Rediscovering Types Of Christ Through The Old Testament

By Carolyn Graham


Some Christians think the only place you will find Jesus is in the New Testament. This is certainly the place to go to learn about the life, teaching, death and resurrection of God's Son. The books Jesus referred to however are all the Old Testament. It is not a physical recounting, but a glimpse in pictures, prophecies, and shadows that show us various types of Christ.

Some believe it starts with God's tree of life. When God was creating the Garden of Eden He placed the tree of life squarely in the middle. Many years later He would set His Son down in the middle of the Israelites, who were His chosen people. Revelations tells us that Jesus is the tree of life that bears twelve fruits, representing the apostles. The leaves on the tree are there to cure the nations.

The Ark was Noah's salvation. It saved him and his family from the flood. After all the animals had been herded onto the ship, Noah shut the doors. Jesus is salvation for man. Just as Noah knew the Ark would save the inhabitants from destruction, Christians know Jesus will not let them perish.

Old Testament Jacob dreamed of a ladder reaching into heaven with angels descending and ascending it. In the New Testament Jesus is depicted as the intermediary, or ladder, between man and God. Through Jesus we see angels and God. In the same way, the Passover Lamb in Exodus becomes the Lamb of God, Jesus, in the New Testament.

Jesus describes Himself to the believers as their bread of Life. He says anyone who comes to Him will be fed. The children of Israel in the Old Testament had to wander on dry ground for 40 years. During that time, they didn't have anything but manna, bread, to keep them alive. The New Testament assures us that Jesus will feed us spiritually if we submit to Him and believe.

In Exodus God tells Moses to take the elders and go to Horeb where he will find a rock. Moses is to strike the rock and water will come forth for the people to drink. Paul recounts to the Corinthians, in his first letter to them, the same story of Moses and the rock. This time though Paul refers to the water as spiritual drink and the rock as a spiritual representation of Jesus.

When God told King David he could not build the temple, he turned the job over to his son, Solomon. The temple that resulted became God's dwelling place. Only believers entered. At the end of His life, Jesus warns His enemies that destroying the temple, Himself, will only result in the resurrection of it in three days.

A lot of Christians have issues with the Old Testament. Jesus used it to teach His followers because that is what He read. The people of the Old Testament would have recognized the stories He told. Understanding Jesus completely must include the teachings He read.




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