Daily Devotional | The Prophets and the Gospel

How does the Old Testament connect to the New Testament? In his famous sermon on the Day of Pentecost, the apostle Peter referred to prophecies by Joel and David (Acts 2). The Old Testament prophet Joel predicted the coming Day of the Lord, and Peter proclaimed that it had now arrived in the person of Christ. David believed God’s promise that one of his descendants would sit on his throne eternally. This too was fulfilled by Christ.

Sadly, we too often think of the Old and New Testaments in opposite terms. We view the OT God as grim and wrathful; the NT God as loving and merciful. We see the OT as full of law; the NT as full of grace. Yet in truth they create one cohesive story. There is only “before” and “after” Christ, the hinge of history.

This is why Peter used words like “salvation” and “grace” to frame the entire ministry of the Old Testament prophets (v. 10). They eagerly looked to the future to find out more specific details of the sufferings and glories of the coming Messiah (v. 11). We look back into the past, on the same events, through the apostles’ eyewitness accounts. Both the “before” and the “after” recorded in God’s Word are from the Holy Spirit (v. 12; see also 2 Peter 1:21).

In fact, God revealed to the prophets that they were serving New Testament believers. Didn’t they have a message and an audience in their own historical context? Yes. However, they also had a message for us. God’s plan has always been for all nations and all of history, so it makes sense that the Word of God speaks within a specific time, while not being limited to any one time.

>> Today, we wait for Christ’s Second Coming just as the OT prophets waited for His first coming. We have much to look forward to! How would the way you live change, if you knew that Jesus was returning today?