How Jesus Fulfilled The Old Testament Introduction One of the four characteristics of the Old Testament is that it reveals Christ as...
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| How Jesus Fulfilled The Old Testament |
One of the four characteristics of the Old Testament is that it reveals Christ as the Messiah. Right from when Adam and Eve sinned in the garden of Eden, God salvaged the situation by announcing a redemption plan in Genesis 3:15 which was ultimately fulfilled in Christ Jesus, bible scholars reveal that, there about 400 Prophecies about Christ in the Old Testament.
Most of the Prophets of the Old Testament prophesied about the coming of the saviour, the attributes he would have, his linage as seen in the book of Genesis 49:10 that the sceptre will come through Judah; 2 Samuel 7:12–13 also states that he would be David’s offspring according. Isaiah dwells so much on His advent and the attributes of his kingdom. The Lord Jesus Christ made it very clear that the Old Testament spoke of Him, stating: “You diligently study the Scriptures because you think that by them you possess eternal life. These are the Scriptures that testify about Me” (John 5:39)
This paper further elaborates of how Jesus has come to fulfill the Old Testament.
Jesus Fulfills the Old Testament
In Matthew 5:17 during Jesus sermon on the mount, he said; “Don't think that I came to destroy the law, or the prophets. I didn't come to destroy, but to fulfill" which is a clear indication that one of his main purposes was to fulfill all that have been said or prophesied about him in the old testament.
According to Ryle (2012) Jesus came to fulfill the predictions of the prophets, who had long foretold that a Saviour would one day appear. He came to fulfill the ceremonial law, by becoming the great sacrifice for sin, to which all the Old Testament offerings had ever pointed. He came to fulfill the moral law, by yielding to it a perfect obedience, which we could never have yielded - and by paying the penalty for our breaking of it with His atoning blood, which we could never have paid. This clearly show how well the advent of Jesus was predicated on the writings in the Old Testament.
All the Scriptures bear witness to Christ. Moses wrote about Christ according to John 5:39, 46;
“You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me. . .. If you believed Moses, you would believe me; for he wrote of me.” All the Scriptures are about Jesus Christ, predictions about him might not have been explicit at some writings but they all point to him in principle. There is a fullness of implication in all the Scriptures that points to Christ and is satisfied only when he appeared on earth and fulfilled his mandate. According to Graeme Goldsworthy (2000), the meaning of all the Scriptures is unlocked by the death and resurrection of Jesus” (Graeme Goldsworthy, Preaching the Whole Bible as Christian Scripture, 54).
The law was kept perfectly by Christ. And all its penalties against God’s sinful people were poured out on Christ. Therefore, the law is now manifestly not the path to righteousness; Christ is. The ultimate goal of the law is that we would look to Christ, not law-keeping, for our righteousness. For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes. (Romans 10:4)
Some Scriptural Evidences
The followings are some Old Testament prophecies fulfilled in Christ as recorded in the New Testament
- David’s descendant will have an eternal kingdom
- Prophecy: "When your days are over and you rest with your ancestors, I will raise up your offspring to succeed you, your own flesh and blood, and I will establish his kingdom. He is the one who will build a house for my Name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever" (2 Samuel 7:12–13).
- Fulfillment: "This is the genealogy of Jesus the Messiah the son of David, the son of Abraham" (Matthew 1:1)
- Jesus would teach in parables
- Prophecy: "My people, hear my teaching; listen to the words of my mouth. I will open my mouth with a parable; I will utter hidden things, things from of old" (Psalm 78:1–2)
- Fulfillment: "Jesus spoke all these things to the crowd in parables; he did not say anything to them without using a parable. So was fulfilled what was spoken through the prophet: 'I will open my mouth in parables, I will utter things hidden since the creation of the world'" (Matthew 13:34–35).
- The Messiah will have all authority over judgment
- Prophecy: "I will place on his shoulder the key to the house of David; what he opens no one can shut, and what he shuts no one can open" (Isaiah 22:22).
- Fulfillment: "To the angel of the church in Philadelphia write: These are the words of him who is holy and true, who holds the key of David. What he opens no one can shut, and what he shuts no one can open" (Revelation 3:7).
There is still a final work of Christ second coming in which all the promises of God will be fully realized in time and space upon His coming and the establishment of His full and final Kingdom. In this way, Christ not only fulfills the Old Testament but fills out the entire fabric of the Bible, summing up all things in Himself (Ephesians 1:10).
Conclusion
Indeed, Jesus did fulfill the old testament. We have seen how all the prophecies by the prophets and the writings in the Old Testament point to Christ as we have been made to see in the New Testament. Having fulfilled it, he made justification possible for us, not through the blood of animals as was practised in the Old Testament, but through his own blood. We stand before God in awe of his wonderful work of redemption, conceived in the mind of God, heralded in the Old Testament, and accomplished in Jesus Christ.
References
Ryle, J.C. (2012). The Gospel of Matthew, Chapter 5.
Goldsworthy, G (2000) Preaching the Whole Bible as Christian Scripture; The Application of
Biblical Theology to Expository Preaching, 54
Desiring God (2005) How Christ Fulfilled and Ended the Old Testament Regime [online] Available
from: https://www.desiringgod.org/articles/how-christ-fulfilled-and-ended-the-old-testament-regime [Accessed 13/12/18] Abridged and adapted
Wenham, G (2003) Exploring the Old Testament: The Pentateuch: Pentateuch Volume 1: The
Pentateuch (Vol. 1)
Wenham, G (2002) Exploring the Old Testament: The Prophets Volume 4
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