Jesus in the Old Testament

Years ago, I wanted to know more about Jesus in the Old Testament. So I bought a burgundy leather Thompson Chain-Reference Bible. It had all kinds of study helps, including cross-references—the verses listed in the margins that point you to related passages. I looked forward to finally looking up all those places in the New Testament where it said Jesus fulfilled something in the Old Testament.

But I quickly found out I didn’t have enough background to understand many of the connections. Indeed, one of the things that confused me was that not all the underlying passages were prophecies. It turns out that the New Testament finds Jesus in the Old Testament in multiple ways, not just prophecies.

Diving into the many Old Testament passages that reveal God’s plan of salvation through Jesus will strengthen your faith. So here, I’ll show three ways we find Jesus in the Old Testament. To demonstrate how the three ways work, I’ll use the most well-known fact that people know about Jesus in the Old Testament; namely, that the Old Testament predicted a messiah, and the New Testament says that Jesus is that Messiah.

What Does “Messiah” Mean?

First, let’s define messiah. Our English word messiah comes from the Hebrew word for “anointed one.” All the kings that ruled from Jerusalem in Israel were called anointed ones—messiahs. That’s because the kings were anointed for service to God when they were crowned.

In Old Testament times, it wasn’t only kings who were anointed for God’s service. Priests were as well, and so were some prophets. But by the time of Jesus’s birth, when people talked about their expectation that God would send a messiah—an anointed one—they were looking mainly for a king. They wanted a mighty warrior like David who could free them from Roman rule and sit upon David’s throne.

Messiah = Christ

The Old Testament was written mostly in Hebrew, while the New Testament was written mostly in Greek. Our English word christ comes from the Greek word for “anointed one.” Christ and messiah are therefore interchangeable. So when John records that he wrote his Gospel “so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ” (John 20:31), he means that Jesus is the Messiah that the Old Testament talks about. That is also why the New Testament equates “Christ” with “King of Israel” (Mark 15:32).

Promises

The first way that the Old Testament reveals Jesus is through promises, and in particular, covenants. A covenant is a special kind of promise. It’s like a contract that governs relationships, such as marriage vows. The Pentateuch (first five books of the Old Testament) and the histories (Joshua to Esther) contain a number of covenants between God and people which point to Jesus in some way.

For example, God made a promise to King David that’s known as the Davidic covenant. In the Davidic covenant, God promised David an offspring who would build God a temple and who would have a throne that lasted forever.

When your days are fulfilled and you lie down with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring after you, who shall come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever.

2 Samuel 7:12-13

How the Davidic Covenant Portrays Jesus in the Old Testament

This promise about a temple-building messiah was initially fulfilled by Solomon. But the New Testament tells us that Solomon’s temple was only a copy of the holy places in heaven (Hebrews 9:24). Jesus is now fulfilling that portion of the Davidic covenant, but in the true holy places in heaven. In fact, he is building a temple made up of those who belong to him:

You are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord.

Ephesians 2:19–21

Moreover, Jesus said, “The one who conquers, I will make him a pillar in the temple of my God” (Revelation 3:12).

Prophecies

The second way that the Old Testament reveals Jesus is through direct prophecy. Most are found in the prophetic books (Isaiah to Malachi), though some are in the Pentateuch and histories. Since a prophet delivered the Davidic covenant to David, it is both a promise and a prophecy. Indeed, many of the promises in the Old Testament are also prophecies.

Many Jews thought David’s son Solomon was the only fulfillment of God’s promise to David of a temple-building offspring. After all, he built the first temple, so why wouldn’t he also be the one whose throne would last forever through a line of never-ending descendants? But here’s what the Lord God told David about Solomon:

I will establish his kingdom forever if he continues strong in keeping my commandments and my rules, as he is today.

1 Chronicles 28:7

David warned Solomon, “If you seek him [God], he will be found by you, but if you forsake him, he will cast you off forever” (1 Chronicles 28:9). Sadly, when he was old, Solomon worshiped other gods. That was a clue that Solomon might not be the only fulfillment of the Davidic covenant’s promise of a temple builder.

About 500 years after David, a king ascended the throne who abandoned God entirely. In fact, he shoved the altar to the Lord aside and put idols in the temple so he could worship them there.

How Isaiah Portrays Jesus in the Old Testament

During this time of apostasy, God sent the prophet Isaiah with messages of both judgment and hope. The message of judgment was that God would exile the people and end David’s dynasty.

But there was also a message of hope. Isaiah said that the exile would not be permanent. And eventually God would send another anointed ruler; that is, another messiah. Here is one of Isaiah’s prophecies about the future king.

For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end, on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time forth and forevermore. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will do this.

Isaiah 9:6-7

Notice this descendant of David will rule forevermore. He would not have an unending line of descendants but would rule forever himself. This cast new light on the Davidic covenant.

Just as Isaiah prophesied, the people entered exile and David’s dynasty ended.

How Ezekiel Portrays Jesus in the Old Testament

But God gave more messages of hope through three prophets serving him during the monarchy’s fall. Here is one about a future shepherd, which is what God called the kings.

And I will set up over them one shepherd, my servant David, and he shall feed them: he shall feed them and be their shepherd. And I, the LORD, will be their God, and my servant David shall be prince among them. I am the LORD; I have spoken.

Ezekiel 34:23-24 (emphasis mine)

Now, David was dead. So why did God say that this future ruler would be “my servant David”? There are two reasons. The first reason was to show that the shepherd would be a descendant of David. The second reason was to show that David was a type of this future King. In fact, this leads us to the third way that we find Jesus in the Old Testament.

Portents

A portent is something that foreshadows something in the future. Many Old Testament people, events, and institutions foreshadowed something significant about Jesus. For example, the earthly temple that Solomon built foreshadowed the living temple Jesus is building. English Bible translations use a number of different words to describe portents, including portents, shadows, copies, patterns, and types. The New Testament describes many portents in the Pentateuch and the Psalms.

By calling the future shepherd David, God revealed that King David was a type of the future messiah who would rule forever. That is why the New Testament claims that Jesus fulfills Scripture that describes events in David’s life.

How Psalm 22 Portrays Jesus in the Old Testament

For example, in Psalm 22 David describes enemies who pierce his hands and feet (probably with a sword) and cast lots for his clothing:

For dogs encompass me; a company of evildoers encircles me; they have pierced my hands and feet—I can count all my bones—they stare and gloat over me; they divide my garments among them, and for my clothing they cast lots.

Psalm 22:16–18

Jesus quoted Psalm 22:1 on the cross, bringing attention to it: “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Matthew 27:46). John 19 records Jesus’s crucifixion, which involved soldiers piercing with nails Jesus’s hands and feet:

When the soldiers had crucified Jesus, they took his garments and divided them into four parts, one part for each soldier; also his tunic. But the tunic was seamless, woven in one piece from top to bottom, so they said to one another, “Let us not tear it, but cast lots for it to see whose it shall be.” This was to fulfill the Scripture which says, “They divided my garments among them, and for my clothing they cast lots.”

John 19:23–24

Remarkably, just as enemies gambled for David’s clothing 1000 years earlier, so soldiers gambled for Jesus’s clothing. Psalm 22 is not direct prophecy, but rather John’s Gospel depicts David’s sufferings as portending Jesus’s sufferings. That is because King David is a type of King Jesus.

Conclusion

In summary, three ways we find Jesus in the Old Testament are in

• Promises, such as the covenants found in the Pentateuch and histories
• Prophecies found in the prophetic books and elsewhere
• Portents found in the Pentateuch and the Psalms

This is a fabulous subject to pursue that can greatly grow your faith.

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Books You Might Like

• Discovering Jesus in the Old Testament: A Creative Devotional Study Experience, by me, Pam Farrel, and Karla Dornacher
• Christ from Beginning to End: How the Full Story of Scripture Reveals the Full Glory of Christ, by Trent Hunter and Stephen Wellum
• From Eden to the New Jerusalem: An Introduction to Biblical Theology, by TD Alexander
• Commentary on the New Testament Use of the Old Testament, edited by GK Beale and DA Carson

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