It is a historical fact that most of the first Christians
were Jews. (Those who practiced the religion of Judea.) We often hear why most
early Jews rejected Christ as the first coming of the messiah. We don’t often
hear why those Jews that did accept Christ as the Messiah did so. Those early
Jewish Christians recognized the teachings of Christ and, later, His disciples
as extensions of things they understood well from the Hebrew scripture.
Scholars often point to the many scriptures that prophecy about Christ but
there are more, perhaps more subtle, things in the Hebrew scripture that point
to Christ.
1). Why did the early Jews see the baptism that John the
Baptist, and later the early Christians, practiced as a logical extension of
what they understood?
Baptism is symbolic of the children of Israel coming out of
Egypt through the
Red Sea. Egypt was well understood to be a type of sin and
coming through the Red Sea was symbolic of leaving sin behind…IE. Repentance.
2). Why did the early Jews see the tongues of fire over the
heads of the followers of Christ on the Day of Pentecost as a logical extension
of what they understood?
They understood the power of God to be manifested in the
pillar of fire / cloud of smoke their ancestors followed in leaving Egypt. The
pillar of fire they followed through the wilderness was a sign of Gods power
leading the nation of Israel. This time, on the day of Pentecost after Christ’s
death and resurrection, the power of God was leading individuals.
3). Why did the early Jews see Christ entering Jerusalem for
Passover on the back of an ass and throw palm branches down in front of him, as
a logical extension of what they understood?
Without knowing or understanding it they knew that God was
going to ‘tabernacle with men’. The Feast of Tabernacles was celebrated by
using palm branches to make temporary dwellings. They became symbolic of God
residing with men.
4). Why did the early Jews see Christ feeding the multitude
with five loaves and two fishes as a logical extension of what they understood?
They knew God could miraculously feed them like He did in
the Sinai with manna. This was a proof of who Christ was to many.
5). Why did the early Jews see the sacrificial and priestly
aspects of Christ in His gospel as a logical extension of what they understood?
They knew they needed a sacrifice to atone to God. They
understood that sin demanded a life, that’s is how grievous it is to God. A
sacrifice was the vehicle of their approach to God. They saw in
Christ the fulfillment of the five major kinds of sacrifices that were outlined
in Leviticus as well as a fulfilling of their Passover lamb.
They recognized they needed a High Priest. He was the
facilitator of their approach to God. They saw the resurrected Christ
as fulfilling that role at the right hand of God the Father.
These things, being fulfilled by Christ, made the old
sacrificial system with its temple, priesthood and animal sacrifices no longer
necessary.
6). Why did the early Jews recognize the gospel of Christ as
an extension of what they understood?
They recognized in the gospel of Christ what they were
taught by the tabernacle in the wilderness…the place of their
approach to God. It was the template for the design of the temple of David
built later. Here are just a few observations about the Tabernacle in the
wilderness:
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There was only one tabernacle, only one way to approach
the one God.
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Only priests were allowed to enter the tabernacle.
These were men sanctified, set apart for a special function, to serve God and
their fellow man.
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The tabernacle was laid out in only one way. It was
very specifically to be constructed to lay East-West. One entered facing West,
the opposite of what pagans did in worshipping the rising sun.
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The narrow way laid out by the tabernacle pointed
towards God. There is only one way to God the Father. It was not the way most
of humanity would assume.
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Once entered, the first thing one encountered was the
sacrificial altar. One had to accept the sacrifice before continuing. One who
had accepted this sacrifice was set apart from the rest of the people.
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While not all who accepted the sacrifice went on to
enter the Holy Place, all who accepted the sacrifice were set apart. An
‘innumerable multitude’ could reside there.
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The next thing one encountered was the brass laver
where one was ritually cleansed before entering the Holy Place. Like baptism it
was symbolic of repentance. One had to be cleansed by repentance before
entering the Holy Place.
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The tabernacle was ONE structure made up of TWO
separate enclosures. There was only one way to enter, through the Holy Place.
The Holy Place represented the Body of Christ…the other, the Holy of Holies,
represented the presence of God the father. There was no Trinity represented.
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To be inside the Holy Place was to be symbolically in
the Body of Christ.
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Once inside the Holy Place one saw the menorah on the
left. It was ONE candlestick with seven distinct channels of light within the
Body of Christ. Whether they represented seven eras of the church or seven
attitudes of Christians or something else is debatable. The fact is they were
seven separate lights coming from one source.
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On the right was the table of showbread. It symbolized
the Body of Christ that we are to partake of. Christ is the bread of life. We
must partake of the Body of Christ to be in the Body of Christ.
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Directly ahead, upon entering the Holy Place, was the
altar of incense that was to be filled with finely chopped incense and burned
so the smoke of it wafted up through the curtain into the Holy of Holies. This
symbolized the prayers of the righteous.
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Next, the curtain between the Holy Place and the Holy
of Holies was to be crossed only once a year so that the Holy of Holies was
entered only once a year and only by the High Priest. This was the forerunner
of the curtain in the temple of David that was torn in half, from the top down,
upon Christ’s death. Symbolic of the fact that anyone could now go directly to
God the Father through Christ.
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In the Holy of Holies was the Ark of the Covenant. It
contained the tables of stone the commandments were written on.
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From the Holy of Holies emanated the law of God. It was
a perfect cube…one of only two mentioned in the scriptures. The other is the
New Jerusalem. This was the ultimate destination for one entering the
tabernacle.
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The plan of God for mankind was symbolized in this
structure.
The children of Israel would have recognized the symbols and
the substance of Christ’s gospel as fulfilling what they had been taught all of
their lives. Without an understanding of the Hebrew scripture these things
would be lost on modern Christians.
God used symbols that we can understand to teach us lessons
about spiritual truths. Sometimes we don’t make the connections between things
that may seem mundane, like the details of the construction of the Tabernacle
in the Wilderness, and the truths they point to but everything in Gods word is
there for a reason whether we understand it or not.
Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that
needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. (2 Tim. 2:15)
