Christ in the Prophets (Neviim)

We begin this evening’s service by reading . In this chapter, Jesus has been addressing the crowds in parables. In 13:3 Matthew notes that Jesus taught the crowds many things in parables. Now, a parable is a symbolic story, typically conveying morality in the form of a story or illustration. And like the story of the boy who cried wolf, parables were used to teach deeper truths.

Jesus began using parables as a form of mercy. While we do not have the time this evening to delve into this issue, I would recommend reading and comparing that with .

The reason we begin our evening here is because Jesus says that a scribe who is trained in the kingdom of heaven, or discipled, as the word means, is like a master of a house who brings treasures out, both old and new. That is, a scribe trained in the way of Jesus can bring gems, precious truths, out of the Old (or Old Testament) and the New (or New Testament). While we are no longer under the Mosaic Law, we still have God’s Word in the Old Testament. And as Augustine reminds us, the Old Testament is in the New revealed, and the New Testament is in the Old concealed. That is, there is one major theme of redemption running from Genesis all the way through to Revelation.

This evening, then, my task is to bring out of the old treasures, or I should say the Treasure, Jesus. Our second of the Old Testament Scriptures is vast, and it is called the Neviim by the Jewish people. This second section of Scripture includes the following 21 books: Joshua, Judges, I & II Samuel, I & II Kings, and all of the major and minor prophets.

As you can imagine, if we were to attempt to open up each book and look at one verse in each, we would be here until next Sunday night. So, in order to not overwhelm you or lose my job, we will conduct an overview. Like plane flying at 5,000 feet altitude, we will get a glimpse of the Neviim’s view of Jesus.

I. CHRIST IN THE HISTORICAL BOOKS

While the Jewish people have three divisions of the Old Testament, we divide it further. And in order to maintain some semblance of orderliness, we will seek to keep a structure as we search for Christ in the Neviim.

First, Joshua provides some interesting connections to Jesus. Now, while there are no direct references, as in the case of , to Jesus, there are numerous “shadows” which point to the Messiah.

To begin with, Joshua’s name is the same as Jesus’. Joshua’s name is the Hebrew way of referring to salvation, and Jesus’ is the Greek. You can check out for the New Testament connection. As Joshua would save the people from the wilderness and lead them into the Promise Land, in a greater way Jesus would save His people from the wilderness of sin and lead them into the Promise Land of eternal life.

But there is one more connection with the Messiah found in . Joshua is halted by the commander of the LORD’s army. Joshua falls down at His feet. If we were to compare this with the numerous examples of angels appearing before men and women, we would note that in those cases the angels always told the person to get up. In this case, however, the commander of the LORD’s army accepts worship. In fact, the reply of the commander of the LORD’s army is almost identical to the call of Moses in .

Second, Judges provides unique shadows of the Messiah. As with Joshua, so too with Judges, there are no direct references to Jesus. However, the types represented by the judges are not missed. If we were to be honest, the book of Judges is like a picture of our lives (similar to the struggle Paul faced in ). We worship God and submit to His rule in our lives, then something comes up and steals away our attention from God, then God disciplines us as any good Father, and then we repent and God delivers. This, of course, provides an excellent, albeit too honest, description of the grueling process of sanctification. But it is the judges themselves that we see Messiah. The judges provided different aspects, some provided deliverance like a king, others speak on behalf of God like a prophet, while others acting as intercessors for the people of Israel. And, as Kenneth Boa writes, “Curiously, these three different approaches to ‘judging’ provide a cumulative picture of the three offices Jesus held (prophet, priest, and king). What the judges strived to achieve as mere humans, Jesus accomplished with perfection.” (Boa, 20) We see then treasures from the old.

Third, Ruth provides a beautiful glimpse of the kinsmen-redeemer. While we do not have the time to look at this in detail (it is a book I hope to look at for the month of February), I do want to note a few key aspects.

The kinsmen-redeemer must be related to the individual (), must be able to pay the price of redemption (), must be willing to redeem the individual (), and must be free from debt. Boa makes this unmistakable connection, “Boaz qualified in a financial sense. Jesus did in a spiritual sense.” (Boa, 21)

The books of I & II Samuel show the life of King David. There connections to Jesus here are too numerous to tell. Suffice it to say, Jesus is the Son of David who would sit on His throne forever and ever. His rule would be righteous, His judgment just, and His reign eternal.

The books of I & II Kings contrast the righteous reign of Christ with the wickedness of men. It also begins to offer glimpses of the prophets, those who would speak forth God’s truth regardless of personal costs. In Elijah we see the preemptive ministry of John the Baptist.

While there are other historical books (such as Chronicles), this ends the books within the Neviim. It is to the Major Prophets that we turn next.

II. CHRIST IN THE MAJOR PROPHETS

The Major Prophets, comprised of Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel, are a goldmine of treasures from the old. During this season of Advent, I am reminded at the numerous references to the Messiah in the Major Prophets. The prophecies concerning the Messiah in Isaiah alone are enormous. And since we have covered many of them on Sunday mornings, we will focus our attention on Jeremiah and Ezekiel.

In Jeremiah, we see that God promises to raise up one after the seed of David who would reign as king and act wisely. In we see this prophecy made. It is through the Seed of David, and consequently through the Seed of Abraham and of the Woman, to bring justice and righteousness. Now remember, Jeremiah was ministering to the people of Judah who had rejected God’s Word numerous times. But the last phrase is so vital and conveys a depth of theology. Jeremiah, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit writes that the people will go by the name, “The LORD is our righteousness.” That is, we see here that Christ would provide us His righteousness. Paul picks this theme up in , “For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” So, even in this passage of Jeremiah we see the saving work of Christ. What a glorious truth! This is, indeed, a treasure from the old.

The book of Ezekiel introduces a variety of wild prophecies. I am always left wide-mouthed after reading some of these chapters. But one chapter in particular sticks out. presents the LORD, the Shepherd of Israel, gathering, protecting, and feeding the flock of God. And how does Jesus respond with this thought? In Jesus says, “I am the good shepherd.” In that chapter He talks about finding the sheep, gathering the sheep, and even giving His life for the sheep. Treasures of old!

III. CHRIST IN THE MINOR PROPHETS

We move to our final point as we make our way through the Neviim, the prophets. These groups of books are known as the Twelve. The topics they speak on cover a variety of people, problems, and perplexities. Each one addresses different sins or failures to follow God’s Word. However, within these twelve books we see shadows and glimpses of Messiah.

Hosea is the first book of the Minor Prophets. In we see a prophecy that Matthew connects with the life of Christ in . God’s Son, Jesus, was called out of Egypt.

Joel, whose message is primarily on the coming Day of the LORD, even speaks about the Messiah. In fact, part of Joel’s prophecy considers the time after Jesus’ first Advent. In we see that there is coming a day in which men and women would be prophesying. God’s Spirit would be poured out on all His children, and this is fulfilled in at the Day of Pentecost.

In order to save time, I will highlight the remaining books of the Minor Prophets and highlight the most significant contributions to our understanding of the Messiah.

mentions the establishment of the Tabernacle of David, which refers to the establishment of the kingdom of David, a reference to the Messiah’s future rule.

Obadiah, just a chapter long, covers God’s judgment on foreign nations but also of God’s establishment of His righteous rule, which further Scriptures present through the person and work of Jesus Christ.

Jonah and his time inside the belly of whale gives a sign of the death and burial of Messiah for three days.

Micah predicts the physical location of the birth of Messiah in 5:2, which the priests and leaders of Jesus’ day present this as the finding of where the Messiah would be born.

Nahum pictures Christ as the Comforter of His people.

Habakkuk gives us the message of the Gospel, that salvation comes by faith. Chapter 2:4 picks this theme up.

presents the judgment at the Advent of the Messiah, which we know did not take place during His first advent but looks forward to His second Advent.

Haggai gives a superb statement on the blessing of the Messiah. In 2:9 he pens, “The latter glory of this house shall be greater than the former, says the LORD of hosts. And in this place I will give peace, declares the LORD of hosts.” This is not because of the craftsmanship of the Temple, for Solomon’s Temple was without rival. So why would Haggai say this? Because the Messiah would enter into this Temple.

In Zechariah we see a remarkable prophecy in 12:10. We also see 13:1 we see the cleansing flood that issues forth from the Messiah.

We finish with Malachi, from whom the prophecy of John the Baptist comes. However, I want to end one another prophecy he gives. offers a prophecy about the second Advent of Messiah.

These are treasures from the old. What do we do with them? How does our life change by the prophecies?

First, it should bring us to a deeper confidence in the Word of God.

Second, as Scripture pointed to and predicted the coming of the Messiah, it also points to and predicts the second coming of the Messiah. Will you and I be ready? Are we busy about the Master’s work?