A. The holy gospel tells me. God himself began to reveal the gospel already in Paradise; later he proclaimed it by the holy patriarchs and prophets, and portrayed it by the sacrifices and other ceremonies of the law; finally, he fulfilled it through his own dear Son.
Monday
God’s Word is our guide. The Bible tells us the story of humanity’s creation, fall and redemption. We come to the Scripture in order to learn about our sin and Christ’s saving work. Why do we trust the Bible to teach us? Read 2 Timothy 3:16-17.The Bible is God’s very breath for us. Breathing is essential to living. Try holding your breath, eventually you will be forced to open your mouth and take in air. Why is this? Because, we were made to breath, to take it into us. Paul picks us analogy when he calls the Scripture “God-breathed.” It is the very life of God poured out to us. Let us never forget that we need the Bible and its truth, just like we need air to breathe.
Tuesday
Since the Bible is life giving, it is consistent that God would begin teaching about the saving work of Christ in the opening chapters of Genesis. In Genesis 1 we find the creation of the universe and everything in it. After this creative event, God instills the Sabbath. This is our first view of salvation. Read Exodus 31:13. The Sabbath is given to teach us that someone other than ourselves makes us holy. Our actions can’t make us right with God. We learned that a few weeks ago in Question 13 (Can we pay this debt ourselves? Certainly not…). This truth is made more explicit in God’s curse upon the serpent after sin enters the world. Read Genesis 3:14-15. In this passage, we find the promise of a mediator, a single person who will destroy the works of Satan. He will crush Satan and be victorious and the wound that Satan inflicts on him will be minor in comparison. Jesus is that person.
Wednesday
But the story doesn’t end there. God wasn’t content to leave the story of Christ to be told only once in Eden. Rather, he desired to tell that story over and over again. He told the story to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and even prefigured it through the life experiences of Joseph. To Abraham he promised a blessing to the world. To Isaac, that promise was reaffirmed. To Jacob was given the blessing of the Lord over his brother Esau, so that Jacob could proclaim the coming of the Savior to his son Judah. Read Genesis 49:10. The patriarchs new of the coming of the Christ, they spoke of if often. They longed for the salvation of God.
Consider one story from the life of Joseph. Read Genesis 39. In this story Joseph is tempted to sin, but resists the temptation; so does Jesus. Joseph is accused falsely, so was Jesus. Joseph was condemned on the testimony of an accusing, lying temptress; Jesus was condemned with lying men accusing him as well. But in it all God worked to save the Jewish people through one wrongly accused, both in the time of Joseph and in our time, through Jesus. The gospel is revealed through the life experiences of Joseph.
Thursday
But it didn’t stop with the patriarchs, for the prophets testified about the mediator to come as well. The passages are too numerous to count that point to Jesus. For instance, the Gospel of Matthew records seven instances in the first 4 chapters of prophecies related to Jesus. Peter recognized this truth as well. Read his words in Acts 10:43. Since all the prophets testify about Christ, we can see Christ in any passage. Read Jeremiah 23:5-6 for one example of Christ proclaimed in the prophets.
Friday
Even the sacrifices and ceremonies of the Law proclaim Christ. In Leviticus and Numbers we learn about the Passover lamb, the red heifer, the Day of Atonement and other such days. Each of these sacrifices and ceremonies points to the ministry and/or person of Christ. He is the lamb without spot or blemish. He is the one who atones for sin. He is the one who was never under the law, for he was the Law of God. Christ was taught in each of these. Jesus makes a startling statement about the writings of the Law. Most of us skip over these writings of Moses because they are dry, hard to understand or we just don’t see the relevance, but Jesus claims that they are about him. Read John 5:46. The Law points to Jesus. Consider reading through Leviticus 1-7 and asking the question: How is Jesus portrayed in each sacrifice?
Saturday
All week we have seen how Jesus was hinted at and portrayed in the life of the Israelites and how He was portrayed in the writings of Moses and the prophets. But Praise be to God, Our Lord went one step further, he just didn’t hint at the coming of the Christ, he didn’t leave us to read about it and hope for it. On the contrary, he fulfilled everything he promised, everything he foreshadowed, and everything he proclaimed. Jesus himself, Son of God and Son of Man, came to earth, lived, died, was buried and resurrected, and is now seated at the right hand of God the Father in glory, all so that we might live. Read Colossians 2:17, Galatians 4:4-5, Romans 10:4. Jesus has come; we need nothing more. Rejoice for God is with us.
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