This post is written by Matt Rogers as a companion for Unit 19, Session 6 of The Gospel Project for Adults, Volume 7: From Heaven to Earth (Spring 2023).
We all tend to think in pictures. The rise of modern infographics makes this point clearly. If you want to understand investing or space travel, all you need to do is check out a handy little graphic to make sense of the complexity. Images help simplify truth, particularly with concepts that are difficult to put into words.
God is kind to fill the Bible with such images. In one sense, it is right to think about the whole of the Old Testament as a collection of images. Many of these images are introduced in books such as Exodus and Leviticus in the Old Testament, where we see images like the tabernacle, the priesthood, and the sacrificial system. Though the authors are using words to capture these images, the pictures jump off the pages of these books.
Later biblical authors pick up on these images and apply them to Jesus. For example, the entirety of the book of Hebrews can be understood as the author taking one Old Testament image and explaining Jesus’s work in light of that image. Throughout the book, the author consistently uses the term “better” to describe Jesus’s person and work. In other words, each Old Testament picture is helpful but insufficient to example the totality of what Jesus did through His life, death, and resurrection. That’s one reason we need multiple images. One image will not do justice to the complexity of what Jesus did on the cross and through the empty tomb. There are times when the concept of the priesthood is helpful; at other times, the concept of the temple helps us understand what Jesus did. Still other times the concept of sacrifice provides insight into Jesus’s work.
These images function to make a composite sketch of the whole. You might compare it to attendees at a baseball game who each take a picture of the final strikeout in a no hitter. Each picture shows one aspect of the whole story. None of them capture every detail. But when you put the images together, you are better able to see the whole and get a sense of the significance of that moment. Or consider a group of hikers who capture various aspects of the Grand Canyon at sunrise. None of the pictures get everything, but they all get something important. When we put the images of Jesus in the Bible together, we gain clarity into the work He came to do. This is one reason why the Old Testament is so valuable. It is not a book that is outdated and irrelevant because of Jesus’s work. Rather, it gives us images that help us understand Jesus’s work. When we read the Old Testament, we are better able to see the total scope of Jesus’s redemptive work and have a deepened appreciation for all that He accomplished. Praise God that He wants to be known so much that He is willing to speak to us in pictures so that our minds can comprehend truth. As we see these images, let’s pray that God enlarges our hearts and minds to understand what Jesus has done and worship Him as He deserves.
Matt Rogers is the pastor of Christ Fellowship Cherrydale in Greenville, South Carolina. He and his wife, Sarah, have five children: Corrie, Avery, Hudson, Willa, and Fuller. Matt is also an assistant professor of church planting at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary, the Director of Church Health with the Pillar Network, and a freelance author.
