In his recent message, Tim
shared about the struggles he had with finding a way to give a wide-angle view
of God’s interventions through history. I likewise have found it a struggle to
put into words what I want to convey.
Let me start by talking
about the Bible as a whole. As an unbeliever, I remember reading about someone
saying that if God wanted people to believe in Him, then He should have made
His presence far easier to discern. The person went on to say that if God were
to write His name in the heavens, then he would believe. I remember myself
agreeing with this argument, although I also remember being a little afraid of
the idea that God might actually do that – I was a bit scared of becoming some
kind of super-religious, extreme – I would have used the word “crazy” – person.
I don’t think I came all the way to the realization that I actually didn’t want
God to exist, but this was shortly before I put my trust in Christ, and I
was definitely beginning to move in that direction. I did not make the
connection that my wanting God to not exist would of course severely impair my
ability to conduct an honest investigation and make an unbiased conclusion.
Fortunately, God in His mercy moved me past this kind of thinking, past my own
biases, and opened my eyes and heart to Him.
But what of that argument?
Is God hiding from us, and if so, why? The prophet Isaiah says,
Truly you are a God who has been
hiding Himself, the God and Savior of Israel. – Isaiah 45:15
So the answer is “yes,” at least some of the
time. But God also says, through the prophet Jeremiah,
You will seek Me and find Me when you seek Me with all your heart.
– Jeremiah 29:13
I think that God does
indeed hide from those who set themselves as equals with God, but He also makes
Himself available to those who come to Him repentantly, in humility.
For, God opposes the proud, but gives
grace to the humble. – Psalm 138:6,
Proverbs 3:34, Proverbs
29:23, Matthew 23:12, Luke 1:52, James 4:6, I Peter 5:5 (some paraphrase)
We see this how God
opposes the proud in how God does not just make His name appear among
the stars to those who demand it of Him. But we see God revealing Himself, even
to unbelievers, through answered prayers, through dreams in some cases (especially,
recently among Muslims), through the natural world, as it says in Romans 1, and
through, what we will talk about today, the Bible.
For those who are willing
to humble themselves and read for a while, the Bible is every bit as much a
miraculous revelation of God’s existence, His nature, and His plans as would be
any literal message written among the stars.
When I was a child, one of
my favorite books was “The Neverending Story” by Michael Ende. In the book, a
child named Bastian reads a book called the “The Neverending Story” and, while
reading, begins to realize that this book is not like any other book. It
describes a child interacting with a world from outside that world, and Bastian
realizes that, impossibly, he is that child! The story even seems to
write itself based on what he is doing at that time; that is, the characters
are aware of him reading the book, what he says, and so on. Bastian realizes
that this is not really something he can discuss with anyone, for who would
believe him?
Now the Bible is obviously
not miraculous in that way, but I would argue that it is no less miraculous,
for it is tells of things that will happen before they occur, things that could
not have possibly come about by chance. The Bible is filled with specific
prophecies about various events in history, both those that occur and are
described in later books of the Bible, and those that happened beyond the times
of the writing of the Bible. We looked at multiple such prophecies in our
recent series on the book of Ezekiel. Out of all the specific prophecies in
Ezekiel, perhaps my favorites are those involving Tyre. If you missed those
messages, or your memory has become hazy, I encourage you to look back at this
series at the messages on Ezekiel chapters 26 to 28.
The Bible contains many
hundreds of specific prophecies that are later shown to come true. This is
indeed miraculous! I have noticed, however, the people seldom talk about this
when talking with unbelievers. I think perhaps the reason is that we feel a bit
like Bastian, maybe afraid that people will not take us seriously if we talk
about it. Maybe we don’t bring it up because we don’t feel equipped or prepared
to explain how we know it was written before these things took place. Or maybe
we don’t feel like we can address people who say that the prophecies were not
specific and say that we are fitting our preconceived ideas into the
interpretations. Maybe we are afraid that having discussions with unbelievers
in this area might even weaken our own faith.
Personally, I do not think
we should shy away from talking about fulfilled prophecy. We can have
confidence that these Scriptures really are fulfilled prophecy, because the
Gospel writers and Jesus Himself used prophecy in this way.
Perhaps Jesus’ most famous
use of prophecy was in a post-resurrection encounter with some of His disciples
on the road to Emmaus:
Now that
same day two of them were going to a village called Emmaus, about seven
miles from Jerusalem. They were
talking with each other about everything that had happened. As they talked and discussed these things with each other, Jesus Himself
came up and walked along with them; but they were
kept from recognizing Him. He asked them, “What are
you discussing together as you walk along?” – Luke 24:13-17
They stood still, their
faces downcast. One of them, named Cleopas, asked Him, “Are you the
only one visiting Jerusalem who does not know the things that have happened
there in these days?” “What things?” He asked. – Luke 24:18-19
“About Jesus of
Nazareth,” they replied. “He was a prophet, powerful in word and deed
before God and all the people. The chief priests and our
rulers handed Him over to be sentenced to death, and they crucified
Him; but we had hoped that He was the one who was going to redeem Israel. And what is more, it is the third day since all this
took place. – Luke 24:19-21
In addition, some of our women amazed us. They went to the tomb
early this morning but didn’t find His body. They came
and told us that they had seen a vision of angels, who said He was alive. Then some of our companions went to the tomb and
found it just as the women had said, but they did not see Jesus.” – Luke
24:22-24
He said to them, “How foolish you are, and how slow to believe all that the prophets have
spoken! Did not the Messiah have to
suffer these things and then enter His glory?” And
beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, He explained to them what
was said in all the Scriptures concerning Himself. – Luke 24:25-27
As they approached the
village to which they were going, Jesus continued on as if He were going
farther. But they urged him strongly, “Stay with us, for it is nearly
evening; the day is almost over.” So He went in to stay with them. – Luke
24:28-29
When He was at the table
with them, He took bread, gave thanks, broke it and began to give it to
them. Then their eyes were opened and they recognized Him, and He
disappeared from their sight. They asked each other, “Were not our hearts
burning within us while He talked with us on the road and opened the
Scriptures to us?” – Luke 24:30-32
I am sorely
tempted to spend a lot of time on this marvelous passage, but there simply
isn’t time. I must point out that our Savior loves humor. Christians do not
always have to be super serious. One of the world’s stereotypes of Christians
is that they have no sense of humor. My experience is the opposite; it is more
often the unsaved that are serious about everything. Perhaps my favorite part
of this prank is when Jesus continues “as if He were going farther.” I can just
imagine Jesus saying, “Well, I really need to go…” “But Master, please! Stay
with us!” “Well, I suppose I can stay a little longer…” And as to why
Jesus disappeared after revealing Himself to them, I cannot but wonder if it
was because Jesus would not have been able to stop laughing if He had remained.
But what I
really want to point out, beyond the fact that Jesus Himself used many
prophecies about Himself in this encounter, and that I am sure that we all wish
we could have been there to hear what Jesus said, is that final line of the
disciples: “Were not our hearts burning within us?”
As we ponder, as we “behold,” I would
argue that this is how we should all feel, whether we have been believers for 6
days or 60 years. Prophecies coming true means that it is all true!
There really is a God; and He really gave us His Son, Jesus Christ. Salvation
is real. Eternity is real. All of it – it all is real!
And so, because it is real, every time we
read the Bible, we are really encountering profound truth about God. The Bible
is an even greater book than the fictitious Neverending Story (even if it were
real), because in that book, the reader influenced the outcome of the book, but
the Bible enables God to profoundly influence us. And it should do so.
Our hearts should burn within us!
Fulfilled prophecy allows us to trust the
Bible, not only that it is true, but that through it God speaks to us. And so a
good question to ask is what is the main message of the Bible? Now in the past
two messages we have talked about how the Bible teaches us about the tragic
history of man, as well as God’s repeated interventions into history. But I
think even those two important aspects of the Bible message can be subsumed, or
absorbed, into a simpler idea: The Bible is all about Jesus. From beginning to
end.
Now we can use the tools of literary
analysis (that stuff you learned in English class back in school) to see this.
Not only do specific prophecies point to all kinds of details about Jesus’
life, His purpose, His actions, and so on, but even the history itself, and
even the Mosaic Law, all of it points to Jesus. Jesus is the theme. He is in
every book, even when He isn’t named.
Now due to limitations on time, I am
going to focus on Christ figures, people in the Old Testament who are “types”
or foreshadows of Christ. We could also talk about how the Law points to
Christ, how the Tabernacle points to Christ, and so on, but there simply won’t
be time. The other area we could spend tons of time on would be to look at the
specific prophecies of Christ. But I feel that this is not a very “wide angle”
view, so instead, I will illustrate some of these prophecies another way at the
end of this message.
Now the Old Testament has both those that
the New Testament specifically points out as types (typii innati), and
those that are not pointed out as such but yet still clearly point to Christ (typii
illati). We will look at some of both. For this material, I have been
helped by several sources, but most importantly from a blog entry on the
website feedingonchrist.org.
We could start with Adam. He is the
headship of humanity. But he is more of an anti-type, in that Scripture
contrasts Adam with Jesus. Adam through His disobedience brings death mankind,
but Christ, through His obedience, brings eternal life. Romans 5 makes this
comparison, and I Corinthians 15 also contrasts Adam’s earthly body with
Christ’s resurrected body.
Abel is a type of Christ in that he is
the first to suffer for the sake of righteousness. Spurgeon wrote that if Cain
could have gotten at the throat of God he would have done so. In the case of
Christ, people were able to get at the throat of God. A contrast between
Abel and Christ is that Abel’s blood cried out for vengeance, whereas Christ’s
blood brings mercy. Matthew 23, Hebrews 11, and Hebrews 12 all speak of Abel as
a type of Christ.
Enoch was a type of Christ in that he
“walked with God and was not.” He was a righteous man. In being taken in body
to heaven, he is a living preview of how Christ also ascends bodily into
heaven.
Noah was a type of Christ in that he was
the head of his family, and as head, delivered his people from an ending world
into a type of new creation. His name means “rest”, and Noah brought rest to
his people. How much more does Christ bring those who belong to Him into a new
Creation! How much more does He provide rest!
Job was a type of Christ in that he suffered
at the hands of the devil, tempted by him. Jesus too was tempted and suffered
at the hands of the devil. After the time of most intense suffering, Job was
rewarded and restored. And after Jesus’ most intense suffering, He too was
rewarded and restored.
Melchizedek was a type of Christ in that
he was both a king and priest, and even Abraham, the father of the Jews, was
subservient to him. Hebrews points out in some detail the ways in which Christ
was a “greater Melchizedek.” The very name Melchizedek means “my king is
righteousness,” a description even more true of Jesus.
Abraham was a type of Christ in that,
although favored by God, he was a wanderer with no place to lay his head. He is
also the “father of many nations.” Jesus is the everlasting father, and out
from Him will be people from every nation.
Isaac is a type of Christ in that he is
Abraham’s son, his only son, the child of the promise, through whom God said
many nations would be blessed. Recall in Genesis 22 how God gives Abraham an
extremely difficult test: He tells Abraham to take His son and sacrifice him on
the top of a mountain. Abraham is faithful, tying up Isaac, and even raising
the knife. But God ends the test before it is carried out because it is a
foreshadowing of what God Himself will do with His own Son. Note that Isaac is
not a young child when this takes place! Isaac chose to remain, even
though he could have easily escaped. This was even more a foreshadowing of
Jesus on the cross, because Jesus, too, chose to remain on the cross.
This typology goes deeper. Isaac was the
result of a miraculous pregnancy and birth, just as Jesus was. And Abraham
called the place of the sacrifice “The Lord will provide,” future tense.
This is strange, just looking at the account of Abraham and Isaac, because the
Lord did provide a ram, past tense. This future tense clearly points to
Jesus. The passage goes on to say, in Gen. 22:14, “and to this day it is said,
‘on the mountain of the Lord it will be provided.’” It was on a mountain, a
high hill, that Jesus was put on the cross. And most Bible scholars are
convinced that Mount Moriah, the site of Abraham’s test, is also the location
of Golgotha, the site of Jesus’ crucifixion.
Jacob is a type of Christ in that he is
the chosen one who is named Israel by God. Israel is the father of the nation
of Israel; and Christ is the father of those who are called Christian.
Joseph is a type of Christ in that he
suffered unjustly but then he was raised up to save his people. I Peter 1
describes Joseph in this way, suffering but then receiving glory. Joseph was
hated by his brothers, suffered at their hands, and seemingly died. But then he
was found to be alive. Joseph went on to forgive those who persecuted him, and
he provided sustenance, without which his family would have died. Jesus
likewise was hated by his own people, and died because of their actions. But He
too was found to be alive, and He too forgives men and provides the sustenance
of eternal life.
Moses is a type of Christ in that he is a
mediator between God and man, like Christ. Through him comes the covenant, just
as through Jesus comes the new covenant. Moses, like Jesus, had a supernatural
deliverance at his birth. Moses led Israel out of Egypt, out of slavery. Jesus
too brings freedom to His followers, freedom from the bondage and penalty of sin.
We can go deeper here, if we follow
Moses’ progression. Moses went down into Egypt, out of Egypt, through the
water, into the wilderness, and up a mountain where he came down with his face
glowing. Jesus went down into Egypt (as a child), through the water (baptism), into the
wilderness (where He was tempted), and up a mountain (where He experienced the
transfiguration). There are many more parallels between Moses and Jesus.
Joshua is a type of Christ in that he
brought God’s people into the Promised Land. Joshua went before the people to
bring them to their inheritance. Jesus goes before His people to bring them the
even greater inheritance.
The judges, the leaders of God’s people
in the book called Judges, were all types of Christ. They delivered and
redeemed their people. One thing that unites the very different stories of the
judges is how victory was unlikely in their situations, yet God delivered
victory through them. Christ, buried in a tomb, was even more unlikely to
experience victory, yet that is what happened. And Christ has indeed delivered
and redeemed His followers.
Samson is a type of Christ. Samson’s
birth was preceded by an angelic visitation, like Christ. And like Christ, Samson
is tortured before being killed by his enemies, and Samson’s greatest victory
occurs in his death. Samson’s death culminates in the destruction of a temple.
Christ referred to His own death as a destruction of a temple.
David is one of the most powerful types
of Christ. The future savior/redeemer is even called “David” as we saw in our
study of the book of Ezekiel. Jesus is the fulfillment of the prophecy in 2
Samuel 7 where a son of David’s kingdom will be established “forever”. In the
New Testament the phrase “son of David” is synonymous with Messiah (used by
people calling out for Him in Matthew 15 and Matthew 20). In Rev. 22, Jesus
calls Himself both the “root” and the “offspring” of David; He is both David’s
father and son. Another prophecy tells us that David will not be the one to
build the Temple for God; his Son will do it. Although this was in one way
literally fulfilled through Solomon, it was more fully fulfilled through Jesus,
who builds the eternal Temple, His church – which is not made of blocks, but of
people.
But what about David himself? David came
from Bethlehem, like Jesus. Both David and Jesus were anointed; one of the
names for Jesus is “anointed one.” He was a literal shepherd; Jesus called
Himself the Great shepherd. David, facing certain death, “impossibly” conquered
Goliath. Jesus, facing certain death, “impossibly” conquered Satan. David
destroyed the enemies of Israel to bring about an era of peace. Jesus destroys
the enemies of mankind to bring about an eternal era of peace.
Both David and Jesus developed a band of
followers who followed their leaders despite various plots and attempts to kill
their leaders. David’s men ate the showbread in the Tabernacle; Jesus’ men ate
from the grain fields on the Sabbath. Both could be viewed as apparent
violations of Mosaic Law but as Jesus taught, were not.
David had a betrayer (Ahithopel) who,
when his betrayal was found out, went and hanged himself. Before he betrayed
David, David crossed over the Kidron brook. Jesus also had a betrayer (Judas)
who, when his betrayal was found out, went and hanged himself. Before he
betrayed Jesus, Jesus crossed over the very same brook! On the night of his
betrayal, David wept as he went to the Mount of Olives. On the night of Jesus’
betrayal, Jesus also went to the Mount of Olives, and there His soul was
grieved to the point of death, and He prayed fervently with loud cries and
tears.
Solomon was a type of Christ in many ways
as well. As already explained, he was the one who built the Temple, and Christ
built an even greater “Temple”. Solomon was the king of peace; Jesus is the
King of Peace. Solomon was the wisest man who ever lived, but Jesus is the very
“wisdom of God.” Jesus even brought this up Himself, when He compared Himself
to Solomon, saying that, as Gentiles were coming out to see Him, that the Queen
of Sheba came from the ends of the earth to seek the wisdom of Solomon. The
visit of the Queen of Sheba in 2 Chron. 9 parallels the encounters many people
had with Jesus, in which they are amazed, even “overwhelmed” by His
wisdom.
Elijah was a type of Christ in that he
called people to repent, yet was rejected by many. Jesus mentions that people,
confused about Jesus’ identity, even called Him Elijah. His preaching led to
people hating him yet also fearing him, just like Jesus. Elijah, through God,
miraculously multiplied the oil and meal for a starving widow and her son;
Jesus also miraculously multiplied food. Elijah raised a person from the dead;
Jesus did so more than once. Both ascended to heaven at the end of their
ministries. Elisha, Elijah’s disciple was told he would do even greater things
if he remained “with him” until the end. Jesus’ disciples were told they would
do even greater works than Jesus if they remained with Him/in Him (John 14).
Elisha was also a type of Christ. He was
greater than the one who preceded him (Elijah), just as Jesus was greater than
John the Baptist. Both are designated as such by a prophet. Both receive the
Spirit on the far side of the Jordan river. Both are surrounded by more
followers than their predecessors. Both are workers of many miracles; both
cleanse lepers, heal the sick, defy gravity. (Remember the floating ax head in
2 Kings 6? Jesus walks on the water.) Both reverse death, raising dead sons and
restoring them to their mothers. Both miraculously provide for the hungry.
(Elisha fed a hundred; Jesus fed hundreds. Both had food left over.) Both have
a covetous disciple. (Remember Gehazi? And of course, Judas.) And,
miraculously, a dead man placed in Elisha’s tomb comes back to life. In Jesus’
tomb, Jesus Himself comes back to life.
Nehemiah was a type of Christ in how he
rebuilt the walls of Jerusalem. Jesus we could say has rebuilt the walls of the
true Jerusalem, His church. While doing this work, the enemies of Nehemiah
called for him to come down. Nehemiah responded by saying, “I am doing a great
work, so I cannot come down.” Jesus’ enemies, while Jesus was on the cross,
similarly called on Jesus to “come down,” and Jesus refused to “come down,”
though He could have done so, but He was doing an even greater work. Nehemiah
also cleansed the Temple. Jesus did so too, both literally, as He threw out the
moneychangers, and figuratively. Both also wept over Jerusalem. Also, Nehemiah,
after building the walls, was called back to the king. But then he returned
again, defeating the enemies of God. Jesus too has been called back to the
King, the Father, but He too will return again and defeat for good God’s
enemies.
Jonah was a type of Christ in how he was
in the belly of the great fish for three days before miraculously rising, so to
speak, from the dead. Jesus literally rose from the dead after three days lying
in a tomb. Both preached a gospel of repentance. This is as good place as any
to point out that each of these types are imperfect in that they are sinful
people in contrast to Christ who is without sin. The failings of these men do
not detract from their typology; in fact, in a way they even more highlight how
Jesus is the “greater” version of all these men. And so, here we can point out
how Jonah was willing to sacrifice himself to save his shipmates, even though
it was also his own sin that had led to their peril. In contrast, at the time
of Jesus, and beyond, the peril of men is due to their own sin (and this
includes us), yet Jesus still was willing to sacrifice Himself to save them
(and us).
There are many other examples we could
look at, but in the interest of time I will stop here. As I have also said, we
find typology not just in people, but in events and even things. The Tabernacle
is an amazing type. The organization of the Israelites in the desert with Moses
is a type. I believe there is no limit to what we can find that points to
Christ.
But I want to also point out that, at the
time of Christ, people who really had hearts for God, few though they may have
been, yearned with every fiber of their being for the Messiah to come. They
understood incompletely from the Scriptures, but they knew that Messiah was
coming, and that He would bring redemption and salvation.
Let us look at an old familiar passage:
When the
time came for the purification rites required by the Law of Moses, Joseph
and Mary took him [Jesus] to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord (as it is written in the Law of the Lord, “Every firstborn male is
to be consecrated to the Lord”), and to offer a
sacrifice in keeping with what is said in the Law of the Lord: “a pair of doves
or two young pigeons.” – Luke 2:22-24
Now there
was a man in Jerusalem called Simeon, who was righteous and devout. He was
waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was on him. It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not die
before he had seen the Lord’s Messiah. Moved by
the Spirit, he went into the temple courts. When the parents brought in the
child Jesus to do for him what the custom of the Law required, Simeon took him in his arms and praised God, saying: – Luke 2:25-28
“Sovereign Lord, as You have promised, You may now
dismiss your servant in peace. For my eyes have seen Your salvation, which
You have prepared in the sight of all nations: a light for revelation to the
Gentiles, and the glory of Your people Israel.” – Luke 2:29-32
The child’s father and mother marveled at what was said about him. Then Simeon blessed them and said to Mary, his mother: “This
child is destined to cause the falling and rising of many in Israel, and
to be a sign that will be spoken against, so that
the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed. And a sword will pierce your own
soul too.” – Luke 2:33-35
There was also a prophet, Anna, the daughter
of Penuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was very old; she had lived with her
husband seven years after her marriage, and then was a
widow until she was eighty-four. She never left the temple but worshiped
night and day, fasting and praying. Coming up to
them at that very moment, she gave thanks to God and spoke about the child to
all who were looking forward to the redemption of Jerusalem. – Luke 3:36-38
Behold your Savior, the fulfillment of
prophecy, the fulfillment of types, the one main theme of the entire Bible. Be
awed by this miraculous book that presents God more plainly than if God’s name
was written in the stars.
I have a final short powerpoint presentation
set to music. I have shown this once before, I think about 20 years ago! The
music is the Kyrie from Bach’s mass in B minor, in my opinion one of the most
glorious works of music ever written. In many ways, the music is similar to
Scripture in that a theme runs through it, sometimes highly visible, sometimes
quite hidden, from beginning to end. Bach was one who “beheld”, who thought and
reflected on God. He signed his works S. D. G., short for “soli Deo gloria”, a
Latin term that means, “to God alone be the glory.” As the music plays, I
encourage you to behold the promise of our Savior-Redeemer, Jesus.
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