References to Christ in the Scriptures
Did Christ say whom the scriptures testified of?
“Search the scriptures; for in them you think you have eternal life: and they are they which testify of Me” (John 5:39).
Observation: Many knew the Old Testament Scriptures including the religious leaders but failed to see Christ in them and apply its words to their lives. Finding Christ in the Scriptures is the true and legitimate end to our study. To be able to understand them as He, Christ, interpreted them is the best result of biblical learning.
Did Moses and the prophets write of Christ?
“Philip findeth Nathanael, and said unto him, We have found him, of whom Moses in the law, and the prophets, did write, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph” (1 John 1:45).
From whose words did Christ say the disciples ought to have learned of His death and resurrection?
“O fools, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken: Ought not Christ to have suffered these things, and to enter into His glory” (Luke 24:25–26).
Observation: Why did Jesus call these disciples fools? Because, even though they well knew the biblical prophecies, they failed to understand that Christ’s suffering was His path to glory. They could not understand why God did not save Jesus from the cross. They were caught up in the world’s admiration of political power and military might. They did not understand that the victory of Jesus was His conquering of death.
Did Jesus make it clear to them that the Scriptures testified of Him?
“And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, He expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning Himself” (Luke 24:27).
Observation: Beginning with the promised seed in Genesis and going through the Suffering Servant in Isaiah, the Pierced One in Zechariah, and the Messenger of the Covenant in Malachi, Jesus reintroduced these disciples to the Old Testament Scriptures that spoke of Him.
CHRIST THE SEED
Where in the Bible will we find the first promise of a redeemer to come?
“And the Lord God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life: And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her see; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise His heel” (Genesis 3:14–15).
Observation: Satan is our enemy. Jesus’ heel will bruise Satan’s head. “It shall bruise thy head” foreshadows Satan’s defeat when Christ rose from the dead. A bruise on the heel is not deadly, but a strike on the head is. Already God was revealing His plan to defeat Satan and offer salvation to the world through His Son, Jesus Christ.
Was this promise renewed to Abraham?
“In thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed” (Genesis 22:18).
To whom did this promised seed refer?
“Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ” (Galatians 3:16).
THE ANGEL AND THE ROCK
Whom did God promise to send with Israel to guide them into the Promised Land?
“Behold, I send an angel before thee, to keep thee in the way, and to bring thee into the place which I have prepared” (Exodus 23:20).
Who was the Rock that went with them?
“And did all drink the same spiritual drink: for they drank of the spiritual Rock that followed [“went with,” margin] them: and that Rock was Christ” (1 Corinthians 10:4).
BIRTH, LIFE, SUFFERING, DEATH, RESURRECTION
Where was the Savior born?
“But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall He come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting” (Micah 5:2).
What prophecy foretells Christ’s life, suffering, and death?
“Therefore will I divide Him a portion with the great, and He shall divide the spoil with the strong; because He hath poured out His soul unto death: and He was numbered with the transgressors; and He bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors” (Isaiah 53:12; please read the whole chapter).
Is the price of Christ’s betrayal foretold?
“So they weighed for my price thirty pieces of silver” (Zechariah 11:12).
“And said unto them, What will ye give me, and I will deliver Him unto you? And they covenanted with him for thirty pieces of silver” (Matthew 26:15).
Where in the Psalms are Christ’s dying words recorded?
“My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me?” (Psalms 22:1).
“Into Thine hand I commit My spirit” (Psalms 31:5).
Is Christ’s resurrection foretold in the Psalms?
“For Thou wilt not leave my soul in hell; neither wilt thou suffer Thine Holy One to see corruption” (Psalms 16:10).
CHRIST’S SECOND COMING AND KINGDOM
Is there a description of Christ’s Second Coming in the Scriptures?
“I saw in the night visions, and behold, one like the son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of days, and they brought Him near before Him. And there was given Him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages, should serve Him: His dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and His kingdom that which shall not be destroyed” (Daniel 7:13–14; see also Luke 1:32–33; 19:11–12; Revelation 11:15).
Is Christ’s Second Coming described in the Psalms?
“Let the floods clap their hands: let the hills be joyful together before the Lord: for He cometh to judge the earth: with righteousness shall He judge the world, and the people with equity” (Psalms 98:8–9).
“Our God shall come, and shall not keep silence: a fire shall devour before Him, and it shall be very tempestuous round about Him. He shall call to the heavens from above, and to the earth, that he may judge His people. Gather My saints together unto Me; those that have made a covenant with Me by sacrifice” (Psalms 50:3–5).
