Listen in on this embellished conversation that I had yesterday with Kyle, a deacon in my church…

Rob: I’ve got to work on a short essay for laypersons that explains redemptive historical interpretation. Have you ever heard of that?

Kyle: No.

Rob: You’ve never heard the term, but you probably would recognize the phenomenon. You read The Jesus Storybook Bible to your kids, right?

Kyle: Yes.

Rob: That’s a children’s Bible written from a redemptive-historical perspective. In other words, in the retelling of individual stories, each story is interpreted in light of the completed narrative. The Bible is a history of redemption (thus “redemptive-historical” interpretation). Or, said differently, the Bible is an inspired record of God’s interventions in history to glorify Himself and save a people for His namesake — culminating in the saving work of Christ. According to redemptive historical interpretation, to rightly interpret any biblical text, one must ultimately see how it fnds its fulfillment in Christ, the goal of God’s revelation. You know how in The Jesus Storybook Bible, even when the story is from the Old Testament, it always ends by showing how that story foreshadows the coming Savior?

Kyle: Oh, yeah.

Continue to listen to the conversation here: WHAT IS REDEMPTIVE-HISTORICAL INTERPRETATION? A LAYMAN’S GUIDE