Monday, July 6, 2009
Colossians 2:17 These are a shadow of the things that were to come; the reality, however, is found in Christ.
WE WOULD SEE JESUS
The use of illustration has long been an important part of God's way of communication with us human beings. The Lord who made us knows we remember better and longer what we not only hear but see as well.
So it is that the Old Testament is full of pictures of the Savior. They appear in Israel's history, in the words and actions of the prophets, in the lives of people like David and in the God-given worship patterns of His Old Testament people.
Consider the Passover Lamb, the Scapegoat, the Brass Serpent, the Good Shepherd or Jonah and the Great Fish. A number of these Old Testament pictures of Jesus involve narratives striking and memorable--dramatic interventions by the LORD in the lives of His ancient people. And yet, the intervention previewed is even greater and more memorable.
And isn't this one of the reasons the Spirit spoke of the Savior's person and work in pictures? The picture is never the real thing. When some wanted to make the Old Testament worship-pictures necessary to salvation the Holy Spirit led the Apostle Paul to write to the Colossians: "These are a shadow of the things that were to come; the reality, however, is found in Christ."
When light is behind an approaching individual their shadow precedes them. But a shadow is an outline, a kind of picture. The person is the reality. When we look at the Old Testament pictures of Jesus the Savior to come, as fascinating and instructive as they may be in themselves, if we do not move past them to Jesus we are not getting the message the Spirit would lay on our hearts.
The work of the Spirit is not just to tell hard-to-forget stories but to lead us to lean our hearts on Jesus Christ our Savior, to receive from Him forgiveness of sin, life and salvation.
