Topical Bible: The Death of Christ: Mode of Prefigured

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The death of Christ, central to Christian theology, is prefigured throughout the Old Testament in various types, symbols, and prophecies. These prefigurations serve to foreshadow the sacrificial nature and redemptive purpose of Christ's crucifixion, providing a divine narrative that unfolds across the Scriptures.

1. The Sacrificial System

The sacrificial system instituted in the Mosaic Law is a primary prefiguration of Christ's death. The offerings, particularly the sin and guilt offerings, symbolize the atonement for sin through the shedding of blood. Leviticus 17:11 states, "For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it to you on the altar to make atonement for your souls; for it is the blood that makes atonement by the life." This system points to the ultimate sacrifice of Christ, whose blood would atone for the sins of humanity once and for all.

2. The Passover Lamb

The Passover lamb is another significant prefiguration. During the first Passover, the Israelites were instructed to sacrifice a lamb without blemish and apply its blood to their doorposts, sparing them from the judgment of the firstborn (Exodus 12:5-13). This event prefigures Christ as the "Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world" (John 1:29). The Apostle Paul explicitly connects Christ to the Passover in 1 Corinthians 5:7, stating, "For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed."

3. The Bronze Serpent

In Numbers 21:8-9, God instructs Moses to make a bronze serpent and set it on a pole so that anyone bitten by a serpent could look at it and live. Jesus refers to this event in John 3:14-15, saying, "Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, that everyone who believes in Him may have eternal life." The lifting up of the serpent prefigures the crucifixion, where Christ is lifted up on the cross, offering salvation to all who believe.

4. The Suffering Servant

Isaiah 53 presents the Suffering Servant, a prophetic figure who bears the sins of many and is led like a lamb to the slaughter. Verses 4-5 state, "Surely He took on our infirmities and carried our sorrows; yet we considered Him stricken by God, struck down and afflicted. But He was pierced for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed." This passage vividly prefigures the suffering and sacrificial death of Christ, emphasizing His role as the atoning sacrifice.

5. Jonah and the Three Days

The experience of Jonah in the belly of the great fish for three days and nights prefigures Christ's death, burial, and resurrection. Jesus Himself makes this connection in Matthew 12:40 : "For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so the Son of Man will be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth." This typology highlights the death and subsequent resurrection of Christ as a fulfillment of Old Testament foreshadowing.

6. The Binding of Isaac

The binding of Isaac, or the Akedah, in Genesis 22, is a profound prefiguration of Christ's sacrificial death. Abraham's willingness to offer his son Isaac, and the provision of a ram as a substitute, foreshadows God the Father's offering of His only Son, Jesus Christ, as the ultimate sacrifice. Hebrews 11:17-19 reflects on this event, emphasizing Abraham's faith and the typological significance of Isaac's near-sacrifice.

These prefigurations collectively underscore the divine orchestration of salvation history, revealing the mode and purpose of Christ's death as a fulfillment of God's redemptive plan.

Torrey's Topical Textbook

Numbers 21:8
And the LORD said to Moses, Make you a fiery serpent, and set it on a pole: and it shall come to pass, that every one that is bitten, when he looks on it, shall live.
Torrey's Topical Textbook

John 3:14
And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up:
Torrey's Topical Textbook

Library

The Serpent Lifted up in the Wilderness Prefigured Christ ...
... When they did so they were immediately healed. [429] What means the uplifted serpent
but the death of Christ, by that mode of expressing a sign, whereby ...
/.../augustine/anti-pelagian writings/chapter 61 xxxii the serpent lifted.htm

Paul in Jerusalem.
... that it was the only acceptable mode of serving God ... that it was abrogated by the
death of Christ? ... no farther, and threatening the impious intruder with death. ...
/.../dick/lectures on the acts of the apostles/lecture xxv paul in jerusalem.htm

On the Baptism of Christ.
... by me, and keep my words as a law, is the mode of the ... words, "As many of us as were
baptized into Christ were baptized into His death [2157] ." Now if ...
/.../gregory/gregory of nyssa dogmatic treatises etc/on the baptism of christ.htm

Baptism.
... by the unfaithfulness of man, a savor of death unto death. ... with the spirit of the
gospel and Christ's treatment of ... the quality of the water or the mode of its ...
/.../schaff/history of the christian church volume i/section 54 baptism.htm

The Priesthood of Christ
... This mode is according to covenant, which, on God's part ... sin, and their own flesh,
yea, and "death itself, the ... Christ will bring, and God even the Father will ...
/.../arminius/the works of james arminius vol 1/oration iv the priesthood of.htm

Annunciation to Joseph of the Birth of Jesus.
... need to know] in a dream [A mode of communication ... problem of his marvelous life and
death], and shall ... The blessing of the church militant is Christ, God with us ...
/.../mcgarvey/the four-fold gospel/ix annunciation to joseph of.htm

Articuli visitatorii.
... baptism are buried with him in his death, and have ... Person Christi, De Persona Christi,
On the Person of Christ: ... man, and man God, is a figurative mode of speech ...
/.../the creeds of the evangelical protestant churches/articuli visitatorii.htm

Inseparable Connection Between the Old and the New Testament.
... "Since by man came death, by man ... The mode of communication which God employed on
Sinai the people ... of God adumbrate the higher headship of Christ, but David had ...
/.../barrows/companion to the bible/chapter viii inseparable connection between.htm

Dialogue iii. --The Impassible.
... are speaking of the body, and such a mode of speech ... by the divine Apostle when speaking
of the death of the ... that which I also received how that Christ died for ...
/.../the ecclesiastical history of theodoret/dialogue iii the impassible.htm

Aaron, his Office no Palliation of his Sin, 61.
... Abel, unharmed by death, [2]273 ... Bishops, unsatisfactory mode of electing, [44]50,
[45]53, [46 ... offence and a blessing, [94]189; of Christ, prefigured and predicted ...
/.../chrysostom/on the priesthood/aaron his office no palliation.htm