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Introduction

Christ Jesus has variously been portrayed in the Law (i.e. the Books of Moses). It is written that the law was our schoolmaster which was intended to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith (Gal 3:24). This implies that presently, ” the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets” (Rom 3:20). Therefore, Christ is the end of the righteousness that comes by observing the law (Rom 10:4). The witness of the law about the Messiah is presented in this piece of writing.

The Seed of the Woman

Moses prophesied about the Messiah after the fall of man. It is read that:

“And the LORD God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life: And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel” (Gen 3:14-15).

The victory of the seed of the woman as indicated above describes what theologians call “protevangelium”, that is the first gospel ever preached. It is taken to be the earliest promise concerning the Messiah, His life, and suffering, as well as His ultimate victory over the prince of this world. This seed of the woman pointed to Jesus Christ as Paul rightly writes, that when the fullness of the time came, God sent forth his Son, who was made of a woman to redeem those who were under the curse of the law (Gal 4:4-5).

Shiloh

The Book of the Law again refers to Jesus Christ as Shilo (h) as seen in the below Scripture:

“Judah is a lion’s whelp: from the prey, my son, thou art gone up: he stooped down, he couched as a lion, and as an old lion; who shall rouse him up? The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto him shall the gathering of the people be”.(Gen 49:9-10).

The meaning of Shiloh, according to Smith´s Dictionary, is “Peace”, a name which is used to refer to Christ Jesus (Isa 9:6). Meyer also interprets Shiloh to mean “Peace-Giver”. Therefore, the above scripture could be taken to mean that afflictions would not depart from the Jews until the incarnation of the Prince of Peace, to whom belongs all authority and power.

The Promised Prophet

In the Book of Deuteronomy, Moses prophesied about the coming of the Savior. He foretells that:

“I will raise them up a Prophet from among their brethren, like unto thee, and will put my words in his mouth; and he shall speak unto them all that I shall command him. And it shall come to pass, that whosoever will not hearken unto my words which he shall speak in my name, I will require it of him” (Deut 18:18-19).

Peter cited the above passage when He was defending the authority and superiority of the Messiah as promised by Moses (Acts 3:22-23). Stephen also referred to this passage in his defense statement when he was talking about Moses’ words about the coming Messiah (Acts 7:37). Having this passage in mind, Jesus Himself attested that Moses did write about Him (Joh 5:45-47). The phrase “Unto Him ye shall hearken” was re-emphasized by the Holy Spirit during the transfiguration of Christ Jesus (Mat 17:4-5).

Conclusion

The Law or the Books of Moses both explicitly and metaphorically speaks about the birth and the life of the Messiah. Moses foresaw Christ Jesus as the Savior and preached Him to his followers.

Prayer: May the Almighty God open the eyes of our understanding to see Jesus as we study the pages of the Holy Scriptures. In the name of Christ Jesus, our Lord. Amen!

 

Introduction

The Mosaic law contains a number of prophecies about the birth and the life of the Christ. In this edition of our Newsletter, the claims of Jesus, that the prophecies in the Law are about Him, is discussed.

The Law Prophesied About Christ

“And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force. For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John. And if ye will receive it, this is Elias, which was for to come. He that hath ears to hear, let him hear” (Mat 11:12-15).

According to Christ, the Law is an embodiment of prophecies concerning Himself. It is aimed at presenting Him to the audience. He, therefore, says that ” Lo, I come (in the volume of the book it is written of me,) to do thy will, O God” (Psa 40:7, Heb 10:7). The entire volume of the Law is meant to reveal God´s salvific plan for humankind. It was against this background that Jesus challenged the Jews to carefully read the Law or the scriptures because in it they claim to have eternal life (Joh 5:39). Jesus adds that if the Jews had believed in Moses they would have believed in Him too because Moses did write about Him in his books (Joh 5:45-47).

 In Paul´s submission, the Law was introduced to lead us to the Messiah. He thus writes that:

“Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith. But after that faith or Christ has come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster” (Gal 3:24-25).

Jesus Fulfills the Law

“Think not that I am come to destroy the law or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfill”(Mat 5:17).

Jesus who was born under the law (Gal 4:4), had issues with the Mosaic Law, but He did not reject it outright. He affirms that the Law predicted His incarnation, so His coming into the world is the fulfillment of the Law. Therefore, when He met the men on the way to Emmaus, He explained the Gospel unto them from the writings of Moses that concern Him (Lk 24:13-27).

Jesus unequivocally states that “Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled” (Mat 5:18) in Him. Again, Jesus reminds His disciples that “..all things must be fulfilled, which were written in the law of Moses ” (Lk 24:44). Jesus wants His followers to understand that everything that the Law says would happen in the life of the Messiah, would be perfected in Him. In other words, all the predictions that Moses wrote about concerning the Savior must be seen realized in Christ Jesus.

Conclusion

The Law contains prophecies that point to Christ, so all these prophecies must be fulfilled in the person of Christ Jesus, as the only true Savior of the world. The Law was to teach and lead us until the incarnation of the Savior, Jesus Christ.

Prayer: Lord God, may you enlighten us to comprehend your word as we read it. In the name of Christ Jesus. Amen.