"Old Made New" (Greg Lanier)

TITLE: Old Made New
AUTHOR: Greg Lanier
PUBLISHER: Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2022, (176 pages).

Multiple surveys have shown that many are more comfortable and familiar with the New Testament. Study groups prefer it. Sermons predominantly are from the New Testament. Most believers know the New Testament more than the Old Testament. While believers typically proclaim the Bible as comprising both the Old and the New, in practice, they tend to read and prefer to study mainly the New Testament. One reason is relatability. Modern readers find it easier to relate the first-century writings rather than ancient texts before the birth of Jesus. Sometimes we even forget that during the time of Christ, the only Scriptures available were the Old Testament. The New Testament didn't exist yet! Many efforts have been made to encourage Christians to study not just the New Testament but the entire Bible. This book is one such effort. Author and professor Greg Lanier give some more reasons why it is important to study how the New Testament uses the Old Testament. Not only was the OT written for all of us, many of the references in the NT points back to the OT. Technically, this is known as the field of biblical intertextuality. What this book provides are basic tools for the layperson to do just that. Using the "Three-Step Process," we learn to use tools such as:

1. Identification the Passage
1. Looking at citations, quotations, and allusions
2. Check Out the Old Testament Reference
1. wording comparison, broader comparison of the OT passage, 
3. Listen to the Remix
1. look at predictions, patterns, prescription

These steps are then applied to the study of the gospels, how the gospel writers use them, how Jesus uses them, and how the Church use them.  The author does a good job of debunking the common paradigm that the Old Testament and New Testament are about the law and gospel respectively. Such a dichotomy might explain why most people gravitate toward the NT instead of the OT. Using this "Three-Step Process" roadmap, readers get a template to practice how to read and study the Bible as one. That in itself makes this book a worthy resource to keep. 

My Thoughts

The title of the book is quite revealing. It also brings along multiple meanings for the reader to ponder. Apart from helping readers appreciate the OT from the NT perspective, it can also suggest ways in which we can see the OT with new eyes. It might even breathe new life to the way we read every book of the Bible! We can also see a thread of continuity from Genesis to Revelation in the Person of Jesus Christ. This will require some practice and a disciplined mindset. The three basic questions are simple: "What does this tell me about the gospel? About Jesus? and/or about the church?" Some of the content might be a little too technical for the layperson, but given time and seeing how Lanier explains it, it should be quite palatable. What I like about this book is the way the author affirms the importance of studying the whole Bible rather than just the NT. It is also a creative way in which Lanier begins with popular interest in the NT and guides readers to pay some serious attention to the OT. 

One final comment. Those of us who are regular book readers would notice the use of footnotes and citations. These are typically used to direct readers to additional explanations or expanded information without interrupting reader flow. They are also used to give due credit for material borrowed from others. Apart from the need to avoid accusations of plagiarism, such practices are also about authorial integrity. Even though the use of academic citations, footnotes, and scholarship standards are instruments of our modern construct, the Bible openly uses cross-references throughout the Bible. The New Testament especially refers constantly to Old Testament texts. Jesus too is a reader and references the Old Testament, especially the book of Deuteronomy. For us as modern readers and students of the Bible, learning how the New Testament uses the Old Testament would aid us immensely in the study of the Bible. 

Greg Lanier (PhD, University of Cambridge) is an associate professor of New Testament at Reformed Theological Seminary in Orlando, Florida. He also serves as associate pastor of River Oaks Church (PCA). He has published multiple books and scholarly articles on early Christology, the Gospels, the Septuagint, and other topics. Greg and his wife, Kate, live in Florida with their three daughters.

Rating: 4.5 stars of 5.

conrade

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This book has been provided courtesy of Crossway Publishers and NetGalley without requiring a positive review. All opinions offered above are mine unless otherwise stated or implied.