His Foreshadowing in the Old Testament

Overview:

            The Old Testament is not a number of books that only outline God’s relationship with the Hebrew people. Nor is it just a historical compilation of events, battles, defeats and captivities. It is much more than that – it is a repository for prophesies, foreshadowing’s and descriptions of Jesus’ future ministry, along with his distinct presence amongst the Old Testament figures.  These foreshadowing’s illuminate the character of Jesus, his role as Messiah, and his divinity as part of the Godhead.

            There are many instances of this prophetic echo that continues to ring out from ancient times to this very day. The following is but a few of the predominant examples of Jesus’ foreshadowing in the Old Testament:

¨     Adam: As the first human (Genesis 1), he is a foreshadowing of Jesus, as the ‘Second/Last Adam’ (1 Corinthians 15:45). The reasoning is that Adam is of the flesh, and Jesus is of the spirit. Adam was the first man with sin, and Jesus – who took all our sin upon himself on the cross – will be the last. There is also the added element of the close, intimate relationship with God that with both, as human beings. 

¨     Woman’s Seed: After the fall of Adam and Eve, God cursed both the serpent (Satan) and man/woman. As part of this, in Genesis 3:15, God tells Satan that he will put enmity (hatred and antagonism) between the seed of the woman (who ends up being Jesus), and the seed of the serpent (who ends up being the Anti-Christ).

¨     Noah’s Ark: While this example is not based around that of a person, it is still important imagery of Jesus as a saviour. In Genesis 5-7, Noah’s Ark is a symbol of a place of refuge, provided by God, to save Noah and his family from the wrath of God – just as Jesus (whose name means salvation), will save those that believe in Him from the final judgement of humanity at the second coming of Jesus (1 Thessalonians 5:9).

¨     Melchizedek: In Genesis 14:18-20, Abraham is blessed by Melchizedek, who is a priest of the ‘God Most High’ in Salem (Jerusalem), and Abraham gives a tithe to him – note that tithes are only given to God. Melchizedek gives Abraham bread and wine – which has been said is a possible foreshadowing of the Last Supper. The author of the book of Hebrews makes the connection between Jesus and Melchizedek in Hebrews 7 – both of whom are priests of special presence and worth.

¨     Moses: Moses was a leader of a nation, a prophet, and the writer of five books of the Bible. He led the Israelites out of the captivity and bondage they had experienced for centuries in Egypt. In Acts 3:17-26, - especially verse 22 - Luke notes that Moses foretold of Jesus’ coming (Deuteronomy 18:15-18). Jesus is to be the one who takes an individual out of the captivity and bondage to sin, and brings them into ‘righteousness’ in Him. He leads the believer to the promised land – an eternity in the presence of God.

¨     Sacrificing Isaac: In Genesis 22, we read the story of Abraham being asked of God to provide his son – his only son – as a sacrifice. Abraham acknowledged that God was going to provide ‘the lamb for Himself”. This is clearly an image relating to Jesus, and his future sacrifice for humanities sins. On that mountain the ‘Angel of the Lord’ (who is the pre-incarnate Jesus) talks to Abraham and tells him that because he was willing to sacrifice his only son, that he and his family were to be blessed.

Perhaps the clearest example of the foreshadowing of Jesus in the Old Testament is that of the ‘Passover’ and the feast that accompanies it. Exodus 12:1-28, shows the instructions of the Passover meal that would precede the 10^th Plague that struck Egypt – that of the death of the first born across all the land – man and beast. It is a celebration of God’s mighty, and divine wrath upon the enemies of his people, and the miraculous, salvation that he brought to his chosen people. Paul directly ties Jesus to the meaning of the Passover – that he was sacrificed in our stead.

1 Corinthians 5:7 - Therefore purge out the old leaven, that you may be a new lump, since you truly are unleavened. For indeed Christ, our Passover, was sacrificed for us.

 The main Passover meal is known as the ‘Seder’ it has many different elements to it, the majority of which have direct links to Jesus, or have distinct messianic overtones. Each illustrates some point of Jesus’ divine mission here on Earth, this can be seen in the following:

¨     The Lamb – The lamb that was to be slaughtered and eaten during the Passover was to be a year old, and without blemish - this was fulfilled in Jesus, as stated in 1 Peter 1:19. When cooking it, no bone could be broken – this was also fulfilled by Jesus, as stated John 19:33. The death of Jesus on the cross – as the sacrifice for the atonement of our sins – it the culmination of the imagery of God providing a sacrifice for Abraham, and the first Passover.

¨     Unleavened Bread – Passover is also known as the ‘Feast of Unleavened Bread’. This is because of the requirement to eat bread with no yeast in it from the outset. Yeast (leaven) is symbolic of sin – just as yeast spread and contaminates a whole batch of flour, so too does sin. Paul recognised this when he discusses this concept in 1 Corinthians 5:6-8. Jesus also states that he is the bread of life – John 6:35. In the Seder meal the unleavened bread is called ‘matzah bread’ – it is held in a three pocketed ornate sleeve. Messianic Jews see this as a representation of the Trinity. Why? Because in the ceremony that occurs during the Seder meal the middle piece is broken in half, and one piece is hidden (to be found later, and the person who found it gets blessed). That is the bread that Jesus broke. An interesting point about the matzah bread that is used today – it must be pierced and striped so that it doesn’t rise – just as Jesus was pierced and received stripes for our iniquity.

¨     The Cup of Wine: There are four cups of wine that are to be drunk during the Seder meal – in the ‘Last Supper’ Jesus drinks the third cup with his disciples and stops there. That particular cup is known as the ‘Cup of Redemption’. Jesus was sharing with his disciples, and eventually the rest of the world, that his sacrifice was to bring about redemption of those who believe in Him. It is also the cup that Jesus asks his Heavenly Father to take from him if it is his will.

¨     Blood on the Lintel: During the first Passover the Israelites were instructed to spread the blood of their lamb over their door lintels (frames), mixed with salt water – they were to use a branch of hyssop to do so. When Jesus was on the cross and he was thirsty the Romans gave him a vinegar drink on a sponge at the end of a piece of hyssop. The blood marked the door as safe from the Angel of Death – just as the blood of Jesus marks us safe from God’s wrath, as it cleanses our sins (1 John 1:7).

¨     The Bitter Herbs: there is a mix of herbs that serves to remind Jewish people about the ‘bitterness’ of the captivity. In Messianic Jewish circles, the herbs can be seen to represent a person remembering the past bitterness of sin in their life that Jesus has cleansed (Isaiah 38:17).

Jesus was poured out and broken for us, He is the heavenly Father’s answer to the sin that so corrupts humanity, our bodies, our thoughts and our society. It is only in the believing in the death and resurrection of Jesus as the Son of God, that sets us apart from the coming wrath of God on those who refuse to believe in Him. This is why Communion is the only church tradition or sacrament that he specifically asks the disciples and other believers to follow over time. Because we need constant reminders of what we have been saved from, and the cost of that precious gift – just like the Jewish people and the Passover. We are to take the bread and the wine as a remembrance of Jesus’ sacrifice, and his miraculous resurrection that provides us with the cleansing of our sins, and the passage into eternity with God (Luke 22:14-23).

Luke 22:14-23: When the hour had come, He sat down, and the twelve apostles with Him. Then He said to them, “With fervent desire I have desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer; for I say to you, I will no longer eat of it until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God.” Then He took the cup, and gave thanks, and said, “Take this and divide it among yourselves; for I say to you, I will not drink of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes.”And He took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, “This is My body which is given for you; do this in remembrance of Me.” Likewise He also took the cup after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood, which is shed for you. But behold, the hand of My betrayer is with Me on the table. And truly the Son of Man goes as it has been determined, but woe to that man by whom He is betrayed!” Then they began to question among themselves, which of them it was who would do this thing.

There are many other instances of Jesus appearing in the Old Testament where he would talk to people like Abraham and Moses in person - as the reincarnate person of Jesus. There are also around 300 prophetic instances of predicting the coming of Jesus all across the Old Testament, including the Psalms.

Part 6: Jesus’ Presence in the Old Testament