320
Patriarchs and Prophets
In His teachings while personally among men Jesus directed the
minds of the people to the Old Testament. He said to the Jews, “Ye
search the Scriptures, because ye think that in them ye have eternal
life; and these are they which bear witness of Me.”
John 5:39
, R.V.
At this time the books of the Old Testament were the only part of the
Bible in existence. Again the Son of God declared, “They have Moses
and the prophets; let them hear them.” And He added, “If they hear
not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though
one rose from the dead.”
Luke 16:29, 31
.
The ceremonial law was given by Christ. Even after it was no
longer to be observed, Paul presented it before the Jews in its true
position and value, showing its place in the plan of redemption and
its relation to the work of Christ; and the great apostle pronounces
this law glorious, worthy of its divine Originator. The solemn service
of the sanctuary typified the grand truths that were to be revealed
through successive generations. The cloud of incense ascending with
the prayers of Israel represents His righteousness that alone can make
the sinner’s prayer acceptable to God; the bleeding victim on the altar
of sacrifice testified of a Redeemer to come; and from the holy of holies
the visible token of the divine Presence shone forth. Thus through age
after age of darkness and apostasy faith was kept alive in the hearts of
men until the time came for the advent of the promised Messiah.
Jesus was the light of His people—the Light of the world—before
He came to earth in the form of humanity. The first gleam of light that
pierced the gloom in which sin had wrapped the world, came from
Christ. And from Him has come every ray of heaven’s brightness that
has fallen upon the inhabitants of the earth. In the plan of redemption
Christ is the Alpha and the Omega—the First and the Last.
Since the Saviour shed His blood for the remission of sins, and
ascended to heaven “to appear in the presence of God for us” (
Hebrews
[368]
9:24
), light has been streaming from the cross of Calvary and from the
holy places of the sanctuary above. But the clearer light granted us
should not cause us to despise that which in earlier times was received
through the types pointing to the coming Saviour. The gospel of Christ
sheds light upon the Jewish economy and gives significance to the
ceremonial law. As new truths are revealed, and that which has been
known from the beginning is brought into clearer light, the character
and purposes of God are made manifest in His dealings with His