review Jesus on Every Page by David Murray

In the Old Testament concealed, in the New Testament revealed. David Murray in his book “Jesus on every Page: 10 Simple Ways to Seek and Find Christ in the Old Testament (Thomas Nelson, Inc., 2013), talks about his search for Jesus in the pages of the Old Testament.

            This book chronicles the journey of a pastor to make sense of the Old Testament, a journey which leads to discovering Jesus in a whole new, different, and exciting way.  I can relate to his dilemma, and have made the journey myself, beginning by wondering how I could ever make sense of the Sunday school Bible stories, and now I find myself preaching more from the Old Testament than many in the congregation find necessary.

            Far too many people seem to think that since Jesus is the New Covenant, that the Old Testament is no longer applicable to our lives. In fact as Murray puts it, his interest in the Old Testament was pretty much limited to the first 2 chapters of Genesis and how it related to the creation/evolution debate.  But as he read and studied further, it became obvious to him, as it should to all of us, that Jesus is found all throughout the First Testament, not just in the messianic prophesies such as those found in Isaiah.

            Murray addresses what he calls keys to interpret the pages of the only Bible that Jesus had to read. He helps guide us on a search for Jesus in a number of places: the creation, the characters found in the pages of scripture, in the law, the history, the poetry and the proverbs and in the covenants.

Although at first glance this may seem like the author’s journey, he has done his research, and he offers an impressive list of references which back up his up personal experience. Because this book is written from a first person perspective, the noted theologians and scholars that he quotes give additional credence. But at the same time, the book is written in a style which can be read, understood and enjoyed by the lay people who struggle with the relevance of the Old Testament.

Anyone who thinks the Old Testament is not relevant to ‘New Testament Christians’ should read this book. It offers what for many will be a new perspective on the ancient texts, a new perspective that is actually the perspective that the first century Christians would have held.

I received a copy of this book in exchange for posting a review. A positive review was not a requirement.

4/5