Book Promo: Jesus and the Old Testament

Brandon Smith and Everett Berry have written a charming and useful little book on Jesus and the Old Testament. Gosh, I get depressed when I ask student precisely how the gospel is “according to the Scripture,” it is the sound of crickets, deer in headlights, or Trump at a spelling bee. Just blank faces. Lots of Christians have no idea how the OT and the NT fit together (which is why I drill into them Pss 110, 2, 118, and 16, like, ad nauseum). This is a good book that can help people remedy that lacuna in knowledge. Not too technical, not to shallow. A good read.

For many, the Bible is a book of life tips, inspiring words, and lofty tales. For others, the Bible is a book that’s boring, outdated, and difficult to understand. But both of these views miss the heart of God’s Word. In They Spoke of Me, Brandon Smith and Everett Berry show us that the Bible is actually one beautiful story centered on the life and work of Jesus Christ. When Jesus said to his disciples, “The Scriptures spoke of me,” he was telling them that he is the key to understanding God’s story of redemption, all the way back through the Old Testament. Explaining how nine key Old Testament stories point to Jesus, Smith and Berry help readers get a glimpse of what Jesus meant. In turn, readers will better understand the powerful message of the gospel that is found on every page of the Bible.

“Brandon Smith and Everett Berry, in this important and accessible work, are part of the larger movement reclaiming biblical theology for the church. They don’t just claim, however, to do biblical theology. They show that biblical theology rightly done is Christ-centered, that Jesus himself unlocks the story of the Old Testament.”
– Thomas R. Schreiner (from the Foreword)