Drift Bible

Question

Is Jesus really found throughout the Old Testament, or is that an exaggeration?

Studied by claude-opus-5-5 · asked once

The New Testament does say the Hebrew Scriptures as a whole point to Jesus (Luke 24:27, John 5:39). It does not say every verse is about him, and the Old Testament never names him. How far "Christ in the Old Testament" reaches depends on how you read, and Christians, Jewish readers and historians answer differently.

What the text says

What the New Testament claims. After the resurrection, Jesus, "beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, … explained to them what was written in all the Scriptures about Himself" (Luke 24:27). He then says that "everything written about Me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets, and the Psalms must be fulfilled" (Luke 24:44). In John 5:39 and 5:46 he says the Scriptures "testify about Me" and that Moses "wrote about Me." Paul says that when the old covenant is read, a "veil" stays over it that is lifted "only in Christ" (2 Corinthians 3:14). So the claim isn't something later readers invented. It sits at the centre of how the earliest Christians read their Bible.

What those verses do and don't say. Luke 24:27 speaks of the things "about Himself" in all the Scriptures. That points to a theme running through the whole, not to every sentence. Most Old Testament passages are about something else, such as Philistine weapons (1 Samuel 13:19), army counts (Numbers 26:2) or circumcision law (Genesis 17:12). They are only "about Christ" if you take a wide view of how the whole story fits together. 1 Peter 1:10–12 also admits that the prophets "searched and investigated carefully" what they were pointing to. In other words, they did not fully know.

How the New Testament connects the two. It uses several methods, and they are worth telling apart:

  • Direct prediction texts that later Jewish readers also took as hopes for a future king. These include a ruler from Bethlehem (Micah 5:2), a Davidic king (Isaiah 9:6–7, 11:1) and "one like a son of man" (Daniel 7:13).
  • Texts read as prophecy once Jesus had come. Examples are the suffering servant (Isaiah 53, applied in Acts 8:32–35) and Psalm 22 (quoted in Mark 15:34).
  • Patterns, or "types." Adam is "a pattern of the One to come" (Romans 5:14). The rock in the wilderness "was Christ" (1 Corinthians 10:4). Melchizedek prefigures Christ's priesthood (Hebrews 7).
  • Re-reading Israel's story. Hosea 11:1, "Out of Egypt I called My son," is plainly about the nation's exodus in its own setting. Matthew 2:15 applies it to Jesus as the one who sums up Israel.
  • Allegory. Paul openly calls his reading of Sarah and Hagar an allegory (Galatians 4:24).

So, exaggeration or not? "Jesus is the goal the whole Old Testament story moves toward" is a fair summary of what the New Testament teaches. "Every verse or story secretly describes Jesus" goes further than the text does. The second claim relies on a believer's reading done in hindsight, not on what each Old Testament passage meant to its first readers. Being honest means keeping both levels in view.

Where readers differ

Christ-centred reading: the whole Old Testament bears witness to Christ

This view takes Jesus' own words in Luke 24 and John 5 as the key to the whole canon. It points to the promise of a seed who defeats the serpent, the sacrifices, the priesthood, the Davidic king and the servant. Many also take the 'angel of the LORD' appearances, where the messenger speaks as God himself, as appearances of the Son before his birth. One God is behind all of Scripture, so its parts point to a single centre.

Luke 24:27Luke 24:44John 5:39John 5:46Genesis 3:15Genesis 16:13Hebrews 1:1

Christ as the goal: the Old Testament keeps its own meaning but finds its climax in Christ

Old Testament texts first meant something in their own setting: Israel, its kings, its exile. The apostles read them again in light of the resurrection, as 1 Peter 1:10–12 and the 'veil' language in 2 Corinthians 3:14 suggest. On this view Christ fulfils the story without being hidden in every verse. Readers should not force Jesus into passages where the New Testament itself does not put him.

1 Peter 1:102 Corinthians 3:14Matthew 2:15Hosea 11:1Romans 5:14

Jewish reading: the Hebrew Bible does not speak of Jesus

In Jewish tradition the Tanakh's hopes concern a future human king from David's line, the return of the exiles and peace among nations. Isaiah calls Israel itself God's servant (Isaiah 41:8, 49:3), so the servant of Isaiah 53 is commonly read as the people of Israel. The word 'messiah' (anointed one) is used of Saul, of priests and even of the Persian king Cyrus. The Christian reading is seen as applying the texts after the fact.

Isaiah 49:3Isaiah 45:11 Samuel 24:6Isaiah 2:4Ezekiel 37:24

Historical-critical reading: early Christians used the interpretive methods of their day

The Old Testament authors did not have Jesus in view. The New Testament writers read Scripture the way Jews of their time did, with patterns, wordplay and fresh application, much like the Dead Sea Scrolls commentaries. Paul calls one of his readings an allegory outright. These readings tell us how the first Christians understood Jesus. They do not show what the original texts meant.

Galatians 4:24Matthew 2:15Hosea 11:1Isaiah 7:14

The words it turns on

  • מָשִׁיחַ מָשִׁיחַ (mashiach)

    'Anointed one': someone set apart by being anointed with oil. It is used of kings (Saul, David), the anointed priest, and even Cyrus of Persia (Isaiah 45:1).

    Drift: In English 'Messiah' sounds like a title for one future saviour. In most of the Hebrew Bible the word describes a king or priest of the time, and it is only rarely, and arguably, used for a figure still to come (for example Daniel 9:25–26).

  • Χριστός Χριστός (Christos)

    The Greek translation of mashiach, meaning 'anointed'. In the Gospels it is a title ('the Christ'), not a surname.

    Drift: 'Christ' often sounds like Jesus' last name today. That hides the point that calling him 'Christ' was a claim to be Israel's anointed king.

  • διερμηνεύω διερμηνεύω (diermēneuō)

    To interpret or explain thoroughly (Luke 24:27).

    Drift: The verb shows that the link between the Scriptures and Jesus came through interpretation. On this reading, the texts did not name him plainly on the surface.

  • τύπος τύπος (typos)

    An imprint, pattern or model, as when Adam is 'a pattern of the One to come' (Romans 5:14).

    Drift: The word behind 'typology' refers to a likeness or pattern. It does not mean a coded prediction.

  • מַלְאָךְ מַלְאָךְ (mal'akh)

    Messenger, whether human or heavenly. The 'angel of the LORD' sometimes speaks as God himself (Genesis 16:10–13; Exodus 3:2–6).

    Drift: 'Angel' suggests a particular kind of winged being. The Hebrew word names a role, a messenger, which is why readers debate who this figure is.

  • ἀλληγορέω ἀλληγορέω (allēgoreō)

    To speak in a way that means something else; to allegorise (Galatians 4:24).

What the Bible doesn't say

The Old Testament never uses the name Jesus for the coming figure, and it never says outright that the Messiah will be divine and also die and rise. Christians draw those points from texts read together and in hindsight. The New Testament also never gives a rule for deciding which passages point to Christ and which don't. That is why traditions differ widely. Some readings stay close to texts the apostles themselves cite. Others, especially older allegorical ones, find Christ in nearly every detail. Jewish readers reject the identification altogether.

Key verses

  1. Luke 24:27

    And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, He explained to them what was written in all the Scriptures about Himself.

    Jesus explains 'what was written in all the Scriptures about Himself,' starting from Moses and the Prophets.

  2. Luke 24:44

    Jesus said to them, “These are the words I spoke to you while I was still with you: Everything must be fulfilled that is written about Me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets, and the Psalms.”

    Names the Law, the Prophets and the Psalms as containing things written about him.

  3. John 5:39

    You pore over the Scriptures because you presume that by them you possess eternal life. These are the very words that testify about Me,

    'These are the very words that testify about Me': the core claim.

  4. 1 Peter 1:10

    Concerning this salvation, the prophets who foretold the grace to come to you searched and investigated carefully,

    Says the prophets searched carefully, which suggests they did not fully understand what they foretold.

  5. 2 Corinthians 3:14

    But their minds were closed. For to this day the same veil remains at the reading of the old covenant. It has not been lifted, because only in Christ can it be removed.

    Paul's claim that the old covenant is fully understood only 'in Christ'.

  6. Romans 5:14

    Nevertheless, death reigned from Adam until Moses, even over those who did not sin in the way that Adam transgressed. He is a pattern of the One to come.

    Calls Adam a 'pattern' (typos) of Christ, a key example of reading by type.

  7. Isaiah 53:3

    He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows, acquainted with grief. Like one from whom men hide their faces, He was despised, and we esteemed Him not.

    The suffering servant passage, central to the Christian reading and disputed in Jewish reading.

  8. Matthew 2:15

    where he stayed until the death of Herod. This fulfilled what the Lord had spoken through the prophet: “Out of Egypt I called My Son.”

    Applies Hosea 11:1, a verse about Israel, to Jesus. It shows the New Testament fulfilling texts as well as predicting from them.

  9. Micah 5:2

    But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, who are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come forth for Me One to be ruler over Israel—One whose origins are of old, from the days of eternity.

    A ruler from Bethlehem, a forward-looking text that both Jewish and Christian readers have taken as about the Messiah.

  10. Galatians 4:24

    These things serve as illustrations, for the women represent two covenants. One covenant is from Mount Sinai and bears children into slavery: This is Hagar.

    Paul explicitly calls his reading an allegory.

Common points of confusion
Every verse of the Old Testament is about Jesus.
Luke 24:27 speaks of 'the things concerning Himself' in all the Scriptures. It does not say each passage is about him. Many passages, such as census lists and Philistine weapons (1 Samuel 13:19), are not linked to him anywhere in the New Testament.
The Old Testament prophets knew clearly they were describing Jesus.
1 Peter 1:10–11 says they 'searched and investigated carefully', trying to work out what and when their words referred to.
'Messiah' in the Old Testament always refers to Jesus.
Mashiach is used of Saul (1 Samuel 24:6), of priests, and of Cyrus of Persia (Isaiah 45:1).
The angel of the LORD is plainly identified as the pre-incarnate Christ.
The text shows the messenger speaking as God (Genesis 16:13, Exodus 3:2–6). It never says this figure is the Son. The identification is an inference, held by many and not by all.
The name Jesus appears in the Old Testament.
'Jesus' comes from Yehoshua/Yeshua (Joshua). The name appears often, but it belongs to other people, such as Joshua son of Nun and the high priest Joshua (Zechariah 3:1).

Sources: Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia (Hebrew text) · Nestle-Aland Novum Testamentum Graece, 28th ed. (Greek text) · Berean Standard Bible (English quotations) · Strong's Exhaustive Concordance · Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew and English Lexicon · Bauer-Danker-Arndt-Gingrich (BDAG) Greek-English Lexicon · The Jewish Study Bible (on Isaiah 52:13–53:12) · Richard B. Hays, Echoes of Scripture in the Gospels

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