Is Jesus in the Old Testament?

Ever taken in a movie, show, or book where the ending reveals how a newly introduced character has been stealthily present since the story’s beginning? Is it possible that such a classic artistic trope in entertainment originated with multiple cameo appearances of Jesus in the Old Testament 500+ years before his birth?

Is Jesus in the Old Testament?

There are certainly some possibilities to explore of seeing Jesus in the Old Testament—which, for the record, don’t make or break my faith, and if you disagree with my theories, that’s okay. If anything, the potential reality of these cameos, I believe, displays even further God’s longing to know his creation on an intimate level.

Hop in the DeLorean. Let’s do some time-traveling.

Jesus Comforting Hagar?

Throughout the Bible, we see angels deliver messages, sing praises to God in heaven, serve in God’s army, and so on. But there’s something very different about the one we meet in Genesis 16, called “The Angel of the Lord.”

In the story, a couple named Abram and Sarai are waiting for the promised conception of a child. Through a lack of patience and trust by both Abram and his wife, they decide to take matters into their own hands and have Abram sleep with Sarai’s servant, Hagar, to ensure they have a kid. (I know—this is pretty messed up and definitely not what God wanted them to do).

Shocker: Sarai doesn’t like that her servant, Hagar, is pregnant by her husband, so she starts to mistreat her. Pregnant Hagar runs away from this abuse and is sitting in the desert, distraught and most likely going to die. Here’s where the “Angel of the Lord” shows up. The angel asks Hagar what she’s doing out there (he already knows). Hagar tells the angel, and he responds:

“Go back to your mistress and submit to her authority…I will greatly multiply your offspring, and they will be too many to count.” (Genesis 16:10)

Angels say all kinds of things—but it’s always what God wants them to say. They never claim to be the ones in control or with the power. But this Angel says, “I will greatly multiply,” which is…interesting. Throughout scripture, only God can make such a claim (everything the angel said came true, for the record). Just as interesting is how Hagar responds to this Angel:

“So she named the Lord who spoke to her: ‘You are El-roi…” “For in this place I have actually seen the one who sees me.” (Genesis 16:13)

El-roi translates as “The God who sees me.” Hagar believes she’s not just speaking to an angel but to God. She also says she sees him, which is just as interesting. We’re told in scripture that NO ONE can look upon the Lord and live. God shared this truth with the prophet Moses:

But,” he said, “you cannot see my face, for man shall not see me and live.” (Exodus 33:20)

God is too awesome for our minds and bodies to comprehend. To stare upon Him in his fullness and glory is to die. But Hagar seemed totally fine, even though she was talking to and seeing a being who claimed God’s authority. In the same manner, Jesus also claimed God’s authority and was someone who could be looked at and seen by humans without them perishing.

We’re keeping an eye on you, Jesus! (Pun intended).

Jesus In the Burning Bush?

Several hundred years later, Moses is living in the desert of Midian and has his own encounter with an “Angel of the Lord”:

Now Moses was keeping the flock of his father-in-law, Jethro, the priest of Midian, and he led his flock to the west side of the wilderness and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. And the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush. (Exodus 3:1-2)

The scripture says the “Angel of the Lord” was inside the flame, talking to Moses and telling him his plan to send Moses to free his people from Egypt. Remember, no one can look upon the Lord and live, yet Moses and Hagar did.

Jesus, we’re onto you!

Jesus Commands Joshua?

Years after Moses’ death, his protege, Joshua, leads the Israelites. They have moved into the land God promised them and are battling those who occupy it:

When Joshua was by Jericho, he lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, a man was standing before him with his drawn sword in his hand. And Joshua went to him and said to him, “Are you for us, or for our adversaries?” And he said, “No; but I am the commander of the army of the Lord. Now I have come.” And Joshua fell on his face to the earth and worshiped and said to him, “What does my lord say to his servant?” And the commander of the Lord’s army said to Joshua, “Take off your sandals from your feet, for the place where you are standing is holy.” And Joshua did so. (Joshua 5:13-15)

Here, we see a man called the “Commander of the army of the Lord,” which aligns with how Jesus is described in Revelation 19. And just as with Hagar and Moses, Joshua could look upon this person. No big deal if he’s “just” an angel, but there is a tell-tale sign that this commander is more than that:

One common reaction when someone sees an angel in the Bible is to immediately fall facedown on the ground in worship. But in all cases of that happening with an angel in the Bible, they quickly say things like, “Get up!” or “Don’t do that!” Why? Because they recognize authority and hierarchy. They know God is the only being worthy of this kind of awe.

But in this story, when Joshua falls on his face, the Commander doesn’t say anything of that sort. Instead, he says, “Take off your sandals from your feet, for the place where you are standing is holy.” He doesn’t correct Joshua for submitting in worship; he doubles down on it. This is the same thing the Angel of the Lord said to Moses as he approached the burning bush where the Angel stood.

Coincidence? I think not! (Please read that in the Principal’s voice from The Incredibles).

Jesus in the Fiery Furnace?

At several points in Israel’s history, they find themselves in exile under a foreign power, which is the case with this story. The main characters are three Jewish men named Meshach, Shadrach, and Abendigo (the original boy band). For brevity, we’ll call them MSA.

MSA were in exile but lived large with government roles in this foreign nation. However, the King of this nation was a little self-enamored. He decided to make a law that whenever you heard trumpets blaring, you were to drop to your knees and worship this big ‘ol statue he had erected of himself.

MSA worshiped the one true God, so they refused to do this. The King got really bent out of shape over it, so after talking to MSA to convince them to do the deed (and them refusing again), he decided to use them as an example. He had a furnace heated seven times hotter than it was usually heated, and he ordered them bound and thrown into it alive.

But let’s see what happens once they are thrown in…

And these three men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, fell bound into the burning fiery furnace. Then King Nebuchadnezzar was astonished and rose up in haste. He declared to his counselors, “Did we not cast three men bound into the fire?” They answered and said to the king, “True, O king.” He answered and said, “But I see four men unbound, walking in the midst of the fire, and they are not hurt; and the appearance of the fourth is like a son of the gods.” (Daniel 3: 23-25)

This moved the king so much that he called MSA to come out of the furnace. They did so and were completely unharmed. Not one stitch of clothing was burned. But there seemed to be a fourth guy in there with MSA, who disappeared as they walked out. Odd, to say the least.

Once the king realized what had happened, he restored MSA and increased their presence in public offices. He also ruled that everyone worshiped the God of MSA. Smart move.

About this mysterious fourth man…who was he? Many believe the fourth man was Jesus because the king described him as “…like a son of the gods.” (Jesus is declared this name before his birth in Luke 1:35). This king didn’t have the wisdom of scripture to know who it could be. But we know, years later, that Jesus is the rescuer who walked through death for us.

This man, potentially Jesus, did the same for MSA in the furnace.

Jesus Was…Melchizedek?!

Not only did Melchizedek have the coolest of names, but he very well could be another pre-incarnate Christ sighting. Remember good ol’ Abram from earlier? God had changed his name to Abraham after some time, and in this story, the newly named Abe was just returning from battle. Out of the city of Salem comes Melchizedek, whose name means “King of righteousness.” He was Salem’s king, later known as Jerusalem, which means “City of Peace.” Genesis 14 picks up the story here:

After his return from the defeat of Chedorlaomer and the kings who were with him, the king of Sodom went out to meet him (Abraham) at the Valley of Shaveh (that is, the King’s Valley). And Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine. (He was priest of God Most High.) And he blessed him and said, “Blessed be Abram by God Most High, Possessor of heaven and earth; and blessed be God Most High, who has delivered your enemies into your hand!” And Abram gave him a tenth of everything. (Genesis 14: 17-20)

So…the king of righteousness comes out of the city of peace to pay ol’ Abe a visit—even I can pick up on this one. Abraham also offered Mel a tithe of everything he captured in battle. That’s 10% of what he had. This is something followers of Jesus still do today. But in Abraham’s act, he’s signaling the spiritual authority that he recognizes in Mel.

In the New Testament in the Book of Hebrews, the writer briefly mentions Mel again. He says that Jesus “…having become a high priest forever after the order of Melchizedek.” (Hebrews 6:20). An order would mean a succession of priests. However, there are no priests in this order other than Mel and Jesus.

Lastly, Hebrews 7:3 says this about Mel:

“He is without father or mother or genealogy, having neither beginning of days nor end of life, but resembling the Son of God he continues a priest forever.”

This description is “other” than the normal human experience. Many believe Mel was Jesus, visiting and blessing Abraham.

The Man Out of Time

Did Jesus really jump around timelines before Marvel made it cool? How could any of this be possible? Because the baby who was born in a manger, revealed as the God of the Universe, and died and rose again for you and me—was actually in the Bible, interacting with us from the very beginning:

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. (John 1:1-3)

In the book of John, we see how Jesus, nicknamed “the Word,” is God and was “in the beginning.” Additional scripture affirms that Jesus is before all things (Colossians 1:17), lives outside of time (2 Peter 3:8), and is the image we were made out of (Genesis 1:26).

Jesus in the Old Testament—and Beyond

Jesus didn’t bide his time in heaven until he was to be born. He revealed himself to us through the ages and will continue to do so until he returns in full glory and sets everything right.

Why is this so important? It means Jesus, and therefore his love for us, is eternal. Not only before you and I were born, but also before our great-great-great-great (add 85 more greats) grandparents were born, Jesus loved us and fought for us (and still is).

Whether any of these people referenced actually was Jesus in the Old Testament, whether he ever touched the soil or waters of earth before his literal birth in Bethlehem—he has always been and always will be.

He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross. (Colossians 1:15-20)

Disclaimer: This article is 100% human-generated.

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