Jesus Christ in the Old Testament
Luke 24:25-27
Then He said to them, "O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken! 26 Ought not the Christ to have suffered these things and to enter into His glory?" 27 And beginning at Moses and all the Prophets, He expounded to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself.
See Christ through Prophecies, Types & Shadows, and Actual Appearances
Prophecies
Gen 49:10Christ would Descend from Judah
The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet,
Until Shiloh (who it belongs to) comes; and to Him shall be the obedience of the people.
Num 24:17Balaam
I see Him, but not now; I behold Him, but not near;
A Star shall come out of Jacob; A Scepter shall rise out of Israel.
Isa 7:14Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel.
Mic 5:2"But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of you shall come forth to Me the One to be Ruler in Israel, whose goings forth are from of old, from everlasting."
Isa 35:5-6He would perform miracles
Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped.
6 Then the lame shall leap like a deer, and the tongue of the dumb sing.
For waters shall burst forth in the wilderness, and streams in the desert.
Zech 9:9He would enter riding on a donkey
"Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout, O daughter of Jerusalem!
Behold, your King is coming to you; He is just and having salvation,
Lowly and riding on a donkey, a colt, the foal of a donkey.
Zech 11:12-14He would be sold for 30 pieces of silver
Then I said to them, "If it is agreeable to you, give me my wages; and if not, refrain."
So they weighed out for my wages thirty pieces of silver.
13 And the Lord said to me, "Throw it to the potter" – that princely price they set on me. So I took the thirty pieces of silver and threw them into the house of the Lord for the potter.
Isa 53:3, 7-9He would suffer
He is despised and rejected by men, a Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief.
7 He was oppressed and He was afflicted, yet He opened not His mouth;
He was led as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before its shearers is silent,
So He opened not His mouth.
8 He was taken from prison and from judgment, and who will declare His generation?
For He was cut off from the land of the living;
For the transgressions of My people He was stricken.
9 And they made His grave with the wicked — but with the rich at His death,
Because He had done no violence, nor was any deceit in His mouth.
Ps 16:10His resurrection was prophesied
For You will not leave my soul in Sheol,
nor will You allow Your Holy One to see corruption.
This was a scripture Peter used on the Day of Pentecost
Acts 2:29-32
"Men and brethren, let me speak freely to you of the patriarch David, that he is both dead and buried, and his tomb is with us to this day. 30 Therefore, being a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him that of the fruit of his body, according to the flesh, He would raise up the Christ to sit on his throne, 31 he, foreseeing this, spoke concerning the resurrection of the Christ, that His soul was not left in Hades, nor did His flesh see corruption.
Ps 110:1The Lord said to my Lord,
"Sit at My right hand, till I make Your enemies Your footstool."
Acts 2:33-35
Therefore being exalted to the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, He poured out this which you now see and hear.
34 "For David did not ascend into the heavens, but he says himself:
'The Lord said to my Lord, 'Sit at My right hand,
35 Till I make Your enemies Your footstool."'
Ps 118:22 The stone which the builders rejected has become the chief corner stone.
Acts 4:10-11
Let it be known to you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead, by Him this man stands here before you whole. 11 This is the 'stone which was rejected by you builders, which has become the chief cornerstone.'
The stone is both a Prophecy and a Shadow of Christ
Types: is a pattern, representation or a model
Rom 5:14. Nevertheless death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those who had not sinned according to the likeness of the transgression of Adam, who is a type (figure) of Him who was to come.
Adam is a Type
1 Cor 15:45. So it is written, "The first man Adam became a living being." The last Adam became a life-giving spirit.
Deut 21:23Cursed is anyone who hangs on a tree
For since by man came death, by Man also came the resurrection of the dead.
1 Cor 15:21
· One tree brought death, one tree brought life
Moses is a Type of Christ – What Christ will do, or how He will function
Moses, the most important person in Judaism: prophet, leader & deliverer of Israel
Writer & teacher of the Torah
Intermediary between God & man
Jesus: Prophet (Deut 18:15), leader, deliverer, the Word, teacher, mediator (Titus 2:5)
Lives Mirrored: Killing of the innocents
Exodus, Ecclesia
Look at this Pattern:
Heb 9:19-22
For when Moses had spoken every precept to all the people according to the law, he took the blood of calves and goats, with water, scarlet wool, and hyssop, and sprinkled both the book itself and all the people, 20 saying, "This is the blood of the covenant which God has commanded you." 21 Then likewise he sprinkled with blood both the tabernacle and all the vessels of the ministry.
Heb 9:11-12
But Christ came as High Priest of the good things to come, with the greater and more perfect tabernacle not made with hands, that is, not of this creation. 12 Not with the blood of goats and calves, but with His own blood He entered the Most Holy Place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption.
Shadows: pre-figures an aspect of Christ; play a role that is ultimately filled by Jesus
Col 2:16-17
So let no one judge you in food or in drink, or regarding a festival or a new moon or sabbaths, 17 which are a shadow of things to come, but the substance is of Christ.
Passover – Jesus is the Passover lamb – John 1:29; 1 Pet 1:19; Rev 13:8
Firstfruits – Jesus is the firstfruits of the resurrection from the dead – 1 Cor 15:23
Manna in the Wilderness – Ex 16
John 6:49-51
Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and are dead. 50 This is the bread which comes down from heaven, that one may eat of it and not die. 51 I am the living bread which came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever."
The Rock in the Wilderness – Ex 17:5-6
The Lord said to Moses, "Go on before the people, and take with you some of the elders of Israel. Also take in your hand your rod with which you struck the river, and go. 6 Behold, I will stand before you there on the rock in Horeb; and you shall strike the rock, and water will come out of it, that the people may drink."
1 Cor 10:4. All drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them, and that Rock was Christ.
The Bronze Serpent – Num 21:4-9
Num 21:5-9
The people spoke against God and against Moses: "Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? For there is no food and no water, and our soul loathes this worthless bread." 6 So the Lord sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people; and many of the people of Israel died.
7 Therefore the people came to Moses, and said, "We have sinned, for we have spoken against the Lord and against you; pray to the Lord that He take away the serpents from us." So Moses prayed for the people.
8 Then the Lord said to Moses, "Make a fiery serpent, and set it on a pole; and it shall be that everyone who is bitten, when he looks at it, shall live." 9 So Moses made a bronze serpent, and put it on a pole; and so it was, if a serpent had bitten anyone, when he looked at the bronze serpent, he lived.
John 3:14-15
As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, 15 that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.
Actual Appearances
Ex 3:1-4, 13-14
Now Moses was tending the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, the priest of Midian. And he led the flock to the back of the desert, and came to Horeb, the mountain of God.
2 And the Angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire from the midst of a bush. So he looked, and behold, the bush was burning with fire, but the bush was not consumed. 3 Then Moses said, "I will now turn aside and see this great sight, why the bush does not burn." 4 So when the Lord saw that he turned aside to look, God called to him from the midst of the bush and said, "Moses, Moses!" And he said, "Here I am."
13 Then Moses said to God, "Indeed, when I come to the children of Israel and say to them, 'The God of your fathers has sent me to you,' and they say to me, 'What is His name?' What shall I say to them?"
14 And God said to Moses, "I AM WHO I AM." And He said, "Thus you shall say to the children of Israel, 'I AM has sent me to you.'"
Hagar: Gen 16:7-13
Now the Angel of the Lord found her by a spring of water in the wilderness, by the spring on the way to Shur. 8 And He said, "Hagar, Sarai's maid, where have you come from, and where are you going?"
She said, "I am fleeing from the presence of my mistress Sarai."
9 The Angel of the Lord said to her, "Return to your mistress, and submit yourself under her hand." 10 Then the Angel of the Lord said to her, "I will multiply your descendants exceedingly, so that they shall not be counted for multitude." 11 And the Angel of the Lord said to her:
"Behold, you are with child, And you shall bear a son. You shall call his name Ishmael, Because the Lord has heard your affliction. 12 He shall be a wild man; His hand shall be against every man, And every man's hand against him. And he shall dwell in the presence of all his brethren."
13 Then she called the name of the Lord who spoke to her, El-Roi (You are the God Who Sees); for she said, "Have I also here seen Him who sees me?"
Abraham
Gen 22:11-12
The Angel of the Lord called to him from heaven and said, "Abraham, Abraham!"
So he said, "Here I am."
12 And He said, "Do not lay your hand on the lad, or do anything to him; for now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your only son, from Me."
Samson’s Parents: Judg 13
2 Now there was a certain man from Zorah, of the family of the Danites, whose name was Manoah; and his wife was barren and had no children. 3 And the Angel of the Lord appeared to the woman and said to her, "Indeed now, you are barren and have borne no children, but you shall conceive and bear a son.
15 Then Manoah said to the Angel of the Lord, "Please let us detain You, and we will prepare a young goat for You." 16 And the Angel of the Lord said to Manoah, "Though you detain Me, I will not eat your food. But if you offer a burnt offering, you must offer it to the Lord." (For Manoah did not know He was the Angel of the Lord.)
17 Then Manoah said to the Angel of the Lord, "What is Your name, that when Your words come to pass we may honor You?"
18 And the Angel of the Lord said to him, "Why do you ask My name, seeing it is wonderful?" Secret, Incomprehensible
19 So Manoah took the young goat with the grain offering, and offered it upon the rock to the Lord. And He did a wondrous thing while Manoah and his wife looked on —
20 it happened as the flame went up toward heaven from the altar — the Angel of the Lord ascended in the flame of the altar! When Manoah and his wife saw this, they fell on their faces to the ground. 21 When the Angel of the Lord appeared no more to Manoah and his wife, then Manoah knew that He was the Angel of the Lord.
22 And Manoah said to his wife, "We shall surely die, because we have seen God!"
Who did the people in the Old Testament see?
· They initially call Him “The Angel of the Lord”
· By the end of the encounter, they realize it is a Theophany
· And there is a God-name used or given
o Hagar – El Roi
o Samson’s Parents – “Wonderful”
o Abraham – Jehovah-Jireh (Gen 22:11-14)
o Moses – I AM THAT I AM (Ex 3:1-6)
How can we say that was Jesus and not the Father?
Jesus makes it clear that He is the I AM
John 8:56-59
Your father Abraham rejoiced to see My day, and he saw it and was glad."
57 Then the Jews said to Him, "You are not yet fifty years old, and have You seen Abraham?"
58 Jesus said to them, "Most assuredly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM."
59 Then they took up stones to throw at Him (Lev 24:16); but Jesus hid Himself and went out of the temple, going through the midst of them, and so passed by.
Ex 33:11So the Lord spoke to Moses face to face, as a man speaks to his friend.
Num 12:6-8
"Hear now My words: If there is a prophet among you,
I, the Lord, make Myself known to him in a vision; I speak to him in a dream.
7 Not so with My servant Moses; He is faithful in all My house.
8 I speak with him face to face,
Even plainly, and not in dark sayings; and he sees the form of the Lord.
Jesus makes it clear that no one has seen the Father
John 5:37 The Father Himself, who sent Me, has testified of Me.
You have neither heard His voice at any time, nor seen His form.
John 6:46 Not that anyone has seen the Father, except He who is from God;
He has seen the Father.
John 1:18 No one has seen God at any time.
The only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him.
John 14:7-9
"If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also; and from now on you know Him and have seen Him."
8 Philip said to Him, "Lord, show us the Father, and it is sufficient for us."
9 Jesus said to him, "Have I been with you so long, and yet you have not known Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father; so how can you say, 'Show us the Father'?
Col 1:15He is the image of the invisible God
Heb 1:3Who being the brightness of His glory and the express image of His person
Charakteer: the exact representation of the object whose image it bore. caricature
Occurs only in Heb 1:.
Hupostasis: reality, essence, substance, real being, nature
o Heb 11:1. Now faith is the substance of things hoped for
charakt¢¡rt¢¡s hupostáseœs, "the exact image of His essence"
Rev 1:8
"I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End," says the Lord, "who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty."