8 Ways the Old Testament Points to Jesus

If you’ve ever struggled to find the main point of Scripture, you’re not alone. Woven throughout Scripture, there are parallels and passages that point us to Jesus. The truth is, if you look for Jesus in the Bible, you’ll find Him again and again.   

Keep reading to explore a list of Scriptures throughout the Bible that point to Jesus. As you work through them, read with Jesus on the forefront of your mind. Ask yourself how the passages you’re reading point you to the grand narrative of the Bible’s redemptive story.  

Genesis 

And Abraham lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, behind him was a ram, caught in a thicket by his horns. And Abraham went and took the ram and offered it up as a burnt offering instead of his son.
– Genesis 22:13 

How Does This Point to Jesus?  

Jesus is the Ram that God provided for a greater and more sufficient sacrifice. It’s not up to us to save ourselves. He provided His own Son for us.  

Exodus 

Then Moses called all the elders of Israel and said to them, “Go and select lambs for yourselves according to your clans, and kill the Passover lamb….And when your children say to you, ‘What do you mean by this service?’ you shall say, ‘It is the sacrifice of the Lord’s Passover, for he passed over the houses of the people of Israel in Egypt, when he struck the Egyptians but spared our houses.’” And the people bowed their heads and worshiped.  
– Exodus 12: 21, 26-27 

How Does This Point to Jesus?  

Jesus is our new Passover lamb. We pass from death to life because of His shed blood. The death we deserved has been put on the innocent lamb, and abundant life has been given to us.   

Cleanse out the old leaven that you may be a new lump, as you really are unleavened. For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed.
– 1 Corinthians 5:7 

Leviticus 

Aaron shall lay both his hands on the head of the live goat, confess over it all the iniquities of the children of Israel, and all their transgressions, concerning all their sins, putting them on the head of the goat, and shall send it away into the wilderness by the hand of a suitable man.
– Leviticus 16:21 

How Does This Point to Jesus?  

Jesus is our high priest and scapegoat. Jesus goes before God on our behalf once and for all, forever replacing the scapegoat depicted in Leviticus. At the cross, the sins of the world were transferred onto Him, and all of our transgressions were placed upon His head. Jesus fulfilled Old Testament law to the letter by standing in our place before the Father.   

Isaiah 

Who has believed what he has heard from us?  
And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed? 
For he grew up before him like a young plant, 
and like a root out of dry ground; 
he had no form or majesty that we should look at him, 
and no beauty that we should desire him. 
He was despised and rejected by men, 
a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief;  
and as one from whom men hide their faces 
he was despised, and we esteemed him not. 

Surely he has borne our griefs 
and carried our sorrows; 
yet we esteemed him stricken, 
smitten by God, and afflicted. 
But he was pierced for our transgressions; 
he was crushed for our iniquities; 
upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, 
and with his wounds we are healed.
– Isaiah 53:1-5 

How Does This Point to Jesus?  

This passage of Scripture is an Old Testament prophecy pointing to the New Testament story of the Messiah to come. In Isaiah 53, Jesus is the root of Jesse, a man of sorrows, and a suffering servant for our sake.  

The Psalms 

Who shall ascend the hill of the Lord? 
And who shall stand in his holy place?
He who has clean hands and a pure heart, 
who does not lift up his soul to what is false
and does not swear deceitfully. 
 He will receive blessing from the Lord 
and righteousness from the God of his salvation. 
Such is the generation of those who seek him, 
who seek the face of the God of Jacob.      Selah  

Lift up your heads, O gates! 
And be lifted up, O ancient doors, 
that the King of glory may come in. 
Who is this King of glory? 
The Lord, strong and mighty, 
the Lord, mighty in battle! 
Lift up your heads, O gates! 
And lift them up, O ancient doors, 
that the King of glory may come in. 
Who is this King of glory? 
The Lord of hosts, 
he is the King of glory!      Selah
– Psalm 24:3-10 

How Does This Point to Jesus?  

In Psalm 24, we see Jesus as the King of Glory, the only one truly able to ascend the hill of the Lord. Now He is clothed in glory, not weakened by the wounds that He bore on the cross. Instead, He is a victorious King, undefeated and triumphant. 

Ezekiel 

For thus says the Lord God: “Behold, I, I myself will search for my sheep and will seek them out. As a shepherd seeks out his flock when he is among his sheep that have been scattered, so will I seek out my sheep, and I will rescue them from all places where they have been scattered on a day of clouds and thick darkness….I myself will be the shepherd of my sheep, and I myself will make them lie down, declares the Lord God. I will seek the lost, and I will bring back the strayed, and I will bind up the injured, and I will strengthen the weak, and the fat and the strong I will destroy. I will feed them in justice.”
– Ezekiel 34:11-12, 15-16 

How Does This Point to Jesus?   

In Ezekiel 34, we see Christ foretold as our true Shepherd. He is a shepherd that seeks His sheep, gathering them to Himself time and time again: 

“I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. He who is a hired hand and not a shepherd, who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees, and the wolf snatches them and scatters them. He flees because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep.  I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep.  And I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd.”
– John 10:11-16 

Jonah 

And the Lord appointed a great fish to swallow up Jonah. And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.
– Jonah 1:17 

How Does This Point to Jesus?   

The prophet Jonah endured three days and three nights in the belly of a whale for refusing to preach repentance to the city of Nineveh. Though Jonah’s story clearly points to the prophet’s wayward heart posture, it also points to Christ, who was swallowed up by death for three days to atone for our sins. On the third day, Jesus rose again, claiming victory over death forever (Matt 12:38-41). 

Micah 

But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah, 
who are too little to be among the clans of Judah, 
from you shall come forth for me 
one who is to be ruler in Israel, 
whose coming forth is from of old, 
from ancient days.
– Micah 5:2 

How Does This Point to Jesus?   

Micah 5:2 foretells the birthplace of Jesus, the “…ruler in Israel, whose coming forth is from of old, from ancient days.” The book of Matthew depicts King Herod seeking counsel from the chief priests and scribes about the birthplace of the Messiah, leading to his attempted murder of Jesus and the flight of Mary and Joseph to Egypt (Matthew 2:1-15).