Jesus in the Old Testament

For many Christians, there is a clear split between the Old and New Testaments. We often hear phrases like old covenant and new covenant, justice and mercy, law and grace. But this ‘break’ between the Testaments is incorrect. There is no split. Scripture is a unified whole consisting of individual elements telling a single, cohesive story. Our God does not change like the shifting shadows, and He fulfils all His promises (James 1:17; Numbers 23:19).

I have been on a journey investigating Jesus in the Old Testament. Now, for Christians, this is obvious: Jesus is the promised Messiah, so all Old Testament prophecies concerning the Messiah obviously speak of Jesus. However, for most of our Jewish brothers and sisters, this is not a foregone conclusion. In fact, we’ve been journeying with Jewish-Gentile couples who struggle to see Jesus as the Messiah because one partner (or both) doesn’t see him in the Tanakh (Old Testament). So, I thought I’d write this article to help equip believers to show our Jewish brothers and sisters (and Gentile brothers and sisters) that Jesus is found in the Old Testament, and He doesn’t simply randomly show up in the New Testament, making wild claims.

Scholars disagree on the number of Old Testament prophecies referencing the coming Messiah, but a conservative number puts the estimate at around 300. Obviously, I can’t do a deep dive into all the prophecies here, but I’ll list a few here relating to sacrificial lambs, Jesus’ betrayal and His crucifixion, as we’re currently in the Easter and Pesach (Passover) seasons.

When the Lord instructed the Israelites on how to prepare the Passover meal, He explicitly told them to 'leave none of [the lamb] until the morning, nor break any of its bones; according to all the statute for the Passover they shall keep it' (Number 9:12). Jesus died the day He was 'sacrificed' or crucified, and He was buried the day of His death (Matthew 27:45-50; John 19:28-30, 38-42). Scripture also tells us that: 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. (John 19:31-33) We also know that according to Psalm 34:20, the Lord will protect the bones of the righteous and that 'not one of them is broken'.
The famous Suffering Servant passage of Isaiah 52:13 to 53:12 tells us that the Servant is like a quiet lamb who is led to the slaughter. Jesus largely did not reply to the questions and accusations thrown at Him by the chief priests, elders and Herod. Jesus did respond to some statements by Caiaphas, the high priest, and Pontius Pilate, but nowhere did He defend Himself or plead His cause (Matthew 27:12; Luke 23:9; John 18:).
Lambs exclusively raised to be Passover sacrifices were done so in pastures surrounding Bethlehem. The shepherds of Bethlehem were charged with raising sheep for the Temple sacrifices. These one-year-old lambs had to be unblemished, the firstborn, wrapped in cloths and then presented as a sacrifice. According to tradition, these lambs had to be kept outside for one year before being sacrificed. That explains the location of the shepherds in Luke 2:8: 'And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.' Jesus is the only begotten Son of the Father and also Mary's firstborn; He was born in Bethlehem (Micah 5:2; Luke 2:4-6) and wrapped in cloth; He was without sin (blemish), and when the time came, He was sacrificed as the Lamb of God.
This prophecy refers to the 'price paid' for Jesus' death. Zechariah 11:12-13 states: Then I said to them, "If it seems good to you, give me my wages; but if not, keep them." And they weighed out as my wages thirty pieces of silver. Then the Lord said to me, "Throw it to the potter"—the lordly price at which I was priced by them. So I took the thirty pieces of silver and threw them into the house of the Lord, to the potter. Judas sold Jesus out to the chief priests for 30 pieces of silver. But when he realised that he had betrayed the Messiah, Judas changed his mind, returned to the chief priests and threw the silver into the Temple. After that, he went and hanged himself. The chief priests took this silver and bought a potter's field to be used as a burial field for strangers (Matthew 27:3-10).
Psalm 22 was written by King David during a time of great distress but is also regarded as a clear picture of the suffering Messiah. When Jesus cried out on the cross, 'My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?' (Matthew 27:46b), He was quoting directly from this psalm. Psalm 22:7-8 specifically states: 'All who see me mock me; they make mouths at me; they wag their heads; "He trusts in the Lord; let him deliver him; let him rescue him, for he delights in him!"' What is so remarkable about these verses is that the chief priests, scribes and elders used these words when they mocked Jesus while He was on the cross: 'He saved others; he cannot save himself. He is the King of Israel; let him come down now from the cross, and we will believe in him. He trusts in God; let God deliver him now, if he desires him. For he said, "I am the Son of God."' (Matthew 27:42-44).

As I learn more about how Jesus fulfilled Old Testament prophecies, I am blown away by the consistency and exactness of our God. I hope these few prophecies have blessed you and strengthened your faith, as it has mine. I also hope that this has inspired you to share with both Jew and Gentile that Jesus is found not only in the ‘New Testament’ but throughout all of Scripture.

P.S. If this topic interests you and you want to know more, then a good place to start your research is here.

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