Undeniable Proof: Old Testament descriptions of Jesus before he was Born.

Undeniable Proof:  Old Testament descriptions of Jesus before He was Born.

All of these incidents got my attention when I first read them, and there is no doubt many preachers have discerned the same opinion.  Of course, it is not a presumption that there is a commonality, but an absolute truth that Christ existed before he became the Incarnation of history.

One theological premise we must believe is the eternal truth that there is no past or future with God and everything in eternity is always in the presence of now.  Therefore, it can not be a good guess when the following events took place and our destiny has become our own future when we enter eternity in the presence of God.  

In Genesis, when the fall of humanity took place and the first thing God did was to denounce the reality of sin, Satan, with a promise of his eternal destruction.  “I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; He will strike at your head, while you strike at his heel.”  (Gn 3: 15).  The opposition between good and evil is now a reality and the promise of God becomes the task of Christ who already is present to the world.  This becomes the adherence of the followers of Christ to rely on his words of hope.

The story of the Exodus has an opening from the continued slavery of Israel for their 400 years of captivity to the promise from God through the future redemption found on the mount of Calvary.  “Moses called all the elders of Israel and said to them, Go and procure lambs for your families, and slaughter them as Passover victims.  Then take a bunch of hyssop, and dipping it in the basin, sprinkle the lintel and the two doorposts with this blood.”   The first sign of the Cross through which we are all saved as the Blood of Christ becomes the very essence through which we are redeemed.  (Ex 12: 21 -22).

While in the desert, as the people who had been saved from Pharaoh's tyranny were complaining to Moses because of their impatience, worn thin, made God send poisoning serpents which bit the people.  Moses asked God to remove them, and God told Moses to make a saraph and mount it on a pole, and anyone who has been bitten by a serpent looked at the bronze serpent, he recovered.”  (Nm 21: 4 - 9).  A second sign of the cross which has become our salvation through suffering because of our sins which are as evil as serpents.  Constantly we find signs throughout scripture appearing relating to the cross that held Jesus captive, shedding his Blood, and releasing us from eternal death.

Psalm 22, the prayer of an innocent person which Jesus recites in the first stanza, becomes again a prediction of his crucifixion many years before his birth.  “My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?”  “Many dogs surround me, a pack of evildoers closes in on me.  So wasted are my hands and feet that I can count all my bones.  They stare at me and gloat; they divide my garments among them; for my clothing they cast lots.”  (Ps 22: 2, 17 - 19).  (cf Jn 19: 24).  This Psalm can send shivers down your spine when Jesus brings to fruition these words from centuries before his birth that are like looking through a looking glass predicting the agony of the cross.

But the one Old Testament scripture that brings to life what would happen to Jesus is from Isaiah. There are four suffering servant songs leading up to a conclusion: the ransom for our sins.   However, chapters 52: 13 - 15, 53: 1 - 10 lays out the very sequence of events that parallels the Good Friday expose’ and completely envelops our sense of fear, humility, and knowledge of how far our Christ went to show his love for us in spite of our rejecting him. 

Each of the aforementioned Old Testament Scriptures is an unprecedented account of the reality of our Savior, the Messiah predicted, who is, and who will always be.  We, who are current prophets, writers, preachers, and all who promote God’s manner of bringing to the world the current Good News of our salvation are the continuing truth regarding Jesus Christ and his  answer to his Father’s promise of our eternal life with him. 

Ralph B. Hathaway