Last week I blogged on what is probably the most important issue in Old Testament preaching—in passages of the Bible that have a main point other than Jesus, should the preacher nevertheless preach Jesus from that passage? In other words, should a preacher preach something other than the main point of a passage in order to get to the cross?
In that post, I gave a few principles I’ve followed in OT exposition that have helped me avoid monotonous “Jesus is the better King” kind of sermons ever week. Those principles were:
- Preach the main point of the passage in context
- Connect that main point to a theological principle
- Connect that principle to Christ
As I mentioned, those are principles, not rules. Obviously these principles are really redundant, unnecessary, and superfluous when the passage is something like 2 Samuel 7 or Jeremiah 31. But what of other passages where the connection to the Savior is not evident necessarily on first reading? Here are some examples of this approach in passages that others have said don’t have the Savior as the main point of the text (including the examples from the Logos.com post titled, “Everything in the Bible Isn’t About Jesus”):
Leviticus 13 (Leprosy diagnosis)
The Main Point: Leprosy is dangerous, contagious, and a threat to God’s people. God cares for his people and takes their “cleanliness” seriously as a matter of safety for the nation.
Theological principles: There are many here, and I’d narrow it down based upon what the congregation had recently heard. But try these:
- Sin is contagious. Bad company corrupts good morals
- A person cannot heal themselves
- God desires holiness in the camp
- Things you are not in control of defile you.
That last one is the overarching principle behind Leviticus 13-15 and is incredibly important to preach in at least one of the sermons on this section. A woman is unclean from blood. It’s not a blame issue here, rather it’s a basic fact that people are sinful by nature. In addition to being fallen by our own actions, our problems run more than skin deep. We are sinful by nature, and there is nothing we can do about it other than shout “unclean, unclean!”
Christological Connection: If a preacher doesn’t end a sermon on Leviticus 13 by going to Matthew 8:1 (or some similar passage), then their ordination is null and void. This is pretty low hanging Christological fruit. Jesus heals leprosy, hugs a leper, doesn’t catch sin, and makes people holy. Game, set, match.
Judges 19 (concubine torn for the 12 tribes)
Main Point: Israel has become worse in the Promised Land than the nations they had dispossessed. If those nations deserved God’s wrath, certainly the Israelites do too. Something better change fast. They need a king, and they need one yesterday. And no, Gideon does not count.
Theological Principle: Sin accelerates, and sin is shocking. It requires more than it offers. The Levite would not have signed up for sexual immorality if he knew where this road led.
Christological Connection: Let’s see…an “innocent” person was killed to shock the twelve tribes into realization of their sinfulness, yet somehow through their obstinacy they still didn’t believe. This is a very short walk to Jesus lifted up on the cross. “Look at Jesus! Are you shocked by what your sin did? Behold his body pierced torn? Does that not awaken you?”
Extra points for titling the sermon “Torn for the 12 Tribes.”
Genesis 11 (Babel)
Main Point: Languages are confused, and nations are divided because of lack of faith in God. Never again will the nations speak the same language or share the same culture.
Theological Principles: Sin divides and confuses. It tears down, even when it tries to build up. Languages are a gift from God to mitigate sin, and excuse me for being a dispensationalist here, but different countries will bear the sword and go to war to stop other nations from accumulating power and influence, and that’s a good thing in a fallen world.
Christological Connection: Earlier I said “Never again will the nations speak the same language.” Well, I didn’t really mean that. Through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, the church brings together that which Babel separated. The Spirit speaks all languages, and creates a bond of unity. Acts 2 is too easy and obvious…better go to Acts 10 and the Gentile Pentecost. The phrase “Through the church the Holy Spirit reverses Babel” could be said five times here. This is one where “Christological Connection” becomes a “Pneumatological Connection” and if you want your money back, I’ll pay at the door.
1 Kings 18 (Elijah and Mt. Carmel)
Main Point: Israel has zero excuses for their idolatry because God pretty clearly humiliated Baal and vindicated Elijah. Ahab should be ashamed of himself, and everyone should listen to Elijah (spoiler: they won’t).
Theological Principles: Idolatry is insane. And funny in an ironic way. But mostly insane. Yahweh will not share his glory with another. Also, unlike the idols, Yahweh answers prayer.
Christological Connection: If you built up the uniqueness of Yahweh in the sermon (you did, right?), then I’d end by talking about how this unique God did come to earth and reveal himself. He was treated just like the Israelites would treat Elijah.
1 Samuel 14 (Jonathan and the honey)
Main Point: To put on a pretense of leadership, Saul made up a rule out of thin air. Jonathan didn’t hear the invented rule, because he was busy actually fighting and winning the war. Jonathan’s power was in God’s favor—the lack of which Saul tried to cover by self-made religion.
Theological Principles: The folly of legalism to promote godliness. Invented rules might have an appearance of power, but in the end are actually counter-productive to godliness. Three points: Ridiculous “righteous” rules Burden people under them, Confuse people who follow them, and Slander people who break them.
Christological Connection: I’d end with Colossians 2:20-23, and talk about how the death of Christ frees us from that kind of legalism, so prevalent in the religions of the world.
Proverbs 5 (Sexual Purity)
Main point: Adultery wrecks your life. As in seriously blows it up.
Theological Principles: Common grace of family. God designed families to be safe, secure, and a blessing to those in them. The husband has the capacity to harm so many people by violating God’s grace in this way. Sin has consequences, and those consequences are not erased at the “repentance” of the person who sinned.
Christological Connection: There are different ways to approach this, as with most of Proverbs. One way is to talk about forgiveness that is in Christ, even for the adulterer. While true, I’d probably go a different direction, and talk to those who have been wronged by adultery. I’d contrast their cheating husband with the faithfulness of Christ, and remind them of 1 Thessalonians 4:6, that Jesus will avenge their wrong, so they don’t have to.
Those are a few examples of passages I’ve heard people say you can’t preach Jesus well from, because he’s not the main point of the text. There are probably other ones you might be thinking of, and if so, drop them in the comments below. If there is enough of them, I’ll do another post on this.
