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Edward Fudge

CHRIST IN THE PSALMS (1)

New Testament authors quote the Book of Psalms more than any other Old Testament book except Isaiah (Deuteronomy has third place), echoing at least 101 of its 150 individual Psalms. Small wonder that Jesus taught his disciples about himself from the Psalms (Luke 24:27, 44-45). If we read the Psalms as Jesus' disciples did, with the Savior in our minds, we will see even more "fulfillments" in Jesus which are not quoted in the New Testament. Read Psalms 1 or 23, for example, and notice how Jesus best personifies these portrayals of God's faithful.servant on the earth.

The imagery of "Son of God" comes from Psalm 2:7-9, among other places, and this Psalm reappears from Matthew to Revelation (Matt. 3:17; 2 Pet. 1:17; Acts 13:33; Heb. 1:5; 5:5; Rev. 12:5; 19:15; 2:26). Although Jesus originally was greater than angels, by the Incarnation he became lower than angels, to lift his people to the place of honor and glory which God always intended for humankind. This truth is announced by Psalm 8:4-8, when read in light of Jesus Christ (Heb. 2:5-9).

Psalm 40 describes one purpose of the Incarnation -- for Jesus to do God's will in a human body, then to present that perfect obedience to God on behalf of his people (Heb. 10:4-10). Psalm 95:7-11 warn Israel of 1,000 B.C. to "hear" God's voice in their own "today" rather than rejecting God in grumbling unbelief as their ancestors had done in the wilderness centuries before (Ex. 17:1-7). Jesus showed us that ideal fulfilled as he listened every morning to God's voice and obeyed God completely every new "today" (Isa. 50:4-5; see Heb. 3:6-8). Psalm 69:9 mentions Jesus' consuming zeal for God's honor and purposes, and also the suffering for God's sake which Jesus himself endured and which he calls on us to endure with him and for his sake (John 2:17; Rom. 15:3).


gracEmail
Edward Fudge

CHRIST IN THE PSALMS (2)

Psalm 118:22-23 foretells Jesus' rejection by others, as it portrays the rejected building stone which God selects and uses as the cornerstone for his Temple (Matt. 21:42; Acts 4:11-12; Eph. 2:19-22; 1 Pet. 2:4-8). Psalm 16:7-11 expresses the faith of a righteous man that God will have the final word over death, and it is fulfilled in Jesus' resurrection from the dead (Acts 2:31-32; 13:34-37). Although the New Testament does not make the point, Jesus' ascension and entry into heaven then fulfill the scene portrayed in Psalm 24:7-10, which is the reward of the godly life described in Psalm 24:1-6.

Psalm 110:1, 4 is the most-quoted Old Testament passage in the New Testament. The vision of Jesus seated as King and Priest at God's right hand is cited by Jesus himself (Matt. 22:44; 26:65) and in the apostolic preaching (Acts 2:34). It underwrites our ethics (Col. 3:1), exemplifies God's power available for us (Eph. 1:20), illuminates our hope (1 Cor. 15:25), certifies Jesus' finished atonement  -- he can "sit" because his sacrifice, once-offered, is sufficient forever (Heb. 1:3; 8:1; 10:12-13), and inspires our faithfulness (Heb. 12:2).

Finally, the author of the Epistle to the Hebrews examines Psalm 110:4 word by word in light of Jesus. He notes that Jehovah, not Jesus, appointed Jesus as high priest (Heb. 5:4-6). God did so with an oath, not merely with a promise (Heb. 6:17-20; 7:21-22). God will never change his mind about Jesus' priestly appointment, as he once did about ancient Eli's (Heb. 7:21; 1 Sam. 2:27ff). Unlike the Levitical priests, Jesus is a priest forever, since he lives forever to intercede (Heb. 7:23-25). And he is a priest like Melchizedek, a priest whose efficacy rests on his own moral character, not on ceremonial purity, symbolic holiness or physical and ancestral requirements for office (Heb. 7:15-17; 7:26---8:2).