November 3 | John 5:43-46

---

DAILY READING

John 5:43-46

---

REFLECTION

Jesus in the Torah

By Dave Mann

Jesus states that Moses, who lived at least 1250 years before, wrote about him.  What did Moses write about Jesus?  Actually, quite a bit.  Here are just a few points from the books of Moses that point to Jesus the Messiah.

Genesis 1:1-3 – The Trinity appears in the first verses of the Bible – the Father as creator, the Spirit brooding over the waters, and the creative Word of God as the Son.  “And God said = the Word of God.”  Compare this to John 1:1-3 & 14 which complete the circle that Jesus is the Word.

Genesis 3:15 – He [the Descendant of Eve] shall crush your [the serpent’s] head and you shall bruise his heel.  This is the first messianic prophecy in the Bible.

Pattern Prophecies – There are numerous pattern prophecies in the Pentateuch as well as throughout the Old Testament.  A pattern prophecy is a situation where something happens that bears a predictive likeness or pattern of Jesus. 

In Genesis 22, God tells Abraham to offer as a sacrifice his only son Isaac.  On the way to Mount Moriah, Isaac asks where the lamb for the sacrifice is.  Abraham responds that the Lord himself would provide a lamb.  John the Baptist announces for all to hear in John 1:29, “Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.”

In Exodus 11-12, we read of the blood of the first-born lamb which is applied to the doorposts and lintels of the homes of the Israelites.  It is this blood which saves the Israelites from suffering the judgment of God.

Throughout the Torah, but especially in Leviticus, the sacrificial system is a clear statement of the need for a blood-payment for sin.  The problem with the sacrifices under the Old Covenant is that the high priests were human and therefore sinners themselves.  They needed to offer sacrifices for their own culpability before they could offer sacrifices for the people.  In addition, the priests needed to continually offer sacrifices, revealing that there was some sort of insufficiency in these animal sacrifices, and thus instilling a longing for the day when there would be an ultimate once-for-all sacrifice.  The writer of the book of Hebrews, elaborates that Jesus is indeed that Sacrifice (Hebrews 9-10).

In Numbers 21:4-9, the Israelites are at risk of dying from the bites of venomous serpents.  God tells Moses to fashion a snake of bronze, and that all who look on it shall be saved.  Jesus himself makes the connection between the bronze snake in Moses' day and himself in John 3:14-15; 12:31-34.

Deuteronomy 18:15 -- The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your fellow Israelites. You must listen to him.

Jesus is indeed in the Torah from the first to the last. Listen to him!

PRAYER

Thank you, heavenly Father, for revealing Jesus to your people even more than a thousand years prior to the incarnation.  By your grace, keep on revealing yourself to us, and allow us to have hearts ready to receive him, in Jesus’ name, Amen.

---

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

DAVE MANN

I am a Pastor for Internationals (retired) in the UALC community. I am married to Pam, father of four, and grandfather of seven. Pam and I have lived twenty of our years in other countries including France, Cameroon, Haiti, and Morocco. In retirement, we continue to enjoy writing devotionals, learning languages, and teaching English to internationals.