Jesus Is the New...

Foreshadowing in the OT may go much farther than we think

Last night, I went to a neighbor’s house for a home Bible study, and we talked about next Sunday’s Gospel reading, the Transfiguration. It’s the glorious event where Jesus takes three of his disciples up to Mount Tabor and before their eyes reveals his divinity.

Now about eight days after these sayings, he took with him Peter and John and James, and went up on the mountain to pray. And as he was praying, the appearance of his countenance was altered, and his clothing became dazzling white. And behold, two men talked with him, Moses and Elijah, who appeared in glory and spoke of his exodus, which he was to accomplish at Jerusalem. Now Peter and those who were with him were heavy with sleep but kept awake, and they saw his glory and the two men who stood with him. And as the men were parting from him, Peter said to Jesus, “Master, it is well that we are here; let us make three booths, one for you and one for Moses and one for Elijah”—not knowing what he said. As he said this, a cloud came and overshadowed them; and they were afraid as they entered the cloud. And a voice came out of the cloud, saying, “This is my Son, my Chosen; listen to him!” And when the voice had spoken, Jesus was found alone. And they kept silence and told no one in those days anything of what they had seen.

(Luke 9:28-36)

There’s so much to unpack here. First of all, what always strikes me about this passage is that it contains—of all the stupid comments Peter made—probably the stupidest of all. Seeing two dead, glowing prophets converse with a transformed, glowing Jesus, he suggests to build “booths,” or tents, for all three… so they have a place to sleep?

“WTH, Dude,” is the first thing that comes to mind.

What’s interesting, though, is the stark contrast between bumbling-jackass Peter before Pentecost and Holy Spirit-filled, confident Peter after Pentecost. It just proves yet again that God can use literally anyone for His great works, as long as that person has enough faith.

Members of the Bible study group also noticed the similarities between God’s command, “Listen to him!” and Mary’s words to the servants at the wedding in Cana, “Do whatever he tells you.”

The two prophets came up in our discussion, and how Jesus sort of was “the new Moses” because he expanded on the Commandments and, as he said, came to fulfill, not abolish the Mosaic Law.

But wait a minute… wasn’t Jesus also called “the new Adam”? While the first Adam got us kicked out of Paradise and the gates locked behind us, the “new Adam,” through his sacrifice, reopened the gates—and not just to the Garden of Eden this time, but to Heaven itself.

Also, the old Adam and Eve blamed each other and the serpent for their sins, whereas the “new Adam” willingly took all the blame onto himself, even though he hadn’t sinned at all.

It occurred to me that maybe, just maybe we could go back and look at every great figure in the Old Testament and see how Jesus was the new version: the new Abraham, the new Jacob, the new David, the new Noah, etc. Maybe the foreshadowing of his coming was that ubiquitous?

Take, for example Noah. The old Noah gathered his family (plus animals) in the ark, and a dove swooped down to show him that the flood was over and to guide him to dry land. It was a sign that a new era had begun.

The “new Noah,” Jesus, gathered his people in the upper room, and the Holy Spirit (who is often depicted as a dove) swooped down on them, changing them from within and guiding them through the new era that had begun.

The “new Abraham”: Whereas Abraham’s descendants spread all over the country like God had promised, Jesus, the “new Abraham,” spread salvation all over the earth, to all the nations.

The “new Joseph”: Joseph’s brothers sold him into slavery in Egypt, but he rose to the position of high-ranking administrator for the Pharaoh. Ultimately, he forgave his brothers and became a source of great blessings to them when a famine hit their lands.

Jesus, the “new Joseph,” had the highest position ever—Son of the King of the Universe. He said on the cross, “Forgive them, Father, for they do not know what they do.” He gave the means for redemption and eternal life—the greatest blessings imaginable—to the very people who had crucified him, feeding those who hungered for spiritual food.

The “new David”: Both were born in the town of Bethlehem. David, before his “coming out,” was a simple sheep herder; Jesus learned carpentry from his earthly father Joseph. David was publicly chosen for his role as future king by God through the prophet Samuel in a sort of lineup. Jesus was publicly chosen by God at his baptism in the river Jordan through John the Baptist. King Saul tried to kill David because he felt threatened by his popularity. King Herod tried to kill the child Jesus because he felt threatened by the prophecy about a powerful “King of the Jews.” In his heyday, King David triumphed over many of this enemies. Jesus triumphed over the enemy of mankind: Satan.

I’m sure if we’d take the time to look deeper, there would be all kinds of parallels between Old Testament heroes and Jesus.

Of course, Jesus is not just the new but also the better version of all these men; after all, he was the only one who remained sinless.

I remember when I read the Bible cover to cover about 10 years ago (before I became a Catholic), I was appalled to see how terribly flawed most of “God’s chosen ones” were: adulterers, cowards, liars, murderers.

I couldn’t believe that God would pick such despicable people to carry out His greatest plans—until I heard Jeff Cavins say in one of the intros to Bible in a Year that their very brokenness and sinfulness was a testament to the greatness of God. In other words, the less these men had to be proud of in and of themselves, the more their mighty deeds would be attributed to the Creator. Glory to God in the highest.

It’s also very comforting for you and me. No matter how weak and flawed we are, if God decides that He wants us to do great things in His name, He will give us the means and the skills and the ability to carry them out. We don’t have to worry about the when’s and what’s and how’s. All we need to know is the why: Because it is God’s will.

And then all we need to do is say, “Yes,” just like Noah and David and Abraham (and the Holy Mother). And then trust the Lord that He will take the wheel.

God bless you!

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