Why is it necessary to read the Old Testament today?

on Mar 9, 2026

From the writings of the Rev. Billy Graham

Q: Why is it necessary to read the Old Testament today? It is antiquated and kind of unnecessary. It doesn’t even say anything about Jesus. I think He wants us to live the best life we can, given the circumstances we face in the modern age. – O.T.

A: The Old Testament may not seem relevant to many today, but it remains God’s Holy Word, and He has much to teach us through its pages. Is there any authority left? Is there a path we can follow? Yes. The answers are found in the ancient and historic book called the Bible.

The message of Jesus Christ is the story of salvation. Students of the Bible have traced Jesus from the beginning of the Old Testament, for He is the true theme of the Old Testament as the angel of the Lord, but in the New Testament, Jesus came in the flesh, and He manifests Himself as the Risen Christ, the Son of the Living God, who says, “Scripture cannot be broken” (John 10:35, NKJV). The psalmist wrote that the entirety of God’s Word is truth.

Jesus quoted from the Old Testament about Himself. The apostles quoted from the Old Testament. “Whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved” (Joel 2:32; Romans 10:13, NKJV). The book of Isaiah says, “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel” (7:14, NKJV). The same is said in Matthew 1:23.

The Old Testament predicted Christ’s birth, death, and resurrection. Every important event in Jesus’ life was described many centuries before He came in the flesh, and when Jesus came, He fulfilled every prophecy. The New Testament documents the fulfillment of these prophecies, yet many people still reject its truth, but it doesn’t change the fact that the Bible is the living Word of God still today.

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(This column is based on the words and writings of the late Rev. Billy Graham.)