Many people, when hearing the name of Jesus Christ, assume that Christ is the last name of Jesus, like Silva, Santos or Pereira; however, the word Christ, in Portuguese, is simply a transliteration of the Greek word christos, which was used in the Greek translation of the Hebrew Old Testament to translate the word Machia’h or Messiah. Therefore, when we hear the name “Jesus Christ,” we should not think of Christ as a surname, but as a title. “Jesus Christ”, we say “Jesus Messiah”.
Knowing this helps us understand how we can talk about an Old Testament ‘Christology’, although Jesus Christ Himself did not appear in the flesh before the Gospels of the New Testament, we can talk about an Old Testament Christology because it contains many promises, prophecies, shadows, and types that point to the coming of the Messiah, to the coming of Christ. We won’t look at all these texts, but we’ll focus on some of the most important ones. If we want to understand who this Messiah is, we must have some understanding of these texts.
- The first clue on a mesianic theme in the Old Testament comes from the tragic events of the fall.
- Adam and Eve trusted the word of the serpent rather than the Word of God.
- And God’s response is swift.
- After confronting man and woman.
- And both trying to transfer guilt (Genesis 3.
- 8-13).
- God uttered his judgment first about the serpent.
- Then on the woman.
- And finally on man (vv.
- 14-19).
- God pronounces a curse on the serpent (v.
- 14).
- But in pronouncing this curse.
- He makes a promise that gives humanity reasons for hope.
- The fall of man has led to the need for divine redemption.
- A need to which God responds immediately.
- The snake says:.
I will enmity between you and the woman, between your offspring and their offspring. He’s going to hurt your head, and you’re going to hurt his heel?(V. 15).
This verse has often been called the “proto-evangelical”, or the first gospel. It is grace and mercy in the midst of rebellion. God promises that there will be a long battle between good and evil, the seed of the woman (or seed) finally triumphing As the rest of the Old and New Testament will clarify, this triumph will come through and in the person of the Messiah, Jesus Christ.
The common thread of patriarchal history (Genesis 12-50) are the gentle promises of blessings God makes, promises given first to Abraham, then to Isaac, and finally to Jacob. understand the rest of the scriptures.
Abram’s call in Genesis 12:1-9 is a fundamental point in the history of redemption. While Genesis 1-11 focuses primarily on the terrible consequences of sin, God’s promises to Abram in Genesis 12 focus on hope for redemption, restoration of blessing, and reconciliation with God. God will deal with the problem of sin and evil, and Establish His kingdom on earth. The way he will is beginning to reveal himself in his promises to Abram.
The key section of Genesis 12:1-9 is God’s explicit call to Abram in verses 1-3:
“The Lord said to Abram, “Leave your country, your family, and your father’s house, and go to the land I will show you; I will make you a great nation, bless you, and magnify your name. Be a blessing! I will bless those who bless you and curse those who curse you; Will all the families of the earth be blessed in you?
The theme of God’s call to Abram is evident in the fourfold repetition of the key terms blessing and blessing The sin of man has led to the divine curse (Genesis 3:14, 17; 4. 11; 5. 29; 9. 25), but here God promises to form a people for himself and restore his original goals of blessing to mankind (see Genesis 1:28). Abram will somehow secure this restored blessing.
God’s call to Abram contains four fundamental promises: (1) seed, (2) land, (3) blessing from Abram himself, and (4) blessing the nations through Abram. The promise of blessing to the nations of the Earth is fundamental. The blessing of all families on earth is the main purpose of God’s call to Abram. Your calling and the promises he has made to you are not an end in themselves. Abram is a promised brood, a land, and a personal blessing in order. to transmit God’s blessing to all families on earth. As the rest of the Old Testament will point out, this blessing will come through the establishment of the kingdom of God, under the Messiah of God.
As he approaches his death, Jacob calls his children to tell him his last words about them (Genesis 49). Jacob told his children at the time, “Come together and I will let you know what will happen to you in the days. to come?” (v. 1). The meaning of the term?The days to come?(cf. n. 24. 14), must be determined by its context. In general, it speaks of an indefinite future time. Jacob speaks to all his children, but his words to Judah are the most significant for Old Testament Christology. Jacob’s words to Judah anticipate the rise of the Davindic King, and much more.
In Genesis 49. 10, Jacob says, “The scepter will not leave Judah, nor the cane between his feet, until Silo comes; And people will obey you?This verse is considered by some to be the first explicit messic prophecy of the Old Testament. Does the translation need words, until Silo comes? It is debated because of the ambiguity of Hebrew, but there is a general consensus that prophecy points to the emergence of the Daviadic monarchy. The main point of Jacob’s words to Judah is that the scepter, a symbol of royalty, would belong to the tribe of Judah to whom the royal position actually belongs. In the Old Testament, this prophecy was initially fulfilled by David. In the New Testament, it is complete and finally fulfilled by Jesus Christ. , son of David and Leon of the tribe of Judah (see Mt 1. 1; Ap. 5. 5).
In his first letter to the Corinthians, the apostle Paul tells his readers that “Christ, our paschal lamb, has been sacrificed. ” (1Co 5. 7). We find the background for this expression in the book of Exodus. In Exodus 12, God gives Moses instructions for the Passover ceremony, which will distinguish Israel from Egypt. God told Moses that this month would now be the first month of the year for Israel (v. 2). Tonight will celebrate the birth of Israel as a nation. Each family will take a lamb without blemish and keep it until the fourteenth day of the month, when it will be slaughtered (vv. 3-6). The blood of the lamb must then be deposited on the doorposts and doorposts of the house, and the family of the houses must eat the roast lamb meat (vv. 7-11). God told Moses that that night he would pass through Egypt and smite the firstborn of the Egyptians, but that he would pass over the houses marked with the sign of the blood of the Lamb (vv. 12-13). The paschal lamb becomes a substitute for Israel, God’s firstborn (cf. 4:22). As such, he is a type of the coming Messiah, who also dies in replacement of his people.
The mesianic relevance of Leviticus may not seem obvious at first, but when we remember that the New Testament describes Christ as our high priest (He 8-9), and as the ultimate sacrifice for sin (He 10), Leviticus’s relevance becomes the required holiness of God’s people detailed in the book of Leviticus, where the laws concerning sacrifices and the priesthood are given in detail. Sacrifices provided a means of purification for the people of Israel when they committed sin, and the priests who offered these sacrifices were erected as mediators between God and his people. The priesthood and sacrifices indicated a greater reality that would come from the person and work of Jesus, the Messiah.
One of the most intriguing messianic prophecies can be found in Numbers 22-24 in Balaam’s history. At this point in history, Israel camped in the plains of Moab and Balak, king of Moab, was invaded by fear (22:1– As a result, he summons Balaam, a pagan prophet of Mesopotamia, to curse the Israelites (v. 5-8). God, however, does not allow Balaam to curse Israel, but commands Him to bless Israel. In chapters 23-24, to Balak’s dismay, Balaam gives four prayers of blessing upon Israel. The fourth oracle is particularly remarkable. Balaam foresees the coming of a king; But this coming will not be immediate: “I will see you, but not now; I’ll look at it, but not closely?(24,17). The coming king is described as a star of Jacob and a scepter of Israel. “(v. 17; Ver. Gen. 49. 10). This king will completely defeat his enemies (v. 18). This prophecy would find its original fulfillment under David’s reign, but his final fulfillment would await the coming of the Messiah.
The establishment of the prophetic office is the subject of Deuteronomy 18:15-22. After banning certain ways of trying to know God’s will (v. 9-14), Moses continues to explain the nature of prophecy, the legitimate means by which God would communicate his word to his people (v. 15-22). He declares to the people: “The Lord your God will awaken you a prophet from within the midst of you, of your brethren, as I do; Are you going to listen to him?(V. 15). Here, God foresees the persecution, of prophetic service after Moses’ death.
However, it is important to remember that Moses was unique among the prophets, as a minister in God’s covenant (Numbers 12:6-8; Dt 34: 10-12) . As we will see, the message of later prophets was based on the covenant negotiated by Moses, Jeffrey Niehaus explains:
“Prophetic ministry was of two types: the prophet as a mediator of the covenant (Moses only); and the prophet as a messenger of the trials of the covenant (later prophets). God had awakened the prophet Moses to negotiate his covenant with Israel; Did it also lead other prophets to sue under the covenant, that is, to call on the people to obey the covenant, or to announce the punishments of the covenant for their disobedience?
The promise that God would raise up another prophet like Moses later was understood by the Israelites with a messic prophecy (Jn 1:21, 45; 6,14; 7. 40). Ultimately, this prophetic promise points to Jesus, the sole mediator of the new covenant (cf. Acts 3: 20-22).
This brief examination of certain messianic texts in the Pentateal is not intended to be definitive, Jesus indicates that the entire Old Testament refers to him (Luke 24:27). We just scratched the surface. In our next text, we will examine various prophecies and promises in historical books, Psalms and Prophets.
The Lord said to my Lord
Sit to my right, until I turn your enemies into a platform, where I support your feet.
The Lord of Zion will send the rod of his great power, in the midst of all your enemies, you will be the governor.
A willing people, on your day of power, will come to you, in a holy beauty from the womb of the morning; your youth will be like dew.
The Lord Himself has taken an oath and will never regret it. The order of Melchizedek, you are a priest forever.
The glorious and powerful Lord, who sits to your right, Will, on his day of anger, will strike the kings who resist him.
He will judge among the heathen, fill the places with corpses: in many countries he will hit several heads.
The stream that runs along the way with drink will provide you; And for this reason, triumphant, he will raise his head.