Michael Williams, How To Read the Bible Through the Jesus Lens: A Guide to Christ-Focused Reading of
Scripture. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2012.
The goal of Michael Williams’ new book, How to Read the Bible Through the Jesus Lens, is clear enough from
the title: to explain how each book of the Bible points to the person and work
of Jesus Christ. He wants to give believers a central figure around which they
can organize all the Bible’s strange and confusing details. To this end,
Williams writes a brief chapter on each book of the Bible in which he overviews
its plot and main theme, views it through the “Jesus Lens,” considers “Contemporary
Implications” and offers “Hook Questions,” which explore avenues of
contemporary application. This is a tall order for a short book (only 267
pages), but Williams has a gift for selectivity and brevity, and he pulls it
off. In this review, I want to do two things: 1) consider the legitimacy of
reading the Bible, especially the OT, Christologically and 2) interact with
Williams’ chapters on Exodus and Leviticus.
One sunny day at a little café in Davis, California, some
buddies and I were discussing Augustine’s interesting allegorical readings of
the Old Testament in City of God. We
were all somewhat troubled by Augustine’s
find-Jesus-everywhere-whether-he’s-there-or-not kind of approach. We deliberated
how we should read the Law and
Prophets, which Jesus said testify about him (Luke 24:27; John 5:39) and which
he came to fulfill (Matthew 5:17). My friend Stanford said that, as Christians,
we must read the Old Testament Christologically, that is, always consider how an
OT text points to Christ’s coming fulfillment. My immediate reaction was to
disagree, being convinced a) that we need to understand each text in its own
context and let it speak on its own terms before we “find Jesus in it” and b)
that OT texts are understandable and applicable without filtering them through
NT teaching. For instance, the numerous calls to worship and justice make
perfect sense and lay clear obligations upon us even if we don’t tie them to
Jesus. Likewise, OT narratives can challenge us even if we don’t find
foreshadows of Jesus in the characters and events. The rest of the discussion
didn’t change my mind, but it did cause me to think about how we – and I – do,
by default, read the OT from a Christian
viewpoint: we always see it as an unfinished story that finds its climax in
Jesus Christ, and, even if the practical implications of a text are clear, we
always (or should always) ask how to apply it as Christians, living under the New Covenant. This was not the
first or last time I would wrestle with the question of how to approach Jesus’
Bible (the OT) as Jesus’ disciple. I relate the story here to give some context
to my hesitant response to Williams’ project.
My problem comes when we assume that the OT can only make
sense or have value for Christians when we read it explicitly “through the
Jesus lens” or when we feel compelled “find Jesus” in every OT character, text
or narrative. Such an approach seems to tacitly deny the value of the texts
themselves and of our ability to discover their original meaning apart from
later revelation. But didn’t these sacred texts powerfully shape and speak God’s
people for centuries before Jesus stepped on the scene? And can’t we go a long
way toward understanding their meaning by applying all the standard tools of
evangelical interpretation: reading them in their ancient context and
attempting to overhear their message as the original audience would have understood
it? Doesn’t that give us the best starting point for the complex task of
discerning how Jesus fulfills them?
All this rambling seems to have moved me some distance from
a review of Williams’ book. But my concern is that a work like Williams’ gives the
impression that we can have a two-page understanding of a book of the Hebrew
Scripture and then quickly and easily jump to the “How does Jesus fulfill
this?” question without further ado. This leaves a whole host of comlex
questions unanswered about how we
properly make that jump and leaves a lot of biblically illiterate
Christians feeling like they can apply the OT as Christians without thinking
through any of those questions. It’s not that we don’t need to read and apply
the OT Christologically, it is that we need to do so carefully and
thoughtfully. Careless interpretation of Scripture is already proliferate among
Western Christians. I hesitate to give us any more (over)confidence to
irresponsibly read and apply Scripture without diligent and informed study.
Of course, Williams’ intent is not to give believers license
to do this themselves, but to give them an example of how it’s done. On that
level, he’s done a fine job; it is clear that he has done his homework to grasp the original meaning of OT texts
so he can see clearly how they do relate to Christ and how “the Jesus Lens” can
further clarify and deepen their significance.
There is much to commend in Williams’ presentation of
individual books throughout The Jesus
Lens. The chapter on Exodus sets the story in the narrative framework of
Genesis and gets right at the main question: will Pharaoh stop God’s promised
plan for his people? The answer to the question and the narrative of the book are
encapsulated in its main theme: “God delivers his people from slavery into his
presence.” Williams rightly stresses that YHWH delivered the Israelites so that he might dwell among them. This
begins as soon as Sinai, where God becomes terrifyingly present to reveal the
Ten Commandments. The execution of the tabernacle plans after the golden calf
debacle demonstrates God’s merciful willingness dwell with the Israelites
despite the deep, “internal and tenacious” bondage that still had its grip on their
hearts. “The Jesus Lens” section focuses on how the tabernacle furnishings
point forward to the presence of God in Christ and the atonement accomplished
in his sacrificial death. The whole story of deliverance anticipates Jesus’
greater deliverance of people from death and into a meaningful life in his
presence (Rom 7:21-25).
Despite the correct focus on deliverance into God’s
presence, there is at least one alarming absence in this chapter: Williams does
not discuss the covenant. The covenantal relationship that governs the history
of God’s dealings with his delivered people begins at Sinai. Only if they keep
his covenant will they be allowed to remain in his presence. And their
continual covenantal faithlessness and failure is the reason Jesus came to accomplish
a New Exodus and establish a New Covenant which would allow his renewed people
to dwell forever in his presence. So Jesus fulfills not just the purposes of
specific tabernacle furnishings, as Williams rightly notes, but the tabernacle
itself and whole covenant relationship for which the tabernacle allowed fellowship.
Williams properly points out, in his “Contemporary
Implications” section, that no human ruler can thwart God’s deliverance; this
is a truth we should heed, especially in an election year, when many Christians
worry that the wrong official could be tragic for the cause of Christ in our
nation. But instead of going to Romans 5:9-10 to emphasize the certainty of
God’s preserving power, I wish he would have used a NT text that has more
obvious connections to the main themes of Exodus. The “Hook Questions” for
Exodus, urging readers to live in the freedom of God’s presence and help others
do the same, are on target and challenging.
Once God delivers and dwells among his people, a problem
remains: how will an unholy people live in the presence of a holy God? Thus the
theme of Leviticus is, “God instructs his people how to live in his presence.”
That is, he shows them “how to set themselves apart for him and the purposes he
has for them,” namely, to live in his freedom and bless the nations. Each of
the sacrifices in Leviticus 1-7 reveals a dimension of the sacrifice of Christ.
Through “The Jesus Lens,” Leviticus helps us view Jesus not only as our
spotless Sacrifice but also as our sinless Priest who offered himself for our sin
(Heb 7:27) to fulfill the Levitical code and give believers access to God’s
holy presence. In light of all this, we should strive, by the Spirit’s power,
to be “blameless and at peace with him” (2 Peter 3:14), so we can live in his
presence. The “Hook Questions” for Leviticus challenge readers to consider what
holiness looks like today and to cultivate that kind of life.
Despite Williams’ clear and succinct discussion of holiness,
sacrifice and life in God’s presence, this chapter on Leviticus, like the one
on Exodus, leaves some key themes untouched. I would have liked Williams to go
beyond Leviticus 7 and touch on purity regulations (esp. the Day of Atonement,
ch 16), the annual festivals (ch 23) and the Jubilee (ch 25). Space limitations
may have required selectivity, but he unfortunately overlooks important
background themes for understanding the person and work of Jesus.
Although Williams could not cover every theme we may have
wished, he has given us a very well-written, uniquely-focused and widely-accessible
introduction showing how every book of the Bible propels Scripture’s storyline
and relates to Scripture’s central character. This is a great resource for
Christians who want to learn how it all fits together and where Jesus fits in
it all.
I received a free copy of How To Read the Bible Through the Jesus Lens for the purpose of
this review.
