Old Testament Vs New Testament
“Old Testament vs. New Testament – What are the differences?”The Old Testament lays the foundation for the teachings and events found in the New Testament. The Bible is a progressive revelation. If you skip the first half of any good book and try to finish it, you will have a hard time understanding the characters, the plot, and the ending. In the same way, the New Testament is only completely understood when it is seen as a fulfilment of the events, characters, laws, sacrificial system, covenants, and promises of the Old Testament.If we only had the New Testament:
We would come to the gospels and not know why the Jews were looking for a Messiah (a Saviour King).
Without the Old Testament, we would not understand Why this Messiah was coming (see Isaiah 53)
We would not have been able to identify Jesus of Nazareth as the Messiah through the many detailed prophecies that were given concerning Him, e.g.,
His birthplace Micah 5:2(Verses 5:2-15 are numbered 5:1-14 in Hebrew text.)2 But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah, are only a small village among all the people of Judah.Yet a ruler of Israel will come from you, one whose origins are from the distant past.His manner of deathPsalm 22:1, 7-8, 14-181 My God, my God, why have you abandoned me? Why are you so far away when I groan for help ? ……….. 7 Everyone who sees me mocks me. They sneer and shake their heads, saying, 8 "Is this the one who relies on the Lord? Then let the Lord save him! If the Lord loves him so much, let the Lord rescue him!"Psalm 22:14-1814 My life is poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint. My heart is like wax, melting within me. 15 My strength has dried up like sun bakedclay. My tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth. You have laid me in the dust and left me for dead.16 My enemies surround me like a pack of dogs; an evil gang closes in on me. They have pierced my hands and feet.17 I can count all my bones. My enemies stare at me and gloat.18 They divide my garments among themselves and throw dice (Hebrew cast lots.) for my clothing.Psalm 69:2121 But instead, they give me poison (Or gall.) for food; they offer me sour wine for my thirst.His resurrectionPsalm 16:1010 For you will not leave my soul among the dead (Hebrew in Sheol)or allow your holy one (Or your Holy One) to rot in the grave.and many more details of His ministry Isaiah 52:13-15 and 9:2Without the Old Testament we would not understand
The Jewish customs that are mentioned in passing in the New Testament.
The perversions that the Pharisees had made to God’s law as they added their traditions to it.
Why Jesus was so upset as He cleansed the temple courtyard.
That we can make use of the same wisdom that Christ used in His many replies to His adversaries. The New Testament Gospels and the Acts of the apostles record many of the fulfilments of prophecies that were recorded hundreds of years earlier in the Old Testament. In the circumstances of Jesus’ birth, life, miracles, death, and resurrection as found in the Gospels, we find the fulfilment of the Old Testament prophecies that relate to the Messiah’s first coming. It is these details that validate Jesus’ claim to be the promised Christ. And even the prophecies in the New Testament (many of which are in the book of Revelation) are built upon earlier prophecies found in Old Testament books. These New Testament prophecies relate to events surrounding the second coming of Christ. Roughly two out of three verses in Revelation are based on or related to Old Testament verses.Also, because the revelation in Scripture is progressive, the New Testament brings into focus teachings that were only alluded to in the Old Testament.
The book of Hebrews describes how Jesus is the true High Priest and how His one sacrifice replaces all of the previous sacrifices, which were mere portrayals.
The Old Testament gives the Law, which has two parts: the commandments and the blessing/curse that comes from obedience or disobedience to those commands.
The New Testament clarifies that God gave those commandments to show men their need of salvation; they were never intended to be a means of salvation Romans 3:19The Old Testament describes the sacrificial system God gave the Israelites to temporarily cover their sins. The New Testament clarifies that this system alluded to the sacrifice of Christ through whom alone salvation is found Acts 4:12 Hebrews 10:4-10.
The Old Testament saw paradise lost.
The New Testament shows how paradise was regained for mankind through the second Adam (Christ) and how it will one day be restored.
The Old Testament declares that man was separated from God through sin (Genesis chapter 3)
The New Testament declares that man can now be restored in his relationship to God (Romans chapters 3ÔÇô6).
The Old Testament predicted the Messiah’s life.
The Gospels primarily record Jesus’ life, and the Epistles interpret His life and how we are to respond to all He has done.Without the Old Testament we would not understand the promises God will yet fulfil to the Jewish nation. As a result, we would not properly see that the tribulation period is a seven-year period in which He will specifically be working with the Jewish nation who rejected His first coming but who will receive Him at His second coming.
We would not understand how Christ’s future 1000-year reign fits in with His promises to the Jews, or how Gentiles will fit in. Nor would we see how the end of the Bible ties up the loose ends that wereunravelled in the beginning of the Bible, restoring the paradise that God originally created this world to be.
In summary
The Old Testament lays the foundation for, and was meant to prepare the Israelites for, the coming of the Messiah who would sacrifice Himself for the sins of the whole world
1 John 2:2.
The New Testament shares the life of Jesus Christ and then looks back on what He did and how we are to respond to His gift of eternal life and live our lives in gratitude for all He has done for us Romans 12.
Both testaments reveal the same holy, merciful, and righteous God who must condemn sin but who desires to bring to Himself a fallen human race of sinners through the forgiveness only possible through Christ’s atoning sacrifice.
In both testaments, God reveals Himself to us and how we are to come to Him through Jesus Christ.
In both testaments, we find all we need for eternal life and godly living
2 Timothy 3:15-17.
“Is Micah 5:2 a Messianic prophecy?”Micah 5:2predicts, "But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah, who are too little to be among the clans of Judah, from you shall come forth for me one who is to be ruler in Israel, whose coming forth is from of old, from ancient days."
The verse clearly speaks of a coming king in Israel, but does it predict the coming of the Messiah?Micah 5:2 makes a couple of predictions.
First, the birthplace of this future "ruler of Israel" would be Bethlehem Ephrathah. Since there were two locations known as Bethlehem at the time of Micah's writing, the addition of Ephrathah is significant. It specifies the Bethlehem in Judah, the portion of Israel in which the capital, Jerusalem, was located. Bethlehem was considered "little," or insignificant, among the cities of Judah, yet would serve as the birthplace of this future ruler.Second, the coming ruler of Jewish background was one "whose coming forth is from old, from ancient days." What else could this refer to other than the Messiah? Only the Messiah fits the description of a ruler in Israel whose origin was from times past. In fact, "from ancient days" is sometimes synonymous with "eternal" (as in Habakkuk 1:12). Only the Jewish Messiah could be a ruler in Israel from eternity past.This interpretation is strengthened by the fact that the Jewish religious leaders in the first century identified Micah 5:2 as a Messianic prophecy. In Matthew 2, wise men from the East visited King Herod in Jerusalem and asked where the king of the Jews had been born. Herod assembled all the chief priests and scribes, and "he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born. They told him, 'In Bethlehem of Judea,'" basing their answer on Micah 5:2.Only Jesus Christ fits the Messianic claims of Micah 5:2.
He was born in Bethlehem Ephrathah (Matthew 2; Luke 2:1-20).
Jesus claimed to be the Messiah, the ruler of Israel (John 4:25-26).
He also fits the description as being "from ancient times" or eternal (John 1:1Colossians 1:16-17).
No other ruler in Israel fits these requirements. Dozens of other direct prophecies in the Old Testament (some scholars cite hundreds) fit Jesus' birth, ministry, and death.Jesus told the Jews that the Law and the Prophets provided a clear witness that He was who He claimed to be. "These are the Scriptures that testify about me," He said (John 5:39).
Still today, those who investigate the prophecy of Micah 5:2 and other Messianic passages find compelling evidence that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God.