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Why would a lack of knowledge of the Old Testament weaken our understanding of the New Testament?
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Because the Old Testament is the foundation of the new, without it we would not know the basis for the New Testament.
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Foundational truths are learned in the Old Testament without them complete New Testament understanding isn’t possible.
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An understanding of the Old Testament allows to more deeply understand the reason of the the NT. The OT points to the NT so we need to know how and why to grasp the truth of the NT.
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We have to remember that when the people written about in the New Testament lived, there was no New Testament. There was only the Old Testament. When they went to temple, they read the Old Testament. When they set up new laws, they referred to the Old Testament. When they wanted to learn about God, they went to the Old Testament. This is what all of society was based on, and this is the society that Jesus was born into and was a part of. So the Old Testament provides the foundation for all of the knowledge, history, and prophecy that the people had for their religious and cultural studies.
It also shows a different side of the Trinity. While the New Testament often focuses on Jesus and the Holy Spirit, the Old Testament focuses on God. Knowing about God is essential to knowing Jesus and the Holy Spirit. -
The old testament sets up the problem of sin, shows use God’s grace and mercy, introduces the solution of Christ. The new testament is the fulfillment of the Old. We cannot understand the new unless we understand the old.