Jesus as Messiah can be seen throughout the entire bible. The Old Testament reveals the need for Jesus; the Gospels detail the human life, miracles, teachings and death of Jesus; Acts highlights the impact of Jesus on humankind; the Letters of Paul show how the love and teachings of Jesus spread, growing His church; and the yet to be totally fulfilled Revelations provides specific world conditions and events when Jesus return.
1. The Old Testament The beginning of Genesis focuses on God's creation and mankind populating the world until the flood destroyed everyone except Noah and his family. From Genesis 12 on, the Old Testament focuses on one family, nine generations removed from Noah's son Shem, lead by Abraham. Abraham's descendants would eventually find their way to the land of Israel.
Over the next five OT books after Genesis, God gave His people 613 rules for living a righteous life, and told them of blessings if they followed them and curses if they did not. It took over 400 years, but eventually this family made it to the land God had promised them, Israel. Much of the remaining OT is devoted to prophets trying to get the Israelites to follow God's rules (most did not), failed kings who were defeated by pagan enemies, and people who were exiled to foreign lands. But a remnant of Abraham's family always returned to Israel, which God had promised.
The OT shows us our need for Jesus since we as humans can never obey 613 rules and will always have sin be part of our lives despite our best efforts. Throughout the OT, God promised a Messiah to save us from our sins.
Micah 5:2 But as for you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, too little to be among the clans of Judah, from you One will come forth for Me to be ruler in Israel. His times of coming forth are from long ago, from the days of eternity life unto death, and was counted with wrongdoers; Yet He himself bore the sin of many and interceded for the wrongdoers
Isaiah 7:14 Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign; Behold, the virgin will conceive and give birth to a son and she will name Him Immanuel.
Isaiah 53:8-9 By oppression and judgment He was taken away; and as for His generation, who considered that He was cut off from the land of the living for the wrongdoing of my people, to whom the blow was due? And His grave was assigned with wicked men, yet He was with a rich man in death, because He had done no violence nor was there any deceit in His mouth.
Isaiah 53:11-12 As a result of the anguish of His soul, He will see it and be satisfied; by His knowledge the Righteous One, My Servant, will justify the many, for He will bear their wrongdoings Therefore, I will allot Him a portion with the great, and He will divide the plunder with the strong because He poured out His life unto death, and was counted with wrongdoers; Yet He himself bore the sin of many and interceded for the wrongdoers
Daniel 9:26 Then after the sixty-two weeks the Messiah will be cut off and have nothing, and the people of the prince who is to come will destroy the city and the sanctuary. And its end will come with a flood; even to the end there will be war; desolations are determined.
Zechariah 12:10 And I will pour out on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem the Spirit of grace and of pleading, so that they will look at Me who they pierced; and they will mourn for Him, like one mourning for an only son, and they will weep bitterly over Him like the bitter weeping over a firstborn.
Whereas the OT focuses on one growing family starting with Abraham, the NT focuses on one person, Jesus Christ, a descendent of the Israelites, specifically Abraham's great grandson, Judah.
2. The Gospels A previous blog "Who are these Gospel Writers?" highlights that each gospel writer had a different personality, background, and purpose for writing that impacted the focus and view point of their retellings.
All four, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John give us the facts of Jesus' human life, His miracles and teachings, and His death and resurrection.
3. The Book of Acts of the Apostles Acts immediately precedes the last gospel of John and is where we meet Paul, a Pharisee who persecuted followers of Jesus. Paul experienced a revelation of the resurrected Jesus. Acts 9:3-6 Now as he (Saul who is also Paul) was traveling, it happened that he was approaching Damascus, and suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him; and he fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him "Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me? And he said "Who are you, Lord?" And He said, "I am Jesus whom you are persecuting but get up and enter the city, and it will be told to you what you must do." Paul became a believer and spent the rest of his life traveling throughout the eastern Roman Empire spreading the "good news" that Jesus provides salvation and eternal life to primarily gentiles (non-Jews).
Acts tells the stories of lives transformed by the good news of Jesus' death and resurrection through the missionary work of Jesus' disciples, Paul, and many others in the growing Christian church.
4. Letters of Paul Paul's 13 letters to churches he started throughout the Roman Empire make up a large part of the remainder of the New Testament. Paul reminded the churches that the righteous live by faith, not by sight (2 Corinthians 5:7). He encouraged the churches, writing about salvation, faith, grace and how to live as a follower of Jesus in a culture that was very much against Him. And Paul called out behavior that would harm the church. 1 Corinthians 1:10-11 Now I urge you, brothers and sisters, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all agree and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be made complete in the same mind and in the same judgment. For I have been informed concerning you, my brothers and sisters, by Chloe's people, that there are quarrels among you.
These Letters from Paul encouraged Jesus' people to live and grow in community with God and one another.
5. Jesus' Return The OT does not specifically say that the Messiah will come twice - once to suffer and once to reign. But look at the Isaiah 53 verses above under the OT point. Isaiah 53:8-9 speaks of a suffering servant's death, while 53:11-12 highlights a victorious servant who receives the spoils due Him. He will be killed and yet live? Sounds like Jesus!
The NT tells us Jesus will return and how that will look. Acts 1:10-11 And as they were gazing intently into the sky while He was going, then behold, two men in white clothing stood beside them, and they said, "Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into the sky? This Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you have watched Him go into heaven."
There are lots of mysteries in Revelations but author disciple John makes a few things perfectly clear. The world will end and it will not be pretty, judgment for every human is certain, Satan will fall, and Jesus will return.
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