In this Global Campus Forum, Dr. Travis Montgomery interviews Dr. Jason DeRouchie—Research Professor of Old Testament and Biblical Theology at Midwestern Seminary—on why the Old Testament is Christian Scripture and how believers today can understand and enjoy it. Drawing from decades of scholarship and pastoral ministry, Dr. DeRouchie explains why many Christians struggle with the Old Testament, how he came to cherish it, and why Jesus, Paul, and the apostles treated it as foundational for Christian faith. The conversation explores biblical-theological method, the role of covenants, genealogies, how to see Christ faithfully in Old Testament texts, and practical steps for reading, teaching, and preaching Jesus’s Bible as Christians today.

About the Podcast

Local Theologians is a podcast for everyday Christians and ministry leaders from Midwestern Seminary’s Global Campus. Learn more at mbts.edu/global.

Keywords

Old Testament, biblical theology, New Testament use of the Old Testament, covenants, genealogies, Christ in the Old Testament, Christian Scripture, exegesis, preaching, Jason DeRouchie

Takeaways

• The Old Testament is Christian Scripture—Jesus, Paul, and all the apostles treated it as their Bible.

• The Old Testament authors wrote with the new-covenant church in mind.

• Many Christians struggle with the Old Testament because they have not seen it modeled as Christian Scripture or preached in depth.

• Reading the Old Testament with Jesus at the center removes the veil and opens spiritual understanding.

• The Old Testament tells one unified story of God’s redemptive plan culminating in Christ.

• Slow reading, attention to cross-references, and tracing biblical-theological patterns enrich understanding.

• Genealogies and laws reveal God’s character and point to the need for—and fulfillment in—Jesus.

• Faithful interpretation avoids forcing Christ into the text but instead follows patterns warranted in Scripture.

Sound Bites

• The Old Testament was Jesus’s Bible—and it’s ours too.”

• The prophets knew they were writing for a future, restored people—us.”

• Paul never read his Old Testament the same after meeting Jesus.

• If we keep Jesus at the center, the veil is removed.

• Every genealogy is going somewhere—either toward the Messiah or the mission field.