English Standard Version
The beginning of the Gospel is rooted in what God was doing in the Old Testament.
John the Baptist doesn't show up out of the blue -- John's ministry is anchored in the ministry of the prophets who were active in Israel long before Jesus was born. John came in the tradition of Isaiah, preaching the same message of God's radical love for people, of the need to hear God's voice and follow God's commands.
God had been preparing the way for Jesus for centuries before Jesus arrived.
Therefore, to fully understand Jesus, we have to understand the Old Testament, and then we can see the ways that God was at work -- that helps us grasp the ways God is at work through Jesus, and that helps us grasp the ways God is at work in the here and now.
There's countless great resources. The best book I know is Christopher J.H. Wright's The Mission of God, which lays out how God's mission is consistent throughout Scripture. The Bible Project podcast (https://podcasts.google.com/search/BibleProject) is a series of hour-long discussions about various topics, exploring how themes are consistent throughout the Bible. There are a lot of great resources -- the better we understand the Old Testament, the better we understand Jesus, and we are often then left in awe of how God is at work.
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