The Old Testament Teaches of Christ

The testimony of the Savior is found throughout the Old Testament—and any book of inspired scripture.

Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me. (John 5:39)

This is an oft-quoted verse, but many times we forget that what Christ meant by “the scriptures” is much different from the books we have in our canon today. In fact, the only books which His audience had available to them and which are still in common with our modern-day scriptures were those which are found in what we call the Old Testament. Occasionally we forget how Christ-centered the Old Testament really is. But truthfully, when Christ taught about His own sacred mission, he began “at Moses and all the prophets” (Luke 24:27). Prophecies of Christ were spoken “by the mouth of [God’s] holy prophets, which have been since the world began” (Luke 1:70). It is true that our Old Testament scriptures are incomplete compared to the originals (see 1 Nephi 13:24–26; Joseph Smith—History 1:36; Articles of Faith 8), but whenever there have been prophets, there have been teachings of Christ, for “the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy” (Revelation 19:10). Remembering this will enhance our scripture study and allow us to build our testimony of the Savior, regardless of which books of scripture we are reading at the time.