In this post I will be looking at two OT texts, which the early Christians saw as foreshadowing Christ’s crucifixion. These early writers employed these particular verses as prophesying or prefiguring Christ’s death on a cross.
First Prophecy
I begin with the following reference from the Jeremiah:
“and I am as a lamb or a bullock brought to the slaughter; and I know not that they fabricate fabrications against me: – we ruin the tree with the bread (balachmo) and we cut him off from the land of the living so that we remember his name no more.” Jeremiah 11:19 exeGeses companion Bible (ECB(i))
It is not hard to see why Christians took what the prophet said of himself as prefiguring what the Jews did to the Lord Jesus, since Jeremiah’s language parallels that of Isaiah 53, which is the chief prophecy referenced in the NT in respect to Christ’s sacrificial and vicarious death:
“Surely our griefs He Himself bore, And our sorrows He carried; Yet we ourselves esteemed Him stricken, Smitten of God, and afflicted. But He was pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; The chastening for our peace fell upon Him, And by His wounds we are healed. All of us like sheep have gone astray, Each of us has turned to his own way; But Yahweh has caused the iniquity of us all To fall on Him.
“He was oppressed and He was afflicted, Yet He did not open His mouth; Like a lamb that is led to slaughter, And like a sheep that is silent before its shearers, So He did not open His mouth. By oppression and judgment He was taken away; And as for His generation, who considered That He was cut off out of the land of the living, That for the transgression of my people, striking was due to Him? So His grave was assigned with wicked men, Yet He was with a rich man in His death, Because He had done no violence, Nor was there any deceit in His mouth.
“But Yahweh was pleased To crush Him, putting Him to grief; If You would place His soul as a guilt offering, He will see His seed, He will prolong His days, And the good pleasure of Yahweh will succeed in His hand. As a result of the anguish of His soul, He will see it and be satisfied; By His knowledge the Righteous One, My Servant, will justify the many, As He will bear their iniquities. Therefore, I will divide for Him a portion with the many, And He will divide the spoil with the strong; Because He poured out His soul to death, And was numbered with the transgressors; Yet He Himself bore the sin of many, And interceded for the transgressors.” Isaiah 53:3-12
The association of tree with the term for bread, lechem, is very significant since our Lord is said to have been crucified on a tree in order to offer his flesh and blood as the living Bread, which believers must feed on for eternal life:
“‘Do not work for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you, for on Him the Father, God, set His seal.’ Therefore they said to Him, ‘What should we do, so that we may work the works of God?’ Jesus answered and said to them, ‘This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He has sent.’ So they said to Him, ‘What then do You do for a sign so that we may see, and believe You? What work do You perform? Our fathers ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written, “He gave them bread from heaven to eat.”’ Jesus then said to them, ‘Truly, truly, I say to you, Moses has not given you the bread from heaven, but My Father gives you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is that which comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.’ Then they said to Him, ‘Lord, always give us this bread.’ Jesus said to them, ‘I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me will never hunger, and he who believes in Me will never thirst.’” John 6:27-35
“‘This is the bread which comes down from heaven, so that one may eat of it and not die. I am the living bread that came down from heaven; if anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever; and also the bread which I will give for the life of the world is My flesh.’ Then the Jews began to argue with one another, saying, ‘How can this man give us His flesh to eat?’ So Jesus said to them, ‘Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in yourselves. He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day. For My flesh is true food, and My blood is true drink. He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me, and I in him. As the living Father sent Me, and I live because of the Father, so he who eats Me, he also will live because of Me. This is the bread which came down out of heaven, not as the fathers ate and died. He who eats this bread will live forever.’
“These things He said in the synagogue as He taught in Capernaum. Therefore many of His disciples, when they heard this said, ‘This is a difficult statement; who can listen to it?’ But Jesus, knowing in Himself that His disciples were grumbling at this, said to them, ‘Does this cause you to stumble? What then if you see the Son of Man ascending to where He was before? The Spirit is the One who gives life; the flesh profits nothing; the words that I have spoken to you are spirit and are life. But there are some of you who do not believe.’ For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were who did not believe, and who it was that would betray Him. And He was saying, ‘For this reason I have said to you, that no one can come to Me unless it has been granted him from the Father.’ As a result of this many of His disciples went away and were not walking with Him anymore.” John 6:50-66
What makes this all the more interesting is that Jesus was born in Bethlehem, which in Hebrew literally means house of bread (beth lechem)! See Matthew 2:1-6 and Luke 2:1-20.
And here is where the NT speaks of Christ dying on a tree:
“The God of our fathers raised up Jesus, whom you put to death by hanging Him on a tree.” Acts 5:30
“And we are witnesses of all the things He did both in the land of the Jews and in Jerusalem. They also put Him to death by hanging Him on a tree.” Acts 10:39
“And when they had finished all that was written concerning Him, they took Him down from the tree and laid Him in a tomb.” Acts 13:29
“Christ redeemed us from the curse of the Law, having become a curse for us—for it is written, ‘Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree’—” Galatians 3:13
This next one is quite interesting since it even alludes to and quotes the prophecy of Isaiah 53:
“For to this you have been called, since Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example that you should follow in His steps, who did no sin, nor was any deceit found in His mouth; who being reviled, was not reviling in return; while suffering, He was uttering no threats, but kept entrusting Himself to Him who judges righteously. Who Himself bore our sins in His body on the tree, so that having died to sin, we might live to righteousness; by His wounds you were healed. For you were continually straying like sheep, but now you have returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.” 1 Peter 2:21-25
Second Prophecy
This brings me to the next example, which the fathers and apologists of the Church quoted as foreshadowing the cross:
“Your life will be hung out (wahayu cḥayyeka talulim) in front of you. Night and day you will live in dread, and you will not expect to survive.” Deuteronomy 28:66 Evangelical Heritage Version (EHV)
Remarkably, Deuteronomy even describes YHWH as the very life of his people:
“to love Yahweh your God, to obey his voice, and to cling to him; for he is your life (ki hu cḥayyeka), and the length of your days, that you may dwell in the land which Yahweh swore to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give them.” Deuteronomy 30:20 World English Bible (WEB)
Since the early Christians used the Greek versions of the Hebrew Bible, often referred to as the Septuagint (LXX), I will now quote the English rendering of the Greek as well.
The translation of the LXX is taken from the electronic edition of the second printing of A New English Translation of the Septuagint, as published by Oxford University Press in 2009, including corrections and emendations made in the second printing (2009) and corrections and emendations made in June 2014. Emphasis is mine:
“And your life shall be hanging before your eyes (kai estai he zoe sou kremamene apenanti ton ophthalmon sou), and night and day you shall be afraid and you shall not be sure of your life.” Deuteronomy 28:66 (Deuteronomion, tr. Melvin K. H. Peters, p. 167)
“to love the Lord your God, to listen to his voice and to hold fast to him, for this is life for you and the length of your days so that you may live in the land that the Lord swore to your fathers Abraam and Isaak and Iakob to give them.” Deuteronomy 30:20 (Ibid., p. 169)
Here is what it gets rather astonishing. The NT proclaims that it is Jesus himself who is our Life, since he is said to be Life and Eternal Life that became flesh, i.e., a human being:
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being. In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men… There was the true Light which, coming into the world, enlightens everyone. He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him… And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.” John 1:1-4, 9-10, 14
“Jesus said to her, ‘I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in Me will live even if he dies, and everyone who lives and believes in Me will never die—ever. Do you believe this?’” John 11:25-26
“but put to death the Author of life, whom God raised from the dead, a fact to which we are witnesses.” Acts 3:15
“Therefore, if you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth. For you died and your life has been hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is our life, is manifested, then you also will be manifested with Him in glory.” Colossians 3:1-4
“What was from the beginning, what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we beheld and touched with our hands, concerning the Word of Life—and the life was manifested, and we have seen and bear witness and proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was manifested to us—what we have seen and heard we proclaim to you also, so that you may also have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father, and with His Son Jesus Christ.” 1 John 1:1-3
“And we know that the Son of God has come, and has given us understanding so that we may know Him who is true; and we are in Him who is true, in His Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God and eternal life.” 1 John 5:20
In light of this, these early churchmen interpreted the phrase “Your life will be hanging before your eyes,” as Christ who is the Life of Israel and of all creation being hanged on the cross.
Another interesting connection is that the statement regarding Israel seeing their life hanging right before them, is found within the very same chapter where God threatens Israel with curses if they break the covenant:
“But it will be, if you do not listen to the voice of Yahweh your God, to keep and to do all His commandments and His statutes with which I am commanding you today, that all these curses will come upon you and overtake you: Cursed shall you be in the city, and cursed shall you be in the field. Cursed shall be your basket and your kneading bowl. Cursed shall be the offspring of your body and the produce of your ground, the increase of your herd and the young of your flock. Cursed shall you be when you come in, and cursed shall you be when you go out. Yahweh will send upon you the curse, confusion, and rebuke, in all that you send forth your hand to do, until you are destroyed and until you perish quickly, on account of the evil of your deeds, because you have forsaken Me… So all these curses shall come on you and pursue you and overtake you until you are destroyed, because you would not listen to the voice of Yahweh your God to keep His commandments and His statutes which He commanded you. And they shall become a sign and a wonder on you and your seed forever.” Deuteronomy 28:15-20, 45-46
According to the NT, the reason why Jesus died on a tree was in order to save all who believe in him from the curses of God!
“For as many as are of the works of the Law are under a curse, for it is written, ‘Cursed is everyone who does not abide by all things written in the book of the law, to do them.’ Now that no one is justified by the Law before God is evident, for ‘The righteous shall live by faith.’ However, the Law is not of faith; rather, ‘He who does them shall live by them.’ Christ redeemed us from the curse of the Law, having become a curse for us—for it is written, ‘Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree’—in order that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we would receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.” Galatians 3:10-14
Early Church Writers
With the foregoing in perspective, I now turn my attention to the early Christian witnesses themselves. All emphasis is mine.
Irenaeus
2. And already he had also declared His advent, saying, There shall not fail a chief in Judah, nor a leader from his loins, until He come for whom it is laid up, and He is the hope of the nations; binding His foal to the vine, and His ass’s colt to the creeping ivy. He shall wash His stole in wine, and His upper garment in the blood of the grape; His eyes shall be more joyous than wine, and His teeth whiter than milk. For, let those who have the reputation of investigating everything, inquire at what time a prince and leader failed out of Judah, and who is the hope of the nations, who also is the vine, what was the ass’s colt [referred to as] His, what the clothing, and what the eyes, what the teeth, and what the wine, and thus let them investigate every one of the points mentioned; and they shall find that there was none other announced than our Lord, Christ Jesus. Wherefore Moses, when chiding the ingratitude of the people, said, You infatuated people, and unwise, do you thus requite the Lord? Deuteronomy 32:6 And again, he indicates that He who from the beginning founded and created them, the Word, who also redeems and vivifies us in the last times, is shown as hanging on the tree, and they will not believe in Him. For he says, And your life shall be hanging before your eyes, and you will not believe your life. And again, Has not this same one your Father owned you, and made you, and created you? (Book IV, Chapter 10 The Old Testament Scriptures, and those written by Moses in particular, do everywhere make mention of the Son of God, and foretell his Advent and Passion. From this fact it follows that they were inspired by one and the same God.)
3. For the Creator of the world is truly the Word of God: and this is our Lord, who in the last times was made man, existing in this world, and who in an invisible manner contains all things created, and is inherent in the entire creation, since the Word of God governs and arranges all things; and therefore He came to His own in a visible manner, and was made flesh, and hung upon the tree, that He might sum up all things in Himself. And His own peculiar people did not receive Him, as Moses declared this very thing among the people: And your life shall be hanging before your eyes, and you will not believe your life. Deuteronomy 28:66 Those therefore who did not receive Him did not receive life. But to as many as received Him, to them gave He power to become the sons of God. John 1:12 For it is He who has power from the Father over all things, since He is the Word of God, and very man, communicating with invisible beings after the manner of the intellect, and appointing a law observable to the outward senses, that all things should continue each in its own order; and He reigns manifestly over things visible and pertaining to men; and brings in just judgment and worthy upon all; as David also, clearly pointing to this, says, Our God shall openly come, and will not keep silence. Then he shows also the judgment which is brought in by Him, saying, A fire shall burn in His sight, and a strong tempest shall rage round about Him. He shall call upon the heaven from above, and the earth, to judge His people. (Book V, Chapter 18 God the Father and His Word have formed all created things (which They use) by Their own power and wisdom, not out of defect or ignorance. The Son of God, Who received all power from the Father, would otherwise never have taken flesh upon Him.)
Tertullian
For, again, it is for these deserts of yours that Ezekiel announces your ruin as about to come: and not only in this age — a ruin which has already befallen — but in the day of retribution, Isaiah 61:2 which will be subsequent. From which ruin none will be freed but he who shall have been frontally sealed with the passion of the Christ whom you have rejected. For thus it is written: And the Lord said to me, Son of man, you have seen what the elders of Israel do, each one of them in darkness, each in a hidden bed-chamber: because they have said, The Lord sees us not; the Lord has derelinquished the earth. And He said to me, Turn you again, and you shall see greater enormities which these do. And He introduced me unto the thresholds of the gate of the house of the Lord which looks unto the north; and, behold, there, women sitting and bewailing Thammuz. And the Lord said to me, Son of man, have you seen? Is the house of Judah moderate, to do the enormities which they have done? And yet you are about to see greater affections of theirs. And He introduced me into the inner shrine of the house of the Lord; and, behold, on the thresholds of the house of the Lord, between the midst of the porch and between the midst of the altar, as it were twenty and five men have turned their backs unto the temple of the Lord, and their faces over against the east; these were adoring the sun. And He said to me, Do you see, son of man? Are such deeds trifles to the house of Judah, that they should do the enormities which these have done? Because they have filled up (the measure of) their impieties, and, behold, are themselves, as it were, grimacing; I will deal with mine indignation, my eye shall not spare, neither will I pity; they shall cry out unto mine ears with a loud voice, and I will not hear them, nay, I will not pity. And He cried into mine ears with a loud voice, saying, The vengeance of this city is at hand; and each one had vessels of extermination in his hand. And, behold, six men were coming toward the way of the high gate which was looking toward the north, and each one’s double-axe of dispersion was in his hand: and one man in the midst of them, clothed with a garment reaching to the feet, Revelation 1:13 and a girdle of sapphire about his loins: and they entered, and took their stand close to the brazen altar. And the glory of the God of Israel, which was over the house, in the open court of it, ascended from the cherubim: and the Lord called the man who was clothed with the garment reaching to the feet, who had upon his loins the girdle; and said to him, Pass through the midst of Jerusalem, and write the sign Tau on the foreheads of the men who groan and grieve over all the enormities which are done in their midst. And while these things were doing, He said to an hearer, Go after him into the city, and cut short; and spare not with your eyes, and pity not elder or youth or virgin; and slay all the little ones and women, that they may be thoroughly wiped away; but all upon whom is the sign Tau approach not; and begin with my saints. Now the mystery of this sign was in various ways predicted; (a sign) in which the foundation of life was forelaid for mankind; (a sign) in which the Jews were not to believe: just as Moses beforetime kept on announcing in Exodus, saying, You shall be ejected from the land into which you shall enter; and in those nations you shall not be able to rest: and there shall be instability of the print of your foot: and God shall give you a wearying heart, and a pining soul, and failing eyes, that they see not: and your life shall hang on the tree before your eyes; and you shall not trust your life. (An Answer to the Jews, Chapter 11. Further Proofs, from Ezekiel. Summary of the Prophetic Argument Thus Far.)
Cyprian
20. That the Jews would fasten Christ to the cross
In Isaiah: I have spread out my hands all day to a people disobedient and contradicting me, who walk in ways that are not good, but after their own sins. Also in Jeremiah: Come, let us cast the tree into His bread, and let us blot out His life from the earth. Also in Deuteronomy: And Your life shall be hanging (in doubt) before Your eyes; and You shall fear day and night, and shall not trust to Your life. Also in the twenty-first Psalm: They tore my hands and my feet; they numbered all my bones. And they gazed upon me, and saw me, and divided my garments among them, and upon my vesture they cast a lot. But You, O Lord, remove not Your help far from me; attend unto my help. Deliver my soul from the sword, and my only one from the paw of the dog. Save me from the mouth of the lion, and my lowliness from the horns of the unicorns. I will declare Your name unto my brethren; in the midst of the Church I will praise You. Also in the cxviiith Psalm: Pierce my flesh with nails through fear of You. Also in the cxlth Psalm: The lifting up of my hands is an evening sacrifice. Of which sacrifice Sophonias said: Fear from the presence of the Lord God, since His day is near, because the Lord has prepared His sacrifice, He has sanctified His elect. Also in Zechariah: And they shall look upon me, whom they have pierced. Also in the eighty-seventh Psalm: I have called unto You, O Lord, the whole day; I have stretched out my hands unto You. Also in Numbers: Not as a man is God suspended, nor as the son of man does He suffer threats. Whence in the Gospel the Lord says: As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up, that whosoever believes in the Son may have life eternal. (The Treatises of Cyprian, Treatise XII (Book 2))
Athanasius
35. Prophecies of the Cross. How these prophecies are satisfied in Christ alone.
But, perhaps, having heard the prophecy of His death, you ask to learn also what is set forth concerning the Cross. For not even this is passed over: it is displayed by the holy men with great plainness. 2. For first Moses predicts it, and that with a loud voice, when he says: You shall see your Life hanging before your eyes, and shall not believe. 3. And next, the prophets after him witness of this, saying: But Jeremiah 11:19 I as an innocent lamb brought to be slain, knew it not; they counselled an evil counsel against me, saying, Hither and let us cast a tree upon his bread, and efface him from the land of the living. 4. And again: They pierced my hands and my feet, they numbered all my bones, they parted my garments among them, and for my vesture they cast lots. 5. Now a death raised aloft and that takes place on a tree, could be none other than the Cross: and again, in no other death are the hands and feet pierced, save on the Cross only. 6. But since by the sojourn of the Saviour among men all nations also on every side began to know God; they did not leave this point, either, without a reference: but mention is made of this matter as well in the Holy Scriptures. For there Isaiah 11:10 shall be, he says, the root of Jesse, and he that rises to rule the nations, on him shall the nations hope. This then is a little in proof of what has happened. 7. But all Scripture teems with refutations of the disbelief of the Jews. For which of the righteous men and holy prophets, and patriarchs, recorded in the divine Scriptures, ever had his corporal birth of a virgin only? Or what woman has sufficed without man for the conception of human kind? Was not Abel born of Adam, Enoch of Jared, Noe of Lamech, and Abraham of Tharra, Isaac of Abraham, Jacob of Isaac? Was not Judas born of Jacob, and Moses and Aaron of Ameram? Was not Samuel born of Elkana, was not David of Jesse, was not Solomon of David, was not Ezechias of Achaz, was not Josias of Amos, was not Esaias of Amos, was not Jeremy of Chelchias, was not Ezechiel of Buzi? Had not each a father as author of his existence? Who then is he that is born of a virgin only? For the prophet made exceeding much of this sign. 8. Or whose birth did a star in the skies forerun, to announce to the world him that was born? For when Moses was born, he was hid by his parents: David was not heard of, even by those of his neighbourhood, inasmuch as even the great Samuel knew him not, but asked, had Jesse yet another son? Abraham again became known to his neighbours as a great man only subsequently to his birth. But of Christ’s birth the witness was not man, but a star in that heaven whence He was descending. (On the Incarnation of the Word)
Unless stated otherwise, scriptural references taken from the Legacy Standard Bible (LSB).
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