Old Testament Survey
Jesus in the Old Testament
In the Gospels, Jesus quoted from twenty-two (22) of the books of the Old Testament. In part, this shows the unity and application of the Old Testament in our lives. In other instances, this quoting was a proof of the application of the Scriptures to Him, for as Jesus tells the disciples on the Road to Emmaus, all of Scripture points to the Christ.
Luke 24:22-27
22 Yea, and certain women also of our company
made us astonished, which were early at the sepulchre; 23 And when
they found not his body, they came, saying, that they had also seen
a vision of angels, which said that he was alive. 24 And certain
of them which were with us went to the sepulchre, and found it even
so as the women had said: but him they saw not. 25 Then he said
unto them, O fools, and slow of heart
to believe all that the prophets have spoken: 26 Ought
not Christ to have suffered these things, and to enter into his
glory? 27 And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he
expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning
himself.
Three Hebrew words are used for God in the Old Testament:
- Elohim is translated God and stands primarily for God the Father.
- Yahweh [Jehovah in Latin] is translated as LORD. This is the pre-incarnate Jesus.
- Adonai is translated as Lord. The context determines Which of the Trinity is being addressed.
- The Holy Spirit is always referred to as the Spirit.
In reading each book of the Old Testament, learn to look for Jesus, for “all the scriptures the things concerning himself.” Our Lord will appear in a lot of different appearances during our study. For example, there are many descriptions and prophecies of the Messiah, the Christ. These help to explain Who the Messiah will be and what He will be like. There are appearances of the Angel of the Lord. We will learn that on many occasions this is the pre-incarnate Christ. We will also come to see that Yahweh (Jehovah), the God of the Covenant is the Second Person of the Trinity.
Lastly, and perhaps the clearest pictures of Jesus in the New Testament are through the use of what biblical scholars call “types.” The Greek word tupos is rendered “print” (John 20:25), “figure” (Acts 7:43; Rom 5:14), “fashion” (Acts 7:44), “manner” (Acts 23:25), “form” (Rom 6:17), and “example”(1 Cor 10:6, 11; Phil 3:17; 1 Thess 1:7; 2 Thess 3:9; 1 Tim. 4:12). It properly means a “model,” “pattern,” or “mold” into which clay or wax was pressed, that it might take the figure or exact shape of the mold. The word “type” is generally used to denote a resemblance between something present and something future, which is called the “anti-type.” Jesus is the anti-type for many, many different Old Testament types.
A note of warning might be interjected here about types, however. Many people get carried away looking for pictures of Christ. They find Him in numbers, colors, and little details of true types. A good rule of thumb is to find types only where the New Testament Scriptures find a type. Clearly, this rule may be a little too restrictive, but if one is careful to find pictures of Jesus in this fashion, the types found will be true. An example of a good picture of Jesus not support by New Testament Scripture is Joseph. But, obviously, this picture is valid only in certain details. So it is with all types.
There is no doubt as to the application of Scriptures as an arrow pointing directly to Jesus. As we will see, God “created” the plan of salvation immediately after the fall of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. This plan is revealed in a progressive fashion which, initially culminates on Resurrection Morning, and will be finalized with the Second Coming of Jesus and the Millennial reign of Christ on earth.
We will use the terms Messiah and Christ interchangeably with worrying about the differences, because there are none! Messiah is the Hebrew term and Christ is the Greek equivalent. Both mean “the Lord’s Anointed Deliverer.”
So, come along and learn about God.
Welcome to the Old Testament, the story of true history in the making!
