Old Testament Pictures of the Messiah

In the Beginning

And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them
in all the scriptures the things concerning himself.—Luke 24:27

There is a true adage that says, “The New Testament is in the Old concealed; the Old Testament is in the New revealed.” Jesus verified the truthfulness of this saying when he said to the Jews, “Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me” (John 5:39). The apostle Peter, speaking of the redemption that is in Christ, writes: “This salvation was the theme which the prophets pondered and explored, … foretelling the sufferings in store for Christ and the splendours to follow; and it was disclosed to them that the matter they treated of was not for their time but for yours. … These are things that angels long to see into” (1 Peter 1:10-12, NEB).

It was not only the words of the Old Testament that prophesied of Christ, but also the lives of many of the holy ones of old whose experiences paralleled those of Jesus. As the hymn phrases it:

’Tis the song of the Lamb, once by Moses foretold,
In the symbols and types of God’s law,
As the dawn of the day doth those symbols unfold,
We behold what we ne’er before saw.

In this issue of The Herald we examine eight faithful men of the Old Testament whose lives illustrate that of Jesus the Messiah:

Melchizedek: the Messiah as king and priest.
Isaac: the sacrificial Messiah.
Joseph: the forgiving Messiah.
Moses: Messiah as mediator.
Joshua: the conquering Messiah.
Boaz: Messiah as the kinsman-redeemer.
David: Messiah as heir to the kingly throne.
Jonah: the Messiah entombed.

In addition to these faithful lives, various events also foretold of the coming Messiah. Brief notes about three of these describe their portrayals of the Messiah including the blood of Abel, the brazen serpent in the wilderness, and the garments of glory and beauty worn by the Levitical high priest.

We trust that these meditations will be of help to all who are preparing their hearts and minds to celebrate the Memorial of Christ’s death, which falls this year on April