The messiah in the Old Testament & Jesus

If you are looking for Jesus in the Old Testament, you will find him. There are only two choices: Either Jesus is the fulfillment of Old Testament prophesy or the New Testament writers collaborated to make Jesus “fit” the scriptures. I will point out some of the verses that I consider foretell the coming of the Messiah, Jesus Christ.

Ever since the “fall” in the Garden of Eden, humankind has been less than it was created to be. We are under a curse and in need of a Savior to bridge the gap between a holy God and a sinful humanity. Right from the start, as God was evicting our first parents from Eden, He was planning for our salvation. “Then the Lord God said to the snake… ‘I will make you and the woman hate each other; her offspring and yours will always be enemies. Her offspring will crush your head, and you will bite her offspring’s heel.” (Gen. 3: 14,15) One of Eve’s descendents will defeat the devil after the devil has inflicted some pain.

There is an interesting meeting between Abraham and Melchizedek in Genesis 14. Melchizedek is introduced as a priest of the Most High God and king of Salem (Jerusalem). There is a foreshadowing of the Last Supper as the priest brings bread and wine to the Patriarch. Abraham then pays a tithe of all that he has to Melchizedek.

When YHWH asked Abraham to sacrifice his own son, Isaac, it was a picture of the Son of God being sacrificed on Calvary. (Gen. 22: 1-19) The Passover, in Exodus chapter 12, reveals the kind of redemption that will come later. The angel of death was dispatched to slay all of the firstborn in Egypt. The children of Israel were advised to kill a lamb or a goat on that day and spread the blood on their doorposts. When the angel would see the blood, he would “pass over” the Jewish homes and their firstborn would be spared. In Jesus, the blood of the Lamb of God would protect believers.

While the Israelites were wandering in the desert, “Then the LORD sent poisonous snakes among the people, and many Israelites were bitten and died. Then the LORD told Moses to make a metal snake and put it on a pole, so that anyone who was bitten could look at it and be healed.” (Numbers 21: 6,8) Jesus in John’s Gospel explained the significance of the snake on the pole. “As Moses lifted up the bronze snake on a pole in the desert, in the same way the Son of Man must be lifted up, so that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life.” (John 3: 14,15)

If we look at the genealogy of Jesus as listed in the Gospel of Matthew, we can see names of people from the Old Testament who formed Jesus’ family tree. Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and Judah are there, of course. Rahab, the prostitute from Jericho is also there. She had hidden Joshua’s spies and would be saved from their attack on the city. She was instructed to hang a red cord from her window so that the Israelites would know where she lived. Then they could find her to save her. The red cord is a symbol of the blood. It repeats the theme of the Passover and foretells the effect of Jesus’ shed blood on the world. (Joshua 2, Matthew 1)

Psalms is full of messianic references. Looking back from what we now know, we can marvel at the words of the Psalmist. Psalm 2 contains the following reference to Jesus, “You are my son; today I have become your father.” (Psalm 2: 7) A reference to Jesus resurrection is made in Psalm 16:10, “You protect me from the power of death. You will not abandon me to the world of the dead.”

Psalm 22 is a vivid picture of the crucifixion. “My God, My God, why have you abandoned me?” (v.1) Those were Jesus very words as he hung on the cross. The scene is foretold with these words, “All who see me make fun of me; they stick out their tongues and shake their heads. ‘You relied on the Lord’ they say. ‘Why doesn’t he save you?” (v. 7,8) “They gamble for my clothes.” (v. 18)

A crucifixion is a slow, cruel death, unknown in Old Testament times. Yet Psalm 22 captures the agony of death on a cross. “All my bones are out of joint; my heart is like melted wax. My throat is as dry as dust, and my tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth.” (v. 14,15) “An evil gang is around me; like a pack of dogs they close in on me; they tear at my hands and feet.” (v. 16)

There are many more word pictures of Jesus in the Psalms and prophetic books. I would like to focus on Isaiah for a few more stunning examples of Jesus in the Old Testament. The most famous quotes, which are printed on Christmas cards every year, foretell the birth of the Savior. “The Lord himself will give you a sign; a young woman (virgin) who is pregnant will have a son and will name him Immanuel.” (Is 7: 14) “A child is born to us! A son is given to us! And he will be our ruler. He will be called ‘Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace.” (Is. 9: 6)

Isaiah, chapter 53, is the most startling preview of Jesus suffering and purpose in the whole Bible. Virtually the entire chapter is devoted to the Messiah. “He endured the suffering that should have been ours.” (v. 4) “Because of our sins he was wounded.” (v. 5) “All of us were like sheep that were lost, each of us going his own way. But the Lord made the punishment fall on him, the punishment all of us deserved.” (v. 6) The whole chapter bears reading if we really want to grasp the wonder of such an exact presentation of the Passion given 600 years before the event.

Volumes have been written on the presence of Jesus in the Jewish Bible. I have brought out a few verses but, there are many, many more. Certainly, all of the Old Testament is the story of a people established for the purpose of delivering a Savior to the world. The scriptures were written to let the world know the kind of Redeemer that YHWH would send.

Sources:

Halley’s Bible Handbook, Zondervan, 2000

Good News Bible, CBS, 1992