Old Testament Predictions and Prefigurations

Over and over again, the authors of all four Gospels claim something remarkable: that the Hebrew Scriptures testified specifically about the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. But often, the way these Scriptures are connected to the actual events of Jesus’ life—and his suffering and death in particular—can seem to us a bit of a stretch.

And yet, the Gospel writers not only portray this connection as clear and direct, they also place this claim in the mouth of Jesus himself:

Did not the Messiah have to suffer these things and then enter his glory? (Luke 24:26)

This is what I told 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… This is what is written: The Messiah will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day… (Luke 24:44-47)

If you believed Moses you would believe me, for he wrote about me. (John 5:46)

Really?! Was the connection that obvious? Apparently Jesus thought so!

And yet even the first witnesses of these amazing events needed Jesus to “open their minds so that they could understand” how the writings of Moses, the Prophets, and the Psalms had been fulfilled in Jesus (Luke 24:45). They needed Jesus to explain it to them and the Holy Spirit to help them understand.

And while we might wish that we had been there for those conversations, in a way, we have been invited to listen in. For the Gospels themselves are based on both:

1. the eyewitness testimony of the men and women who walked with Jesus throughout Judea and Galilee; and
2. the Spirit-inspired interpretation of those events in light of the Hebrew Scriptures which was first explained to the eyewitnesses by Jesus himself.

As a result, the Gospels, along with sermons by Peter, John, and the others as recorded in the book of Acts, provide insight into the conversations that Jesus had had with these men. And what they demonstrate for us is the difference between the Hebrew Scriptures predicting the events of Jesus’ life and the Scriptures prefiguring them.

We more naturally understand how Old Testament predictions work. The prophet Micah predicted that the Messiah would be born in Bethlehem (Micah 5:2). And so, from that day on, Israel looked forward to a day when that prediction would be fulfilled. Jesus’ birth in Bethlehem, in fulfillment of Micah’s prophecy, could be used as evidence that he was the Messiah that been predicted (Matt 2:3-6)!

But Old Testament prefigurations of Jesus work a little differently. When they first showed up on the pages of Scripture, they did not generate any expectations of messianic fulfillment. They were simply events, persons and/or rituals that had their own historical meaning and significance. It was only after the life, death and resurrection of Jesus, and the work of the Holy Spirit in opening up the disciples' minds, that these things were recognized as corresponding to Jesus.

So, when we read the language of “fulfillment” in the New Testament, it will be helpful to keep the following in mind:

• When predictions are fulfilled, the prophecy more obviously “looked forward” to the events of Jesus’ life.
• But when prefigurations are fulfilled, the connections are only discerned in retrospect, by “looking backwards,” and, in order to recognize the correspondence, we need the Holy Spirit to open our minds to understand it.

In this 8-day study, we will walk through the passion narratives and unpack how Jesus and his disciples understood them as fulfillments of Old Testament prefigurations of Jesus. Our starting point is that Jesus himself was the first to point out these scriptural connections to the disciples (Luke 24:44-46). And, just as the Holy Spirit opened their minds to understand the things Jesus taught them, we will ask the Spirit to similarly illumine us (John 14:26; 16:12-15).

Reflection:

What are your initial thoughts about Jesus’ claim that his death and resurrection had been written about in the Law of Moses, the Prophets, and the Psalms?

Richard B. Hays. Reading Backwards. Baylor University Press, 2014. 2, 13-16.