The Hidden Jesus

I let people I come in contact with know I am a minister, everyone at work knows. Several months ago, we were shopping in Albany and I was waiting outside the dressing rooms, waiting with the other husbands, and I started talking to some of the other guys waiting and I told them I was a believing Christian. One of the men thee asked me a simple question, “How can you believe in Jesus when he is only mentioned in the four gospels?” A simple question with a complex answer.

While it’s not true Jesus is only mentioned in the gospels, he’s mentioned in Roman documents from the time, he’s mentioned in Greek histories of the era, and he’s mentioned in a multitude of places in the Old Testament, in scripture written by several different authors over thousands of years. Today I want to explore Old Testament and at least some of the places Jesus is written into its verses.

From the very beginning of scripture, the glory of Jesus is displayed. Adam was not just the first man in God’s story; he is the representation of all humanity and creation. God spoke directly to Adam, and they walked side by side in Eden. Adam was responsible for preaching God’s word to his wife and children. He was given dominion over the world and all its life. Adam is an illustration of Jesus.

Jesus speaks directly with God. He sits at the right hand of the Father. Jesus represents all humanity by becoming human. John 1:3, “Through him (Jesus) all things were made; without him nothing was made…” Jesus represents and has authority over all creation because he is the creator. And Jesus preached God’s word to all humanity.

After the fall of men, Jesus is mentioned more directly, Genesis 3:15, “And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel.” Jesus, born of a woman, crushing evil and sin, ending Satan’s control over us.

After men left the Garden and increased in population, sin in the world went wherever man went. And through Genesis’ account of Noah, God gives us a description and shadow of his final judgement, and his plan for our redemption.

In his time, God decided it was time to remove and destroy those who live in unrepentant sin. But God reaches out and saves those who trust and follow him by having Noah build an ark. The world was destroyed by a flood while Noah and the others were safe within the ark. And when then they walked out into a new world.

Revelation tells us God will eventually destroy the world not with a flood but with fire. Unrepentant sinners will be judged and cast aside and those who trust in him will be protected and safe within the true ark, Jesus. We will be saved and walk upon a new earth and heaven.

The wooden ark, made of cypress wood, a wood that is durable, being practically indestructible by weather and the elements, nailed together represents our Lord; nailed to a cross, eternally living.

Staying in Genesis we go to Abraham and Isaac. Isaac is the son promised to Abraham through his faith. God tested Abraham by telling him to sacrifice Isaac. Abraham followed God and led his son to the sacrificial alter; Genesis 22:6, “Abraham took the wood for the burnt offering and placed it upon his son, Isaac…” God does save Isaac, telling Abraham in Genesis 22:12, “Do not do anything to him. Now I know you fear God because you have not withheld from me your son…”

Genesis 22:13, “Abraham looked up and there in the thicket he saw a ram caught by its horns.” Again, Jesus. Abraham and Isaac could not provide a sacrifice to remove their sinful nature; they needed a substitute to die in Isaac’s place. A substitute God provides in the ram. We cannot do enough to be removed from our sinful nature; we need a substitute to suffer our punishment. And God provides one. Jesus, a son like Isaac, carried the wood for the sacrifice, the cross, on his back. And God tells each of us, “Now I know you trust God, because you have not withheld your faith from my Son.”

Moving into Exodus, the story of Moses and the Passover is the story of Jesus. Moses, who came out of Egypt and the wilderness, had God with him and led his people out of the bondage of slavery. This exodus was accomplished by the death of all the first born in Egypt, only those who placed an animal’s sacrificial blood on their doorframes were saved.

Hosea 11:1, “When Israel was a child…out of Egypt I called my son.” As an infant Jesus was brought to Egypt, and in time he returned to Israel. He was tempted by Satan in the wilderness. And he leads his people out of the bond of sin. And he accomplishes this by the blood he poured out of himself on the cross.

A little farther in Exodus we come to chapter 21 and the story of the servant. Exodus 21:5-6, “But if the servant declares, ‘I love my master and my wife and children and do not want to go free;’ then his master must take him before the judges.  He shall take him to the doorpost and pierce his ear with an awl. Then he will be a servant for life.”

All the way back in Exodus, we have the passion of Christ. Jesus, who loves the Father; Jesus, who loves mankind, does not let the cup pass from him. God allows Jesus to be brought before the Sanhedrin and before Pilate and then lets Jesus be led to the cross and be nailed to it.

We’ve looked at Genesis and Exodus, what about the rest of scripture? Let’s look at the Book of Ruth. Ruth lost her husband, and when her mother-in-law, Naomi, returns to Israel, because of her love and trust, Ruth goes with her promising to follow her God. Once there, Ruth is blessed by Boaz, a wealthy man in the area. He tells his servants to leave extra grain for her to glean. He tells Ruth to drink from the servant’s water when she is thirsty. And when asked by Ruth why he did these things, he replies in Ruth 2:11, “I have been told what you have done for your mother-in-law…” Ultimately Boaz marries Ruth, and she lives in slender with no worries. Jesus and salvation again.

Ruth’s life was dominated by the death of her husband, ours is dominated by sin. When she lived her love and trust for Naomi, she was blessed and favored by the wealthy Boaz. When we turn to Jesus in love, trust, and faith; we are blessed and favored by God the Father. As a bride, Ruth moved into Boaz’s mansion. By faith we are the brides of Jesus, and we will come to live in heaven with no illness, no pain, no sorrow, no worries.

As you read Old Testament scriptures about Jonah, David, Joseph; you will see the story of Jesus, his life and our salvation being told over and over again. These accounts will show over and over how the blood of the Passover lamb, how the saving power of the bronze snake lifted on a pole during the Exodus, how the Tabernacle and sacrifices, all are shadows of our salvation accomplished and fulfilled by Jesus and the cross.

These few examples just scratch the surface of Jesus in the Old Testament. For those who say the Old Testament has nothing for us, they are denying the richness of God’s word. They are shortchanging the meaning of God’s word and the passion behind Jesus, his sacrifice, and our redemption and salvation.

Don’t turn away from the Old Testament. I know it can seem complex, it can be intimidating at times, but each chapter describes and points to Jesus.

Find Jesus in the Old Testament. See Jesus in the New Testament. Have faith in him and be blessed with God’s favor and grace.

Amen.