Abstract
Considering the relationship between the Testaments is not a new topic for John Goldingay, David Allan Hubbard Professor of Old Testament at Fuller Theological Seminary and priest-in-charge at St. Barbara’s Episcopal Church in Pasadena, California. He is also the author of the recent book, Do We Need the New Testament? Letting the Old Testament Speak for Itself (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2015) in which Goldingay argued that the First Testament is intelligible in its own right, without the aid of the New Testament. In the volume under review, however, Goldingay approaches the First Testament by looking at how the New Testament writers interpret it. He argues that the First Testament is essential not only for the New Testament writers, but also for the church, to understand Jesus.
Noting that the New Testament begins with an appeal to Scripture, Goldingay finds inspiration in Matthew’s use of the First Testament. He considers Matthew’s hermeneutical approach to be “systematic”—whether or not the evangelist intended it to be—and thus uses “Matthew’s five ways of reading the First Testament” as a convenient way to frame his study (2–3): story to show how Jesus is connected to Israel’s narratives (chapter 2), promises that are fulfilled in Jesus (chapter 3), scriptural ideas or images used by the evangelist to portray who Jesus is (chapter 4), a relationship to God modeled by Jesus (chapter 5), and teaching about how to conduct one’s life (chapter 6). Though Matthew serves as the basis for Goldingay’s systematic approach, the study is by no means limited to Matthew’s Gospel. The reader will also examine Scripture through Luke and Acts, the letters of Paul (particularly Romans and 1 Corinthians), Hebrews, and Revelation. The author seeks to generate new insights into the biblical text by approaching the First Testament from the angle of the New Testament writers.
Goldingay is surveying vast amounts of material in this book. Though the reader may not agree with some of the author’s interpretations, Goldingay invites the reader into a conversation with the biblical text. At the end of each chapter, he includes helpful questions to probe deeper into the reader’s own presuppositions and to reflect on the material covered. The questions also help the reader consider the implications of this study for the church today.
Overall, this book is engaging, steeped in First Testament theology, presented with the skill of a teacher, and written with the heart of a priest. While many studies of the New Testament’s use of Scripture focus on biblical quotations, Goldingay invites the reader to see the First Testament through multiple lenses—in the stories, teaching, illustrations, images, and theological thought of the New Testament writers. When reading this volume, one is left with the impression that the New Testament writers could not grapple with who Jesus is had it not been for the stories of their faith that shaped what they thought they knew about God and God’s work in the world. In that way, this book is successful. As Goldingay argues in the last chapter, “The First Testament provides the foundation and the raw material for Jesus’ moral teaching; his teaching about how human life is to be lived. He is again ‘fulfilling’ or ‘filling out’ the First Testament, speaking like a prophet, helping people to see implications in the Scriptures that they might be avoiding, and inviting us to study what they have to teach us about the way we should live” (208).
This book will surely spark thoughtful conversation and would be appropriate for group studies in a congregation or for any learner who wants to grapple more with how the writers of the New Testament are interpreting their Scripture in light of Jesus.
Carla Swafford Works
Wesley Theological Seminary