Old Testament Gospel

By Kyle Blackwell

The Bible is an incredible history book. With over 40 different authors, from kings to tax collectors to fishermen, in 3 different languages, on 3 different continents, all making up. one message, it is clear that it has to be of divine origin by one true author. This entire work is truly dedicated to glorifying one individual, Jesus Christ. I love the story of Jesus because He came to die for my sins even though I was a wicked man. It is monumental to die for a righteous man, but how much more is it to die for a wicked man? 

Unlike what a lot of preachers teach, Jesus did not die because I was such a wicked individual; He died for my sins because He loved me. Realizing this, I am able to live a righteous life. Does this mean I’m perfect? No! However, knowing that He died because He loved me so much, and not because I am wicked, allows me to put on the breastplate of righteousness because I know that I am not living in my own righteousness, but in the righteousness of Jesus. 

So, how do I know He died for me because He loved me and not because I was so sinful? Well, for starters, John 3:16 tells me so. But the Bible is very clear in showing that my Salvation was planned long before  I, or even Jesus, was born on earth. 

In Genesis 49, we start to unravel the story of Jesus

“The scepter will not depart from Judah, nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet, until he to whom it belongs shall come and the obedience of the nations shall be his.” -Genesis 49:10

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Jacob is giving his sons blessings and when he gets to Judah, he lets him know that the savior of the world will come from the tribe of Judah. I was in awe the first time I read this because I had been praying everyday that God show me Jesus in every book of the Bible. You will see that this is just the beginning of God’s mighty work in my understanding of Jesus throughout the Bible, more importantly the Old Testament. God is good!

“A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse; from his roots a Branch will bear fruit. The Spirit of the Lord will rest on him— the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding, the Spirit of counsel and of might, the Spirit of the knowledge and fear of the Lord— and he will delight in the fear of the Lord. He will not judge by what he sees with his eyes, or decide by what he hears with his ears; but with righteousness he will judge the needy, with justice he will give decisions for the poor of the earth. He will strike the earth with the rod of his mouth; with the breath of his lips he will slay the wicked. Righteousness will be his belt and faithfulness the sash around his waist.” -Isaiah‬ ‭11:1-5‬ ‭

Jesus is prophesied to come not only from the tribe of Judah, but also from Jesse, who is King David’s father. We find that God’s Spirit will rest on Him. This is paramount because before Jesus, the Spirit of God would come upon prophets but He would never live in them 24/7. Also, the Messiah is stated to not judge by what he hears or sees like we do, but he will judge the heart. 

“Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.” -Isaiah 7:14

Jesus was born from a virgin. In fact, Joseph wanted to get out of marrying Mary because He had thought she cheated on him. That was until an Angel visited him at night and let him know that his little baby boy is the Messiah and that he should trust Mary. Isaiah writes that this child will be called Immanuel. The Hebrew word for Immanuel literally means “God with us”. This baby boy is God himself!

“But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah, who are too little to be among the clans of Judah, from you shall come forth for me one who is to be ruler in Israel, whose coming forth is from of old, from ancient days.” -Micah‬ ‭5:2‬ ‭

When Caesar issued the decree that everyone shall go back to their hometowns for a census and taxes, Mary and Joseph returned to Bethlehem.

“For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” -Isaiah‬ ‭9:6‬ ‭

The long awaited Messiah is finally here. And everyone gets wind of the work God is beginning. Even so, not all were excited for this coming of the King of kings. 

“Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end, on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time forth and forevermore. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this.” -Isaiah‬ ‭9:7

Kings of this world were fearful because they heard a great king had been born. They heard of a little baby boy who is supposed to be the Messiah, God. 

“They shall go after the Lord; he will roar like a lion; when he roars, his children shall come trembling from the west; they shall come trembling like birds from Egypt, and like doves from the land of Assyria, and I will return them to their homes, declares the Lord.” -Hosea‬ ‭11:10-11‬ 

Joseph and his family are forced to Egypt in order to escape Herod’s order to have all boys 2 years and under killed. Jesus was already defeating the devil before he could even walk and talk. After all, that is what he came to accomplish here on earth. 

“I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.” -Genesis‬ ‭3:15‬ ‭

satan bruised Jesus while on earth; however, Glory be to God, Jesus came through with the victory with what He did on the cross.

“Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male a year old. You may take it from the sheep or from the goats,” -Exodus‬ ‭12:5‬ ‭

Just as the lambs were perfect at the offering table, so was Jesus throughout His life. 

“I delight to do your will, O my God; your law is within my heart.” -‭Psalm‬ ‭40:8

Finally, as he grew into manhood, it was time. The will of God was on the heart of Jesus

“He shall build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever.” -2 Samuel‬ ‭7:13‬ ‭

It was time to establish His kingdom. It was time to defeat the evil one. It was time to show the world who God truly is. To the towns and synagogues He went, teaching. 

“I have told the glad news of deliverance in the great congregation; behold, I have not restrained my lips, as you know, O Lord. I have not hidden your deliverance within my heart; I have spoken of your faithfulness and your salvation; I have not concealed your steadfast love and your faithfulness from the great congregation. -Psalm‬ ‭40:9-10‬ 

“Give ear, O my people, to my teaching; incline your ears to the words of my mouth! I will open my mouth in a parable; I will utter dark sayings from of old,” -Psalm‬ ‭78:1-2‬ 

“Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf unstopped; then shall the lame man leap like a deer, and the tongue of the mute sing for joy. For waters break forth in the wilderness, and streams in the desert -Isaiah‬ ‭35:5-6‬ 

During Jesus’s ministry, He spoke to the people of Israel in parables And He spoke as one with authority. Jesus did all sorts of miraculous signs and wonders. And this got the attention of the ruling class. In doing so, the Pharisees of that day rallied the people and stirred up hate within their hearts. 

“He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief; and as one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not.” -Isaiah‬ ‭53:3‬ ‭

When His time came, He rode into the city, but not like any ordinary king of that day. 

“Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your king is coming to you; righteous and having salvation is he, humble and mounted on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.” -Zechariah‬ ‭9:9‬ ‭

Cheers could be heard from miles away, not realizing how quickly their hearts might change. One of His own would betray Him for a measly amount. 

“Then I said to them, “If it seems good to you, give me my wages; but if not, keep them.” And they weighed out as my wages thirty pieces of silver.” -Zechariah‬ ‭11:12‬ 

“Awake, O sword, against my shepherd, against the man who stands next to me,” declares the Lord of hosts. “Strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered; I will turn my hand against the little ones. -Zechariah‬ ‭13:7‬ ‭ESV‬‬

After Judas betrayed Jesus and the Roman soldiers got what they came for, Jesus’s disciples scattered in fear. 

“Surely he took up our pain and bore our suffering, yet we considered him punished by God, stricken by him, and afflicted. -Isaiah‬ ‭53:4‬ ‭

We did not consider Him to be of any majesty. We wanted a king to rule and protect. He was so much more. He came to save the world. 

“He shall build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. I will be to him a father, and he shall be to me a son. When he commits iniquity, I will discipline him with the rod of men, with the stripes of the sons of men,” -2 Samuel‬ ‭7:13-14

“We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to our own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.” -Isaiah‬ ‭53:6‬ 

Even though He was perfect in every way imaginable, Jesus bore the sins of us all in order that we may live in Him forever. His father turned His back on Jesus and he cried aloud:

“My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” -Psalm ‭22:1‬ ‭

And the people watching mock Him. 

““He trusts in the Lord,” they say, “let the Lord rescue him. Let him deliver him, since he delights in him.” -Psalm‬ ‭22:8‬ ‭

“Dogs surround me, a pack of villains encircles me; they pierce my hands and my feet. All my bones are on display; people stare and gloat over me. They divide my clothes among them and cast lots for my garment.” -Psalm ‭22:16-18‬

“They gave me poison for food, and for my thirst they gave me sour wine to drink.” -Psalm‬ ‭69:21‬ ‭

“He was assigned a grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death, though he had done no violence, nor was any deceit in his mouth.” -Isaiah‬ ‭53:9‬ ‭

Jesus died a very painful death for our sins and they buried Him in the tomb of Joseph of Arimathea. 

But it wasn’t over for Jesus. God had something planned from the beginning of the ages. 

“because you will not abandon me to the realm of the dead, nor will you let your faithful one see decay.” -Psalms‬ ‭16:10‬ 

Behold, our redeemer lives. He was dead and yet He is now alive, risen from the grave. 

“And there was evening, and there was morning—the third day.” -‭Genesis‬ ‭1:13‬ 

God does His work in the evening time, but Glory be to God Almighty, glory comes in the morning

“Posterity will serve him; future generations will be told about the Lord. They will proclaim his righteousness, declaring to a people yet unborn: He has done it!”

‭‭-Psalms‬ ‭22:30-31

““And I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and supplication.” -Zechariah‬ 12:10

Before Jesus returned to Heaven, and after His kingdom was established on Earth, He told His disciples that he had to leave so that Holy Spirit could live and reside in our hearts. 

These prophecies about Jesus were written long before Christ was born. If you have unbelief in what Christ did on that cross, hopefully these writings about Jesus that preceded His birth between 400 and 1400 years will give you a Faith in Him like you never had before. This was the ultimate example of Love. A Love like this never fails. A Love like this only comes from above. A Love like this is everlasting. 

Christ did not die because I was such a wicked person, nor did he die because of your wickedness. He died because He loves us and that is evident through the way He planned to die for our transgressions from the very beginning, when He knew of all the sins we would ever commit. That is Love!

My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge -Hosea 4:6