(By Carole Schryber) No child likes to go to the doctor’s office, but I do have one fond memory of the waiting room—the Highlights magazine! I would immediately turn to the Hidden Pictures page. How many items could I find? In a similar way the Old Testament has “hidden” pictures of Jesus. He doesn’t just show up for the first time in a manger in Bethlehem. He is in the Bible from the beginning! How many pictures of Him can we find? Here are five:
At creation: When we consider the account of creation, we tend to think of only God the Father. Yet when God is about to create man, He declares, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness” (Gen.1:26a). Who is included in “our”? John, the Gospel writer, gives us the answer: “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 created through Him, and without Him nothing was created that was created” (John 1:1-3). We know that “The Word” is Jesus, who “became flesh and dwelt among us”(John 1:14b)
With Abraham: In Genesis 14, Abraham had just succeeded in battle when he was greeted by Melchizedek, the king of Salem, who had a few interesting characteristics. First of all, he was both a priest of the God Most High and a king—unheard of anywhere else in the Old Testament. His name means “king of righteousness.” He was from Salem, which means “peace.” In other words, he was a king of righteousness and peace. He brought to Abraham bread and wine, and he blessed Abraham. Abraham felt compelled to give him a tithe. Does this remind you of anyone else? Jesus is both King and Priest. Jesus is the King of righteousness and the Prince of Peace. Jesus broke bread and wine with His disciples to remind them of His body and blood which would be sacrificed for them. Jesus gives blessings to those who believe, and is alone worthy of our worship and our tithes. While scholars have debated whether Melchizedek was the pre-incarnate Christ, at the very least, we can agree that He was a “type,” or picture, of Christ. READ MORE
