Discovering Types Of Christ In The Old Testament

By Carolyn Graham


When most believers think about Jesus, they use as their reference the New Testament. This is, after all, where you find the Gospels recounting His life, teachings, death, and resurrection. Jesus on the other hand references the Old Testament repeatedly throughout His life. Rather than a physical recounting, the Bible's Old Testament gives us a glimpse into the different types of Christ as seen in shadows, prophecies, and pictures.

The tree of life is referenced in Genesis. We are given a picture of the tree that God planted within the midst of the Garden of Eden, just as much later He transplanted His Son in the midst of His people. In Revelations Jesus is depicted as the tree of life bearing twelve fruits, the apostles, with the leaves of the tree spreading to heal the nations.

Noah listened to God and built an Ark when everyone else thought he was crazy. He gathered the animals together, herded them onto the boat and shut the door. In this way he saved himself and the animal kingdom. Jesus saved man in much the same way. Noah knew the ark would shelter his flock from destruction. Believers know that 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.

King David was forced to give the building of the temple over to his son, Solomon. The temple represents the dwelling place of God. If we repent we are allowed to enter. Jesus refers to Himself as the temple and tells His enemies if they destroy it, He will resurrect it in three days.

Today a lot of Christians find Old Testament readings difficult. It contains the books that Jesus read and studied however. He continually refers to Himself in terms the people of the Old Testament would have understood. In order to fully understand Him today, we need to become more familiar with His Bible.




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