Typology and Jesus
Mt 2:15
New Testament writers understand Jesus to be the fulfillment of the Jewish story told in the Jewish Scriptures. One way they emphasize Jesus as this fulfillment is by highlighting an OT figure, object, or event, and then connecting it to Jesus.
In this correspondence, the OT “type” is shown to be brought to completion in Jesus (who is sometimes called the “antitype”). For example, Matthew connects Jesus with Israel by citing Hos 11:1, which speaks of God’s son, Israel, coming out of Egypt. Matthew shows that Jesus, like Israel of old, will be delivered from Egypt by God (see Mt 2:15 and note; 2:20–21). Therefore Israel is “a type” of Jesus (with Jesus as the “antitype”).
For another example, consider the temple in John’s Gospel. Jesus fulfills the purposes of the temple (God’s presence with his people; cf. Jn 1:14–18). And according to Jn 2:13–22, Jesus could speak of his body (his self) as the temple (Jn 2:20–21). John also goes on to show how various Jewish festivals are types of Jesus’ person and work. For instance, John understands the Feast of Tabernacles as typological of Jesus’ identity as light and the living water, key elements of this festival (Jn 8:12; 7:37–38; cf. 4:10,14).
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