When I was a young Christian, I had always dreaded reading the Old Testament. I didn’t understand why it was always full of long genealogies, proverbs that I couldn’t make sense of, and prophetic imageries that are just totally confusing.

Many of you resonate with this. With the New Testament being so much easier to read and understand, we often wonder if we should bother going through the challenges to relate to the Old Testament.

After all, aren’t we already “New Testament Christians”?

Yet, I have come to learn that the Old Testament can be very meaningful if we view it rightly. Below, let’s get into the three reasons why it is so crucial to study.

1. The Old Testament speaks of Jesus

“You study the Scriptures diligently because you think that in them you have eternal life. These are the very Scriptures that testify about me,” (John 5:39)

While Jesus might not have come to earth during the Old Testament times, Jesus actually explicitly said that the Scripture spoke of Him. This tells us that God actually intends for us to understand who Jesus is even in the context of the Old Testament!

For instance, Genesis 1 to 12 could tell us why humanity needs a Saviour. The life of Moses prefigures what a perfect prophet could look like, and in Deuteronomy 18:15-18 we are told specifically what Christ would come to do as a prophet.

The New Testament, by itself, is insufficient in showing us who Christ is, and what He has come to fulfil.

We know from our human relationships that if we want to know and relate well to someone, we should try to know everything we can about the person. It is the same with Christ – Jesus wants us to know Him intimately.

If we follow the Scriptures carefully, we will be able to trace God’s long history of preparation towards His ultimate plan for salvation. And we will be amazed by how everything culminates in Christ. 

2. Jesus is the fulfilment of the Old Testament

Riding on the previous point, the Old Testament helps us to appreciate the promises of the Father that Jesus has fulfilled. 

While there are prophecies that speak more explicitly about the Messiah, there are also many laws and rituals that point to the role that Christ plays in our redemption. 

For example, the Old Testament features frequent scenes of animals being killed and their blood being drained during sacrificial rituals. This graphic scene that happened throughout Jewish history shows us the severity of sin and the requirement of blood as restitution. 

In this context, we would understand that Jesus’ crucifixion and death on the cross were necessary as an ultimate sacrifice for all of us. His perfect blood has redeemed us once and for all. 

3. The Old Testament teaches us to hope

More than half of the Old Testament is narrative in nature, and it tells us about the journey of God’s people from many generations before us.

Despite the different societal contexts, these narratives can actually help us to relate to these people of God emotionally.

Much like them, we may face feelings of desperation and helplessness in life as we are still living in an imperfect world separated from God.

Seeing the pain and suffering of the Israelites teaches us to hope because it shows us humanity’s desperate need for God. It shows us how important and life-changing hope is to mankind.

The entire account of the Old Testament leads us to discover how Christ eventually came as Immanuel – God with us. Jesus is indeed the hope of the world!

Now that we know how meaningful the Old Testament can be, how then should we read it? Keep a look out for Part 2 of this ongoing series!

This article is contributed by ACTS College. Find out more about their courses here.