Musing – Does OT Elisha Provide a Foretaste of Jesus in the NT?

 Hebraic Musing – Does OT Elisha Provide a Foretaste of Jesus in the NT?

My Bible has a scribbled note at 2 Kings 4 “Elisha vs. Jesus! # of similarities.”  And here is what I found:

Restoring life to a dead family member -- In the Old Testament, 2 Kings 4:20 about the Shunamite woman: “...the boy sat on her lap until noon, and then he died.   She went up and laid him on the bed of the man of God, then shut the door and went out.”...to get the man of God.  NIV    In the New Testament, Luke 7:11: Soon afterward, Jesus went to a town called Nain, and his disciples ....  As he approached the town gate, a dead person was being carried out—the only son of his mother,...”  NIV
Both dead family members were brought back to life.  In OT, by Elisha by calling on the Lord; in NT, by Jesus’ spoken word!  BTW, both sons were miracle births!  And both were resurrected!!!

Feeding of a Hundred – In the OT, 2 King 4:42 “A man came from Baal Shalishah, bringing the man of God twenty loaves of barley bread baked from the first ripe grain, along with some heads of new grain. ‘Give it to the people to eat,’ Elisha said. ‘How can I set this before a hundred men?’ his servant asked.”   In the NT Matthew 15:32 “Jesus called his disciples to him and said, ‘I have compassion for these people; they have already been with me three days and have nothing to eat. I do not want to send them away hungry, or they may collapse on the way.’  His disciples answered, ‘Where could we get enough bread in this remote place to feed such a crowd?’”
After Elisha’s and Jesus’ blessings, there were memorable multiplication miracles!

Healing of leprosy – In the OT, 2 Kings 5,  Naaman “went down and dipped himself in the Jordan seven times, as the man of God (Elisha) had told him, and his flesh was restored and became clean like that of a young boy.”
In the NT, Luke 4:27 & Luke 5:12  “While Jesus was in one of the towns, a man came along who was covered with leprosy.  When he saw Jesus, he fell with his face to the ground and begged him, ‘Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean.’ Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. ‘I am willing,’ he said. ‘Be clean!’ And immediately the leprosy left him.”
Both Elisha and Jesus used healing miracles to confirm the reality of Almighty God!

Betrayal by a faithful servant – In the OT, 2 Kings 5:20  “Gehazi, the servant of Elisha the man of God, said to himself, ‘My master was too easy on Naaman, this Aramean, by not accepting from him what he brought. As surely as the LORD lives, I will run after him and get something from him.’”    In the NT, Matthew 26:14  “Then one of the Twelve—the one called Judas Iscariot—went to the chief priests and asked, ‘What are you willing to give me if I hand him over to you?’”
If this happened to Elisha and Jesus, then we shouldn’t be surprised to encounter betrayals in our fellowship(s).

Elisha & his servant were outnumbered! – In the OT, 2 Kings6:15 “When the servant of the man of God got up and went out early the next morning, an army with horses and chariots had surrounded the city. ‘Oh, my lord, what shall we do?’ the servant asked. ‘Don't be afraid, the prophet (Elisha) answered. ‘Those who are with us are more than those who are with them.’”   In the NT, 1 John 4:4  “You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.”  And also in Romans 8:21 “If God is for us, who can be against us?”  “God is for us” even in seemingly impossible circumstances!

Struck with blindness for a reason – In the OT, 2 Kings 6:18  “As the enemy came down toward him, Elisha prayed to the LORD, ‘Strike these people with blindness.’  So he struck them with blindness, as Elisha had asked.”    In the NT, John 12:37-40 “Even after Jesus had done all these miraculous signs in their presence, they still would not believe in him. ... ‘He has blinded their eyes and deadened their hearts,’”
Reminds me that “I too was blind, but now I see.” (John 9:25)

Points to ponder

How many more OT events provide a foretaste of NT examples of Jesus’ ministry?

How often do we forget that “God is for us”?

How blind were you before you encountered Jesus?

“And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets,
     he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself.”  Luke 24:27

Yosef   a.k.a.  Joe Brusherd                                   August 23, 2022
Author: “Hebraic Insights – Messages exploring the Hebrew roots of our faith” 
“Biblical Marriage”     Weekly “Hebraic Musings”      InsightsByYosef.blogspot.com