How does the Old Testament prepare us for the death and resurrection of the Messiah? In at least two ways: (1) Direct texts; and (2) narrative patterns.
Texts that Speak Directly about the Death and Resurrection of Christ
First, the Old Testament gives us explicit texts that foretell the death and resurrection of the Messiah. The texts include, for example, Isaiah 52:13-53:12 and Psalm 22 (the death of the Messiah), and Psalm 16:10 and Daniel 7:14ff (the resurrection of the Messiah).
In the texts that speak specifically of the death and resurrection of the Messiah, we find prophesies that tell us the Messiah must die (Isa 52:13-53:12; Ps 22) as well as prophesies that indicate that God’s anointed will never see corruption (Ps 16:10). We also learn that the Messiah must sit at God’s right hand until his enemies are vanquished (Ps 110:1; cf. Acts 2:34).
When texts like Psalm 110:1 and Daniel 7:14ff are read in light of other OT texts that predict the death of the Messiah, we see that the Messiah’s acquisition of his kingdom implies that he must be raised from the dead. Even Isaiah explains that his Suffering Servant will “see his offspring,” “prolong is days,” and “divide the spoil with the strong,” after he has been put to death (see Is 53:10-12). These realities indicate that the one who was pierced for our transgressions (v. 5) and crushed into the grave (vv. 9-10) would also triumph over death, for only if the Servant is raised from death can he “see his offspring” and celebrate his victory.
Patterns of Death to Life in the Lives of God’s People
Second, the Old Testament provides a pattern of people whom God takes from “death to life.” The patterns are found in Old Testament figures like Job, Joseph, David, and Jonah. Job, for example, experienced a season of severe suffering and devastation during his earthly life, enduring, as it were, a kind of death. Nevertheless, God restored him to even greater prosperity after that season of intense suffering and personal devastation (Job 42:10-16).
Joseph’s brothers, out of spite and jealousy, sold him into slavery and even made it appear that he had been killed by a wild animal (Gen 37:31-33). For all that Joseph’s father Jacob knew, Joseph was indeed dead. Yet, despite such unjust treatment from his brothers, God exalted Joseph to a place of prominence and authority in Egypt where Joseph eventually revealed himself in glory to his brothers and his father (Gen 45:1-20).
David, though Israel’s true king, was exiled and persecuted by a rogue administration before he took the throne (1 Sam 16-31). According to David’s personal reflections on his trials, this persecution from Saul was a kind of death (see Ps 31:12). (You can also find similar expressions in psalms written by the sons of Korah; see Ps 88:3-7.)
Jonah was swallowed up by a great fish and “died” for three days until he was raised back to life (Jonah 1:17-2:10; cf. Luke 11:29). Jonah used language of death to describe his experience in the belly of the great fish:
I called out to the LORD, out of my distress, and he answered me; out of the belly of Sheol I cried, and you heard my voice….The waters closed in over me to take my life; the deep surrounded me; weeds were wrapped about my head at the roots of the mountains. I went down to the land whose bars closed upon me forever…(Jonah 2:2, 5-6a)
But he also followed this language of death with words of life, saying, “Yet you brought up my life from the pit….Salvation belongs to the Lord” (v. 6b, 9)!
Therefore, we see not only specific texts that speak of the death and resurrection of the Messiah, but the very structure of the OT—with several key figures throughout the OT narrative being brought from “death to life”—preparing us for Christ and his work of redemption. Jesus Christ, although he was righteous and the rightful successor to the throne, was betrayed by his brothers, suffered at the hands of his enemies, and died, entering into the lowest parts of the earth. But God raised him up from the dead (Acts 3:26) and exalted him above all creation (Phil 2:9-11).
Suffering Before Glory
Reading the Bible well requires us to see not only how specific texts prepare us for the Messiah’s work of redemption, but how the whole fabric of the Old Testament establishes a pattern of God’s people being brought from death to life, suffering to glory, cross to crown.
These were the texts and patterns Jesus’ disciples were slow to see, which is why Jesus admonished them on the road to Emmaus after his resurrection: “O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and enter into his glory?” (Luke 24:25-26). A careful, believing, Spirit-led reading of the whole Old Testament reveals that it was necessary for the Messiah to suffer and then enter into his glory.
Most of the Jews at the time, however, were looking for a warrior-king who would vanquish their Roman enemies and reestablish their global preeminence. Even Jesus disciples didn’t get it initially, either before or immediately after the resurrection. They needed the Master Teacher to open their minds to the Scriptures (Luke 24:27, 31-32; 44-45).
A Pattern for the Messiah and His People
This pattern of suffering before glory is not only for the Messiah or those who foreshadowed him. No, Christ’s people, the church, must embrace this pattern as well. Vindication at the final judgement, eternal glory, a massive inheritance, and an end to suffering is coming, but not yet. Like the Savior who has justified us freely by his grace, so we must walk a path of difficulty, persecution, and trial in this life. Paul puts it like this:
The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him (Rom 8:16-17; emphasis added).
While not all of life is one endless scourge of suffering, it is nevertheless the lot of the Christian to follow in the steps of his Savior and face persecution, the hatred of the world, and the difficulties of life in a fallen world on his way to glory. Someone who would like to reverse this pattern and get their glory now, will find that they got exactly what they wanted: a bit of ease in this life, with an eternity of suffering in the next. Jesus says this to those who would follow him:
If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it. For what does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses or forfeits himself (Luke 9:23-25)?
Those who desire to follow the Savior must follow him as he followed the pattern established for him in the Old Testament—the pattern that God’s people have experienced throughout all of history (Rom 8:36; cf. Ps 44:22). But our suffering in this life, as Paul reminds us, will give way to a glory so wonderful that our troubles will seem but light and momentary (2 Cor 4:16-18).
