The Sun Pictures the Son

We are starting an exciting new study today. Many of the events recorded in the Old Testament point to Christ and serve as a picture of the Gospel of Christ. We know that to be a fact, because Jesus said so himself.

After his death and resurrection, two men walked along the road to Emmaus discussing what had just happened. Jesus came up to them and walked along with them and asked what they were talking about and why they were so sad. They didn’t recognize that it was Christ, and they were surprised that this man didn’t know what had just happened in the past few days. This man apparently hadn’t been keeping up with the news.

The men explained Christ’s death, burial and disappearance. They missed the key to what had just happened. They gave their ignorance away when they said, “But we trusted that it had been he which should have redeemed Israel…” (Luke 24:21a)

After hearing the whole story, and gathering their perspective, Jesus said, “O fools, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken:  (26)  Ought not Christ to have suffered these things, and to enter into his glory?  (27)  And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself.” (Luke 24:25-27)

Later, he met with his disciples: “And he said unto them, These are the words which I spake unto you, while I was yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled, which were written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the psalms, concerning me.  (45)  Then opened he their understanding, that they might understand the scriptures,  (46)  And said unto them, Thus it is written, and thus it behoved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day:” Luke 24:44-46 

Christ is found all over the Old Testament. He is seen in creation, people, ceremonies/feasts, objects, locations/movement and in the prophets. It’s important for us to see these, and explain him to others. The Old Testament stories are far more than stories. They point to Christ as savior. We are going to examine 24 examples from the Old Testament. It begins with the creation of light in Genesis 1.

The sun is thought to have been created on the fourth day “to give light upon the earth.” It is easy to see that the sun pictures Jesus. There’s even one place in the Bible where Jesus is referred to as the “Sun of righteousness” Mal 4:2a  But unto you that fear my name shall the Sun of righteousness arise with healing in his wings.

What’s of particular interest in Genesis 1 is that it only uses the word light in the creation account. It is careful not to use the word sun.  It doesn’t talk about the sun being created… only the light. Maybe because, as a picture of Christ, the son was always there. Christ is an eternal part of the Godhead. He was not created. However, the son’s/sun’s  application to the earth as light was created on the fourth day. Nevertheless, the sun and its light are powerful pictures of Christ. Below is a closer look, and keep reading. We will see the first mention of the word sun and how that represents Christ also. Remember this series will be heavy on types and pictures—a view Jesus taught his disciples to adopt.

Old Testament

Notes

Gen 1:14-19  And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years:  (15)  And let them be for lights in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth: and it was so.  (16)  And God made two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night: he made the stars also.  (17)  And God set them in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth,  (18)  And to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness: and God saw that it was good.  (19)  And the evening and the morning were the fourth day. First mention of the sun Gen 15:12-18  And when the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell upon Abram; and, lo, an horror of great darkness fell upon him.  (13)  And he said unto Abram, Know of a surety that thy seed shall be a stranger in a land that is not theirs, and shall serve them; and they shall afflict them four hundred years;  (14)  And also that nation, whom they shall serve, will I judge: and afterward shall they come out with great substance.  (15)  And thou shalt go to thy fathers in peace; thou shalt be buried in a good old age.  (16)  But in the fourth generation they shall come hither again: for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet full.  (17)  And it came to pass, that, when the sun went down, and it was dark, behold a smoking furnace, and a burning lamp that passed between those pieces.  (18)  In the same day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying, Unto thy seed have I given this land, from the river of Egypt unto the great river, the river Euphrates:

Joh 8:12  Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.    The light/Jesus divides light from darkness. Joh 3:19  And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. Not everyone comes to the light. And this passage also reveals that “the Light” made the world, thus, the sun/son is not mentioned as created in Gen. 1. Joh 1:6-11  There was a man sent from God, whose name was John.  (7)  The same came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all men through him might believe.  (8)  He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light.  (9)  That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world.  (10)  He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not.  (11)  He came unto his own, and his own received him not. The first mention of the sun, it was “going down.” And in the same passage, it “went down.” It is in the context of God giving Abraham a covenant about his seed and God’s future dealings with them. And when the sun went down, God sent a smoking furnace, and a burning lamp that passed between the pieces of his offering (Gen 15:9-10a  And he said unto him, Take me an heifer of three years old, and a she goat of three years old, and a ram of three years old, and a turtledove, and a young pigeon.  (10a)  And he took unto him all these, and divided them in the midst, and laid each piece one against another). All in the same day, we have the covenant regarding Abraham’s seed (Christ is his ultimate seed), we have God dividing the offering with fire, and we have the first mention of the sun, which goes down. This is so similar to what happened the day Jesus died—when the Son went down.  Mar 15:33-34; 37-38  And when the sixth hour was come, there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour.  (34)  And at the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani? which is, being interpreted, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?... (37)And Jesus cried with a loud voice, and gave up the ghost.  (38)  And the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom.