We’re picking up this week on the topic of “Who is Jesus” and we’ll be looking today at other places He appears particularly in the Old Testament.
When we start thinking about this, we can go back to the analogy Randall shared last week. If God is greater than and outside the creation, but also omnipresent, meaning everywhere at the same time, how do we wrap our heads around that? The trinity is the Christian doctrine which attempts to answer this.
Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The Father is the Almighty God outside of creation, like the person who assembles and oversees the terrarium. The Son is any manifestation within the creation, the physical interactions inside the terrarium; and the Spirit is the power, the force that acts on and performs the will of the Father throughout the creation.
With our focus then being on the Son, Jesus, we tend to look at His time on earth 2000 years ago, and to the promise of His coming, but there are plenty of clues to indicate His involvement in our world beyond that, or more specifically before that.
Randall discussed last week the connection to Jesus claiming to be the “I Am.” He also mentioned Jesus was the Word of Creation. And this is where I think we’ll start. We need to begin wrapping our heads around all the ways in which Jesus is described, the roles He plays, then whenever we see those roles being referenced we can rightly identify that it’s Jesus who’s present and active in those moments.
John 1:1-2, 14 KJV 1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 The same was in the beginning with God. ... 14 And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.
So Jesus is the Word of God. This is how John begins His gospel, and I at least, maybe you too, have long looked at this and used it to link Jesus to being the active agent in creation. But what if John was alluding to more than that? John would have known the Torah, the Old Testament, well. I believe He was trying to convey something we often overlook. In verse 14 he tells us the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and that Word referenced, Jesus, in his mind was linked to many appearances throughout the lives of his forefathers.
What do I mean? How many times can you recall a phrase like “The Word of the LORD appeared unto...?”
Yea, this gets cool. So a search in a bible app like blue letter bible returns 258 times that phrase is used. Specifically 258 times “The Word of the LORD” is used. If Jesus is the Word, it made sense to make this search, right?
So I did this, and my first thought was ok, now I want to filter down the examples of when the Word APPEARED to someone, not just mentions of the Word generally. Makes sense right, we’re looking for Jesus so we’re looking for manifestations in creation. But as I began filtering these out, something clicked.
Question, Christians, how are we saved?By Grace through Faith in Jesus!OK, so then how were old testament saints saved...?
We had talked before about when Jesus was crucified how He went into Sheol and preached His triumph over death, setting the captives free. This was the event which allowed them out of their minimum security luxury jail, and into heaven. So was that their salvation?
I think not. The blood that was shed was their bond paid for their release, and it’s the innocent blood of Jesus which purchases us from death and allows us to be made Holy and acceptable to God, but in order to receive the blood, to be saved, one has to have put their faith in Jesus.
What struck me doing this, is that this was not a new thing for Christians AFTER Jesus came 2000 years ago. This same means to salvation was EXACTLY what landed someone in paradise prior to the blood being shed, believing faith in Jesus.
This became clear when you see Jesus as the Word, and how prevalent the Word was throughout history. Verses like:
1 Samuel 3:1 KJV – 1 And the child Samuel ministered unto the LORD before Eli. And the word of the LORD was precious in those days; [there was] no open vision.
2 Samuel 22:31 KJV – 31 [As for] God, his way [is] perfect; the word of the LORD [is] tried: he [is] a buckler to all them that trust in him.
Psalm 33:4 KJV – 4 For the word of the LORD [is] right; and all his works [are done] in truth.
All whose works? The Word’s...
Jeremiah 7:2 KJV – 2 Stand in the gate of the LORD'S house, and proclaim there this word, and say, Hear the word of the LORD, all [ye of] Judah, that enter in at these gates to worship the LORD.
Jeremiah 22:29 KJV – 29 O earth, earth, earth, hear the word of the LORD.
Micah 4:2 KJV – 2 And many nations shall come, and say, Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, and to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for the law shall go forth of Zion, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.
Salvation came by hearing and believing the Word of the LORD. Time after time they are told the “Hear the Word of the LORD.” What’s that verse we know about how to have faith?
Romans 10:17 KJV - 17 So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.
The New Testament affirms, and connects back to what is seen hundreds of times in the Old, that the Word is that in which we put our faith to have salvation, and the clarity of that Word, being the man, Jesus Christ, whose blood paid our ransom is completely revealed when He came.
But the point remains, it has ALWAYS been Jesus. Salvation has ONLY EVER been possible through faith in Jesus. He was called the Word then, and John reminds us in the opening of his gospel that Jesus is yet the Word now. The only difference between Old and New testaments is the blood having finally been shed to purchase us back to God. The way to salvation has always been faith, specifically faith in the Word, faith in Jesus.
In passages like these, we also see the other side of Jesus, for those who reject Him, He is the judge. The way this phrase the Word of the Lord is used like when referring to praise and salvation, is also used in judgment.
Numbers 15:31 KJV - 31 Because he hath despised the word of the LORD, and hath broken his commandment, that soul shall utterly be cut off; his iniquity [shall be] upon him.
So rejecting the word of the Lord in Numbers meant your iniquity was upon yourself... what did Jesus do for us?
There’s a passage in Isaiah which speaks to the coming Messiah and His mission. We hear verse 5 quoted a lot, but as you continue verse 11 stands out for our study today.
Isaiah 53:5, 11 KJV - 5 But he [was] wounded for our transgressions, [he was] bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace [was] upon him; and with his stripes we are healed. ... 11 He shall see of the travail of his soul, [and] shall be satisfied: by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities.
Jesus, the Word, bore our iniquities upon Himself so we could be healed of our mortality and sin, and be reconciled to God. The rejection of Him, of the Word, however means we are left to bear them ourselves and stand in judgement before a Holy God.
So these realizations came while filtering OUT the verses which didn’t specifically talk about the Word appearing to someone, but hundreds of times otherwise the Word does appear to a person.
There’s a term in Christian studies called a Christophany, which is a fancy word for a pre- incarnate appearance of Jesus. There are several examples of these that are widely agreed upon, and some others debated whether it was Jesus or an angel which appeared.
What I noticed, was that there are likely hundreds more Christophanies than we typically think when you apply this understanding of the Word being Jesus. Now you might be thinking like I did before, “if the Word is coming to someone, isn’t that just like divine inspiration via thought or something?”
That’s at least what I was thinking. When I’d read “the word of the lord came to me” it put to mind literal words via thought coming to mind. But then with John 1 in mind, and paying closer attention, I read passages like Genesis 15:
Genesis 15:1 KJV - 1 After these things the word of the LORD came unto Abram in a vision, saying, Fear not, Abram: I am thy shield, and thy exceeding great reward.
This word that came to Abram, was personal, and referred to itself as “I am” which is yet another link to this being Jesus appearing to Abram. This one jumped out, and I had to look for more instances like it to validate this idea.
I was certainly not left wanting, over and over this shows to be a steady occurrence. The examples I’ll give here are only a few of dozens, which are not vague but include reference to a personage in the mention.
1 Kings 19:9 ESV - 9 There he came to a cave and lodged in it. And behold, the word of the LORD came to him, and he said to him, "What are you doing here, Elijah?"
In this the Word which came to Elijah is also given the pronoun “he” associated...
1 Samuel 3:21 KJV - 21 And the LORD appeared again in Shiloh: for the LORD revealed himself to Samuel in Shiloh by the word of the LORD.
1 Kings 18:1 KJV - 1 And it came to pass [after] many days, that the word of the LORD came to Elijah in the third year, saying, Go, shew thyself unto Ahab; and I will send rain upon the earth.
1 Chronicles 22:8 KJV - 8 But the word of the LORD came to me, saying, Thou hast shed blood abundantly, and hast made great wars: thou shalt not build an house unto my name, because thou hast shed much blood upon the earth in my sight.
In Ezekial alone it was around 55 times I found “The word of the Lord came to me saying...” and what followed was just God talking to Him. Over and over, the Word that comes to a prophet is something personal. I suspect it was Jesus.
Now I want to pause for a minute, and ask a question. Are we crazy to look into this and make these kinds of assertions? It certainly isn’t mainstream to talk about Jesus, outside of prophecy and themes, as being present and actively involved in the Old Testament.
I started asking myself this, and the more I thought about it the more I thought no... it actually seems crazy to think the Jesus I know and love, and who loves me, is so actively involved in my life, would have, at any point in history, been distant.
In fact, I think Jesus spent 4000 years intimately involved in His creation until the day He chose to enter it, and die for it, in order to redeem that which He loved. To redeem us, and make the way for His Kingdom to come on earth, as it is in Heaven.
Imagine then, being John, post exile from Patmos, after having been given Revelation, when we believe He wrote his Gospel back in Ephesus. John had known the Man, Jesus. Had seen Jesus as the Lord of Hosts, commander of angel armies; seen Jesus as the Lamb as it were slain in the midst of the throne room; seen Jesus as the judge of creation, and as King of kings, ruling the nations with a rod of iron.
I’m sure everything clicked, the Word of the LORD repeated over and over through the scriptures he grew up learning, was intimately familiar to him as this same Jesus. So familiar, he wanted to be sure we didn’t miss it, thus...
John 1:1-5, 10-14, 17-18 KJV - 1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 The same was in the beginning with God. 3 All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made. 4 In him was life; and the life was the light of men. 5 And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not. ... 10 He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not. 11 He came unto his own, and his own received him not. 12 But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: 13 Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. 14 And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth. ... 17 For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ. 18 No man
hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him.
John saw Jesus from creation to culmination. From beginning to end. As both Alpha and Omega. From Genesis 1:1 to Revelation 22:21. Jesus is on every page, and not even so subtly as we might have thought. Jesus is the active agent of God inside creation. If God is seen, it is Jesus that is seen, John just confirmed as much. “No man has seen God at any time.”
All those passages about God coming to someone in the Old testament, they’re all Jesus. Any angel of the LORD which allows itself to be worshiped, is Jesus. The Lord of Hosts, is Jesus, the Word of the LORD, is Jesus.
Hebrews 10:7 NKJV - 7 Then I said, 'Behold, I have come--In the volume of the book it is written of Me--To do Your will, O God.' "
Certainly it is, and more so than we could have ever imagined. That’s the excitement and adventure of diving into the scriptures daily. It’s not tired old text, it’s the living breathing Word of God, it’s Jesus on every page.
I really hope this helps motivate y’all to go back to the Old Testament and dig in. If you think you know Jesus, but you don’t know these books... I’m telling you you’re missing out on a lot. There’s so much more about Him to learn, and He’ll be faithful to bless your soul deeply should you take the time to know Him.
That’s why He did everything, that’s the reason for all of this, to know you, and for you to know Him. It’s always been the love He had for us, and the longing for relationship with us. Turn to Him, believe the Word, and receive of Him salvation, to be reconciled to Him for eternity.
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