Jesus

by Leonard Sweet

  Moses

  In addition, Jesus is the new Moses, the one who delivers Israel out of Egypt and builds God’s tabernacle.41

  Matthew best connected the dots from Moses to Jesus. Here are some examples:

  • Pharaoh tried to kill all the Hebrew baby boys, and only Moses was saved. Herod tried to kill all the Jewish baby boys, and only Jesus was saved.42

  • When Moses’ life was in danger, he fled Egypt to Midian and returned to Egypt later. When Jesus’ life was in danger, He fled Israel to Egypt and returned to Israel later.43

  • Moses was rejected by his own people (“Who made you a ruler . . . over us?”) and so was Jesus (“His own did not receive Him.” And “Who made Me a judge . . . over you?”)44

  • Moses ascended a mountain to receive the Law; Jesus ascended a mountain to give a new “Law.”45

  • Moses was the mediator of the old covenant through blood.

  Jesus is the Mediator of the new covenant through His blood.46

  • Moses fasted for forty days and forty nights; Jesus did also.47

  • Moses led the exodus, bringing God’s people out of Egypt.

  Jesus led the new exodus, bringing His people out of the world system.48

  The First Testament calls Moses a prophet, a priest, a shepherd, and a ruler. The Second Testament does the same with Jesus.49 Some of the Jews of Jesus’ day believed (rightly) that Jesus was the fulfillment of this well-known prophecy concerning Moses: “I will raise up for them a Prophet like you [Moses] from among their brethren, and will put My words in His mouth, and He shall speak to them all that I command Him. And it shall be that whoever will not hear My words, which He speaks in My name, I will require it of him.”50

  During the transfiguration, which was a preview of the future glorification of Jesus at His resurrection, Jesus appeared in glory with Moses and Elijah. The Father spoke and said, “This is My beloved Son. Hear Him!”51 These words echo the prophecy concerning the coming Messiah in Deuteronomy 18. The message seems to be that Jesus supersedes both the Law (represented by Moses) and the Prophets (represented by Elijah). Jesus is God’s best and final word, as Hebrews 1 puts it. Peter, who was one of the “eyewitnesses of His majesty” on the Mount of Transfiguration, rehearsed the story in one of his letters.52 The writer of Hebrews summed it up nicely:

  He was faithful to the one who appointed him, just as Moses was faithful in all God’s house. Jesus has been found worthy of greater honor than Moses, just as the builder of a house has gsreater honor than the house itself. For every house is built by someone, but God is the builder of everything. Moses was faithful as a servant in all God’s house, testifying to what would be said in the future. But Christ is faithful as a son over God’s house. And we are his house, if we hold on to our courage and the hope of which we boast.53

  Joseph

  The Scriptures also portray Jesus as the new Joseph. Here are some examples:

  • Both are firstborn.54

  • Both are the most loved of their fathers.55

  • Both were prophesied to be rulers.56

  • Both Joseph’s and Jesus’ brothers were jealous of them and did not believe them.57

  • Both were betrayed with pieces of silver.58

  • Joseph was apparently put to death (and Jesus truly was) by his own people to get him out of the way.59

  • Reuben wanted to rescue Joseph. Pilate wanted to rescue Jesus.60

  • Both ended up in Egypt.61

  • Both were made slaves.62

  • Joseph was exalted and became a ruler; Jesus was exalted and became a ruler.63

  • All knees bowed to Joseph. All knees will bow to Jesus.64

  • Joseph’s brothers did not recognize him. Jesus’ own people didn’t recognize Him.65

  • Joseph was finally revealed to his brothers. Jesus will finally be revealed to Israel.66

  • The evil that Joseph’s brothers intended was used by God to save them. The same is true with Jesus.67

  • Both were Saviors.68

  Isaac

  For another exercise in reading Jesus’ life as the fulfillment of who and what came before, here are a few examples from the story of Isaac:

  • Jesus and Isaac are the only two people in the entire Scripture who are referred to as “the only begotten son.”69

  • Isaac was a promised seed. Jesus Christ was the promised seed.70

  • Isaac’s birth was a miracle, as it was physically impossible for him to be conceived.71 Jesus Christ’s birth was miraculous as well.72

  • Abraham was instructed to sacrifice his son Isaac.73 God the Father spared not His only Son, Jesus Christ.74

  • The sacrifice of Isaac was on Mount Moriah.75 Moriah was located on a hill in what would later be called Jerusalem. Jesus Christ died on a hill outside of Jerusalem.76

  • Isaac was obedient to his father unto death.77 Jesus Christ was obedient to His Father unto death.78

  • For three days Abraham considered that his son Isaac would be dead.79 Jesus Christ was dead for three days.80

  • Isaac carried wood for his own sacrifice.81 Jesus Christ bore His own cross, which was made of wood.82

  • After the obedience of Isaac, his mother, Sarah, died.83 After the death of Christ, the nation of Israel was set aside.84

  • Abraham gave all things to Isaac.85 God has given all things to Jesus Christ.86

  JESUS’ SELF-UNDERSTANDING

  Since Jesus saw Himself as the new Adam, the new David, the new Solomon, the new Temple, the new Israel, and the new Elijah, it’s not a stretch to assume that He also saw Himself as the new Moses, the new Joseph, the new Isaac, and even the new Boaz (our kinsman-redeemer).87 In the words of Ben Witherington,

  Jesus’ way of expressing His transcendent self-understanding was by using metaphorical language, symbolic gestures, and actions that, in the light of the Old Testament, had messianic overtones . . . (1) he interpreted his exorcisms as the inbreaking of God’s dominion, and (2) he interpreted his other healings in light of the Isaianic vision of future eschatological restoration. It is in Jesus’ interpretation of these deeds that we found at least an implicit christological claim.88

  As Jesus spent time listening to His Father and learning the Scriptures, He connected the biblical dots to realize that all Scripture witnesses to Him.89 He came to understand that the Law, the Prophets, and the Writings (the wisdom literature)—all three parts of the Hebrew Bible—were His biography.

  It is clear that Jesus knew He was uniquely God’s Son and the promised Messiah. Beyond all of the evidence that we have given so far, it is confirmed by the following facts: He chose His disciples (instead of having them choose Him); He told His disciples that they would never surpass or equal Him;90 He used the Jewish amen before He spoke (“Truly I say to you”), indicating that His words carried divine authority (the amen was never used this way throughout Jewish literature), and that He understood Himself to supersede the temple.91

  Jesus’ identity also has a corporate element to it. All who repent and trust in Jesus become united with Him. And as we argued in Jesus Manifesto, His history becomes our destiny—His story our story.92

  RETHINKING THE GOSPEL

  All of this throws new light on the word gospel. As young Christians, both of us were taught that the gospel is a plan—“the plan of salvation.” Some Bible teachers used to frame that plan into “Four Spiritual Laws” and “The Romans Road.”

  In the first-century Roman world, however, the word gospel was used to describe the announcement that a new emperor had taken the throne. Heralds would be sent throughout the Roman empire to announce this good news. Their message was, “We have a new emperor. His name is Tiberius Caesar; adjust your life and bow the knee.” Interestingly, the Roman emperor was also called “Savior” and “Lord” and was regarded as the one who would establish peace in the empire.93

  Consequently when the apostles (“sent ones”) used the term gospel and declared that Jesus was now t
he Lord and Savior of the world, it was a direct affront to the Roman hierarchy, especially Caesar.94 The believing Jews no doubt connected the gospelpreaching of the apostles to Isaiah’s prophecy—a proclamation that God Himself was now reigning in the person of Jesus.95

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  I have called Christ the “first instance” of the new man. But of course He is something much more than that. He is not merely a new man, one specimen of the species, but the new man. He is the origin and centre and life of all the new men. He came into the created universe, of His own will, bringing with Him the Zoe, the new life. (I mean new to us, of course: in its own place Zoe has existed for ever and ever.) And He transmits it not by heredity but by what I have called “good infection.” Everyone who gets it gets it by personal contact with Him. Other men become “new” by being “in Him.”

  —C. S. LEWIS 96

  ..............................................

  If you examine everywhere the term gospel is used throughout the Second Testament, you will discover that it’s always bound up with the person of Jesus. (His work is united with His person. While people regularly separate His work from His person, you can’t separate His person from His work. The same is true with His teachings.) In His preaching and teaching Jesus consistently pointed to Himself.

  Read the four Gospels carefully sometime and count the number of times Jesus spoke about Himself. You will have no doubt that His message—His gospel—was Himself. Paul, Peter, John, and all the apostles preached the same gospel as did Jesus. Their message was also Christ.

  In short, the message of the gospel is this: Jesus Christ is Lord (world ruler), Savior, the fulfillment of the entire First Testament (including the Adamic commission, the prophets, the priests, the kings, the sages, the temple, the sacrifices, the land, the Law, the promises, and the entire story of Israel), and the Resurrection and the Life.97

  The gospel, then, isn’t a postulate; it’s a person. Of course, without postulating others cannot tell which person you are referring to. Without postulates one cannot say why this person is special and what he has done that makes a difference for people. But, properly conceived, the gospel is the proclamation of Jesus—His life, story, and work—reaching back from the First Testament story of Adam, the patriarchs, and Israel to the Second Testament, which announces His first and second appearances.

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  [Word made flesh] Here the impossible union of spheres of existence is actual.

  —T. S. ELIOT 98

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  Jesus of Nazareth is the good news.

  For this reason, the four Gospels were regarded as “the gospel” by the early church. And what story do the four Gospels tell? They tell the story of Jesus. He is the gospel incarnate.99 The story found in the Gospels is the same story that is told in the First Testament.

  Likewise, the Jesus of the history (the Jesus of the Gospels) and the Christ of faith are the same person. Consequently, we want to repeat what we find to be one of the striking realities about our Lord: His character never changes. If Jesus was tender toward children when He was on earth, He’s tender toward children today. If He was playful, humorous, and witty in the days of His flesh, He is playful, humorous, and witty today. If He had little tolerance for self-righteous people who put the sins of others above their own sins,100 He has little tolerance for it today. If He extended love, mercy, tenderness, and forgiveness when He walked this planet, He extends the same today.

  Indeed, Jesus Christ is “the same yesterday, today, and forever.”101 Yet the Bread of Life must become fresh every morning, a living and daily presence in your life and ours as we struggle with the reality that each one of us is made in the image of God—a colossus with feet of clay.

  BACK TO THE BEGINING

  This brings us back to the original thesis of this book. The Bible is the narrative of Jesus—the Christ, the Savior, the living Lord, and our All. On every page of the First Testament, God poured out His heart. He bled with His people long and hard before He entered earth through the womb of a young virgin girl in Bethlehem. In the ocean of words that many call “the Hebrew Bible,” God revealed His character to us. He dispassionately enumerated His heart’s desire—and with fiery passion, He laid out His plan. The cry of God in Jesus bled through every page from Genesis to Malachi. And in Matthew, YHWH took on human flesh and broke into planet Earth. The living Word of God clothed Himself with mortality and became one of us. And in so doing, He fulfilled every promise. Jesus, therefore, is God’s best and final word.102

  This explains why God wanted His people to learn His ways all throughout the First Testament. The First Testament is the historical grid by which we can understand the ways of God in Christ. Jesus repeats, embodies, fulfills, and completes the story of Israel in Himself. But more, Jesus came to bring the story of humanity to conclusion and correction, to resolve the human dilemma for both Jew and Gentile. Thus Jesus is not only the new Israel but also the new Adam, bringing humanity back to God’s original design. N. T. Wright states it with deadon simplicity:

  Scripture—the Old and New Testaments—is the story of creation and new creation. Within that, it is the story of covenant and new covenant. When we read scripture as Christians, we read it precisely as people of the new covenant and of the new creation. We do not read it, in other words, as a flat, uniform list of regulations or doctrines. We read it as the narrative in which we ourselves are now called to partake. We read it to discover “the story so far” and also “how it’s supposed to end.” To put it another way, we live somewhere between the end of Acts and the closing scene of Revelation. If we want to understand scripture and to find it doing its proper work in and through us, we must learn to read and understand it in the light of that overall story.103

  May you live in that story for the glory of God, which remains in the face of the glorious One whom we affectionately call Lord Jesus.104

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  To the architect, He is the chief cornerstone.

  (1 Peter 2:6)

  To the bride, He is the bridegroom.

  (Matt. 25:1)

  To the carpenter, He is the door.

  (John 10:9)

  To the engineer, He is the new and living way.

  (Heb. 10:20)

  To the farmer, He is the Lord of the harvest.

  (Matt. 9:38)

  To the horticulturist, He is the true vine.

  (John 15:1)

  To the jurist, He is the righteous judge.

  (2 Tim. 4:8)

  To the lawyer, He is the advocate.

  (1 John 2:1)

  To the philanthropist, He is

  the unspeakable gift.

  (2 Cor. 9:15)

  To the philosopher, He is the wisdom of God.

  (1 Cor. 1:24)

  To the preacher, He is the Word of God.

  (Rev. 19:13)

  To the soldier, He is the

  captain of his salvation.

  (Heb. 2:10)

  To the statesman, He is the

  desire of the nations.

  (Hag. 2:7)

  To the sinner, He is the Lamb of God

  that taketh away the sins of the world.

  (John 1:29)

  —HENRIETTA MEARS (1890–1963)

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  APPENDIX

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  Post-Apostolic Witnesses

  Justin Martyr (ca. 103–165)

  “’But if you knew, Trypho,’ continued I, ’who He is that is called at one time the Angel of great counsel, and a Man by Ezekiel, and like the Son of man by Daniel, and a Child by Isaiah, and Christ and God to be worshipped by David, and Christ and a Stone by many, and Wisdom by Solomon, and Joseph and Judah and a Star by Moses, and the East by Zechariah, and the Suffering One and Jacob and Isra
el by Isaiah again, and a Rod, and Flower, and Corner-Stone, and Son of God, you would not have blasphemed Him who has now come, and been born, and suffered, and ascended to heaven; who shall also come again, and then your twelve tribes shall mourn. For if you had understood what has been written by the prophets, you would not have denied that He was God, Son of the only, unbegotten, unutterable God.’”1

  Tertullian (ca. 160–225)

  “In the person of Moses there is a prefiguring of Christ, who intercedes with the Father, and offers his own soul for the saving of the people.”2

  Augustine (ca. 354–430)

  “These hidden meanings of inspired Scripture we track down as best we can, with varying degrees of success; and yet we all hold confidently to the firm belief that these historical events and the narrative of them have always some foreshadowing of things to come, and are always to be interpreted with reference to Christ and his Church, which is the City of God.”

  “He opened unto them the Scripture, and showed them that it behooved the Christ to suffer, and all things to be fulfilled that were written concerning him in the law of Moses and the prophets and the psalms—so embracing the whole of the Old Testament. Everything in those Scriptures speaks of Christ, but only to him that has ears. He opened their minds to understand the Scriptures; and so let us pray that he will open our own.”3

  Irenaeus (d. ca. 202)

  “If any one, therefore, reads the Scriptures with attention, he will find in them an account of Christ, and a foreshadowing of the new calling. For Christ is the treasure which was hid in the field, that is, in this world (for ’the field is the world’); but the treasure hid in the Scriptures is Christ, since He was pointed out by means of types and parables.”4