Book: Murray, David. Jesus on Every Page: 10 Simple Ways to Seek and Find Christ in the Old Testament. Thomas Nelson, 2013.
Point: Jesus is not merely a New Testament figure, rather, he is the focus of the entirety of the Scriptures.
Path: From a Covenantal point of view, Murray leads the reader on a personal journey through the Old Testament. He pauses to point out the sign posts of the Messiah, the pictures of his plan, and the intricate descriptions of his person. He also gives warnings of approaching any of the Scriptures without Christ in mind.
He begins by asking whether the NT authors really believed that Jesus was the center of the OT. With a definite affirmation, Murray dives in and looks for himself. Jesus can be seen in Creation, the Characters, the Angel of the LORD, the Law, History, Prophets, Types, Covenants, Proverbs, and Poems (table of contents).
Sources: Poythress, Guthrie, Greidanus, Wright, Edwards, and a variety of other OT and NT scholars
Agreement:
I appreciated the tone of the book, personal and pastoral.
The book as a whole helped me to love Christ more. I found myself eagerly awaiting my OT reading to discover how it pointed me to Jesus.
His critique of moralism was extremely helpful.
The way he divided the book and gave overviews suits it well to be a base for future study. It is not merely a “here are the references to Jesus in the OT” book, it is “here is what you need to look for as you read, study, listen, and meditate on Scripture.”
I’ve never been a big alliteration person, but I have to point out that he definitely takes it seriously! His titles helped me to follow his train of thought better.
Disagreement: From a more dispensational viewpoint, I found some to deny, some to disagree with, and some to learn from. Perhaps a surprise for the author, I agreed with much of it and think that other dispensationalists would as well!
The system through which a covenant theologian views Scripture is a very tight system, and there is much to agree with. It is a system though, and because of that, there are passages which have to give beneath the system and are forced to fold. Neither Covenant theologians, nor dispensationalists from any stripe, have it all figured out.
As a formatting note, the book would have been so much better if the endnotes would have been footnotes. The content really needed the verse references right on the page.
Personal App: If the Old Testament truly does focus on Christ, am I giving it the proper place in my own personal reading, meditation, teaching, and preaching?
Favorite Quote: There were many, but this one caught my attention: “He created sheep so He could teach sinners about how He is the Good Shepherd. He created birds to help His redeemed people live less anxious lives. He created camels to teach how hard it is for those who trust in riches to enter heaven. He created lilies and roses so He could compare Himself with them. He created water to explain how He refreshes and revives the thirsty” (47).
Stars: 4 out of 5
It would be worth another read and I would recommend it. I plan on reading it again, and referencing it as I teach through various Old Testament genres.
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