Jesus in the Old Testament
"For then must he often have suffered since the foundation of the world: but now once in the end of the world hath he appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself." (Hebrews 9:26)
The Bible is divided into the Old and New Testaments. In the Old Testament, we read about the creation, the fall and the subsequent events which followed, including the promises God gave to the descendents of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob known as the Jews or Israelites. In the New Testament, the Bible describes the coming of the promised Messiah, the Lord Jesus Christ.
Throughout the Old Testament, the Bible has many prophecies and foreshadowings of His coming.
The Promised Redeemer
In the Book of Genesis, the Bible describes man being created in personal fellowship with God. However, after Adam and Eve were deceived by the serpent (Satan) and disobeyed God by eating from the tree of knowledge of good and evil, they died spiritually and sin was brought into the world. After this happened, God made a promise to Adam, Eve and Satan.
He said to Satan:
"And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel." (Genesis 3:15)
This was the first of many foreshadowings of a coming Redeemer. He would be bruised but would in turn bruise Satan. Its a picture of the victory Jesus won over Satan on the cross of Calvary.
A Covering
Adam and Eve, who originally lived naked and unashamed, were then driven out of the Garden of Eden. To provide a covering for them, God had to slay an animal.
"Unto Adam also and to his wife did the LORD God make coats of skins, and clothed them." (Genesis 3:21)
Similarily, the sacrifice of Jesus Christ provides a covering for our sin.
Cain and Abel
We also see this in the account of Cain and Abel, two of Adam and Eve's children. Abel was a keeper of sheep while Cain was a tiller of the ground. When it came time to bring an offering to the LORD for their sins, Cain brought the fruit of the ground while Abel brought a lamb as a sacrifice for his sins. God accepted Abel's offering but rejected Cain's. Out of anger, Cain rose up and killed Abel.
"And in process of time it came to pass, that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering unto the LORD. And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof. And the LORD had respect unto Abel and to his offering: But unto Cain and to his offering he had not respect. And Cain was very wroth, and his countenance fell." (Genesis 4: 3-5)
Abel's sacrifice offering in faith was accepted by God but the labour of Cain's hands, rejected. We see this today in Christ, where we cannot be saved by our works but instead by putting our faith in Jesus, who laid down His life for us.
Noah's Ark
In the days of Noah, the world was so corrupted that God flooded the world in judgment. To preserve man and many of God's creatures, the Lord chose Noah, his wife, his sons and their wives to build a gigantic Ark to weather the storm. Out of the human race, only eight people were saved from the flood.
Like the salvation found in the ark, those in Christ are saved from God's judgment on sin.
Abraham and Isaac
Years after the flood, a man named Abraham found favour with the Lord. God made a promise to Abraham and his wife Sara that she would bear a son and this was fullfilled in the birth of Isaac. When the boy had grown, God put Abraham to the test.
"And it came to pass after these things, that God did tempt Abraham, and said unto him, Abraham: and he said, Behold, here I am. And he said, Take now thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest, and get thee into the land of Moriah; and offer him there for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains which I will tell thee of." (Genesis 22:1-2)
God, who hates child sacrifice like that done unto the pagan god Molech, asked Abraham to sacrifice his only son. In obedience to God, Abraham took Isaac up to a rock and was about to offer him up to the Lord. After Abraham's faith passed the test, God stopped him.
This is a very powerful picture. While God asked Abraham to offer up his only son, He stopped him from going through with it. Yet, in the birth, life and death of Jesus Christ, God's only begotten Son was offered up for the sins of the world.
"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." (John 3:16)
As a result of his obedience and faith, God made a covenent with Abraham and he would become the father of many nations.
The Passover Lamb
Isaac would later have a son named Jacob, who God renamed Israel.
Living in the land of Canaan, Israel had twelve sons who would head the twelve tribes of Israel. One of his sons, Joseph, was highly esteemed by his father and it made his brothers very jealous. One day, they faked Joseph's death and sold him into slavery. Joseph would eventually end up in Egypt where he found favour with the ruling Pharaoh. During a time of great famine, Joseph's wisdom helped Egypt survive and the famine was so grievous, it drew Israel and Joseph's brothers from Canaan into Egypt for food. There they were reunited with Joseph, who forgave his brothers and they settled there together. Joseph would die many years later and the Israelites would grow in number. One day, a Pharoah rose to power who knew not Joseph and because he felt threatened by the great number of Israelites, he enslaved them and forced them into hard labour and bondage. After years in captivity, the Israelites cried out to God for help and He heard their call. God would raise up a deliverer named Moses.
After God spoke to Moses in a burning bush, the Lord sent him before Pharaoh. He made many pleas demanding the release of the Israelites. Each time, Pharaoh refused and God brought a judgment upon Egypt. There would be ten plagues which included turning the Nile into blood, frogs, lice, flies, oxen struck by disease, boils, grievous hail, locusts and darkness for three days. After nine plagues, Pharoah's heart was so hard that God brought the tenth and final judgment upon Egypt - all the first born of Egypt would die. Before the plague, God instructed the Israelites to protect themselves by killing a lamb and putting the blood on the doorposts of their house. When the blood was seen, the house was passed over and the firstborn was protected.
This is the origin of the Jewish feast of Passover.
"For I will pass through the land of Egypt this night, and will smite all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgment: I am the LORD. And the blood shall be to you for a token upon the houses where ye are: and when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and the plague shall not be upon you to destroy you, when I smite the land of Egypt."
(Exodus 12:12-13)
After this tenth and final plague, Pharaoh set the Israelites free and Moses led them out of Egypt.
The Passover lamb is foreshadowing of the sacrifice Jesus made on the cross. For the Christian, God's judgment on sin passes over because of the blood of Christ.
John the Baptist made this great proclamation when he saw Jesus approach for the first time.
"The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world."
(John 1:29)
Jesus is the Lamb of God.
The Israelites in the Wilderness
After leaving Egypt, God parted the Red Sea and led the Israelites into the wilderness where He would lead them and supply their needs. God would instruct Moses to bring the Israelites to a rock where water would pour forth.
This paralells what Jesus said in an encounter with a Samaritan women at a well...
"There cometh a woman of Samaria to draw water: Jesus saith unto her, Give me to drink. (For his disciples were gone away unto the city to buy meat.) Then saith the woman of Samaria unto him, How is it that thou, being a Jew, askest drink of me, which am a woman of Samaria? for the Jews have no dealings with the Samaritans. Jesus answered and said unto her, If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, Give me to drink; thou wouldest have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water." (John 4:7-10)
...and what happens to Him after He died on the cross.
"Then came the soldiers, and brake the legs of the first, and of the other which was crucified with him. But when they came to Jesus, and saw that he was dead already, they brake not his legs: But one of the soldiers with a spear pierced his side, and forthwith came there out blood and water." (John 19:32-34)
Jesus is the Rock in whom we find the living water of life.
"And did all drink the same spiritual drink: for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ."
(Corinthians 10:4)
In addition to the water, God also provided food for the Israelites. He supplied them with manna or the bread from Heaven. Each morning, the Israelites gathered the manna off the ground, pounded it into cakes and baked it.
"And it came to pass, that at even the quails came up, and covered the camp: and in the morning the dew lay round about the host. And when the dew that lay was gone up, behold, upon the face of the wilderness there lay a small round thing, as small as the hoar frost on the ground. And when the children of Israel saw it, they said one to another, It is manna: for they wist not what it was. And Moses said unto them, This is the bread which the LORD hath given you to eat." (Exodus 16:13-15)
Jesus would reference this event in making this declaration.
"Our fathers did eat manna in the desert; as it is written, He gave them bread from heaven to eat. Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Moses gave you not that bread from heaven; but my Father giveth you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is he which cometh down from heaven, and giveth life unto the world. Then said they unto him, Lord, evermore give us this bread. And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst." (John 6: 31-35)
Jesus is the true bread from Heaven. Spiritually, all who come to Him shall never hunger and all who believe on Him shall never thirst.
These are are a few circumstances where we see the Old Testament foreshadowing the coming of Jesus Christ. We also see a type of Christ demonstrated in the character of many of God's people in the Old Testament. A few include Joseph, Moses and David. There are also many direct prophecies, like Isaiah 53, concerning the coming Messiah.
Just as the Israelites were led by the Lord through the wilderness, facing many trials and tribulations on their way to the promised land, God leads the Christian through this life. In both parallels, victory come through His power and strength and failures arise when one strays from God and falls into sin.
Today, the nation of Israel has been regathered but again faces much danger. God is still pointing them and all of mankind to the same Messiah who bled and died for the sins of the world.
Praise God, for the Jesus Christ of old is the same Jesus Christ of today.
"Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever." (Hebrews 13:8)
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"For then must he often have suffered since the foundation of the world: but now once in the end of the world hath he appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself." (Hebrews 9:26)
The Bible is divided into the Old and New Testaments. In the Old Testament, we read about the creation, the fall and the subsequent events which followed, including the promises God gave to the descendents of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob known as the Jews or Israelites. In the New Testament, the Bible describes the coming of the promised Messiah, the Lord Jesus Christ.
Throughout the Old Testament, the Bible has many prophecies and foreshadowings of His coming.
The Promised Redeemer
In the Book of Genesis, the Bible describes man being created in personal fellowship with God. However, after Adam and Eve were deceived by the serpent (Satan) and disobeyed God by eating from the tree of knowledge of good and evil, they died spiritually and sin was brought into the world. After this happened, God made a promise to Adam, Eve and Satan.
He said to Satan:
"And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel." (Genesis 3:15)
This was the first of many foreshadowings of a coming Redeemer. He would be bruised but would in turn bruise Satan. Its a picture of the victory Jesus won over Satan on the cross of Calvary.
A Covering
Adam and Eve, who originally lived naked and unashamed, were then driven out of the Garden of Eden. To provide a covering for them, God had to slay an animal.
"Unto Adam also and to his wife did the LORD God make coats of skins, and clothed them." (Genesis 3:21)
Similarily, the sacrifice of Jesus Christ provides a covering for our sin.
Cain and Abel
We also see this in the account of Cain and Abel, two of Adam and Eve's children. Abel was a keeper of sheep while Cain was a tiller of the ground. When it came time to bring an offering to the LORD for their sins, Cain brought the fruit of the ground while Abel brought a lamb as a sacrifice for his sins. God accepted Abel's offering but rejected Cain's. Out of anger, Cain rose up and killed Abel.
"And in process of time it came to pass, that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering unto the LORD. And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof. And the LORD had respect unto Abel and to his offering: But unto Cain and to his offering he had not respect. And Cain was very wroth, and his countenance fell." (Genesis 4: 3-5)
Abel's sacrifice offering in faith was accepted by God but the labour of Cain's hands, rejected. We see this today in Christ, where we cannot be saved by our works but instead by putting our faith in Jesus, who laid down His life for us.
Noah's Ark
In the days of Noah, the world was so corrupted that God flooded the world in judgment. To preserve man and many of God's creatures, the Lord chose Noah, his wife, his sons and their wives to build a gigantic Ark to weather the storm. Out of the human race, only eight people were saved from the flood.
Like the salvation found in the ark, those in Christ are saved from God's judgment on sin.
Abraham and Isaac
Years after the flood, a man named Abraham found favour with the Lord. God made a promise to Abraham and his wife Sara that she would bear a son and this was fullfilled in the birth of Isaac. When the boy had grown, God put Abraham to the test.
"And it came to pass after these things, that God did tempt Abraham, and said unto him, Abraham: and he said, Behold, here I am. And he said, Take now thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest, and get thee into the land of Moriah; and offer him there for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains which I will tell thee of." (Genesis 22:1-2)
God, who hates child sacrifice like that done unto the pagan god Molech, asked Abraham to sacrifice his only son. In obedience to God, Abraham took Isaac up to a rock and was about to offer him up to the Lord. After Abraham's faith passed the test, God stopped him.
This is a very powerful picture. While God asked Abraham to offer up his only son, He stopped him from going through with it. Yet, in the birth, life and death of Jesus Christ, God's only begotten Son was offered up for the sins of the world.
"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." (John 3:16)
As a result of his obedience and faith, God made a covenent with Abraham and he would become the father of many nations.
The Passover Lamb
Isaac would later have a son named Jacob, who God renamed Israel.
Living in the land of Canaan, Israel had twelve sons who would head the twelve tribes of Israel. One of his sons, Joseph, was highly esteemed by his father and it made his brothers very jealous. One day, they faked Joseph's death and sold him into slavery. Joseph would eventually end up in Egypt where he found favour with the ruling Pharaoh. During a time of great famine, Joseph's wisdom helped Egypt survive and the famine was so grievous, it drew Israel and Joseph's brothers from Canaan into Egypt for food. There they were reunited with Joseph, who forgave his brothers and they settled there together. Joseph would die many years later and the Israelites would grow in number. One day, a Pharoah rose to power who knew not Joseph and because he felt threatened by the great number of Israelites, he enslaved them and forced them into hard labour and bondage. After years in captivity, the Israelites cried out to God for help and He heard their call. God would raise up a deliverer named Moses.
After God spoke to Moses in a burning bush, the Lord sent him before Pharaoh. He made many pleas demanding the release of the Israelites. Each time, Pharaoh refused and God brought a judgment upon Egypt. There would be ten plagues which included turning the Nile into blood, frogs, lice, flies, oxen struck by disease, boils, grievous hail, locusts and darkness for three days. After nine plagues, Pharoah's heart was so hard that God brought the tenth and final judgment upon Egypt - all the first born of Egypt would die. Before the plague, God instructed the Israelites to protect themselves by killing a lamb and putting the blood on the doorposts of their house. When the blood was seen, the house was passed over and the firstborn was protected.
This is the origin of the Jewish feast of Passover.
"For I will pass through the land of Egypt this night, and will smite all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgment: I am the LORD. And the blood shall be to you for a token upon the houses where ye are: and when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and the plague shall not be upon you to destroy you, when I smite the land of Egypt."
(Exodus 12:12-13)
After this tenth and final plague, Pharaoh set the Israelites free and Moses led them out of Egypt.
The Passover lamb is foreshadowing of the sacrifice Jesus made on the cross. For the Christian, God's judgment on sin passes over because of the blood of Christ.
John the Baptist made this great proclamation when he saw Jesus approach for the first time.
"The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world."
(John 1:29)
Jesus is the Lamb of God.
The Israelites in the Wilderness
After leaving Egypt, God parted the Red Sea and led the Israelites into the wilderness where He would lead them and supply their needs. God would instruct Moses to bring the Israelites to a rock where water would pour forth.
This paralells what Jesus said in an encounter with a Samaritan women at a well...
"There cometh a woman of Samaria to draw water: Jesus saith unto her, Give me to drink. (For his disciples were gone away unto the city to buy meat.) Then saith the woman of Samaria unto him, How is it that thou, being a Jew, askest drink of me, which am a woman of Samaria? for the Jews have no dealings with the Samaritans. Jesus answered and said unto her, If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, Give me to drink; thou wouldest have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water." (John 4:7-10)
...and what happens to Him after He died on the cross.
"Then came the soldiers, and brake the legs of the first, and of the other which was crucified with him. But when they came to Jesus, and saw that he was dead already, they brake not his legs: But one of the soldiers with a spear pierced his side, and forthwith came there out blood and water." (John 19:32-34)
Jesus is the Rock in whom we find the living water of life.
"And did all drink the same spiritual drink: for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ."
(Corinthians 10:4)
In addition to the water, God also provided food for the Israelites. He supplied them with manna or the bread from Heaven. Each morning, the Israelites gathered the manna off the ground, pounded it into cakes and baked it.
"And it came to pass, that at even the quails came up, and covered the camp: and in the morning the dew lay round about the host. And when the dew that lay was gone up, behold, upon the face of the wilderness there lay a small round thing, as small as the hoar frost on the ground. And when the children of Israel saw it, they said one to another, It is manna: for they wist not what it was. And Moses said unto them, This is the bread which the LORD hath given you to eat." (Exodus 16:13-15)
Jesus would reference this event in making this declaration.
"Our fathers did eat manna in the desert; as it is written, He gave them bread from heaven to eat. Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Moses gave you not that bread from heaven; but my Father giveth you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is he which cometh down from heaven, and giveth life unto the world. Then said they unto him, Lord, evermore give us this bread. And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst." (John 6: 31-35)
Jesus is the true bread from Heaven. Spiritually, all who come to Him shall never hunger and all who believe on Him shall never thirst.
These are are a few circumstances where we see the Old Testament foreshadowing the coming of Jesus Christ. We also see a type of Christ demonstrated in the character of many of God's people in the Old Testament. A few include Joseph, Moses and David. There are also many direct prophecies, like Isaiah 53, concerning the coming Messiah.
Just as the Israelites were led by the Lord through the wilderness, facing many trials and tribulations on their way to the promised land, God leads the Christian through this life. In both parallels, victory come through His power and strength and failures arise when one strays from God and falls into sin.
Today, the nation of Israel has been regathered but again faces much danger. God is still pointing them and all of mankind to the same Messiah who bled and died for the sins of the world.
Praise God, for the Jesus Christ of old is the same Jesus Christ of today.
"Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever." (Hebrews 13:8)
>>BACK TO BIBLE TOPICS
