I think it’s telling that whenever a New Testament preacher (whether Paul, Peter, Stephen, or whoever) share about Jesus they always give the context. Now granted, they were mostly speaking to Jewish audiences who would have particularly wanted to hear the Old Testament, but I think it’s telling how often they use it. Paul does it here as he shares in the synagogue. He connects Jesus’ resurrection story to the Exodus, the period of the judges, King David, and other parts of Hebrew Scriptures. I think we miss this at times. Often our (or at least my) telling of the Gospel focuses way too heavily on the narrow events that happened during the few days leading up to the Cross. I need to remember that the story of Jesus is part of a much larger story of how God has moved in the world as recorded in the Scriptures. Of course though, Jesus’ story is the hinge, the great crescendo of God’s masterpiece. It’s what the rest of Scripture leads up to. But you’ll never truly appreciate the great climax of a story, until you’ve heard the first half of it. Have you spent time understanding the whole story of Scripture?
