The Old Testament: A Grand Tapestry Pointing to Jesus Christ
The Bible, though divided into two testaments, is a unified narrative, with the Old Testament serving as the foundational groundwork and prophetic anticipation of the person and work of Jesus Christ. Far from being a disconnected collection of ancient laws and histories, the Old Testament is a rich tapestry woven with threads that intricately point to the coming Messiah. It reveals God's eternal plan of redemption, progressively unveiling the character, purpose, and ultimate triumph of His Son. Understanding these connections deepens our appreciation for God's sovereign design and the perfect fulfillment found in Christ. Let us explore five profound ways the Old Testament unmistakably points to Jesus.
1. Prophecies Fulfilled in His Life, Death, and Resurrection
Perhaps the most direct way the Old Testament points to Jesus is through its numerous prophecies, many of which were fulfilled with astonishing precision in His life, death, and resurrection. These are not vague predictions but often specific details concerning His birth, ministry, betrayal, crucifixion, and ultimate victory. The sheer volume and accuracy of these prophecies are compelling evidence of divine authorship and Christ's identity as the promised Messiah.
Consider the prophecy of His miraculous birth:
Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.
This was fulfilled in the birth of Jesus to the virgin Mary (Luke 1:27, Matthew 1:23).
His birthplace was also foretold:
But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting.
Jesus was indeed born in Bethlehem (Luke 2:4).
The suffering and atoning work of the Messiah are powerfully depicted in Isaiah 53, describing Him as a "man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief" (Isaiah 53:3) who bore our iniquities and was "wounded for our transgressions" (Isaiah 53:5). The details of His crucifixion, such as His hands and feet being pierced (Psalm 22:16) and the soldiers casting lots for His garments (Psalm 22:18), find their exact fulfillment in the Gospels (John 19:23-24). Even His resurrection was prophesied:
For thou wilt not leave my soul in hell; neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption.
Peter explicitly applies this verse to Christ's resurrection in Acts 2:27. These are but a few examples from a multitude of prophecies that anchor the identity of Jesus firmly in the Old Testament Scriptures.
2. Types and Shadows Pointing to His Person and Work
Beyond direct prophecy, the Old Testament is replete with "types" or "shadows" – people, events, institutions, and rituals – that served as divinely appointed foreshadowings of Christ and His redemptive work. These types were not the reality themselves but pointed forward to the true substance found in Jesus. The author of Hebrews emphasizes this truth, stating, "For the law having a shadow of good things to come, and not the very image of the things, can never with those sacrifices which they offered year by year continually make the comers thereunto perfect" (Hebrews 10:1).
The most prominent example is the sacrificial system. The countless animal sacrifices offered under the Mosaic Law for the atonement of sins were temporary and incomplete, requiring continual repetition. They pointed to the ultimate, perfect, and once-for-all sacrifice of Jesus Christ, "the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world" (John 1:29). His blood alone has the power to cleanse us from all sin (1 John 1:7).
The Passover lamb, whose blood saved the Israelites from the angel of death in Egypt (Exodus 12:13), is a clear type of Christ. Paul declares, "For even Christ our passover is sacrificed for us" (1 Corinthians 5:7). Just as the lamb's blood protected, so Christ's blood secures our eternal redemption.
The high priest, who entered the Holy of Holies once a year to make atonement for the sins of the people, foreshadowed Jesus, our great High Priest. Unlike the Levitical priests who offered sacrifices repeatedly and eventually died, Jesus "ever liveth to make intercession" for us (Hebrews 7:25), having entered "into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us" (Hebrews 9:24) with His own precious blood.
Even the Tabernacle and Temple, with their distinct divisions and sacred objects, served as a blueprint for Christ. The curtain separating the Holy Place from the Most Holy Place symbolized the barrier between sinful humanity and a holy God, a barrier torn at Christ's death (Matthew 27:51), signifying open access to God through Him (Hebrews 10:19-20). Jesus Himself declared, "Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up," speaking of the temple of His body (John 2:19-21). These types reveal God's meticulous plan, preparing His people for the coming of the ultimate Reality.
3. Progressive Revelation Through the Covenants
God's interaction with humanity throughout the Old Testament is structured around a series of covenants, each building upon the last and progressively revealing more about His redemptive plan, ultimately culminating in the New Covenant established by Jesus Christ. These covenants demonstrate God's faithfulness and His unwavering commitment to His promises, all of which find their "yea and amen" in Christ (2 Corinthians 1:20).
The Abrahamic Covenant promised Abraham that through his seed, "all the families of the earth" would be blessed (Genesis 12:3). Paul reveals that this "seed" primarily refers to Christ (Galatians 3:16), through whom salvation and blessing extend to all nations, both Jew and Gentile.
The Mosaic Covenant, given through the Law, revealed God's holy standards and humanity's utter inability to meet them. It served as a "schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith" (Galatians 3:24). The Law exposed sin and the need for a perfect righteousness that only Christ could provide through His sinless life and atoning death.
The Davidic Covenant promised David an eternal dynasty and a kingdom that would never end (2 Samuel 7:12-16). Jesus, as the Son of David, fulfills this covenant perfectly. The angel Gabriel declared to Mary concerning Jesus, "He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David: And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end" (Luke 1:32-33). Jesus is the promised King who reigns eternally.
The Old Testament prophets also spoke of a New Covenant, distinct from the Mosaic Law. Jeremiah prophesied:
Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah: Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt; which my covenant they brake, although I was an husband unto them, saith the Lord: But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the Lord, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people.
This New Covenant, inaugurated by Jesus' blood (Luke 22:20), provides for the forgiveness of sins, the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, and a direct, personal relationship with God, fulfilling the deepest longings of the Old Testament.
4. Theophanies and the Angel of the Lord
Throughout the Old Testament, there are instances where God appears in a visible, often human, form. These appearances, known as theophanies, are often understood by theologians to be pre-incarnate manifestations of Jesus Christ, the second person of the Trinity. He is the "image of the invisible God" (Colossians 1:15), and it is through Him that God has always revealed Himself.
A recurring figure in these divine encounters is the "Angel of the Lord." This is no ordinary angel but a divine being who speaks as God, receives worship, and bears God's name. For instance, the Angel of the Lord appeared to Moses in the burning bush:
And the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush: and he looked, and, behold, the bush burned with fire, and the bush was not consumed.
Yet, just a few verses later, God identifies Himself, "I am the God of thy father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob" (Exodus 3:6). Stephen, in Acts 7:30-35, confirms that it was "the angel of the Lord" who appeared to Moses, yet also refers to "the voice of the Lord."
Other significant appearances include the "man" who wrestled with Jacob at Peniel, where Jacob declared, "I have seen God face to face, and my life is preserved" (Genesis 32:30). Similarly, the "captain of the host of the Lord" appeared to Joshua before the battle of Jericho, commanding Joshua to remove his shoes because the ground was holy (Joshua 5:13-15) – an act of worship due only to God. These mysterious encounters provide glimpses of Christ's eternal existence and His active involvement in human history long before His birth in Bethlehem, demonstrating His divine nature and His role as the visible manifestation of God.
5. Poetic and Wisdom Literature Revealing His Character and Reign
Beyond historical narratives and legal codes, the Old Testament's poetic and wisdom literature, particularly the Psalms and Proverbs, offer profound insights into the character, suffering, and ultimate reign of the Messiah, Jesus Christ. These books provide a deeper, more emotional, and philosophical understanding of the Person to whom the entire Old Testament points.
The Psalms are rich with Messianic themes. Psalm 2 portrays the Messiah as God's anointed King, against whom the nations rage, yet who will ultimately reign with a rod of iron. Psalm 22 is a