Foreshadowing of Jesus
Crosswalk Series
Calvary Baptist Church of Holland
Sunday, March 15th 2015
Pastor Paul L. Davis
Key Thought: Jesus is the focal point of history.
When the leadership of our church gathered together and created our mission statement, we knew what
the focal point had to be— Jesus. You should know our mission well: Passionately pursuing Christ,
lovingly pursuing others for Christ.
The focal point of everything we do is Jesus Christ. He is the focus of our worship. He is the focus of
our praise. He is the focus of our hope. He is the focus of our salvation, faith, and trust. We worship him as
our Creator, Redeemer, Emmanuel (God with us), the author of our salvation, the Prince of peace, and as
Messiah. He is the Logos (The Word), Son of God, the promised Son of David, and the Lamb of God who
takes away the sin of the world. He is the second Adam, the Light of the World, the bread of life, the King
of the Jews, and our great high priest:
He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation…. by him all things were created, in
heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all
things were created through him and for him… he is before all things, and in him all things hold
together. And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead,
that in everything he might be preeminent. (Colossians 1:15–18, ESV)
It truly is “all about Jesus.” As a result, shouldn’t the main pursuit of our life be to know him? The Apostle
Paul’s desire was “that I may know him and the power of his resurrection” (Philippians 3:10). Paul’s desire
should be ours as well. Jesus told an interesting story in Luke 16:19. Turn with me in your Bibles and let's
begin here this morning:
There was a rich man who was clothed in purple and fine linen and who feasted sumptuously every
day. And at his gate was laid a poor man named Lazarus, covered with sores, who desired to be fed
with what fell from the rich man’s table. Moreover, even the dogs came and licked his sores. The poor
man died and was carried by the angels to Abraham’s side. The rich man also died and was buried, and
in Hades, being in torment, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham far off and Lazarus at his side. And
he called out, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus to dip the end of his finger in
water and cool my tongue, for I am in anguish in this flame.’ But Abraham said, ‘Child, remember that
you in your lifetime received your good things, and Lazarus in like manner bad things; but now he is
comforted here, and you are in anguish. And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has
been fixed, in order that those who would pass from here to you may not be able, and none may cross
from there to us.’ And he said, ‘Then I beg you, father, to send him to my father’s house— for I have five
brothers—so that he may warn them, lest they also come into this place of torment.’ But Abraham
said, ‘They have Moses and the Prophets; let them hear them.’ And he said, ‘No, father Abraham, but if
someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent.’ He said to him, ‘If they do not hear Moses and
the Prophets, neither will they be convinced if someone should rise from the dead.’ (Luke 16:19–31)
Why would Jesus share this parable? What was his message? I used to think I would never have any
doubts about God if I saw a miracle. And I even used to pray for one just to solidify my faith. But God does
not work that way. God’s Word has contained within it everything I need to believe and put my faith in
Jesus Christ. That is why we study it every week.
Over the next few weeks our goal will be to get to know Jesus a little better in three ways. You will
understand him better historically, as a person who actually lived in time and space. You will understand
him better theologically, as the second person of the Trinity. Lastly, you will understand him better
prophetically—Jesus did not just “pop” into history; he was foreshadowed all through the Old Testament.
That is where we begin this morning. We are going to explore the little glimpses and shadows of Jesus in
the Old Testament.
NOTE: This is just a quick survey.
I want to begin our journey in the Pentateuch—the first five books of the Bible. Genesis, Exodus,
Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy were all written by Moses. The Jews call it the “Torah” (instruction).
They also believe that these five books were given by God to Moses at Mt. Sinai. The Pentateuch is what
Jesus was talking about when he said, “You have Moses and the prophets.” The Pentateuch is the Moses
part, and it forms the foundation for everything else in the Bible. If you struggle understanding the Bible,
it is probably because you have not read the Pentateuch. Everything we know about Jesus begins here
and grows from here. Remember, we are looking for shadows and glimpses of Jesus.
Genesis
The Messiah will be the promised offspring—the “offspring of the woman”
“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.” (Genesis 3:15)
Theologians call this verse the “protoevangelium,” which literally means “first gospel.” This is the first
promise of redemption in the Bible. Everything that you know about Jesus—his life, death, redemption,
atonement, and your salvation—flows from and begins in this verse.
Abraham will have a descendant through whom all the nations of the earth will be blessed
(Galatians 3:8-9, 27-29).
“And in your offspring shall all the nations of the earth be blessed, because you have obeyed my voice.”
(Genesis 22:18)
“And all the prophets who have spoken, from Samuel and those who came after him, also proclaimed these
days. You are the sons of the prophets and of the covenant that God made with your fathers, saying to
Abraham, ‘And in your offspring shall all the families of the earth be blessed.’ God, having raised up his servant,
sent him to you first, to bless you by turning every one of you from your wickedness.” (Acts 3:24–26)
The Messiah will be the God-provided offering.
In Genesis 22 God tells Abraham to take his only son, whom he loves, and journey to a mountain and
offer him there as a burnt offering. He does it. As they get to the mountain “Isaac said to his father
Abraham, “My father!” And he said, “Here I am, my son.” He said, “Behold, the fire and the wood, but where is
the lamb for a burnt offering?” Abraham said, (and this is a powerful statement that once again reveals a
little glimpse of God’s plan)“God will provide for himself the lamb for a burnt offering, my son” (Genesis 22:7–
8). From that day forward Abraham called his God “Jehovah Jireh,” or the Lord will provide. Jesus is the
only Son who like Isaac is a willing sacrifice, and who carried the wood of the sacrifice (the cross) on his
back, and who unlike Isaac truly dies as the sacrificial Lamb provided by God (Genesis 22:1-19; John 1:29;
19:17-19).
Exodus
The Messiah will be the Passover lamb
In Exodus 12 God told his people to protect themselves against the Angel of Death by sacrificing a lamb
and spreading its blood on the doorposts of their houses. God said that when he saw the blood he would
“passover” and not permit the “destroyer” (Exodus 12:23) to enter. Any home without the blood would
have the first-born struck down.
“Cleanse out the old leaven that you may be a new lump, as you really are unleavened. For Christ, our Passover
lamb, has been sacrificed.” (1 Corinthians 5:7)
Leviticus
The Messiah will be our Great High Priest and atoning sacrifice
Leviticus reveals Christ as our “Great High Priest.” Leviticus 8-10 goes to great length to describe the
office and role of a great high priest, emphasizing how holy and pure he had to be as the intermediary
between God and the people. We see Jesus fulfilling this prophecy in the book of Hebrews, specifically in
Hebrews 1:17-2:6.
“Therefore he (Jesus) had to be made like his brothers in every respect, so that he might become a merciful and
faithful high priest in the service of God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people.” (Hebrews 2:17)
Hebrews 4:15-16 discusses how much better Jesus the Messiah is as a high priest than the Old Testament
priests:
“For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every
respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin.” (Hebrews 4:15)
Leviticus also describes the atoning sacrifices that the priest had to constantly bring before the Lord to
atone for the sins of the people. They sacrificed goats, rams, lambs, and bulls. Their blood was sprinkled
on what was called “the Mercy Seat”—the place where God’s holiness resided. The blood of the animals
temporarily atoned for the sins of the people (Leviticus 16 & 23:26-32). This was also fulfilled by Jesus.
Listen to Hebrews 9:
But when Christ appeared as a high priest… he entered once for all into the holy places, not by means
of the blood of goats and calves but by means of his own blood, thus securing an eternal redemption.
For if the blood of goats and bulls… sanctify for the purification of the flesh, how much more will the
blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our
conscience from dead works to serve the living God. (Hebrews 9:11–14)
Numbers
The Messiah will be lifted up for our healing.
There is a simple story told in the book of Numbers 21. It is only four verses, so let’s go there and read it:
From Mount Hor they set out by the way to the Red Sea, to go around the land of Edom. And the people
became impatient on the way. And the people spoke against God and against Moses, “Why have you
brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? For there is no food and no water, and we loathe
this worthless food.” Then the Lord sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people, so
that many people of Israel died. And the people came to Moses and said, “We have sinned, for we have
spoken against the Lord and against you. Pray to the Lord, that he take away the serpents from us.” So
Moses prayed for the people. And the Lord said to Moses, “Make a fiery serpent and set it on a pole, and
everyone who is bitten, when he sees it, shall live.” So Moses made a bronze serpent and set it on a pole.
And if a serpent bit anyone, he would look at the bronze serpent and live. (Numbers 21:4–9)
Listen to that last sentence. If that isn’t a picture of Satan, sin, and the fall, I do not know what is. The
Serpent bit mankind when Eve gave in to temptation. From that time man has been plagued with the
effects of sin. Listen to what Jesus says about himself in John 3:14-16.
“And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever
believes in him may have eternal life. “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever
believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:14–16)
The Messiah’s Bones Will Not Be Broken
Chapter 9 discusses the proper observance and preparation of Passover and prophetically describes
Jesus, the Passover Lamb. In that passage there is an interesting note about bones not being broken:
“They shall leave none of it until the morning, nor break any of its bones; according to all the statute for the
Passover they shall keep it” (Numbers 9:12). In the New Testament we read:
Since it was the day of Preparation, and so that the bodies would not remain on the cross on the
Sabbath (for that Sabbath was a high day), the Jews asked Pilate that their legs might be broken and
that they might be taken away. So the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first, and of the other
who had been crucified with him. But when they came to Jesus and saw that he was already dead, they
did not break his legs. But one of the soldiers pierced his side with a spear, and at once there came out
blood and water. He who saw it has borne witness—his testimony is true, and he knows that he is
telling the truth—that you also may believe. For these things took place that the Scripture might be
fulfilled: “Not one of his bones will be broken.” And again another Scripture says, “They will look on him
whom they have pierced.” (John 19:31–37)
Christ, our Passover Lamb, has been sacrificed for us. (1 Corinthians 5:7b)
We have not yet even scratched the surface. Are you beginning to see why Jesus desired us to look for
him through the writings of Moses? Remember, the Pentateuch was written thousands of years before
Jesus was born, yet he so perfectly fulfilled the pictures that Moses gave us of the coming Messiah.
Next week we are going to explore the prophets. You will be amazed at how dozens of men over
hundreds of years and in three different languages picture one amazing Messiah. I can’t wait.