoice, you childless one, you who bear no children, burst into song and shout, you who endure no birth pangs; for the children of the desolate woman are more numerous than the children of the one who is married.”
(Galatians 4:24–27 NRSV).

Their dead bodies will lie on the street of the great city that is spiritually called Sodom and Egypt, where also their Lord was crucified. And for three and a half days, members of the peoples, tribes, languages, and nations will look at their dead bodies, but they won’t let their dead bodies be put in a tomb.
(Revelation 11:8–9 CEB)

The early church’s interpretation of the Old Testament appears so foreign to how most Christians have been taught to read Scripture. Some suppose that the apostles are able to undertake their intricate interpretative maneuvers with christological cartwheels because they have a special license to do some crazy things. As a result, we should obey them, but we should not follow them in their interpretive methods.

However, in defense of apostolic biblical interpretation, I tell my students this: if Jesus is the climax of the covenant, if Jesus is the fulfilment of the law, if Jesus is the one who the prophets were pointing ahead to, if the Scriptures indeed testify to Jesus, if the Old Testament is filled with types that anticipate Jesus as Lord and Saviour, then it is not merely legitimate to read Scripture in a christotelic fashion, it is demanded as an article of faith. To read Scripture as a Christian is to regard Scripture as finding its substance, coherence, and unity in Jesus Christ.

As Christians whose faith was established on the foundations of the prophets and the apostles (Ephesians 2:20) we are obligated to follow after their strategy for preaching and teaching Scripture. So, yes, you should interpret the Bible likes the apostles did if you claim to belong to a church that is based on the gospel that the apostles preached. What is more, after 2000 years of interpretation, this apostolic manner of Christian reading, with its spiritual dimension and christotelic focus, is far more stable, enduring, and coherent than the endless fads and fragmentation that has characterized secular approaches to the Bible.

Uncategorized

Previous Post

June 8, 2021

Man and Women in Christ

Next Post

June 11, 2021 The Theology of Pope Benedict XVI

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Bible Lands Blogosphere Book Review Calvinism Colleges & Universities Ecclesiology Emerging Adulthood Evangelicalism Foreign Affairs Gospel of John Greco-Roman World Humor Just War N. T. Wright Old Testament Resurrection Terrorism Theological Education Travel Uncategorized Writing

Select a Month September 2021 July 2021 June 2021 May 2021 April 2021 March 2021 February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 October 2020 September 2020 August 2020 July 2020 June 2020 May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011 January 2011

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

What is the largest predominantly Catholic country in South America?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Brazil Mexico Argentina Peru

Books by This Author Books by Mike Bird

See All Titles »