Introduction

Bible Talk celebrates Christmas!

In Matthew 1–2, the Gospel writer regularly appeals to the Old Testament to show that what’s happening in the present is a fulfillment of past prophecies. But when you begin to scrutinize the texts in their original context, it’s not at clear that they point forward to the Messiah.

This raises a few questions: How does the Old Testament predict Jesus’ birth? More broadly, how do the New Testament writers understand Old Testament prophecy? Do they twist the text to make it say something the original authors never intended? More broadly, is there more than one kind of promise-and-fulfillment?

In this special Christmas episode of Bible Talk, Alex chats with Jim and Sam about Matthew 1–2 in order to find answers to these questions. Spoiler alert: they’re fascinating!