The Old Testament, in both its legal and prophetic dimensions, served as the divine groundwork for the gospel of Christ. Though corrupted by legalism in later Judaism, it was revered by Christ and the apostles as God’s preparatory revelation. This chapter explores the dual function of the Mosaic law and the prophetic tradition as instruments of repentance and hope, leading ultimately to the advent of the Messiah.
1. The Law: Discipline and Promise
The Mosaic law represented the clearest divine moral revelation prior to Christ. Its central expression, the Decalogue, encapsulates the heart of piety and ethics: love for God and love for neighbor. The law provided a mirror of righteousness, exposing human sin and guilt, and thus served, as Paul taught, as a “schoolmaster” to lead people to Christ (Galatians 3:24).
The Levitical system of sacrifices reinforced this awareness of sin. Daily offerings in the tabernacle and later in the temple reminded Israel of its need for atonement. The ceremonial laws, rich with typology, pointed forward to the one perfect sacrifice—Christ’s death on the cross.
Yet beneath the rigorous demands of law lay a promise: that God would provide righteousness and mercy. The law was not divine mockery; embedded in its structure was the hope of future reconciliation. Thus, the law shaped a religion of repentance, designed not to condemn ultimately, but to prepare the way for divine grace.
2. The Prophets: Hope and Fulfillment
If the law convicted, prophecy comforted. From the earliest moments after the Fall, divine promises of redemption were spoken (e.g., Genesis 3:15). In Abraham’s faith and in Moses’ final speeches, hope shines through. Prophecy was not an afterthought to law but its organic complement—the gospel embedded in the old covenant.
As Israel’s national history unfolded, prophetic voices emerged more clearly. From the time of Samuel onward, prophets not only applied the law but exposed its abuses, proclaimed divine judgment, and announced future salvation. They offered a dynamic spiritual check against rigid priestly ritualism.
In the pre-exilic era, prophets like Isaiah, Hosea, and Micah announced a coming king from David’s line, a suffering servant, a preacher of good news to the poor. Isaiah, in particular, presents a near-complete portrait of the Messiah, including themes of incarnation, atonement, and universal peace. During the exile, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and Daniel ministered to a broken people, blending judgment with future restoration. Post-exilic prophets like Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi rekindled eschatological hope as Israel rebuilt the temple and waited in silence for four centuries.
These prophecies culminated in John the Baptist, who embodied both the severity of Moses and the vision of Isaiah. His fiery preaching in the wilderness called for repentance, yet he was the first to proclaim Jesus as the “Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.” His mission marked the end of the prophetic era and the dawn of the gospel age.
3. The Old Testament as Christian Preparation
The Old Testament religion was both a discipline and a promise. Its laws inculcated the need for purity, and its prophets nurtured hope for divine rescue. In the fullness of time, the Messiah came not to destroy this heritage but to fulfill it. The faithful remnant—Simeon, Anna, Mary, the disciples of John—recognized him as the One to whom the law and the prophets pointed.
In this way, the Jewish Scriptures became the soil from which the church sprang. The continuity is not of mere tradition but of divine orchestration. The God who thundered from Sinai also spoke tenderly through Isaiah and finally revealed himself in Jesus of Nazareth. Law and prophecy were not ends in themselves but servants to the incarnate Word, whose kingdom would transform shadows into substance and hope into fulfillment.
