The Old Testament is about Jesus. There were prophecies He would fulfill, as well as pictures and types of Him: the manna, the rock in the wilderness, the bronze serpent, etc. The three miracle workers in the Old Testament (Moses, Elijah and Elisha) even performed miracles that prefigured some of the miracles Jesus would perform…miracles He’d often perform in a greater way.
Here are a few examples:
- Moses unleashed ten judgments on one nation (Exodus 7-12), but Jesus will unleash twenty-one judgments on the whole earth (attributed to Him in Rev 6:16 with the words “wrath of the Lamb”).
- Elijah was taken up to heaven in a whirlwind (2 Kings 2:11), but Jesus ascended to heaven on His own (Acts 1:9).
- Elisha fed one hundred men with twenty loaves (2 Kings 4:42-44), but Jesus fed 5,000 and 4,000 men with five and seven loaves (Matthew 14:13-21, 15:32-39).
- Elisha cleansed one man of leprosy (2 Kings 5:1-14), but Jesus cleansed ten men (Luke 17:11-19).
- Elisha knew what Gehazi had done (2 Kings 5:26), but Jesus knows what all men have done (John 2:24).
- Elisha’s death gave one man temporary life (2 Kings 13:21), but Jesus’ death gives many eternal life (John 3:16).
There’s another example in yesterday’s sermon: when the Man of God heals King Jeroboam’s withered hand, it prefigures Jesus healing the man with the withered hand. Compare these verses:
- 1 Kings 13:4 His hand, which he stretched out toward him, withered. 6 So the man of God entreated the Lord, and the king’s hand was restored to him, and became as before.
- Luke 6:10 [Jesus] said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” And he did so, and his hand was restored as whole as the other.
As you read through the Old Testament, for your enjoyment and for your benefit, look for the tremendous prophecies, pictures and types of your Savior! In Hebrews 10:7 Jesus said, “Behold, I have come – in the volume of the book it is written of Me.”