The cross of Christ in the Old Testament.
Today we shall look into biblical typology and see how the scriptures pictured Christ and the cross in the Old Testament.
What is typology?
A biblical "type" may be safely described as “any person, place, event or thing in the Old Testament that serves the covenantal purposes of God, in a preparatory manner, until the fulfilling all things in redemption through the "anti-type", Jesus Christ, or some particular benefit of His saving work.” The fulfillment in the New Testament is termed "anti-type"
Typology is a study of types. Etymologically the word “type” is derived from the Greek word which denotes:
(1) the impression made by a blow;
(2) the stamp made by a die—thus figure or image;
(3) an example or pattern.
The latter is the most common meaning in the Bible. It is a "type" which prefigures some future reality. In I Corinthians 10:6 this Greek word is employed to speak of certain Exodus events as a "type" of Christian life, in Romans 5:14 that Adam is a "type" of Christ, and in I Peter 3:21 a related word is used to indicate that Baptism is an "antitype" of the flood.
Genesis and The Cross
The chief scene that many of the ‘types’ in the Old Testament foreshadow is the most solemn event that has ever taken place on earth: the scene of Jesus’ death on the cross. There are quite a few examples we can study to see these types that foreshadow His life and death on the cross.
First, in Genesis 4, we see the story of Abel’s lamb as a type for the sacrifice of Jesus thousands of years later. God declares Abel’s sacrificial offering of the “firstborn of his flock” as worthy and that of Cain’s unworthy. See Genesis 4:4. Abel’s offering comes through a repentant and faithful heart, giving his best of his work from the land, while Cain’s heart is unrepentant and he fails to sacrifice his best fruits in the offering. This “firstborn” mention of the lamb is possibly a type that refers to Jesus as the “firstborn of all creation” that reconciled all things to Himself through the shedding of His blood. (Colossians 1:15) Abel’s offering signifies the individual sacrifice that Jesus made for each individual in His own sacrificial death.
Secondly, there is the identification of Jesus in the New Testament with the Old Testament remembrance of the Passover lamb. The Passover celebration was initiated with God’s rescuing the Israelites from the Egyptians by putting the blood of the sacrificial lamb over their doorposts. (See Exodus 12) When Jesus comes to earth, He identifies Himself as the Passover lamb, the ultimate and final sacrifice for the people’s sin. This sacrifice then, represents the sin of the nation atoned for via first the lamb’s sacrifice, and now, via Jesus’ death once and for all. It was revealed to John the Baptist that Jesus was the lamb, as he cries out in John 1:29 and 35, “Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” In the institution of the Last Supper, Jesus recognizes that He will be the final Passover lamb to sacrifice for the sins of the world, saying, “This is my body which is given for you; do this in remembrance of me.” (Luke 22:19)
Thirdly, in Genesis 22, we have a typical scene on Mount Moriah showing Abraham’s willingness to sacrifice his own son on the altar as God has commanded. God commands Abraham, “Take now your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you.” (Genesis 22:2) This scene represents a type for God giving His only son to the world for the cleansing of sin. See John 3:16.
And fourthly the Day of Atonement.(Lev. 16) The word "atonement" occurs frequently in the Old Testament and represents a key concept of OT theology. Jesus is the fulfillment of the OT, especially the human need for atonement from sins. (All the aspects of the Day of Atonement is not covered in this short note because of the lack of space.)
But what is atonement, and what does Jesus have to do with it?
Many Christians think atonement in the OT originated with the Mosaic law, but in reality we recognized our need for atonement long before the time of Moses. When Adam and Eve committed the first sin, they hid from God because they were ashamed (Gn 3:8). Rather than giving them up as hopeless, God initiated a plan of atonement whereby the ruptured fellowship between Himself and humanity could be restored. Our English word "atonement" (at-one-ment) explains well the theology behind such restoration, for it suggests that God and humanity can relationally be "at one" again.
How does atonement work? The first OT reference to atonement occurs when God provided animal skins to cover Adam and Eve's nakedness, an act necessitating the death of a sinless animal and hence the shedding of its blood on their behalf (Gn 3:21). This introduces a theme that runs throughout the Bible: atonement involves an innocent party taking the punishment that was due to a guilty party.
The sin offering for the people of Israel on the Day of Atonement consisted of two goats. The two goats formed but one offering, but they were both needed to complete the type - Christ's death ( Lev 16:5, 7-10, 15-16, 18-22). The goat upon which the Lord's lot fell, that was slain as a sin offering to God for the sins of the people of Israel, foreshadowed the death of Christ, who offered Himself to God as a sin offering for the sins of all mankind (cf Jn 1:29; Ro 3:23-26; Ga 1:3-4; Eph 5:2; He 10:5-10; 1Pe 2:24; 1Jn 2:2; 4:9-10).
The second goat in Lev 16 - called the scapegoat - had the sins of all the people, including the high priest and his family, transferred to it by the laying on of the high priest's hands. It was then led away into the wilderness and let loose (cf Lev 16:20-22). This typifies the complete pardon for sin in Christ The two goats completed the one Old Testament type of Christ in His atoning death for mankind's sins (cf; Ro 4:25-5:1; 14:9; 2Cor 5:14-15; Rev 1:4-6;5:6-12).
It is important to note that both of these goats are symbolic pictures of the work of Jesus on the cross. The slain goat represents Jesus as He was sacrificed to satisfy God's justice. The scapegoat, the goat who bore the sins of the people into the solitary place, represents Jesus as He our sins and guilt.
The Hebrew word translated "atonement" is kaphar, meaning "to cover." This suggests that through the act of atonement sin is covered so that God no longer sees it. Throughout the OT the covering is achieved, with the blood of an innocent animal whose innocence renders the repentant sinner innocent as well (Lev 1:4-5; 17:11). The New Testament term hilasterion, "propitiation," continues this OT concept, again in contexts of blood sacrifice (Rm 3:25). The Day of Atonement means that are to stand and present ourselves before our Lord and as Paul says," in view of God's mercy, to offer our bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God... " Romans 12:1
What does any of this have to do with Jesus? While animals served as provisional sacrifices for human sins during the OT era, they could not ultimately atone for humans (Heb 4:10). Humanity needed one of their own, one who knew no sin, to stand in and take the punishment that is due to all sinners.
Genesis 3:15 gives the first prophetic glimpse at God's final solution to this need and hints at the central role Jesus plays in that solution. Speaking ultimately of Jesus and His role in redemption, it asserts that the seed of the woman would crush the head of the serpent (the Devil), achieving victory over sin and death.
Jesus Christ is both the subject and fulfillment of Isaiah's prophecy in Isaiah 53. . In the events that unfolded during His trial, crucifixion, and resurrection, Jesus was the Suffering Servant on our behalf. Though innocent of all sin, Jesus stood in our place to take our punishment, shedding His blood to atone for us. "He entered the most holy place once for all, not by the blood of goats and calves, but by His own blood, having obtained eternal redemption" (Heb 9:12). "By the sacrifice of Himself" (Heb 9:26) Jesus satisfied God's wrath against sin.
That OT atonement finds its culmination in Jesus Christ is put beyond question by John the Baptist who, seeing Jesus, proclaimed, "Here is the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!" (Jn 1:29).
