The Bible Jesus Read: Why the Old Testament Matters

Because it is often daunting, many Christians approach Old Testament carefully. Or avoid it altogether. But each of the books of the Old Testament—"the Bible Jesus read"—contains an essential part of the story of grace.

"The more we comprehend the Old Testament," Yancey writes, "the more we comprehend Jesus."

In The Bible Jesus Read, Yancey challenges the perception that the New Testament is more important than the Old. Writing with keen insight into the human condition and God’s provision for it, he sets off on a personal journey through the parts we most like to keep at arm’s length—Job, Deuteronomy, Psalms, Ecclesiastes, and the Prophets—and he asks us to bring our own questions, concerns, and our openness to the wonders of God.

We may discover that this set of writings that comprise the Old Testament is at once as mystifying and strangely satisfying as life itself—that it’s worth the effort it takes to read and wrestle with. Because reading the Scriptures that Jesus so revered gives us a profound new understanding of Christ, the Cornerstone of the new covenant.