Jesus in the Old Testament

Which was the son of Melea, which was the son of Menan, which was the son of Mattatha, which was the son of Nathan, which was the son of David, Which was the son of Jesse, which was the son of Obed, which was the son of Booz, which was the son of Salmon, which was the son of Naasson, Which was the son of Aminadab, which was the son of Aram, which was the son of Esrom, which was the son of Phares, which was the son of Juda, Which was the son of Jacob, which was the son of Isaac, which was the son of Abraham, which was the son of Thara, which was the son of Nachor, Which was the son of Saruch, which was the son of Ragau, which was the son of Phalec, which was the son of Heber, which was the son of Sala, Which was the son of Cainan, which was the son of Arphaxad, which was the son of Sem, which was the son of Noe, which was the son of Lamech, Which was the son of Mathusala, which was the son of Enoch, which was the son of Jared, which was the son of Maleleel, which was the son of Cainan, Which was the son of Enos, which was the son of Seth, which was the son of Adam, which was the son of God.

The Author Luke

Believed to be the scribe of the Apostle Paul

Records in the Beginning of his Gospel

Luke 1:1–4 KJV 1900

Forasmuch as many have taken in hand to set forth in order a declaration of those things which are most surely believed among us, Even as they delivered them unto us, which from the beginning were eyewitnesses, and ministers of the word; It seemed good to me also, having had perfect understanding of all things from the very first, to write unto thee in order, most excellent Theophilus, That thou mightest know the certainty of those things, wherein thou hast been instructed.

Luke records towards the ending of his Gospel

Luke 24:25–27 KJV 1900

Then he said unto them, O fools, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken: Ought not Christ to have suffered these things, and to enter into his glory? And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself.

Luke 24:44 KJV 1900

And he said unto them, These are the words which I spake unto you, while I was yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled, which were written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the psalms, concerning me.

Covenant

We see then the foundation of Jesus in the Old Testament. Jesus was the central focus point of the Old Covenant (Testament) as well as the New Covenant (Testament).

Covenant: 1. an agreement or promise between two parties solemnly professed with witnesses, made binding by an oath. 2. The declaration of one person’s intentions, as in a will, made by the party who has the power to offer it, and it can be accepted or rejected by the second party.

Simply put, covenant is a promise.

The central thread throughout the whole Old and New Testaments is that of promise.

There are several covenants that God makes and gives to man, but for this study, we will find Jesus in the Old Testament by key looking at four of them.

Adamic Covenant

Genesis 3:14–19 KJV 1900

And the Lord God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life: 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. Unto the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee. And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life; Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field; In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.

God curses:

The ground

The man

The woman

The serpent

But He gives a promise first!

The promise of a redeemer that will crush the head of the serpent!

God then slays innocent animals and covers Adam and Eve’s nakedness.

Abrahamic Covenant

Genesis 12:1–3 KJV 1900

Now the Lord had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father’s house, unto a land that I will shew thee: And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing: And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.

In the Abrahamic covenant (Genesis 12-17), God promises Abraham:

A seed

A land

a blessing to all

All families of the earth will be blessed!

Again, this covenant is signified by the shedding of blood in that of circumcision of Abraham and his descendants.

We also find a compound name of God, Jehovah-jireh (provider), in Genesis 22 where God reaffirms His covenant with Abraham. Pay close attention to what Abraham says:

Genesis 22:7–8 KJV 1900

And Isaac spake unto Abraham his father, and said, My father: and he said, Here am I, my son. And he said, Behold the fire and the wood: but where is the lamb for a burnt offering? And Abraham said, My son, God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering: so they went both of them together.

Mosaic Covenant

Exodus 6:6–12 KJV 1900

Wherefore say unto the children of Israel, I am the Lord, and I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, and I will rid you out of their bondage, and I will redeem you with a stretched out arm, and with great judgments: And I will take you to me for a people, and I will be to you a God: and ye shall know that I am the Lord your God, which bringeth you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians. And I will bring you in unto the land, concerning the which I did swear to give it to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob; and I will give it you for an heritage: I am the Lord. And Moses spake so unto the children of Israel: but they hearkened not unto Moses for anguish of spirit, and for cruel bondage. And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, Go in, speak unto Pharaoh king of Egypt, that he let the children of Israel go out of his land. And Moses spake before the Lord, saying, Behold, the children of Israel have not hearkened unto me; how then shall Pharaoh hear me, who am of uncircumcised lips?

An extension of the Abrahamic Covenant.

Exodus 6:2–8 KJV 1900

And God spake unto Moses, and said unto him, I am the Lord: And I appeared unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob, by the name of God Almighty, but by my name JEHOVAH was I not known to them. And I have also established my covenant with them, to give them the land of Canaan, the land of their pilgrimage, wherein they were strangers. And I have also heard the groaning of the children of Israel, whom the Egyptians keep in bondage; and I have remembered my covenant. Wherefore say unto the children of Israel, I am the Lord, and I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, and I will rid you out of their bondage, and I will redeem you with a stretched out arm, and with great judgments: And I will take you to me for a people, and I will be to you a God: and ye shall know that I am the Lord your God, which bringeth you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians. And I will bring you in unto the land, concerning the which I did swear to give it to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob; and I will give it you for an heritage: I am the Lord.

The Mosaic Covenant was a covenant of grace. It gave guidelines to have a relationship with God, our worship of God, and how we are to treat one another.

Mosaic Law

Moral law - Holy Character of God/Grace

Civil law - application of the moral law

Ceremonial Law - purification, atonement, God’s abiding presence

Time does not permit to list everything in this period, but Moses’ whole life story involves two things. Both in his life and the ten plagues.

Water

Blood - one of the greatest being the passover lamb.

The plague that would be the greatest of them all.

(Exodus 11:1; 4-7; 12:1-13)

This would become the annual celebration of Passover in Israel. It was the evening of this annual observance that Jesus explained that the New Covenant would be stablished in His blood. We know this as communion or the Lord’s supper. Why did Jesus do these things and make these statements on the night of Passover? Could it be that the Passover lamb was in someway a prophetic symbol of the coming Messiah?

1 John 5:6 KJV 1900

This is he that came by water and blood, even Jesus Christ; not by water only, but by water and blood. And it is the Spirit that beareth witness, because the Spirit is truth.

Moses speaks of a prophet/deliverer to come.

Deuteronomy 18:15 NKJV

“The Lord your God will raise up for you a Prophet like me from your midst, from your brethren. Him you shall hear,

Messiah - The Anointed One.

Davidic Covenant

2 Samuel 7:10–15 KJV 1900

Moreover I will appoint a place for my people Israel, and will plant them, that they may dwell in a place of their own, and move no more; neither shall the children of wickedness afflict them any more, as beforetime, And as since the time that I commanded judges to be over my people Israel, and have caused thee to rest from all thine enemies. Also the Lord telleth thee that he will make thee an house. And when thy days be fulfilled, and thou shalt sleep with thy fathers, I will set up thy seed after thee, which shall proceed out of thy bowels, and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build an house for my name, and I will stablish the throne of his kingdom for ever. I will be his father, and he shall be my son. If he commit iniquity, I will chasten him with the rod of men, and with the stripes of the children of men: But my mercy shall not depart away from him, as I took it from Saul, whom I put away before thee.

David has it in his heart to build God a house, but God returns it back to David manifold!

A promise of:

A house

A seed

A kingdom

Son of God

David’s story has much, but this covenant came by him wanting to build an established house for God in the midst of an established people of God. One of David’s greatest feats was the bringing back of the ark of the covenant, the ark contained the moral law and held the mercy seat, the place of atonement where the presence of God dwelled.

This establishment of the house of David was a fulfilling of previous covenants, establishing a place for God’s name to be and dwell (Deuteronomy 12:11; 2 Chronicles 6:20; 2 Kings 23:27)

Summary

Adamic Covenant: A promised seed to crush the power of Satan.

Abrahamic Covenant: A promised place and family to bless all families of the earth.

Mosaic Covenant: A promised deliverance that the name and glory of the LORD may be known in all the earth. (Exodus 9:16; Nehemiah 9:10; Psalms 106:8)

Davidic Covenant: The promise of a house, a seed, a kingdom, that would be established forever.

We see the building up of God’s great and precious promises, all being fulfilled in Jesus Christ!

The Prophets

It should also be noted the prophets confirm and testify that Old Testament promised of Jesus.

Isaiah 9:6–7 KJV 1900

For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: And the government shall be upon his shoulder: And his name shall be called Wonderful, Counseller, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, Upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, To order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice From henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this.

(Isaiah 53-55, pretend there are no chapter breaks.

Zechariah 9:9–10 KJV 1900

Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; Shout, O daughter of Jerusalem: Behold, thy King cometh unto thee: He is just, and having salvation; Lowly, and riding upon an ass, And upon a colt the foal of an ass. And I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim, And the horse from Jerusalem, And the battle bow shall be cut off: And he shall speak peace unto the heathen: And his dominion shall be from sea even to sea, And from the river even to the ends of the earth.

Zechariah 14:9 KJV 1900

And the Lord shall be king over all the earth: In that day shall there be one Lord, and his name one.

Closing

Revelation 22:16 KJV 1900

I Jesus have sent mine angel to testify unto you these things in the churches. I am the root and the offspring of David, and the bright and morning star.

Jesus’ saving work is the fulcrum on which the entire Bible pivots. Jesus Himself said, “Do not think I have come to abolish the law or the prophets, I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.” (Matthew 5:17) The Old Testament is Christ centered with Him being the ending and beginning! Alpha and Omega! (Revelation 22:13). Each of the covenants culminates in the person and work of the Messiah, Jesus Christ.

This is wonderfully described by Paul.

Acts 20:28 KJV 1900

Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood.

The one who purchased the church with His own blood was God! God was manifested in human existence to shed His blood and become our passover lamb.

Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross :

Crushed the power of sin.

Blessed all families in the earth with the availability of salvation.

Gave us a place for God’s name to dwell in how the blood is applied and the glory of God revealed in miraculous deliverance. (New Birth)

Made an established house, family, kingdom forever with ONE that sits on the throne! (You have it! It’s Jesus!)

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