B7. Impossible Parallels

Have you ever been on holidays and met someone from your old high school? Or someone who had a similar upbringing to you? It does happen, and we call it a coincidence, but the parallels between Jesus’ life and many people of the Old Testament is simply humanly impossible.

Consider Moses and Jesus, both born as Hebrews after 400 years of biblical silence, in the time of an ruler who oppressed God’s peop;e and decreed to kill the male babies. They both lived in Egypt as children, they both fled their birthplace to escape death, they were both raised by men who were not their natural fathers and raised by woman whose names in Hebrew is Miryam. They were both used to save people from slavery (Jesus saves people from slavery to sin) but first spent 40 days in the wilderness, both riding into (Egypt/Jerusalem) on a donkey. They both did many miracles, the first of which was turning water into (blood/wine), Moses gave the law and 3000 people died while Jesus gave the Holy Spirit and 3000 people were saved. Is your head spinning yet?

Let’s consider Joseph as well: both loved by their father but rejected by their brothers (for Jesus, spiritual brothers) who hated them and conspired to kill them, both sold out by 20/30 coins, but later elevated to the ‘right hand’ of (Pharaoh/God), both forgave knowing that God was using them for His plan, both were arrested after being falsely accused, both condemned with 2 criminals, both saved their people (Israel/humanity) from (famine/sin), both were not recognised by their (brothers/disciples).

There are also parallels like this between Jesus and Daniel, Jesus and Joshua, Jesus and Jonah and the little that we know about Melchizedek.

Abraham was asked by God to test his faith to sacrifice his son (which by the way God never intended for Abraham to do as we shall see). So Abraham took his only son Isaac who carried the wood up the mountain at which point asked his father where the sacrifice was, to which he responded that God would provide and he did - God provided a ram as the substitute sacrifice. God DID sacrifice His only Son ... on what many theologians think was that very mountain. Jesus carried the cross and He was ‘the lamb of God’ as the substitute sacrifice for humanity. Coincidence?

Jesus was promised and prophesied in many different ways in the Old Testament and His life and ministry foreshadowed in so many different ways, not all of which have been mentioned here. But it is obvious that this is no coincidence, could not have all been orchestrated and considering that the authors of the New Testament had nothing to personally gain, but plenty to lose by writing these things (many were killed for their faith), would not have been contrived.

The human impossibility of the Bible is not only in the miracles that are described in the pages, but the Bible itself is a miraculous work that indicates the work of a divine designer.

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