Introduction: The Bible Is One Story, Not Two

Many believers read the Bible as if it were divided into two unrelated parts:

• • The Old Testament as history, law, and prophecy
  • The New Testament as grace, salvation, and Jesus

Jesus Himself rejected that approach.

The Old Testament is not merely background material—it is the foundation. From Genesis to Malachi, God is steadily revealing His plan to redeem humanity through one Person, one work, and one coherent story. Jesus Christ does not appear suddenly in Matthew; He is anticipated, foreshadowed, promised, patterned, and prepared for across the entire Old Testament.

To truly know Christ, we must learn to recognize Him where God has already been revealing Him.

Why This Matters: You Cannot Fully Know Christ Without the Old Testament

Understanding how Jesus is revealed in the Old Testament accomplishes several critical things:

• • It anchors faith in God’s long-term plan, not emotional experience
  • It reveals the consistency of God’s character and purpose
  • It deepens worship, because salvation is seen as intentional, costly, and patient
  • It strengthens discernment, protecting against shallow or distorted gospel messages
  • It fuels obedience, because revelation always carries responsibility

Without this foundation, believers are vulnerable to:

• • selective Christianity
  • moralistic teaching
  • self-centered faith
  • confusion about suffering, obedience, and holiness

God did not give us the Old Testament as optional reading—it is how He trained His people to recognize His Son.

Jesus Taught This Way After the Resurrection

After His resurrection, Jesus could have simply declared, “I am the Messiah—believe it.”
Instead, He did something far more profound.

On the Road to Emmaus (Luke 24)

“And beginning at Moses and all the Prophets, He expounded to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself.” (Luke 24:27)

Jesus walked His followers through the Old Testament, showing how:  the Law,  the Prophets, and the Psalms were all pointing to Him.

Later, speaking to the disciples:

“These are the words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all things must be fulfilled which were written in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms concerning Me.” (Luke 24:44)

Then:

“And He opened their understanding, that they might comprehend the Scriptures.” (Luke 24:45)

Connecting the dots was essential to their transformation.

They did not merely learn that Jesus rose—they learned why it had to happen and how God had been preparing for it all along.

How God Reveals Christ in the Old Testament

God reveals Jesus in multiple, layered ways, not just direct prophecy. This is why the Old Testament is so rich—and why shallow reading misses so much.

Broadly, Christ is revealed through:

• • Direct appearances
  • Foreshadowing types
  • Objects and symbols
  • Events
  • Institutions
  • Covenant patterns

These layers train God’s people to recognize the Messiah not merely by name, but by nature, role, and mission.

Here are some examples of each:

 

Mode of Revelation	Description	Some Examples
Direct Appearance (Theophany / Christophany)	God appears in visible or personal form, often speaking as the LORD	The Angel of the LORD (Genesis 16; Exodus 3), the Man who wrestled Jacob (Genesis 32), the Commander of the LORD’s Army (Joshua 5)
Messianic Titles	Descriptive names that reveal identity and role	Son of Man (Daniel 7), Branch (Isaiah 11; Jeremiah 23), Shepherd (Psalm 23; Ezekiel 34)
Foreshadowing Characters	Real people whose lives pattern Christ’s mission	Adam, Joseph, Moses, David, Boaz
Redemptive Objects	Physical items that symbolize Christ’s work	Passover Lamb, Bronze Serpent, Ark, Manna, Veil
Saving Events	Historical acts that prefigure salvation	Exodus, Day of Atonement, Crossing the Red Sea, Jonah’s deliverance
Institutions	God-ordained systems fulfilled in Christ	Priesthood, Sacrificial System, Temple, Sabbath, Jubilee

These are not coincidences. They are intentional training tools designed by God to prepare His people to recognize the Savior when He arrived.

Examples: Connecting the Dots from the Old Testament to Christ Jesus

Here are a few representative examples:

Joseph

Rejected by his brothers, sold for silver, falsely accused, then exalted to save many lives.
→ Christ is rejected, betrayed for silver, suffers unjustly, and is exalted to save the world.

The Passover Lamb

Blood applied to the doorposts protects from judgment.
→ Christ’s blood shields us from eternal death.

The Bronze Serpent

Lifted up so that those who looked in faith would live.
→ Christ is lifted up so that all who believe may have eternal life.

The High Priest

Enters God’s presence on behalf of the people with blood.
→ Christ enters once for all, eternally interceding for us.

Each example trains the heart and mind to recognize what kind of Savior God was sending.

Why God Chose This Method

God could have revealed Christ instantly and fully—but He did not.

Instead, He chose:

• • centuries of preparation
  • progressive revelation
  • layered symbolism
  • repeated patterns

Why?

Because God is not merely saving people from judgment—He is forming a people who know Him.

This process:

• • humbles human pride
  • exposes self-centered interpretations
  • requires patience, faith, and submission
  • produces spiritual maturity

The same God who took centuries to prepare for Christ often takes years to transform a heart.

How Should We Respond?

If this is how God revealed His Son, then our response is clear:

Read the Old Testament Christ-centered, not moral-centered

Stop treating it as optional or secondary

Ask what each passage reveals about God’s redemptive plan

Allow the patterns to shape how you understand suffering, obedience, and faith

Submit your life to the same God who patiently carried out His plan

Seeing Christ throughout Scripture should not merely increase knowledge—it should produce repentance, faith, trust, and obedience.

Where to Go To Dig Deeper

Find Jesus in every book of the Old Testament: < Link To PDF >

Christ revealed through old testament characters, objects, events, and institutions < Link To PDF >

Frank Turek – Jesus In The Old Testament, Look For These Clues… < Video >

Closing Thought

When Jesus opened the Scriptures for His disciples, their hearts burned—not because they heard something new, but because they finally saw what God had been saying all along.

The Old Testament is not about rules, rituals, or random stories.
It is about preparing the world to recognize the Son.

If you want to know Jesus deeply, you must learn to find Him where God first revealed Him.