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WE HAVE found him, of whom Moses in the law, and the prophets, did write, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph" (Jno. 1:45).
Which scriptures did Philip have in mind when he exclaimed these words to Nathanael? In what way did the Law and the prophets speak of Jesus? Jesus, after his resurrection, made a similar claim, and confirmed the truth of Philip’s statement, when he spoke to two privileged disciples on the road to Emmaus:
"And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself... 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" (Lk. 24:27,44).
Reading with Christ in mind
The next statement, "Then opened he their understanding, that they might understand the scriptures" (v. 45), presents the reader with the interesting and important concept of being able to understand fully the Scriptures only when viewing them with Christ in mind. This idea is corroborated in Acts 8, when Philip inquired of the Ethiopian eunuch, "Understandest thou what thou readest?" (v. 30). The scripture in question was Isaiah 53. The desire of this humble man to understand the Scriptures was rewarded, for "Philip opened his mouth, and began at the same scripture, and preached unto him Jesus" (v. 35). So the diligent inquirer after the things of God today will begin to see Christ more and more "in all the scriptures", for what the Law lacked, what the prophets preached and what the psalmists sung, all ultimately pointed to, and were made complete in, Jesus of Nazareth, the Son of God.
Jesus himself reassured some uncertain but interested Jewish hearers of how the Old Testament Scriptures would be fulfilled in him when he said, "Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil [literally, to fill up]" (Mt. 5:17).
As we proceed in this article to investigate how and where Christ can be found, a note of warning may be appropriate, for though the Scriptures contain ample material through which Christ can be viewed, and provide many revealing ‘types’, caution should be exercised in the exposition of such, lest our writing and speaking become over-imaginative. Any comparisons or links should be robust and firmly based on what God has clearly revealed in His Word.
Where can Christ be found?
From the very beginning of the Scriptures the reader will find many themes and principles whose ultimate significance rests in Christ. The very first words of Genesis anticipate another ‘beginning’ in the purpose of God, for the awe-inspiring words, "In the beginning...", are used when introducing a new creation in Jesus (cf. Jno. 1:1; 1 Jno. 1:1; Mk. 1:1). The box, "Christ Foreshadowed in Eden" gives examples for consideration of how the Apostle Paul under inspiration frequently drew on events in Eden to illustrate aspects of Christ and his ministry.
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The pages of Scripture will reveal Christ to be foreshadowed in:
The reader will notice comparisons being made between Scriptural characters and Jesus in many and diverse ways, but all with the same end of declaring the greatness of Christ. Consider how he was "greater" than the following:
Again we find direct comparisons being made between Jesus and the prophets when Jesus asked his disciples, "Whom do men say that I the Son of man am?", for in their reply they brought to mind how the people perceived him: "And they said, Some say that thou art John the Baptist: some, Elias; and others, Jeremias, or one of the prophets" (Mt. 16:13,14). What was it in these prophets that they saw in Jesus?
It was not until later that they appreciated that the man who stood before them was the prophet spoken of in Deuteronomy 18:18: "I will raise them up a Prophet from among their brethren, like unto thee [Moses], and will put My words in his mouth; and he shall speak unto them all that I shall command him" (cf. Acts 3:22).
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If ye had believed Moses... he wrote of me
God delivered instructions concerning the tabernacle to Moses. It was to be made "according to all that I shew thee, after the pattern... of all the instruments thereof, even so shall ye make it" (Ex. 25:9). The pattern was from God and could not be compromised. The writer to the Hebrews emphasises this point when revealing this pattern as pointing to Christ (8:5; 9:23). The truths of the type are not altered by the "better covenant" (8:6), but are fulfilled and ratified in Christ. So today, worship of God must be on His terms, both in belief and practice, and not watered down by the fancies and philosophies of man.
The Law was "a shadow of good things to come, and not the very image of the things" (10:1). These "good things" were centred in Jesus (9:11); indeed, it is only in the light of Jesus that the Law’s shadow is perceived. It was the converted Paul who instructed a largely Gentile readership in Galatia that "the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith" (Gal. 3:24). This came from a man who "touching the righteousness which is in the law" was "blameless" (Phil. 3:6). Paul, after his conversion on the road to Damascus, was able to see the Law for what it was, how it "made nothing perfect, but the bringing in of a better hope [in Jesus] did; by the which we draw nigh unto God" (Heb. 7:19).
Jesus and the tabernacle
Turning to the Law itself, then, we see in the tabernacle a structure whose beauty and perfection was on the inside. This was ultimately true only of our Lord (Isa. 52:14; 53:2; Heb. 5:9), but it provides the true perspective for all his followers, for it is the "renewing of your mind" (Rom. 12:2) that God is interested in and not the outward man.
The whole fabric rested on a foundation of redemption, witnessed by the sockets made from the Israelitish redemption money. This points to the present household of God, which rests on the redemption set forth in Christ: "forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers; but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot" (1 Pet. 1:18,19).
In the supreme and singular sacrifice of Christ was fulfilled a whole range of sacrifices and offerings set forth in the Law, for "now once in the end of the world hath he appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself" (Heb. 9:26). The reader will be richly repaid by reading The Law of Moses by Brother Robert Roberts, who eruditely demonstrates how the Law looked forward to Jesus.
The work of Jesus was foreshadowed in things specifically applied to him, such as the altar (Heb. 13:10), the mercy seat (Rom. 3:25, where "propitiation" is really ‘mercy seat’) and the veil (Heb. 10:19,20). In addition, when viewing the lightstand, do we not see "the light of the world" (Jno. 8:12)? And in the shewbread do we not see "the bread of life" (6:35)? What about the contents of the ark of the covenant? In what way do these speak of Christ (Heb. 9:4)?
It is possible to go a stage further and see in the inspired language itself particular words which not only relate to the physical structure, but also alert the reader to see principles which relate to a spiritual household, one in which Jesus is the chief corner stone. Consider the words in the exercise below. What others can you find? Insert them in the space provided.
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Jesus in the prophets
We saw earlier how Philip expounded Christ from Isaiah 53, a most remarkable prophecy of our Lord’s sufferings, and one which surely would have been in his mind when he said to his disciples: "Behold, we go up to Jerusalem, and all things that are written by the prophets concerning the Son of man shall be accomplished" (Lk. 18:31). Peter writes concerning the sufferings of Christ: "But those things, which God before had shewed by the mouth of all His prophets, that Christ should suffer, He hath so fulfilled" (Acts 3:18). Later Peter writes: "Of which salvation the prophets have inquired and searched diligently, who prophesied of the grace that should come unto you... the Spirit of Christ... testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ, and the glory that should follow" (1 Pet. 1:10,11).
Paul, in opening his Letter to the Romans, refers to these things as the gospel: "Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated unto the gospel of God, (which He had promised afore by His prophets in the holy scriptures,)..." (1:1,2). When confessing his faith in Christ before Felix, Paul said: "But this I confess unto thee, that after the way which they call heresy, so worship I the God of my fathers, believing all things which are written in the law and in the prophets" (Acts 24:14).
Prophecies fulfilled and unfulfilled in Jesus
Perhaps the most concise series of scriptures illustrating the fulfilment of prophecy in the life of Jesus can be found in the early chapters of Matthew’s Gospel record. Such accuracy should leave any reasonable person convinced of Divine authorship. Events which, to the onlooker, would have occurred in a perfectly normal manner were, in reality, being Divinely coordinated by the hand of an almighty Creator with myriad’s of angels doing His commandments, as is the case in these last days. The exercise, "Prophecies of Christ in Matthew’s Gospel", focuses on just a small selection of prophecies which were fulfilled at the beginning and end of our Lord’s life, as recorded in Matthew. The spaces in the second column are left for the reader to fill in.
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We can be thankful that the message of the prophets does not end in the sufferings of Christ but takes us forward to "the glory that should follow", for God "shall send Jesus Christ, which before was preached unto you: whom the heaven must receive until the times of restitution of all things, which God hath spoken by the mouth of all His holy prophets since the world began" (Acts 3:20,21).
Jesus in the Psalms
The Psalms are full to bursting with words and allusions that point forward to Jesus, from "the man" of Psalm 1 to the one who in Psalm 150 perfectly carried out the charge: "Praise God in His sanctuary". In fact, nearly half the Old Testament references which refer to Christ come from the Psalms. Brother John Thomas wrote: "These songs are full to overflowing of things pertaining to Christ". It has been suggested that Christ can be found in every psalm; here lies a challenge to the reader.
We not only see a portrait of our Lord’s life in the Psalms (see the exercise box below, "Important Matters Concerning Jesus Foretold in the Psalms"), but on occasions are privileged to enter into his innermost thoughts, for it was to these songs that his mind so frequently turned in times of need and in times when temptation needed countering. The most notable is Psalm 22, which begins with the familiar words uttered from the cross: "My God, my God, why hast Thou forsaken me?". But did his thoughts stop at this psalm? or did they continue through to the comforting words of redemption in Psalm 31:5: "Into Thine hand I commit my spirit: Thou hast redeemed me, O LORD God of truth"?
Our Lord’s utter familiarity with the Scriptures and how they applied to him is amply attested when we see with what devastating effect he used the Psalms in response to his largely Jewish critics, confounding their arguments on the spot. For example, when speaking of his rejection by the chief priests and elders, he went to Psalm 118: "Jesus saith unto them, Did ye never read in the scriptures, The stone which the builders rejected, the same is become the head of the corner: this is the Lord’s doing, and it is marvellous in our eyes?" (Mt. 21:42).
Such examples are often preceded by key phrases, such as, "Have ye not read... ?"; "Ye do err, not knowing the scriptures"; "Thus it is written..."; and, "That it might be fulfilled..." (cf. Mt. 12:5; 13:35; 19:4; 22:29; Mk. 7:6; 11:17; 14:49; Lk. 4:21; 21:22; Jno. 10:34; 13:18; 17:12; 19:24). The reader should be alerted when Jesus uses such phrases, for we are being invited to observe how he applied the Scriptures to himself.
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Conclusion
The present article offers a few indications of how and where Christ can be found in the Scriptures. The exciting and enlightening task of finding our Lord in many more scriptures is left to the reader. It should not be overlooked that, although we have principally searched the Old Testament for Christ, he is of course to be found in various ways throughout the New as well, not just in the Gospels. May the day soon dawn when we, like those privileged disciples on the road to Emmaus, might hear from the lips of Jesus himself how the testimony, or record, about him is the spirit of prophecy (Rev. 19:10), and may witness that gospel, which was preached to Abraham so long ago (Gal. 3:8), become a reality, when all nations of the earth will be blessed in him.
