Tag Archives: Christ in the Old Testament

February 22, 2021 · 12:00 pm

“A sign and a token of His vast grace and goodness” by John Calvin

“‘And He stretched forth His hand, and touched him.’ (Matt. 8:3)

In the Law, the touch of the leper was contagious, but as there is such purity in Christ He absorbs all uncleanness and pollution, He does not contaminate Himself by touching the leper, nor does He transgress the Law.

For in assuming our flesh, He has granted us more than the touch of His hand. He has brought Himself into one and the same body with us in order that we should be the flesh of His flesh.

He does not only stretch out His arm to us, but He comes down from heaven, even to the very depths. Yet He catches no stain thereby, but stays whole, clears all our dirt away, and pours upon us His own holiness.

Now, while He could heal the leper by His word alone, He adds the contact of His hand to show His feeling of compassion: no wonder, since He willed to put on our flesh in order that He might cleanse us from all our sins.

So the reaching out of His hand was a sign and a token of His vast grace and goodness.

Here is a thing which we pass over without much impression at an idle reading, but must certainly ponder, with much awe, when we take it properly—that the Son of God, so far from abhorring contact with the leper, actually stretched out His hand to touch his uncleanness.”

–John Calvin, A Harmony of the Gospels: Matthew, Mark and Luke, Vol. 1; trans. A.W. Morrison, Ed. David Torrance and Thomas Torrance (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1972/1994), 1: 244. Calvin is commenting on Matt. 8:3; Mark 1:41; and Luke 5:13.

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Filed under Bible, Biblical Theology, Christian Theology, Gentleness, Glory of Christ, Gospel according to Luke, grace, Holiness, Jesus Christ, John Calvin, Leviticus, Puritanical, Quotable Quotes, Reading, The Gospel

Tagged as Biblical Theology, Christ in the Old Testament, Cleansing, Glory and Grace, Jesus Christ, John Calvin, Leper, Leprosy, Leviticus 13-14, Luke 5:12-16, Messiah, Reading, Redeeming the Unclean, The Holiness of Christ

December 27, 2018 · 1:00 pm

“Christ, the Sun of Righteousness” by John Calvin

“The Lord held to this orderly plan in administering the covenant of His mercy: as the day of full revelation approached with the passing of time, the more He increased each day the brightness of its manifestation.

Accordingly, at the beginning when the first promise of salvation was given to Adam (Gen. 3:15) it glowed like a feeble spark.

Then, as it was added to, the light grew in fullness, breaking forth increasingly and shedding its radiance more widely. At last– when all the clouds were dispersed– Christ, the Sun of Righteousness, fully illumined the whole earth.”

–John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion (ed. John T. McNeill; trans. Ford Lewis Battles; vol. 1; The Library of Christian Classics; Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 2011), 1: 446. (2.10.20)

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Filed under Advent, Bible, Biblical Theology, Christian Theology, Covenant, Glory of Christ, Jesus Christ, John Calvin, Puritanical, Quotable Quotes, The Gospel

Tagged as Advent, Biblical Theology, Christ in the Old Testament, Incarnation, Institutes of the Christian Religion, Jesus Christ, John Calvin

December 7, 2017 · 12:00 pm

“How can we be wise apart from the Wisdom of God?” by John Calvin

“We are taught in this passage that the knowledge of Christ must be sought from the Scriptures. Those who imagine what they like about Christ will ultimately have nothing but a shadowy ghost in His place.

First then, we must hold that Christ cannot be properly known from anywhere but the Scriptures. And if that is so, it follows that the Scriptures should be read with the aim of finding Christ in them.

Whoever turns aside from this object, even though he wears himself out all his life in learning, will never reach the knowledge of the truth. For how can we be wise apart from the Wisdom of God?

Moreover, as we are commanded to seek Christ in the Scriptures, so He declares in this passage that our work will not be fruitless, for there the Father bears witness to His Son in such a way that He will manifest Him to us beyond all fought.

But what hinders most men is that they look at them only carelessly and as it were in passing. But it needed the utmost application, and so Christ commanded them to search diligently for this hidden treasure.

Accordingly, the abhorrence for Christ which the Jews feel, who have the Law constantly in their hands, must be imputed to their laziness. For the brightness of God’s glory shines clearly in Moses, but they want to have a veil to obscure that brightness.

‘By the Scriptures,’ of course, is here meant the Old Testament. For Christ did not first begin to be manifested in the Gospel; but the One to whom the Law and the Prophets bore witness was openly revealed in the Gospel.”

–John Calvin, The Gospel According to St John: 1-10, Calvin’s New Testament Commentaries, Vol. 4; trans. T.H.L. Parker, Ed. David Torrance and Thomas Torrance (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1961), 139. Calvin is commenting on John 5:39.

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Tagged as Biblical Theology, Christ in the Old Testament, Gospel of John, Hebrew Bible, Jesus Christ, John 5:39, John Calvin, Messiah, Reading

September 5, 2012 · 10:00 am

“Christ is the sum and substance of the Old Testament” by J. C. Ryle

“Christ is the sum and substance of the Old Testament. To Him the earliest promises pointed in the days of Adam, and Enoch, and Noah, and Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob. To Him every sacrifice pointed in the ceremonial worship appointed at Mount Sinai. Of Him every high priest was a type, and every part of the tabernacle was a shadow, and every judge and deliverer of Israel was a figure.

He was the prophet like unto Moses, whom the Lord God promised to send, and the King of the house of David, who came to be David’s Lord as well as son. He was the Son of the virgin, and the Lamb, foretold by Isaiah,—the righteous Branch mentioned by Jeremiah,—the true Shepherd, foreseen by Ezekiel,—the Messenger of the Covenant, promised by Malachi,—and the Messiah, who, according to Daniel, was to be cut off, though not for Himself.

The further we read in the volume of the Old Testament, the clearer do we find the testimony about Christ. The light which the inspired writers enjoyed in ancient days was, at best, but dim, compared to that of the Gospel. But the coming Person they all saw afar off, and on whom they all fixed their eyes, was one and the same. The Spirit, which was in them, testified of Christ. (1 Pet. 1:11.)

Do we stumble at this saying? Do we find it hard to see Christ in the Old Testament, because we do not see His name? Let us be sure that the fault is all our own. It is our spiritual vision which is to blame, and not the Book. The eyes of our understanding need to be enlightened. The veil has yet to be taken away.

Let us pray for a more humble, childlike, and teachable spirit, and let us take up ‘Moses and the prophets’ again. Christ is there, though our eyes may not yet have seen Him. May we never rest till we can subscribe to our Lord’s words about the Old Testament Scriptures, ‘They are they which testify of me.’ (John 5:39)”

–J. C. Ryle, Expository Thoughts on John, Vol. 1 (Carlisle, PA: Banner of Truth, 1869/2012), 55-56. Ryle is commenting on John 1:43-51.