Jesus in the Old Testament – “In the Beginning, …”???

Please read Genesis 1:1-3, 1:26, and John 1:1-3

Apostles Paul and John make it clear that Jesus is the creator of all creation (John1: 3, John 1:10, 1 Corinthians 8:16, Colossians 1:16).  However, in the creation narrative of Genesis 1:1-2:3, we see that Jesus’ name is not mentioned!

In Genesis 1:1-3, we encounter the word(s) God three times and the Spirit (of God) once. In the rest of the creation narrative, only God is mentioned. Where then is creator Jesus? While the word God is used in our English Bibles, the Hebrew text uses the word Elohim. Elohim is the plural word for God and the plural explains why Elohim spoke phrases such as “Let us..” and “our Image after our likeness ” (Genesis 1:26).   So the second person of the Trinity, God the Son, is present and active in/at the creation in the beginning. John makes that clear when he writes, “the Word was with God”.  And not just that, Jesus is also present in all of the creation narrative, whenever we encounter the phrase, “And God said”. So whenever “God said”, the word, “said” teaches us that Jesus, the logos (John 1:1), is creating in the beginning. 

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, while the Old Testament prepares us for Jesus (more on that later), we see that from the beginning of God’s Word, we encounter our Lord and Savior Jesus the Christ.

Dear Jesus, my creator, thank you for creating me and creating me for you and your glory. Please help me to understand that all of ‘His-tory’ is your story and open my eyes and my mind to learn more from you. Amen.

Jesus in the Old Testament – Introduction

Bill O’Reilly, the former Fox News television host, has stated that ‘the Old Testament stories are made-up fiction’ and ‘a lot of the Bible is allegorical’. I have a friend who, while confessing he is born-again, believes that the Old Testament is a bunch of fables. Also, quite a few Christians have told me that, other than a few psalms, they have never read the Old Testament.

But the truth is, the word of God, the entire Bible, is Christocentric. What does Christocentric mean? It means Christ is the center and is at the center of the entire Bible, both Old Testament and New. In order to understand and appreciate every book of the Bible, you and I have to read each book with a Christocentric approach.  For those of you who find this implausible, I present Jesus’ own words from John 5:39 and Luke 24:25-27.

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, this post is a rather brief introduction to the topic I have chosen- Jesus in the Old Testament - from next Tuesday onwards. Please pray that God will make me faithful in my endeavor. God Bless us all.

Dear Jesus, my Lord and my God open my eyes and teach me to see and appreciate you in every Bible verse, paragraph, chapter and book. Amen.