Course:
Jesus the Son of God
Section
Three: The Son of God in the Old Testament
Lesson
Five
Lesson
Title: The Testimony of the Old Testament
Text: John 5:39-40 'Search the
scriptures; for in them you think you have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me. And you will not come to me, that you
might have life.'
Introduction: The Old
Testament scriptures testify of Jesus.
The redemption
story is unfolded from Genesis 3:15 where He is seen to be the Seed of the
Woman who would crush the devil's head.
1)
Redemption
through the Son of God is the central message of Old Testament scripture.
2)
The prophets
prophesied concerning His coming.
3)
In addition there
are appearances of God (theophanies) made in the Old
Testament. We conclude that these are
appearances of the eternal Son of God.
Introductory
Story: The blueprint
- a detailed plan.
When a house is built the plans must be carefully drawn and
worked out if the house is to be built right.
The testimony of the Old Testament is a blueprint of the
redemptive work of the eternal Son of God.
God's plan of salvation was written in eternity but through
the Old Testament the plan was gradually revealed.
Main
Points:
1.
Old Testament foreshadowed the coming of the Son of God.
Jesus opened up the Old
Testament to enable the disciples on the Emmaus Road to understand 'the things concerning Himself' .
Luke 24:27 'And beginning at Moses and all the
prophets, he expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning
himself.'
Luke 24:32 'And they said one to another, Did not
our heart burn within us, while he talked with us by the way, and while he
opened to us the scriptures?'
a) Jacob's ladder (Genesis 28:12)
The
ladder reaches to heaven (Son of God); comes down to earth (Son of Man).
Jesus
is seen to be the ladder that brings us into the presence of the Father, (John 14:6).
b) Tabernacle, Sacrifices, and Feasts
His deity and
His humanity is revealed in the types of the Old
Testament.
The entrance
to the tabernacle was called 'the way', the holy place was 'the truth', the holy of holies was 'the life'.
Hebrews 8:5
Who serve unto the example and shadow of heavenly things, as
Moses was admonished of God when he was about to make the tabernacle: for, See,
said he, that you make all things
according to the pattern shown to you in the mount.
c)
The
Temple
Nathan
prophesied that the One who would build the temple will
reign for ever
2 Samuel 7:14 'He shall build a house for my name, His throne established
for ever.'
Compare when Jesus said 'Destroy this temple and in three days I will raise it up.' (John 2:19).
Peter tells us that we are
living stones of the temple. Acceptable to God by Jesus Christ.
1 Peter 2:5 'You also, as
lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up
spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ.'
2.
The Old Testament prophesied concerning the Son of God
a) Isaiah prophesied the birth of Jesus
‘Therefore the Lord himself shall give you
a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his
name Immanuel.' (Isaiah 7:14)
A virgin mother ‘a virgin shall conceive’
His name 'Immanuel’ meaning ‘God with us'
b) Isaiah prophesied a child will be born who is
the mighty God.
'For unto us a child is
born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder:
and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The
everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and peace there
shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order
it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this.’ Isaiah 9:6-7
A child is
born - a Son is given. He has
always been the eternal Son of God (a Son is given) He became man (a child is
born).
1) Wonderful
2) Counsellor
3) Mighty
God
4) Everlasting
Father
5) Prince
of Peace
c) Micah prophesied concerning His birth.
'But thou, Bethlehem
Ephratah, though
thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of you 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
1)
Bethlehem will be His birthplace.
2)
He will reign over Israel.
3)
He is everlasting (Hebrew 'Olam').
3.
Theophanies in the Old
Testament.
a) The Angel of Jehovah
In
the Old Testament there is a person called the Angel of Jehovah. This person speaks in a manner that can
only be associated with God.
‘And the angel of the LORD said unto her, I will
multiply thy seed exceedingly, that it shall not be numbered for multitude.’ (Genesis 16:10)
When Moses spoke to the Lord in the burning bush, he
spoke to the angel of the Lord.
‘And the angel of the
LORD appeared unto him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush: and he looked,
and, behold, the bush burned with fire, and the bush was not consumed.’ (Exodus 3:2)
The Angel of the Lord is seen standing by the High Priest who is clothed
in dirty garments.
‘And he showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the
LORD, and Satan standing at his right hand to resist him.’ (Zechariah 3:1)
The High
Priest represented the nation.
His dirty
garments showed his unworthiness for the office of High Priest.
The Angel of the Lord says ‘I will bring forth my servant the BRANCH’ (Zechariah 3:8b) and ‘I will
remove the iniquity of that land in one day.’ (Zechariah 3:9b)
Consider the
text: Psalms 34:7 'The angel of the LORD encampeth round about them that fear him, and delivereth them.'
b) Captain of the Host of the Lord.
When Joshua and the children of Israel were ready to enter into the promised land, Joshua met the Captain of the Host of the
Lord. When Joshua spoke with Him,
He was told to worship.
'And he said, No; but as
captain of the host of the LORD am I now come. And Joshua fell on his face to
the earth, and did worship, and said unto him, What
says my lord unto his servant? And
the captain of the LORD’S host said unto Joshua, Loose thy shoe from off thy
foot; for the place whereon you stand is
holy. And Joshua did so.' (Joshua
5:14-15)
Only God is worthy of worship.
This was an appearance of the Son of God, a theophanies.
Summary:
The Son of God is clearly seen in the Old
Testament
1. He is the ladder Who gives us
access into the presence of the Father.
2. The prophets prophesied concerning His coming that He is
the eternal Son of God.
3. The Son of God is seen actively involved with His people in
the Old Testament