So what do you do, as a book reviewer, when a good friend writes a book? What would you do if a good friend wrote a not-so-good book? I think about these things sometimes. Thankfully it is not a concern with my friend David Murray and his new book Jesus On Every Page. This is a good book. An excellent book, even.
I have a soft spot for books that present subjects that are generally reserved for the halls of academia in a way that is accessible to a general audience. Jesus On Every Page is just such a book. It is “an accessible guide to the increasingly subject of Jesus in the Old Testament. Although much has been written to help pastors with preaching Jesus from the Old Testament, there is little that provides sound principles and practical help for the average Christian who wants to explore this important way of knowing Jesus through His Word.”
This is a book that shows how and where Jesus is present in the Old Testament and a book that equips us all to find him and worship him there. David focuses less on the stories and more on the story; less on the heroes and more on the Hero. Not only does this book assure us that Jesus is in the Old Testament and is, in fact, the hero of the Old Testament, it also provides a whole series of methods of discovering and, even better, knowing Jesus in the pages of the Old Testament scriptures.
One of the book’s unique strengths is that it is told biographically. David introduces the subject by tracing his own journey of discovery, as he walked his own road to Emmasus, and not as one who learned it all in a seminary classroom many decades ago. This takes it far out of dry academia and breathes so much life into it.
He focuses on ten ways we can find Jesus in the Old Testament Scriptures and along the way manages to alliterate all ten of the chapter titles:
- Christ’s Planet
- Christ’s People
- Christ’s Presence
- Christ’s Precepts
- Christ’s Past
- Christ’s Prophets
- Christ’s Pictures
- Christ’s Promises
- Christ’s Proverbs
- Christ’s Poets
(I have always considered Steve Lawson the master of alliteration, but David may be rivaling him in that department. I wonder if we could get David and Steve together, give them some topics, and watch them have an alliteration battle!)
Jesus On Every Page is a book for all of us, an entry-level guide to the presence of Jesus in the Old Testament scriptures. It’s a book you should consider reading. Parents will benefit as they grow in their ability to read those Old Testament passages—especially those tricky Old Testament passages—and find Christ there for the benefit of their children. Though it is not written specifically for pastors, they, too, will benefit from reading it as they grow in their ability to find and worship Jesus Christ in the Old Testament.
Jesus On Every Page is available at Amazon.
