Tavern Talk #86 - When the Old Testament feels difficult, let Jesus finish the story.
- Cooper Shattuck
- 6 days ago
- 2 min read
Many of us quietly admit something we rarely say out loud: parts of the Old Testament are hard to read. Stories of violence, judgment, and harsh laws can feel difficult to reconcile with Jesus - the one who heals outsiders, forgives enemies, and teaches love of neighbor.
If you’ve ever felt that tension, it doesn’t mean you lack faith. It means you’re paying attention. Rather than treating the Old Testament as a problem to explain away, we are invited to see it as a story that needs to be finished.
Questions matters, especially today. Some Christians seem far more comfortable emphasizing judgment and punishment than mercy and compassion. Yet when Jesus was asked what mattered most in Scripture, he was clear: love God with everything you have, and love your neighbor as yourself. He said all the Law and the Prophets hang on those two commands.
Christians still have the Old Testament because Jesus did. He quoted it, argued from it, and claimed it as his own story. Jesus didn’t come to abolish the Law and the Prophets, but to fulfill them.
Without the Old Testament, sin becomes vague, grace becomes cheap, and the cross becomes sentimental instead of costly.
The Old Testament isn’t meant to be read as a rulebook. It tells the truth about flawed people before it tells us how God redeems them. God’s presence in a story doesn’t mean approval of every action. Context matters. God met people in a violent, ancient world while continually calling them toward justice, mercy, and humility.
Most importantly, the Old Testament is going somewhere. It longs for a better king, a deeper covenant, and transformed hearts. It is an unfinished sentence.
Christians believe Jesus is the clearest picture of God. Where violence in the Old Testament often attempts to stop violence, Jesus absorbs it and ends it by refusing to return it. He doesn’t contradict God; he reveals God more fully.
Comments