Guy, this is a very interesting lesson. Something to dwell on and think about. I have always felt God of the Old Testament seemed a harsh God and Jesus of the New Testament, more relatable, more personal. I guess that is the very point.
That's a very common experience for people--thanks for sharing. This was a challenging one to reflect on--less a strict interpretation and more a theological truth about Christianity that the passage evoked for me.
There is a vital balancing act to maintain.
On the one hand, there is an essential continuity between the OT and NT in terms of the character of God. Judgment and mercy are found in both OT and NT because the God of holy love is the same from Genesis to Revelation. Jesus is the lens through which we see and understand the whole of the Bible, which allows us to see the breadcrumbs in the OT that were hiding in plain sight.
Yet on the other hand, Jesus is the fullness of the self-revelation of God. God's encounters and actions in the OT show us a God of holy love who creates, gives boundaries/laws, pronounces and enacts judgment, shows mercy, delivers and saves, etc. Yet by the scriptures own account, the OT revelation of God, though faithful, is incomplete until the revelation of the Son. (John 1:1-18, Colossians 1:15-20)
So we have the same God, but the portrait comes fully into focus in Jesus. He is the definitive picture of the fullness of God's character and will.
Guy, this is a very interesting lesson. Something to dwell on and think about. I have always felt God of the Old Testament seemed a harsh God and Jesus of the New Testament, more relatable, more personal. I guess that is the very point.
That's a very common experience for people--thanks for sharing. This was a challenging one to reflect on--less a strict interpretation and more a theological truth about Christianity that the passage evoked for me.
There is a vital balancing act to maintain.
On the one hand, there is an essential continuity between the OT and NT in terms of the character of God. Judgment and mercy are found in both OT and NT because the God of holy love is the same from Genesis to Revelation. Jesus is the lens through which we see and understand the whole of the Bible, which allows us to see the breadcrumbs in the OT that were hiding in plain sight.
Yet on the other hand, Jesus is the fullness of the self-revelation of God. God's encounters and actions in the OT show us a God of holy love who creates, gives boundaries/laws, pronounces and enacts judgment, shows mercy, delivers and saves, etc. Yet by the scriptures own account, the OT revelation of God, though faithful, is incomplete until the revelation of the Son. (John 1:1-18, Colossians 1:15-20)
So we have the same God, but the portrait comes fully into focus in Jesus. He is the definitive picture of the fullness of God's character and will.
Thanks for sharing your knowledge!