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Beginning at Moses: A Guide to Finding Christ in the Old Testament

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I had the privilege of sitting under the instruction of Dr. Barrett in seminary. His courses were always inspiring and life-changing.

I remember in one class a student asked Dr. Barrett why he always found Christ when studying the Old Testament. Dr. Barrett replied that when reading the Bible you find what you are looking for. I have had few statements in my life that have stayed with me through the years as that statement has stayed with me. If you are looking for information about the Bible, that is what you will find. If you are looking for daily inspiritation, that is what you will find. However, that is not why God gave us His written Word. God gave us the Bible that we might know Christ. No book, other than God's inspired Word, can teach us of Christ: His Person and His Work.

This book is for any Christian who is serious about their Old Testament study. This book is a manual for unlocking the depths of the Old Testament and its riches in Christ. Furthermore, Dr. Barrett's style is very readable and not overly technical--it is written for the student and the scholar.

I am currently using this book as the textbook for a Sunday School class in our church. I want my students to learn what I have learned, and continue to learn: that the Old Testament is full of Christ, His person, and His work. No other message is as needed for mankind.

I highly recommend this book to any and all.

Appropriately titled, Beginning at Moses: A Guide to Finding Christ in the Old Testament gives opportunity for students, pastors and laymen to develop the proper tools necessary for finding Christ in the Old Testament. Barrett indeed guides the reader through the maze of Hebrew, Greek, and theological terminology with such simplicity and clarity that most anyone with some exposure to the Old Testament may follow with ease. The constant encouragement and brief pause to define terms makes this a priceless resource to any student of the Scripture. The author's love for the Old Testament is infectious. He warns, however, that without Christ it is impossible to comprehend truly the Old Testament; so he propounds: "Seeing Christ is the key to unlocking the message of Scripture," and in this book, specifically the Old Testament (14).
The first part of the book is concerned with identifying "who we are looking for." Christ or messiah is the term for an anointed one. Anyone anointed. The individual is chosen, accredited, and empowered. This understanding allows the reader to identify not only certain individuals with these particular qualifications within the Old Testament (e.g. Jeremiah, Jer. 1; Aaron, Ps. 106:16, and Zechariah, 2 Chron. 24:20), but also Jesus the Messiah. Furthermore, the three distinct duties of the messianic office (Prophet, Priest and King) are demonstrated to be fulfilled in Jesus the Messiah.
Best seen where Barrett's clarity cuts through the complex is chapter two: the Person of Christ. He makes five statements, based on the Westminster Confession of Faith (also sprinkled throughout the book), that explain the hypostatic union. Of course he quickly defines this term: "Hypostasis is just a Greek word meaning essence or substance that has been used to describe this otherwise inexplicable union of a perfect human nature with the eternal divine nature in the Second Person of the Trinity." Referring to Christ's divine nature, Barrett explores His perfections of Deity, works of Deity, and the worship ascribed to Him. And the section on Christ's humanity addresses head-on the relationship of Christ to sin.
The balance of Part One is an explanation of Christ's work. It is expedient that the reader understand the works of Jesus Christ as one would study art, so that the beholder may correctly identify His person (79). First, discussion is given to Christ's first advent. His thoughts on 2 Corinthians 5:21 are "By God's legal transaction, the life that Christ earned becomes ours and the death that we earned became His" (88). Further down the page, he argues for the eternally sure purpose of Christ's work, which defies the postponement theory. Second, His prophetic and kingly administration and priestly intercession demonstrate His present work. Last, Christ is described as Judge and Ruler in His Second Advent.
At this point you are 100 pages into the book. In the next 200 pages Barrett masterfully guides the reader "where to look" in the Scripture to find Christ. Chapters 4-10 deal with Christ in the covenants, in persons, in His names, in word prophecy, in picture prophecy, and in song.
Barrett gives a colorful synopsis of the covenant development from Adam to David (120-21). He spends considerable time with the first, particularly with reference to Gen. 3:15. Barrett believes that the phrase "bruise thy head" describes the crucifixion, while "bruise thy heel" "suggests the ineffectiveness of the serpent to frustrate or alter the mission of Christ" (127). Also he translates Genesis 4:1 "I have acquired a man, even Jehovah" (128). This indicates that Eve anticipated her first child to be the direct fulfillment of Genesis 3:15.
Christ in person steers the reader through a discussion about Christophanies. In Micah 5:2-3a, Barrett sees an indirect reference to eternal generation of the Son and a direct reference to the pre-incarnate appearances of Christ. The appearances of Christ as the Angel of the LORD (taken appositionally) are a foretaste of Christ's prophetic, priestly and kingly mission. A chart including 24 passages revealing Christophanies allows the reader to get a jump start in his personal study.
Barrett gives the most pages in this second half of the book to Christ in His names (42 pages). He organizes the names in relationship to Christ's person and work. Although the list is not exhaustive, he chooses some names which may not be as familiar: Nail, Battle Bow, Thou God seest me, and Shiloh.
Christ in prophecy is broken up into chapters discussing verbal prophecy and typology from a premillennial standpoint (213). Barrett notes that verbal prophecy indicates that God is in control, inspires, confidence, and increases expectant hope. Using three "C's" as guidelines (messianic clues, Scriptural confirmation, and context), the reader explores Old Testament prophecies from the virgin birth to the resurrection. In the chapter on picture prophecy, the reader is walked through the gallery of various passages. The final chapter of part two identifies Christ in Song or Psalm, which points to His person and work. A helpful chart lists the Messianic Psalms, New Testament confirmation, and topics addressed in the Psalm.
Barrett's over twenty-five years of classroom experience radiates in his ability to draw attention with introductory humor and personal illustration as well as spread passion to the reader for his topic. One unfortunate aspect of the book is that there is no Scriptural index. Because of the gold-mine of exegesis on major passages, I seriously thought about making one myself. The conclusion and summary, which encapsulates the entire book in six pages, is written to the curious fellow that reads conclusions first (the author admits this tendency himself).
Overall the book is truly a masterful work that is Christ-honoring. Upon reading this book, not only will your appetite be whetted and ready for another reading of the Old Testament, but also your senses will be sharpened to see Christ! No doubt this is a must for every serious Bible reader.

Christ is the heart of the Christian faith. He is also the centerpiece of both the Old and New Testament Scriptures. Yet many believers neglect the Old Testament limiting their study of the Scriptures to the New Testament. Dr. Michael Barrett masterfully removes all the typical excuses for neglecting the pursuit of the knowledge of Christ in the Old Testament. He shows where and how to look for Christ. This book is a must for those who pursue the knowlege of Christ but have neglected the pursuit of that knowledge in the Old Testament.

Please, suggest to your church leadership that your church use this book as a textbook for an adult Sunday school elective on studying the Old Testament. It would be a wonderful elective because this is a wonderful book!

When reading this book, I realized that the more I learned about Christ, the more likely I will be able to recognize him in the scriptures and more specifically in the Old Testament. Finding Christ in the Old Testament helps me put things in a proper perspective. One idea that Michael Barrett gives in Part I, is the fact that not only do we have the Old testament to read into the New but we have the New Testament into the old Testament. An example of this in the Old Testament are the prophets. They knew both what they were writing about and what they were looking for, that being Christ (I Peter 1:10-11). The prophets did not know when He would come but they did have faith that He would come. They did not understand fully what they were writing, nor did they know fully about his sufferings but they did know that Christ was their redemption. This is the example of how we can use the New Testament and how to better read the Old Testament, and biblical text better than the writers. Christ is not only a Messiah but Christ is the Messiah. Though Christ in the New Testament is the same as the Messiah in the Old testament, the difference is, the language used in the different Testaments. There are a few elements about the Messiah that you need to know to fully understand the office of Christ. First the Messiah was a chosen individual, this is shown in the kingly office although priests and prophets were chosen in their own respects(Jeremiah 1:4-10). The second element of understanding the Messiah, that He is an accredited individual. The last element is the fact that the Messiah had to be a empowered individual. The Lord always supplied this power of service throughout scriptures with using that power, that being the Holy Spirit (Ezekiel 1:28-2:2). There are three elements that make up the common feature of the Messiah. Jesus Christ the Son of God was chosen for his work as the Savior (John 6:38). These facts show the element of Christ being the chosen one. Next, the authority of the Son of God was accredited for his work as the Savior (Acts 13:33). Lastly the power of the Son of God was Jesus Christ being empowered by the Holy Spirit for his work as the Savior (John 1:33). After this we then see the distinct duties of the Messiah, being the supreme prophet, priest and king. Christ was the ideal prophet by revealing only what God had given to Him (John 7:16). Another evidence of the prophetic office of the Messiah is His foretelling of the future. A perfect example of this is Christ himself giving messianic credibility and prepaying his own resurrection from the dead (Mathew 12:40). Lastly, Christ performed signs and wonders just like other prophets had done according to Deuteronomy 13. Christ is also the supreme priest, and He came to save his people and in saving his people it required him to shed his very own blood. The whole book of Hebrews argues for the superiority of Jesus Christ over the Old Testament law and order. It does not make light of the Old Testament but only shows that everything in the O.T is somehow directed to the Messiah. This priest offered himself as the perfect sacrifice to God showing superiority over any animal and became the reconciliation for us as humans, making constant intercessions for his people. In doing this, Christ fulfills the priesthood of the Old Testament. Christ is the supreme King, and this kingship protects the church and is the vital link to the Old Testament. This kinship will be victorious, will rule and will preserve all the affairs of his kingdom. Now, focusing on exactly who the person of Jesus is in the scriptures, we see that Jesus is a mediator for his people. A mediator is to explain the differences between two apposing parties, that being God and Man (Isaiah 59:2). Realizing this shows a huge distance between God and man, that no system or law can bridge but the mediator of Jesus Christ. Next, are the qualifications of what a mediator has to be in order to be a perfect mediator. First, Jesus is God and everything that God is, Jesus is. Second, Jesus is man and he possesses all the quality in the post fall nature so he can redeem that nature. Thirdly, the person of Jesus is of deity and humanity, but they are inseparably united. The nature of his deity and the nature of his humanity cannot act separately. He did not act like God in one sense to perform signs and wonders, and then act like man showing his emotions showing his humanity. The two natures that Jesus had never once acted independently. Next, these two natures did not form a third nature not like some hybrid mix of the two natures. The God-man was both finite and infinite. Fifthly Christ was not created when the union of the divine and human natures came together and the human nature of Christ did not have any independent existence apart from the eternal Messiah. Christ was never created but he is eternal and he is always existed. The perfections of Christs deity come through his independency and self existence (John 8:58), and also his state of eternity in regard to no time (John 1:1). Also Christ's omnipotence with his infinite power shows his deity. Even through reading the gospels we see his infinite power over disease and death. Another area is Christ's omniscience and his infinite wisdom (I Timothy 1:17). Lastly, to the perfections of deity is his infinite regard to space, this is because Jesus Christ is not bound to physical locations and is physically present at all time, which is called omnipresence ( Psalm 139-6-9). Regarding the works of Christ's deity pertaining to his Messiahship, it is said that Christ is the creator(Colossians 1:16-17). Although revelation shows us that this happens in the New Testament, most of all creation is done in the Old Testament. It is also said that Christ role is that of a preserver of Creation. Seeing Christ as the supernatural miracle worker throughout scripture helps show the work of his deity. This is clearly shown 3 separate times in scriptures : Moses, Elijah and Elisha and the Lord Jesus Christ and his apostles. After seeing the deity of Christ, the humanity of Christ should be seen as essential to his Messiahship. First, we see the New Testament often calls attention to the human ancestry of Jesus. The New Testament begins with Matthew showing the genealogy of Jesus Christ being the son of David and the Son of Abraham. Also, the New Testament refers to Jesus Christ as, man. He was first given the title in Daniel 7:3, the New Testament uses this term "the son of man" in reference to Christ second coming. This title was given to Christ to identify him as belonging to the class of humanity. Also the N.T reveals Christ as having a real human body and a rational soul. John best accents the humanity of Christ in I John 1:1-2,quoting that He was both seen and touched. The problem with Christ's humanity is his relationship to sin. The question arises "how was Christ born and exempt from sin?". The answer would have to be that He was absolutely sinless (Hebrews 4:14). Key texts to help bring this essential truth that Christ is sinless are: Romans 1:2-5, I Timothy 3:16, Hebrews 1&2, John 1:1-14, and the most explicit passage is Philippians 2:6-11. When one focuses on the person of Jesus Christ, and that is clearly seen in the New Testament, then they will then see so much clearer in the Old Testament. Lastly, the important part that came to me in the end of the book during the prophecy section, was understanding key terms. Some of these terms are: symbol, type and most importantly, shadow. Shadow was the most important in the content because when one realizes what the word has to do with Christ and prophecy it helps make the New Testament that much more clearer. What the shadow does is gives a representation of what reality really is for it best outlines the substance of the reality. For example, the priesthood in the Old Testament was just an outline or a representation of the great high priest, who was to come, Jesus Christ. When the true light comes it dispels all the previous shadows, for example: Chris will fulfill all the prophecy about him so he fulfils all the picture (shadows) about him. The first key insight that came to me while reading this book was the fact that we can read the New Testament into the Old. Many people see this as a serious crime or almost a sin against hermeneutics. After reading this I realized in my own studying and also how I have been taught, that sometimes we rely on one aspect of the entire interpretation to be enough to process the essential parts of the scripture. I have found that throughout this book, Biblical Theology tends to not get its cooperate attention as it could have when it is used properly. What I mean by this is, a correct Bible study is Biblical theology looking at a Biblical text and analyzing that text by its entirety or by the book or the topic. A beautiful example of this being done is the revealed truth in the Old testament about Christ. When reading the New Testament it gives us a better whole interpretation of the Biblical theology of the Messiah, that was only revealed in pieces throughout the Old Testament. Knowing that Christ is the Messiah of all messiahs and knowing exactly what the Messiah does should help us realize how important Christ's role was thorough Scripture. Not only does his make us realize the key implications of the term "Messiah", but it helps us understand the Messiahs business. The understanding of the imputed righteousness during the act of justification helps us see that act of God's free grace. Knowing that God forgives us for all of our sins and then makes us righteous in his sight, which we have partaken in and receive by faith alone, helps us cherish our salvation so much more than the unknowing man. Knowing that Jesus Christ righteousness and active obedience satisfies the laws and demands then God making us legally perfect in his sight helps us see the beautification of Jesus Christ fulfilling the Old Testament.The dying of Christ for the payment of our sins is linked together with the life of Christ because His vicarious atonement is crucial in our justification (Romans 5:6&8). The death of Jesus Christ was Gods eternal purpose, which implies that the sacrifice of Christ was the only base of redemption. It also implies the necessity of Christ's atonement of being the only way for salvation (Galatians 2:21). Christ's death was effective in successfully accomplishing the purpose of God, sin and man. It was also effective for God's propitiation to satisfy Gods wrath against sin and sinners. Another way that it was effective was for removing sin for us. Lastly it was effective for man, because the atonement satisfied God so it could save man(Galatians 3:13). When thinking of these implications of what exactly the death of the Messiah had to do with allowing us to become blameless before the eyes of the Lord help us see exactly how depraved mankind is. In part 2 of this book I found a great help and insight on Christ and the covenants. I have very little knowable of them and without that the author does a great job in giving a great overview and explanation of them all. When starting to get into the covenants I quickly saw that Christ is extremely central to the covenants in which Dispensationalism lessens very much. The more that the author went through them all, I saw Christ being absently center to all of them. This the must lead to Christ being basically if not all in, and through-out the Old Testament. The "messenger of the covenant" is Jesus Christ and in him all the covenants are fulfilled in and through Christ. When reading this book through the person, the work ,the covenants, and the advents of Christ, I see that the focus of the Bible is Jesus Christ. So many times theology and theologians make these very issues somehow lead to eschatological events. Reading and studying over the past four years seems to be that we make such an emphasis on the second advent of Christ ,rapture, and even the millennial kingdom, that we miss who Jesus is ,what he is ,and importantly what he has done. This book has helped me get a better grip on a proper view of Christology from a biblical perspective. After reading this book I only wish that more Christians could have the knowledge and the understanding of Christ in the Old Testament, especially the knowledge of Jesus Christ in dealing with the covenants. I have never had such a more clear explanation of the covenants throughout Scripture. Michael Barrett does an excellent job of explaining the covenants and showing the process of how they continue to progress in revelation of the coming Messiah. Knowing how Christ fulfills the Mosaic covenant and is fulfilling and will fulfill the rest of the covenants help us show God's relationship with his people. Seeing how Christ is shadowed through the covenants and how God uses his Son in the covenants shows us the Christ in the New Testament. Seeing the progressive revelation throughout each individual covenant shows how God reveals Son more and more in each covenant. Christ expands and clarifies his truth from general to specific views throughout each one. The closer the promise gets to Jesus Christ the closer we see Jesus Christ from the Edenic, Noadic Abrahamic, Mosaic Davidic and the New Covenant. These covenants are not different but they are renewed and enlarged each time they are revealed to man. Not only did I find this book an easy read on knowing the person of Jesus Christ, but i found it helpful when the author showed where to look for Christ in the Scriptures, as it helps even more when you know what your looking for. After explaining all he does on the persona and work of Jesus, he then moved into explaining on where we need to look for Him, and not just merely the New Testament because that is where he is either mentioned most, or where His name tends to show up the most, and the author explains not only His name showing up, but Dr. Barrett gives even all the names of Christ found in the Old Testament, so that we might know it when we the readers see it in our Old Testament. I can not in anyway begin to go over the amount of information and the many references to Christ. What I can do though is explain in only a little bit on how much this has become an insight to in my own life. I saw how for each name given to Christ has a given reasoning for it. This reasoning is, what work the name does. For an example, the Old Testament refers to Christ as Shepherd (Ezekiel 34:23-24). It actually even was referred to as early in Genesis 49:24, being called the "shepherd, the stone of Israel". When knowing the name and the work of a shepherd in the Old Testament, it then brings out the beauty in the New Testament in passage such as John 10. This expounds Christ that much more in actually knowing exactly who our Savior is. What the author of this book is trying to get across to the reader is that it is not knowing only Christ, but knowing His names, and the biblical meaning of the names and their jobs in the Old Testament. Then the fullness of the scriptures become more real, and more fuller in their picture. The last part of the book is about the prophecy of Jesus Christ and how it is illustrated and shown throughout the Old Testament. Understanding Jesus in the Old Testament is a important element in progressive revelation. Understanding typology which is basically the picture of prophecy, gives us a better view in application, to interpret the gospel more clearly when wrestling with the statements of Christ. I would agree when the author suggests that persons in the Old Testament are persons of Christ not by their character but by their office. Jonah was a prophet but Christ was greater (Luke 11:32), Solomon was a king but Christ was greater,(like 11L31) Aaron was a priest but Christ was greater (Hebrews 7:11). Throughout the pictures in the Old Testament such as Aaron, the Tabernacle and the rituals at the Tabernacle we see little pictures illustrating what Christ does for us. One example of this is the breast plate which Aaron wore, this plate shows the mercy that Christ has to plead for us. When wearing the breast plate "Aaron shall bear the names of Israel upon his heart" (Exodus 28:29-30). Any compassion and love that Aaron has for Israel pales in significance to the love of Christ for his people. Which brings me to my last insight of Christ, is the fact that sinners may only approach God through the mediation of a sinless priest. Aaron was only a shadow of what we have today. Dealing with sin was a work of humiliation, and a work requiring purity, which was evident in Aaron taking care of his own sin before he dealt with his people. Seeing the atonement and the necessity of the propitiation of Israelis sins only illustrate a glimpse of the gospel. What is so great about this truth is that sinners can come to the gospel and see the perfect priest and the perfect sacrifice and not only atone for their sins and mediate on their behalf and has the privilege to stand before the throne of Christ.

Summary: A solid, scholarly, and conservative introduction to interpreting the Old Testament from a Christocentric perspective:

From Final Thoughts: "My contention is that there is a relevant message in the Old Testament that is discernible and discoverable by sound and sensible methods of interpretation that consider the full, not just the surface, meaning of the text. Although not in every line and perhaps not on every page, the message of Christ overshadows the entire Old Testament. Finding Christ is the key that both unlocks and locks in the message of the whole Word of God. Jesus Christ is God's final, perfect, incomparable Word. In the final analysis, it is safe to say that Jesus is God's only Word for man" (327).

Benefits/Determents: The book should serve two purposes: it is an incredibly helpful model for those with an academic bent on how to introduce others to finding Christ in the Old Testament: and the book is a solid introduction to the interpretive framework necessary to rightly divide the word of truth.

It is not an academic book in the sense that there is no bibliography or footnotes. It is scholarly, in that the author is obviously aware of the current academic debates and questions, but the book is intended for a thoughtful and conservative layman. I highly recommend it.