By Carolyn Graham


Many Christians believe that the facts of Jesus are all contained in the New Testament. These are the books, after all, that describe how He lived, taught, died, and was resurrected. Jesus Himself refers repeatedly to Old Testament teachings when He is speaking to His believers. Old Testament references that Jesus takes for Himself are not physical but rather prophecies, pictures, and shadows that give allusions to the different types of Christ.

Some believe it starts with God's tree of life. When God was creating the Garden of Eden He placed the tree of life squarely in the middle. Many years later He would set His Son down in the middle of the Israelites, who were His chosen people. Revelations tells us that Jesus is the tree of life that bears twelve fruits, representing the apostles. The leaves on the tree are there to cure the nations.

The Ark was Noah's salvation. It saved him and his family from the flood. After all the animals had been herded onto the ship, Noah shut the doors. Jesus is salvation for man. Just as Noah knew the Ark would save the inhabitants from destruction, Christians know Jesus will not let them perish.

Old Testament Jacob dreamed of a ladder reaching into heaven with angels descending and ascending it. In the New Testament Jesus is depicted as the intermediary, or ladder, between man and God. Through Jesus we see angels and God. In the same way, the Passover Lamb in Exodus becomes the Lamb of God, Jesus, in the New Testament.

Jesus tells believers that He's the bread of Life. Anyone who hungers can come to Him. In Exodus, the Israelites wandered the desert for forty years. All that time they have only bread, or manna, to eat. Christians believe that Jesus will feed their spirits if they believe and come to Him.

There is a story in Exodus in which God commands Moses to go to Horeb with the elders. There he'll find a rock that he must strike in order to release the water inside that the people can drink. Paul tells the Corinthians, in the first letter he wrote to them, about this story, but with a twist. In Paul's recounting the drink is spiritual and the rock represents the spirit of Jesus.

When God told King David that he would not be the one building the temple, the job was turned over to Solomon. This will become the house where God resides. Only those willing to repent will be allowed to enter. Jesus says that He is the temple and if His enemies attempt to destroy the temple, He will rebuilt it in three days.

A lot of Christians have issues with the Old Testament. Jesus used it to teach His followers because that is what He read. The people of the Old Testament would have recognized the stories He told. Understanding Jesus completely must include the teachings He read.




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