How does the old story reach Jesus?
At exactly the right time, God sent His Son, born of a woman, born under the law: the seed of Abraham in whom nations are blessed, the Passover Lamb, the Son of David on the throne, and the end of exile. Jesus is not a new story interrupting the old one; He is the old story arriving.
This question arose from studying Why did God send His people into exile? and Why did God promise David an eternal throne? and What is the Bible's big story?.
Begin by reading
Go into the Word
Not a summary of these passages: the passages themselves. Read them, then come back to the study below.
The study
What the Scripture says
He is the Seed promised to Abraham
Paul notices the singular: the promises spoke to Abraham's 'seed,' and Paul argues they point not to many but to One, 'to your seed,' who is Christ. Everyone united to Jesus inherits what was sworn to Abraham, and the blessing of Abraham comes to the nations in Him. The Abrahamic story reaches its destination at the manger and the cross.
Now the promises were spoken to Abraham and to his seed. He doesn’t say, “To seeds”, as of many, but as of one, “To your seed”, which is Christ.
that the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Christ Jesus; that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.
I will bless those who bless you, and I will curse him who curses you. All of the families of the earth will be blessed in you.”
He is the Lamb the Passover foreshadowed
John the Baptist's greeting compresses the whole sacrificial system into one title: 'Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!' Paul draws the line explicitly: Christ our Passover was sacrificed for us, and His blood delivers from judgment just as surely as the lamb's blood did in Egypt.
The next day, he saw Jesus coming to him, and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!
Purge out the old yeast, that you may be a new lump, even as you are unleavened. For indeed Christ, our Passover, has been sacrificed in our place.
knowing that you were redeemed, not with corruptible things, with silver or gold, from the useless way of life handed down from your fathers, but with precious blood, as of a faultless and pure lamb, the blood of Christ;
He is the Son of David who reigns forever
The angel's annunciation quotes the Davidic covenant almost verbatim: the throne of His father David, reigning over the house of Jacob, of whose kingdom there will be no end. What Psalm 89 mourned as a fallen crown, Matthew presents as restored in Jesus, son of David, son of Abraham.
He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father, David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever. There will be no end to his Kingdom.”
The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.
Of the increase of his government and of peace there shall be no end, on the throne of David, and on his kingdom, to establish it, and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from that time on, even forever. The zeal of Yahweh of Armies will perform this.
He ended the longest exile
Zechariah blesses God because He 'has visited and worked redemption for his people'; Simeon waits for the consolation of Israel; Anna speaks of the child 'to all those who were looking for redemption in Jerusalem.' In Christ, God gathered His people, forgave their sins, and wrote His law on hearts: the return from exile completed at a deeper level.
“Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, for he has visited and worked redemption for his people;
Coming up at that very hour, she gave thanks to the Lord, and spoke of him to all those who were looking for redemption in Jerusalem.
“For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel. After those days,” says the Lord; “I will put my laws into their mind, I will also write them on their heart. I will be their God, and they will be my people.
And He carries the story to its ending
The fullness of time came once; the fullness of all things is coming next. The same Jesus will appear a second time, and the story closes with the serpent crushed, the curse undone, the nations healed, and God dwelling with His people forever. Reading the Bible as one story means reading your own life as a chapter inside it.
so Christ also, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, without sin, to those who are eagerly waiting for him for salvation.
I heard a loud voice out of heaven saying, “Behold, God’s dwelling is with people, and he will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away from them every tear from their eyes. Death will be no more; neither will there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain, any more. The first things have passed away.”
And the God of peace will quickly crush Satan under your feet. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.
As you read, you may wonder…
Scripture raises the next question
Studying the Word naturally opens more of it. Follow what you just read: it leads somewhere.
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Who is Jesus?→Jesus Christ trail“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”Why did Jesus have to die?→Jesus Christ trail“for all have sinned, and fall short of the glory of God;”What is the new heaven and new earth?→Our Hope trail“I heard a loud voice out of heaven saying, “Behold, God’s dwelling is with people, and he will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away from them every tear from their eyes. Death will be no more; neither will there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain, any more. The first things have passed away.””Where do the wisdom books fit in the Bible's story?→The Word of God trail“To man he said, ‘Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom. To depart from evil is understanding.’””Hold onto these
Verses to meditate on
But when the fullness of the time came, God sent out his Son, born to a woman, born under the law, that he might redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of children.
The next day, he saw Jesus coming to him, and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!
He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father, David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever. There will be no end to his Kingdom.”
so Christ also, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, without sin, to those who are eagerly waiting for him for salvation.
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