Christ in the Old Testament: Christ’s Appearances in the Old Testament

The other day, I heard the story of the old hymn, "I Have Decided to Follow Jesus." It has always been one of my favorite hymns and has a ring of truth to the lyrics. The story of the hymn was powerful, as told by a missionary in Africa. A chief of a tribe called out a man from his tribe who was telling people about Jesus, and he wanted him to stop! He threatened the man to reject his faith, and his reply was simple: "I have decided to follow Jesus." The enraged chief had his family brought out and murdered, to which the resolute man stated, "Though none go with me, I still will follow." Finally, the chief gave him one more chance under the threat of death. The man, full of faith and God-given courage, calmly said, "No turning back, no turning back," and the chief and his followers immediately murdered him!

 

The believer's faith so moved the missionary that he set about to develop the words to the other verses and found someone to put the words to the now-familiar tune. What a story of faith – Jesus had so impacted the man's life that he willingly gave up everything to follow him!

 

Our faith really is 'all about Jesus,' isn't it?

 

Over the last few weeks, I have been preaching about 'Christ in the Old Testament." This week, I addressed the identification of 'the angel of the Lord,' who played a significant role in both creations and the history of the Jewish people. After much research and study, I learned that the 'angel of the Lord' in the Old Testament was clearly identified by scholars as the Messiah, Jesus, before his incarnation! That's right – when the angel of the Lord was there in the creation, it was, in reality, Messiah; later, when the miraculous protections of the Jews in the wilderness were provided by a pillar of fire by night and clouds by day, it was Messiah. The 'angel of the Lord' appears in many forms but is always the same – Messiah. Later, the Messiah came in human form as the infant Jesus. So, we can correctly understand that in the creation and many other events in the Old Testament in which the angel of the Lord worked, it was, in all actuality, the Christ who was there: Jesus!

 

So, you see, when you read the scriptures and hear of how God has worked through His spirit and the angel of the Lord, it was Jesus at work all the time.  

 

Jesus, the Messiah, is the Creator, giver of life, and sustainer.  

 

Our faith really is 'about Jesus,' isn't it?

 

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Thank you for listening. We will see you next week.