Given the overwhelming scope of the independent doctoral course I took in 2011, I spent very little time studying the nature of interpretation and proclamation in the Old and New Testament era. However, I wanted to include it as the first in a series of historical epochs because in the Bible God both reveals himself and reveals how to interpret what he has revealed. That is to say, as we pay careful attention to how later biblical authors interpreted and appropriated the writings of earlier biblical authors, we learn how to read the Bible in a way that is pleasing to God. God himself has provided us with a sketch of God-centered hermeneutics, not by means of a well-defined process but by means of the writings of inspired interpreters. Thus, as we prayerfully approach the Word of God over time, we can discern the difference between issues that are necessary for a right interpretation and application of the will and wisdom of God, and issues that have a modicum of importance but are less than necessary.
Judging primarily from the words and works of Jesus, we see that the most important key to the interpretation of the Bible is Christ himself—not merely the idea of Christ but Christ himself. Indeed, the genesis of the Christocentric hermeneutic is the speech of Jesus who stated as a matter of fact that Abraham had seen his day, and that Moses, the Prophets, and the Psalmists had written of him (John 5:46; 8:56; Luke 24:44). Jesus did not claim that everything written in the Hebrew Scriptures was directly about him, but in pondering what he said we must at least acknowledge that he, as the fulfillment of so many types and prophecies, is indeed the interpretive key to all of Scripture. The whole must be interpreted in light of its beginning and end, and Christ is the Alpha and the Omega (Rev 1:8; 21:6; 22:13). That is, he is the one through whom the Father created and sustains all things, through whom the Father reveals his glory and nature, through whom the Father has spoken and effected salvation for all who embrace Jesus as their all-sufficient Savior (Heb 1:1-4; 9:13-15). Jesus himself is, therefore, the key to rightly understanding the will, wisdom, and ways of God as articulated in the pages of Scripture.
The Apostles, then, as humble and studious followers, took their method of interpretation from Jesus and advanced it into the following generation (see, e.g., Acts 2:1-41; 9:22; 17:3; Hebrews). The Christocentric hermeneutic was neither their invention, nor that of the patristic authors, nor that of modern scholars like Dennis Johnson. It was the invention of Jesus who was and is and always will be the locus of life, revelation, and meaning. In sum, we may say that the basic hermeneutic of Christ and the Apostles was an eschatological typology centered on the person of Christ—not the idea of Christ but of Christ himself.
Therefore, as we read each passage of Scripture, we should prayerfully consider how each part of the story of God points to or is fulfilled in Christ. Since the person of Christ is the center of hermeneutics and homiletics, it follows that prayer must be a thoroughgoing part of the process of both interpretation and proclamation. For we can only gain eyes to see the presence of Christ on the pages of Scripture and the applications of what we see as we commune with the One who is one with the Father and the fulfillment of all his purposes, promises, and plans.
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