SHADOWS OF THE CROSS:
If the New Testament is to be trusted (and there is much solid evidence which demands that it can), then two important truths present themselves for our acknowledgement. The first is that Jesus Christ died for our sins, and was later resurrected to life by the power of God's Spirit. The second is that these monumental events, which lay at the centre of the Christian faith, were foretold in the Old Testament, in forms of predictive prophecy, as well as in shadow and type. Jesus said,
"You search the Scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life; and these are they which testify of Me." John 5:39
"For if you believed Moses, you would believe Me, for he wrote about Me." John 5:46
"These are the words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all things must be fulfilled which were written in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms concerning Me." Luke 24:44
"Shadows of the cross" are seen throughout the entire Old Testament. Outlined below are some of the more striking examples:
1) The Garden of Eden - Genesis 2:10 states that "…a river went out of Eden to water the garden, and from there it parted and became four riverheads."
The Hebrew term "head" is "ros" (Strong's 7218), which can also be translated "source of origin: first, beginning." Some have concluded therefore that the Garden of Eden, the Old Testament paradise, was the site where four rivers (Tigris, Euphrates, Pishon, Gihon) all had their beginnings. This understanding of the passage has lead to the conceptualization of paradise as a garden with four rivers flowing from it, dividing the land into quarters. These rivers would therefore take the form of a cross if viewed from the air.
2) The Son Receives a Bride - Genesis 2:21- 24 speaks of how Adam, the son of God (Luke 3:38) was put into a deep sleep and had his side opened from which God pulled a rib and fashioned his bride. Jesus the second Adam (1 Corinthians 15:47-49) was put into a "deep sleep" (death) at His crucifixion. Notice also that His side was opened (John 19:34) that He too might receive a bride (Revelation 19:7, 21:9).
3) The Slain Animal - (Genesis 3:21) After our first parents sinned, a great principle was soon established. There in the garden, an animal was slain by God and its skin was given to cover them. Adam understood that the wages of sin was death (Genesis 2:17), and by rights, he should have dropped dead the moment they ate the forbidden fruit. He also must have recognized the fact that the animal slain by God (most likely a lamb) was innocent; it didn't do anything wrong. It, like Jesus, was also without blemish (as was the rest of God's perfect creation - Genesis 1:31). It was here in the Garden that Adam not only recognized God righteous judgement on sin, which must be exacted, but also His great love and mercy for mankind.
4) The Shepherd Slain - Genesis 4:1-10 describes how Abel the good shepherd was slain by his brother, and how his blood made testimony unto God. Jesus is the good shepherd (John 10:11) slain by His brethren (John 1:10-11, Matthew 27:22-25), whose blood testified unto God (Romans 3:24-25).
5) The Ark of Noah (Genesis 6-9) The Ark is a type of the crucified Christ in that it provided the only way of salvation (Genesis 6:17-19, John 14:6), and it was lifted up in God's judgment (Genesis 7:17, John 12:32). Notice that the Ark had to experience water from above and beneath (Genesis 7:11), while the crucified Christ experienced judgment from above and beneath, (from both God and men). Also notice that after the judgment had passed, both ascended on high (Genesis 8:4, Luke 24:51).
6) Abraham and Isaac (Genesis 22:13) One of the most powerful shadows of the cross, these passages depict how God instructed Abraham to sacrifice his only son. By faith Abraham began to carry out God's instructions, and by faith, Isaac became a willing sacrifice. In the end, however, God prevented Abraham from killing his son, providing a ram caught in a thicket instead. The parallels are as follows: 1) Isaac was the son of promise (Genesis 15:4) as was Jesus (Isaiah 9:6), 2) Who became a willing sacrifice (John 10:11, 18). 3) Both carried their own wood (Genesis 22:6, John 19:17) to their place of execution, 4) Both Jesus and Isaac were under the sentence of death for three days (Jesus was literally dead three days, Isaac was a dead man in a figurative sense - see Hebrews 11:19). 5) Both were resurrected and returned to their Fathers (again Hebrews 11:19 referring to Isaac's resurrection from the dead in a figurative sense. All four Gospels, the book of Acts and 1 Corinthians 15 describe the literal resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead and His literal, bodily return to His Father.
7) The Ram (Genesis 22:13) - The ram provided by God for the sacrifice instead of Isaac is a type of Christ. Note that both sacrifices provided by God had their heads "crowned" with thorns (Matthew 27:29). Also note that thorns are among the judgments for sin as issued by God Himself way back in the Garden of Eden (Genesis 3:18).
8) Joseph's Ordeals - (Genesis 37-50). Joseph portrays the coming redeemer and the cross in numerous ways: 1) Both were sons loved by their Fathers (Genesis 37:3, John 5:20), 2) hurt by their brethren (Genesis 37:18-20, all four Gospels speak of the brutality that Christ endured at the hands of men - His brethren - see Hebrews 2:11-14), 3) placed in the earth (Genesis 37:24, Matthew 12:40), 4) had their robes dipped in blood, (Genesis 37:31, Revelation 19:13), 5) sold for silver (Genesis 37:28, Matthew 26:14-15). 6) While being punished unjustly, both conversed with two other men also under the same sentence (Genesis 40:2-3, Matthew 27:38), 7) and in both cases, one man was saved and the other lost (Genesis 40:21-22, Luke 23:39-43). 8) Both Joseph and Jesus were reunited with their Fathers (Genesis 46:29, John 20:17), 9) both became saviours according to God's will (Genesis 50:20, John 3:16), 10) and both received power and authority (Genesis 41:41-43, Matthew 28:18), 11) and at their name every knee was / will be commanded to bow (Genesis 41:43, Philippians 2:10).
9) Jacob's Blessing to Ephraim (Genesis 48:13-20) These passages describe how Joseph brought his two sons to Jacob his father to be blessed. It was the custom for the eldest son to receive the "right hand" blessing, and so Joseph presented Manasseh his firstborn to Jacob's right side, and Ephraim the younger, to Jacob's left side. Jacob, however, placed his right hand on Ephraim's head, and his left hand on Manasseh's. His arms formed the cross. This cross, like the cross of Christ, 1) Broke tradition and expectation (Many Jews refuse to believe that God's Messiah would allow Himself to be crucified) 2) was resisted and thought foolish or improper (see vv. 17-18, 1 Corinthians 1:18, 23). 3) Both crosses were the means by which He that had the power to bless showed grace.
10) The Bronze Serpent (Numbers 21:6-9) In judgement for their disbelief, God sent poisonous serpents to afflict the Israelites. In His mercy, God also provided the way of salvation for anyone bitten. Moses was commanded to fashion on erect a bronze serpent on a pole. All who were afflicted were instructed to look at the serpent and they would be healed. Jesus likened Himself to the bronze serpent (John 3:14). Like the Children of Israel, we've all been bitten by a poisonous serpent; that old serpent the devil. We are all under the sentence of death. But like the Israelites in the wilderness, we have a means of salvation. By looking to the Son of God, lifted up on the cross (treated by God and man as though he were the serpent), Christ assures us of our deliverance from death - mankind's most feared enemy.
11) Sampson's Sacrificial Death (Judges 16:28-30) Sampson's death parallels Christ's in that, 1) Both died on their own terms (John 10:18), 2) with their arms outstretched, 3) crushing the enemy (Genesis 3:15).
12) Isaiah 53 - Written more than 700 years before Christ, Isaiah 53 contains some of the most vivid descriptions and predictions of the sufferings of Jesus Christ. Every verse is rich in meaning, and finds striking parallels with the sufferings of Jesus as depicted in the New Testament. Verses 1-2 allude to His virgin birth, verse 3 speaks of His rejection, verses 4-6 describe the substitutionary nature of His death, verses 7-8 describe Christ's interrogation after his arrest, verses 8-9 speak of His death and alludes to the fact that He was buried in a rich man's tomb ("And they made His grave with the wicked - but with the rich at His death…"), and verse 10 alludes to His later resurrection ("He shall see His seed, He shall prolong His days, And the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in His hand"). Verse 12 describes the fact that Christ died with sinners ("numbered with the transgressors") and that He would intercede for sinners (which Jesus did at His crucifixion, see Luke 23:34)
13) Psalm 22 - A Psalm of David written more than 900 years before Christ, Psalm 22 (The Crucifixion Psalm) vividly depicts the horrors of crucifixion long before this form of execution was used in Israel. Much of what David describes in the Psalm finds no correspondence to the events of his life, and is therefore rightly interpreted as a predictive prophecy concerning the sufferings of our Lord. It is from this Psalm that Jesus quotes during His execution (Mark 15:34). Verse 7 speaks of the mocking He endured (Matthew 27:39), verse 14 describes how Christ's bones would have been pulled out of joint during this excruciating form of execution and may allude to the fact that (as some medical experts have attested) Christ's heart actually burst from the trauma. Verse 15 speaks of the unbearable thirst endured by our Lord upon the cross (John 19:28), verse 16 speaks of His enemies surrounding Him. The term "dogs" here may refer to the Gentiles, for contrary to anti-Semitic notion, it was not the Jews but the Gentiles who executed Jesus. Crucifixion was a Roman - not a Jewish - form of execution. (Also see Matthew 15:21-28 in reference to Gentiles as "dogs", and Luke 18:32 where Christ identifies them as His killers). Verse 16 actually refers to His pierced hands and feet, verse 18 speaks of His executioners gambling for His garments (Matthew 27:35). Beginning in verse onward to the end of the Psalm, the mood changes to one of joy and hope, and is doubtless alluding to Christ's ultimate victory over death, hell and the grave by His glorious resurrection.
14) The Mark (taw) of Ezekiel (Ezekiel 9:4-7) Ezekiel prophesied about a future judgement in which everyone not "marked" would be destroyed. The NIV student Bible includes a note that this term "mark" is the Hebrew letter "taw". In the oldest Hebrew script, the "taw" was written as an "X" - a cross, as many Christians have noted. The Jerusalem Bible actually replaces the term "mark" with "cross" in its interpretation of the passage.
There are many more shadows of the cross that may be cited. These 14 examples however, serve to illustrate the fact that the central message of the inspired Scriptures is God's redemptive plan for mankind via the cross of Christ, the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world (Revelation 13:8).
By John Feakes.