Musing – Where did Jesus see Himself in OT Scriptures?

Hebraic Musing – Where did Jesus see Himself in OT Scriptures?

After Jesus’ resurrection He was walking with two men on the way to Emmaus and “He said to them, ‘How foolish you are, and how slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken!’ …  And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself.”   Luke 24:25&27  NIV     

Have you ever wondered what Jesus may have meant by “what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself”?   Since OT Scripture hasn’t changed much since Jesus’ time; was He reminding them, and us, of some of these anthropomorphic events?   (Anthropomorphic: having a human form or human attributes)

1.   Adam and Eve “…heard the sound of the Lord God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the Lord God…” or they tried to hide from Him. (Gen.3:8)  Do people try to hide today?

2.   Later, “The Lord appeared to Abraham near the great trees of Mamre while he was sitting at the entrance to his tent”  (Gen 18:1)

3.   When Abraham was about to slay Isaac, he was stopped.  “The angel of the Lord called to Abraham from heaven a second time and said, I swear by myself, declares the Lord, that because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son,” (Gen 22:15-16)  First the person is called “angel of the Lord” but then revealed as the Lord Himself.  This is not the only time this identification change occurs!

4.   Hagar was running away.  “Then the angel of the Lord told her, ‘Go back to your mistress…’” Then  “She gave this name to the Lord who spoke to her: "You are the God who sees me," Gen 16:9&13

5.   And Jacob had a wrestling match at the Jabbok stream and “… Jacob called the place Peniel, saying, ‘It is because I saw God face to face, and yet my life was spared.’” Gen 32:30

6.   Before giving the commandment tablets to Moses – “Moses and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and the seventy elders of Israel went up and saw the God of Israel. Under his feet was something like a pavement ….  But God did not raise his hand against these leaders of the Israelites; they saw God, and they ate and drank.”  Ex 24:9-11   They saw God as a person!  And lived to tell about it!

7.   In Exodus 3:5 Moses met and talked to God in a “burning bush” encounter.

8.   Joshua was about to take Jericho when “… he looked up and saw a man standing in front of him with a drawn sword…”   Fortunately this man, Adonai, was “For us and not for our enemies.”  Joshua 5:13-15

Was Jesus working “Behind the scenes” making appearances all along, before His birth in Bethlehem?

We have a sampling of what Jesus could have meant when He explained that He Himself was “:… in all the Scriptures….”  I wonder how many more such  ‘appearances’ are in the OT Scriptures?

The book “Standing in the Fire” by Tom Doyle contains testimonies of Arab Muslims converting to Christianity after seeing Jesus in either visions or in person.  Could Jesus still be making appearances today?

 Points to ponder

Is it difficult to see our Lord God as having been a man before the birth of Jesus?

I read that “no man can see God and live” but these men saw and lived???
Where and when did Jesus meet you?  Are you alive?

Was Jesus making appearances after His resurrection?
Is Jesus still making appearances today?

♫  I serve a risen Savior, He’s in the world today… He walks with me…♫

Yosef   a.k.a.  Joe Brusherd                                               August 15, 2017

Author: “Hebraic Insights – Messages exploring the Hebrew roots of our faith” 
“Biblical Marriage”   Weekly “Hebraic Musings”      www.InsightsByYosef.com

Note – Inspired by Athol Dickson’s “The Gospel according to Moses” – Topic on page 230.