How to See Jesus in the Old Testament Through Prophecy
In our last article we answered the question, “is it wrong to see Jesus in the Old Testament?” We responded to this question with a resounding “no!” Jesus clearly teaches us that the Old Testament is about him (John 5:39–47), he demonstrates to his disciples that it is about him (Luke 24:14–27), and Paul explains that we recognize this as the Spirit works in us when we come to believe in Jesus Christ (2 Corinthians 312–18). Therefore, we can say with confidence that we are handling Scripture correctly by seeing Jesus in the Old Testament. We are not committing some grave hermeneutical error, and we are not reading Jesus into the Old Testament. He was always there, waiting to be seen in all of his clarity.
However, if the above is true, then the next question we need to ask is “how?” We know that we can see Jesus in the Old, but how do we do this? In the next three articles I will attempt to answer that question. I will argue that we can see Jesus in the Old Testament prophetically, analogically, and typologically. Don’t worry if those words are new to you. In the weeks to come each one will be explained and made plain. This week we are going to look at the first of those categories and examine what it means to see Jesus in the Old Testament prophetically.
Let’s begin with a brief definition of what we mean by seeing Jesus in the Old Testament prophetically. Basically, what we are saying is that we see Jesus—or the benefits that only Jesus gives—promised in the Old Testament. Both the person and work of Jesus are seen in the Old Testament through the promises made there.
Yet we need some way of protecting us against reading ideas into a text that the author never intended. We must respect authorial intent while also recognizing that we can see Jesus as the legitimate fulfillment of prophecy. To do this I have devised two questions that we should ask of a prophetic text whenever we are trying to see Jesus there.
First we should ask, “what does this text promise?” This is step one in our process. We begin by exegeting our Old Testament text on its own terms. For example, consider Genesis 3:15, “I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.” This text comes after Adam and Eve’s sin, and it is a part of God’s response to that sin. In verse 15, God is addressing the serpent—a representation of Satan—who deceived the first people, causing them to disobey God’s Word. In his response to the serpent, God makes it clear that there will be a battle between the offspring of Eve and Satan. We then read that “he”—note the singular—shall step on the serpent’s head. This “he” will cause great harm to Satan. However, we also read that Satan “shall bruise his heel.” An offspring of Eve will effectively crush the Serpent, but he will be harmed in the process. Putting all of this together we can provide an answer to our question. What does this text promise? This text promises that someone will defeat the power of Satan and be harmed in the process.
So we have exegeted this Old Testament text and provided an answer to our first question. We are now ready to ask our second question, “how is Jesus the fulfillment of this promise?” Looking to the New Testament we see Jesus fulfill this promise at the cross. There Jesus defeats the power of Satan while being harmed in the process. Many New Testament passages show this. Colossians 2:15 says, “And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross” (NIV). Jesus triumphs over the Satanic powers at the cross. Similarly in Hebrews 2:14 we read, “Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, he himself likewise partook of the same things, that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil” (ESV). Jesus destroys the power of Satan—death—through his own death. In Jesus we see a decisive victory won over the evil one, but Jesus is harmed in the process. Putting all of this together we can answer our second question. How is Jesus the fulfillment of this promise? Jesus fulfills this promise by going to the cross and defeating the power of Satan through his death.
The above process allows us to see Jesus in the Old Testament prophetically. We begin by taking an Old Testament text and exegeting it on its own terms. From this we learn what is promised in that particular Old Testament passage. We can then go to the New Testament and test whether or not Jesus fulfills this promise. If Jesus does fulfill that promise, we note how he does so. In doing this we have forever connected the Old and the New in our minds. Each time we come across Genesis 3:15 in our Bible reading we will be thinking about Jesus and his eventual fulfillment of the promise made there. In short, we can see Jesus in the Old Testament prophetically by seeing what is promised and then seeing how he fulfills those promises.
Try doing this process on your own. Grab a blank sheet of paper and open your Bible to Isaiah 53:4–6. Read the passage a few times and then write on your paper, “what does this text promise?” Write down some answers to that question. Focus specifically on verse 5. Try to write a summary of what is promised there in one sentence. After this, write on your paper, “how is Jesus the fulfillment of this promise?” Turn to your New Testament and write down ways that Jesus fulfills this promise. Utilize the cross-reference tools in your Bible and see where in the New Testament this passage is cited. After doing this, try to write a summary of how Jesus fulfills this promise. In following this procedure you will connect the Old to the New. You will see that Jesus is not some afterthought in God’s plan, but that he always was God’s plan. In doing this your Bible reading will become more alive. Why don’t you try it for yourself?