Who is the Schoolmaster that leads us to Christ?

Some say it is the Ten Commandments. But I think there is a better answer. And that is illustrated succinctly in that which Jesus said to the Apostles:

Luke 24:44 And he said unto them, These are the words which I spake unto you, while I was yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled, which were written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the psalms, concerning me.

The Old Testament. When St. Paul said, "the Law", it was shorthand for, "the Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms." And that is euphemism for the Old Testament. But in those days, the Old Testament was the only Testament, so, it was called, the Law of Moses, for short. Or, simply the Law, even shorter.

Well, if you want to come to Christ, you do.

In this article, I want to show you how the Old Testament is your Schoolmaster to lead you to Christ:

a. some Old Testament prophecies which Jesus fulfilled.
b. some types of people who prefigure the coming of Christ.
c. some feasts of the Old Testament Jews which have been fulfilled and renewed by Jesus Christ.

I guess your first question is, what are prophecies, typologies and feasts?

Well, a prophecy is a foretelling of an event. A very famous one is when Jonah went through Nineveh warning them that they woujld be destroyed if they didn't change their ways. Another famous prophecy is when Jesus declared that Jerusalem would be destroyed and there would not be left a stone upon a stone. And Jerusalem was destroyed in 70ad.

Types, are certain people in the Old Testament whose characteristics and actions call to mind someone who follows them. Most famous of these are Adam and Eve prefiguring or being types of, Jesus and Mary. Why? Because they were all conceived immaculate, at the beginning of a Covenant with God and well, I don't want to spoil the surprise.

Feasts. The Jews celebrated many things which God did for them. These celebrations are called Feasts and today, we celebrate many of the very same things which Jesus did for us in our Catholic Feastdays. The correspondence between the two is confirmation that the Catholic Faith is the fulfillment of the First Covenant with the Hebrews. 
The birth of Jesus
This is probably the most famous prophecy, but it never gets old. Isaiah prophecies that Jesus will be born of a virgin:
Isaiah 7:14 Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.

My favorite is, unfortunately, in a book which Protestants have cast out of the Bible. There is so much detail in the prophecy, that we could put it in the New Testament and no one would know the difference. I'm only going to post an excerpt, here's the link to the whole chapter:

Wisdom 2:12Let us lie in wait for the righteous one, because he is annoying to us; he opposes our actions, Reproaches us for transgressions of the law and charges us with violations of our training. 13 He professes to have knowledge of God and styles himself a child of the LORD.14To us he is the censure of our thoughts;merely to see him is a hardship for us,15 Because his life is not like that of others, and different are his ways.16He judges us debased;he holds aloof from our paths as from things impure. He calls blest the destiny of the righteous and boasts that God is his Father.j 17 Let us see whether his words be true; let us find out what will happen to him in the end. 18 For if the righteous one is the son of God, God will help himand deliver him from the hand of his foes. 19 With violence and torture let us put him to the test that we may have proof of his gentleness and try his patience. 20 Let us condemn him to a shameful death; for according to his own words, God will take care of him.

This is also a very detailed prophecy. It is so much on target that Jesus, Himself, reminded the Jews of this prophecy of the Crucifixion while He was being crucified.

Remember when He said, "And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? that is to say, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?" (Matt 27:46). Here is an excerpt of Psalm 22:

Psalm 22:1. My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? why art thou so far from helping me, and from the words of my roaring?...6 But I am a worm, and no man; a reproach of men, and despised of the people. 7 All they that see me laugh me to scorn: they shoot out the lip, they shake the head, saying, 8 He trusted on the Lord that he would deliver him: let him deliver him, seeing he delighted in him....12 Many bulls have compassed me: strong bulls of Bashan have beset me round. 13 They gaped upon me with their mouths, as a ravening and a roaring lion. 14 I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint: my heart is like wax; it is melted in the midst of my bowels. 15 My strength is dried up like a potsherd; and my tongue cleaveth to my jaws; and thou hast brought me into the dust of death. 16 For dogs have compassed me: the assembly of the wicked have inclosed me: they pierced my hands and my feet. 17 I may tell all my bones: they look and stare upon me. 18 They part my garments among them, and cast lots upon my vesture.

The Resurrection

Jesus Christ, Himself, described this one:

Matthew 12:40 For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale's belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.

That is a reference to Jonah, who survived three days in the belly of the fish. Of course, that's more of a typology, but at the same time, it is a prophecy of Christ's resurrection and a good lead in to the next subject.

In the Old Testament, Moses declared that God would bring another Prophet, in the future, who would resemble Moses.

Deuteronomy 18:15 The Lord thy God will raise up unto thee a Prophet from the midst of thee, of thy brethren, like unto me; unto him ye shall hearken;

Who might that be?

Well, let's see.
1. When Moses was born, an evil King ordered the destruction of all Jewish children. When Jesus was born, an evil King ordered the death of all Jewish children.
2. Moses changed water to blood, Jesus changed water to wine, then to His own blood.
3. Moses face shown bright when he came down the mountain after speaking to God, Jesus face shown white when He climbed the mountain to speak to His Father, God.

There's more. But that should be enough to whet your appetite to search for more. 

The Passover Lamb The Mass is the fulfillment and renewal of the Passover of the Jews. The Mass is Christ’s fulfillment of the Old Testament Passover, where the Jews relive and re-enact their freedom from slavery by the blood of the lamb, which they splashed on their door posts. We celebrate our freedom from sin by the blood of Christ, which we consume in the Holy Eucharist. That is why St. Paul says:

1 Corinthians 5:7 Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened. For even Christ our passover is sacrificed for us:

The Feast of Unleavened Bread The Passover was commanded (mitzvah) by God to be celebrated with unleavened bread (Matssah). Thus it was also called, the Feast of Unleavened Bread. This was to remind the Jews of the unleavened bread which they ate when they left Egypt in haste.

Exodus 12:8 And they shall eat the flesh in that night, roast with fire, and unleavened bread; and with bitter herbs they shall eat it.

The Mitzvah (Misa) of the Matstsah (Mass) The Mass is the fulfillment and renewal of this aspect of the Passover of the Jews, as well. In my opinion, that is why it is called the Mass. During this Feast, to prepare for this celebration and for the duration, the Jews remove all “leaven” from their households and cast it out.

Exodus 12:15 Seven days shall ye eat unleavened bread; even the first day ye shall put away leaven out of your houses: for whosoever eateth leavened bread from the first day until the seventh day, that soul shall be cut off from Israel.

Just as we, in preparation for and as a result of the Mass, must cast out all the leaven (sins) from our souls. In the Roman rite, we continue to celebrate the Passover with unleavened bread. That is why it is called the Mass. This is not so in the Eastern rite, which celebrates the Eucharist with leavened bread and therefore, is never called, the Mass.

Not only that, but if we examine 1 Cor 5:7, we see that we are also the Matstsah, the unleavened lump.

1 Corinthians 5:7 Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened. For even Christ our passover is sacrificed for us:

We are the Mass (matstsah).

But I digress. Back to the point of the unleavened bread. Jews do not celebrate the Passover unless they remove all the leaven from their home. Leaven (i.e. yeast), was a symbol of sinfulness. A symbol of the sinfulness of the Egyptians from which God freed the Jews and in the NT, a symbol of the sinfulness of the Pharisees. Therefore, Jesus would say:

Matthew 16:6 Then Jesus said unto them, Take heed and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees.

Therefore, we must remove all sin from our soul, before we approach the Eucharist.

In the Eucharist, Christ is the Unleavened Bread and we, who consume and are consumed by the Eucharist, are the unleavened lump, the matstsah (and thus, the Mass). This is in fulfillment of the Feast of Unleavened Bread.

The Feast of First Fruits (Leviticus 23).

Lev 23:10 Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, When ye be come into the land which I give unto you, and shall reap the harvest thereof, then ye shall bring a sheaf of the firstfruits of your harvest unto the priest:11 And he shall wave the sheaf before the Lord, to be accepted for you: on the morrow after the sabbath the priest shall wave it.

Scripture calls Jesus “the first fruits of the dead.”

1 Cor 15:20 But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept. 21 For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead. 22 For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive. 23 But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ's at his coming.

Why is that? Well, when did Jesus rise? On the morrow after the sabbath. On the first day of the week. On Sunday.

The very day that the Jews were celebrating the Feast of the First Fruits, Jesus Christ rose from the dead and gave Himself to the Father:

John 20:17 Jesus saith unto her, Touch me not; for I am not yet ascended to my Father: but go to my brethren, and say unto them, I ascend unto my Father, and your Father; and to my God, and your God.

The feast of Sabbaths or the Pentecost

Pentecost means 50, but the feast of Sabbaths was really celebrated after a Sabbath of Sabbaths. That is, 7 x 7 days or 49 days after the Passover Feast. It is a celebration of the harvest.

This is the day, that the Church celebrates the first harvest of the Church, when 3000 people were baptized in response to the Church’s first proclamation of the Gospel:

Acts 2:41 Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls.

This possibly gives you a better understanding of Christ, the first fruits and the three thousand which followed. And more which will continue to follow after Christ to the end of time. Now, I’ll have to force myself to stop.

I can go on and on. Thanks for indulging me. Let me know what you think.