Searching the Scriptures
The Old Testament is full of references to Jesus. Jesus reprimanded the Pharisees, “You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; it is these that testify about Me“ (John 5:39); and then “For if you believed Moses, you would believe Me, for he wrote about Me. But if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe My words?” (John 5:46-47). As Jesus was about to leave this earth, He spoke with His disciples:
Luke 24:44-47
44 Now He said to them, “These are My words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all things which are written about Me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.”
45 Then He opened their minds to understand the Scriptures,
46 and He said to them, “Thus it is written, that the Christ would suffer and rise again from the dead the third day,
47 and that repentance for forgiveness of sins would be proclaimed in His name to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem.
Don’t you know those writings are still available to us today? We, too, can read everything that was written about our Lord in the Old Testament. In fact, we SHOULD spend time studying to understand those prophecies.
A great study drill when you read the Old Testament is to ask yourself this question: “Where is Jesus in this text?” Take, for instance, the book of Judges. Where is Jesus in the text? In some places we see glimpses of the coming Lord’s kingdom. In some cases we see direct prophecies related to Jesus’ life, death, burial, and resurrection. In some places, the Scriptures are quite specific (i.e. Psalm 22 & Isaiah 53). In other cases, we understand pictures like the Passover Lamb and the Temple to be shadows of the reality to come.
The Old Testament is a masterpiece like no other. God wrote down His plan in great detail! He revealed Himself, His character, and His intent for men of all nations to have opportunity to believe in His Son, Jesus, and to obtain salvation. We need to spend time finding Jesus in the pages of the Old Testament. “Increase our faith, Lord!”
Comments? Questions?
God bless,
Nathan
The physical and spiritual are equal just in different forms. The Old Testemenr IS the new testement just in physical form! From the salvation story of baptism, to the set up of the tabernacle/Holy Worship. It’s very apparent. Good article.
I like the way you phrase it: the Old Testament IS the New Testament just in physical form. Interesting observation. Indeed, the apostles and early disciples had no trouble preaching Jesus from the Law and the Prophets (what we call the Old Testament today).