One of the beautiful things that I love about the Old Testament is how it points to Christ. I am less than three weeks away from a degree in Biblical Studies and over the course of my education I have tried to take as many Old Testament classes as I can. Seriously, I can't get enough of the Old Testament! So it is such a shame to me that the Old Testament is largely ignored by modern Christians. It is not often a topic of study or discussion.
So today I am going to take us back a little bit to some Old Testament Prophets. In preparing our hearts for Easter it is a beautiful thing to look back to the O.T. and see the promises about Easter. God promised to send His Messiah that would save Israel. They knew and looked forward to this savior to come.
2 Samuel 7:16
"And your house and your kingdom shall be made sure forever before me.Your throne shall be established forever.'"This promise was given to David that his Davidic line would continue on eternally. And as we see later in the Gospels, both Mary and Joseph are in the lineage of David. Therefore Christ's Resurrection is foreshadowed because he will live eternally and carry on this line. Christ died but was raised to new life.
Isaiah 53:1-3
Who has believed what he has heard from us?This passage is about Jesus being rejected by His people. He was the Messiah they had been waiting so long for but because of their sin they did not see or recognize him. Because of this, he was despised and sent to the cross.
And to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed?
For he grew up before him like a young plant,
and like a root out of dry ground;
he had no form or majesty that we should look at him,
and no beauty that we should desire him.
He was despised and rejected by men;
a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief;
and as one from whom men hide their faces
he was despised, and we esteemed him not.
These are but two passages where Christ's birth, death, and Resurrection are predicted. God did not choose to have Christ crucified on a whim, but rather this had been planned before time itself. God had a divine plan we should be celebrating this plan.
Matthew 20:18-19
"See, we are going up to Jerusalem. And the Son of Man will be delivered over to the chief priests and scribes, and they will condemn him to death and deliver him over to the Gentiles to be mocked and flogged and crucified, and he will be raised on the third day."These are the words of Jesus here in the Gospel of Matthew. He knew full well what was going to happen and knew it to be God's plan. He did not stumble into cross but rather walked there knowing full well that he would die but in doing so he would bare the sins of the world and offer a way for our salvation. We should be celebrating his sacrifice!
Mark 14:27-28
"And Jesus said to them, "You will all fall away, for it is written, 'I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered.' But after I am raised up, I will go before you to Galilee."Leading up to the final week of his life, Christ knew and was talking about his death and Resurrection with his Disciples. Yet, they often missed what he was saying and when they finally realized the full extent of it they did not recognize the joy and promise he was giving them. Jesus was giving his disciples the hope of eternal life and salvation. Let's not miss this beautiful promise like the disciples did. Let's live and celebrate this promise!
John 10:17-18
"For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life that I may take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This charge I have received from my Father.”Wow! What a beautiful picture of Christ's love for us! We willingly went to the cross to die for our sins!
Christ knew what he came to this Earth to do. He came so that we may have life {John 10:10}
He came to die on a cross so that we may enter into eternal Salvation.
Let's not forget that this Easter and celebrate the joy that we have because he came to die for us!
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