Notes From the Pastor's Desk
October 26, 2025
Old Testament Characters Christ Gave Reference To
The Lord Jesus many times referred to Old Testament characters. He did that for several reasons. Christ either referred to them using them as a warning, using them as an example or role model, or to show the role they played in typeology. Let's consider several of these references.
I. He Spake of Abraham
“Abraham rejoiced to see my day; he saw it and was glad” (Jn. 8:56). He does not imply the Messiah would come in his lifetime, instead, he saw the time of the Messiah. If you look at Genesis 12:7 and 22:18, and compare it to Gal. 3:16, he knew the Messiah would come from his family. This speaks of the deity of Christ.
II. He Spake of Moses
Christ said, “as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up” (Jn. 3:14). Moses lifting up the brazen serpent on the pole so the people of Israel could look and be healed from the bite of serpents, was a picture of how Christ lifted up on the cross could cure the sinner. This refers to the death of Jesus Christ.
III. He Spake of Jonah
See Matt. 12:40. Jonah was three days and three nights in the whale's belly typifying how Christ was three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. Jonah went down into the whale's belly but he did come up and get out. This is a type of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus.
IV. He Spake of David
Jesus said in Luke 20:44, “David, therefore called him Lord, how is he then his son?” David recognized the Lordship of Jesus. Christ sought to show the Pharisees the Son of David was also the Lord of David. The Messiah was both David's human descendant and divine Lord. This speaks of Lordship.
V. He Spake of Elijah
Read Matt. 11:12-14. This shows how Elijah was a type of John the Baptist, who was the forerunner of the Lord Jesus Christ. This reference is one of identifying Christ's forerunner.
VI. He Spake of Isaiah
In Luke 22:37, Isa. 53:12 is quoted. Isaiah clearly foretold the death of the Lord Jesus Christ. There is no passage in the Bible as vivid and clear as Isaiah Chapter 53, which plainly describes the death of the Lord Jesus Christ.