Preaching Christ from the OT.

Prof. Hywel Jones, Westminster Theological Seminary in California, told me many years ago that when preaching from the OT, we must find the shortest route to Christ, for these are they which testify of Him (Lk.24:27). This must be done without forcing the text to say what it was never meant to say, of course. But the OT Scriptures all point to Christ, our great Prophet, Priest and King. And he is to be seen looking out through the windows of the OT, and the preacher's job is to let his hearers see Him clearly.

When a sermon is preached from the OT that makes no reference to Christ at all, I must conclude that such a sermon is not specifically Christian. It could well have been preached in any Jewish synagogue. That is not to say that the OT does not have a message for the people of God and for the world in its own right; for it does. But Christians must be taught in what way the OT holds forth the things concerning our Saviour.

But what a shame it is to hear sermons from the OT and Christ is not mentioned at all! These Scriptures are all about Christ; they speak of Him; it was these very Scriptures that the apostles preached from, as seen from the sermons in the early chapters of Acts. Christian preachers need to learn how to preach Christ in all the Scriptures, and apply Him to the needs of the congregations.

We are Christians, not Jews. So we want to hear Christ speaking to us in the OT. We must look for the shortest route to Christ from every OT text.