Thoughts on the Old & New: Part 2

Okay, here we go, with the continuation of the series.

In the first post, I gave you an extremely brief synopsis of the Old Testament followed by three different events that were prophesied in the Old Testament and then came to fruition in the New Testament: John the Baptist’s role, The Crucifixion, and the Resurrection, as they pertain to the Messiah.

In this second installment in the series, I’m going to make similar summation of the New Testament and then some more Old Testament prophesies and when they were fulfilled.

You got to think of the New Testament as a continuation of the first covenant or revamp, which only God has the authority to do. God’s first covenant was made during a specific time to help the Jews in the early part of their existence. Like every human has done, as every human is flawed, the Jews failed to uphold the covenant. So, God sent the Messiah to complete the first covenant and establish a new one in its place. You can see in the Old Testament, many things point to the Messiah, as well as all the practices God commanded in the Torah (the first five books of the Old Testament) for the children of Israel to do. I wish I could list all the parallels for you, but that would take days.

The New Testament was written 400 years after the last book of the Old Testament. It begins with the Gospels, the first four books of the New Testament, which are four separate accounts of the life of Yeshua (meaning “salvation” in Hebrew, translated as Jesus). When the Messiah is crucified, He fulfills the promises of giving the fledgling Christians (those who choose to follow the Messiah) a comforter, and this is the Holy Spirit, which was promised in the Old Testament. Basically the rest of the Testament is the account of the Holy Spirit working in man, carrying out God’s will, as Paul and the Disciples took the message to the Jews as well as the Gentiles. The New Testament wraps things up with a prophetic message recorded in Revelation, which speaks of the Messiah’s return and the events after. Interesting enough, you can see some of the gaps in Revelation filled in by the Old Testament book of Daniel.

This first pair of prophetic scriptures relates to the way in which the Messiah will arrive in Jerusalem: riding a donkey, or colt.

Zechariah 9:9

The Coming of Zion's King
9 Rejoice greatly, O Daughter of Zion! Shout, Daughter of Jerusalem! See, your king comes to you, righteous and having salvation, gentle and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.

Matthew 21:1-17

The Triumphal Entry
1As they approached Jerusalem and came to Bethphage on the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two disciples, 2saying to them, "Go to the village ahead of you, and at once you will find a donkey tied there, with her colt by her. Untie them and bring them to me. 3If anyone says anything to you, tell him that the Lord needs them, and he will send them right away."
4This took place to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet: 5"Say to the Daughter of Zion, 'See, your king comes to you, gentle and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.' "
6The disciples went and did as Jesus had instructed them. 7They brought the donkey and the colt, placed their cloaks on them, and Jesus sat on them. 8A very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road, while others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. 9The crowds that went ahead of him and those that followed shouted,
"Hosanna to the Son of David!"
"Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!"
"Hosanna in the highest!"
10When Jesus entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred and asked, "Who is this?"
11The crowds answered, "This is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth in Galilee."
Jesus at the Temple
12Jesus entered the temple area and drove out all who were buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the benches of those selling doves. 13"It is written," he said to them, " 'My house will be called a house of prayer,' but you are making it a 'den of robbers.'"
14The blind and the lame came to him at the temple, and he healed them. 15But when the chief priests and the teachers of the law saw the wonderful things he did and the children shouting in the temple area, "Hosanna to the Son of David," they were indignant.
16"Do you hear what these children are saying?" they asked him.
"Yes," replied Jesus, "have you never read,
" 'From the lips of children and infants
you have ordained praise'?"
17And he left them and went out of the city to Bethany, where he spent the night.

Matthew 21:33-46

The Parable of the Tenants
33"Listen to another parable: There was a landowner who planted a vineyard. He put a wall around it, dug a winepress in it and built a watchtower. Then he rented the vineyard to some farmers and went away on a journey. 34When the harvest time approached, he sent his servants to the tenants to collect his fruit.
35"The tenants seized his servants; they beat one, killed another, and stoned a third. 36Then he sent other servants to them, more than the first time, and the tenants treated them the same way. 37Last of all, he sent his son to them. 'They will respect my son,' he said.
38"But when the tenants saw the son, they said to each other, 'This is the heir. Come, let's kill him and take his inheritance.' 39So they took him and threw him out of the vineyard and killed him.
40"Therefore, when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those tenants?"
41"He will bring those wretches to a wretched end," they replied, "and he will rent the vineyard to other tenants, who will give him his share of the crop at harvest time."
42Jesus said to them, "Have you never read in the Scriptures:
" 'The stone the builders rejected
has become the capstone;
the Lord has done this,
and it is marvelous in our eyes'?
43"Therefore I tell you that the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people who will produce its fruit. 44He who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces, but he on whom it falls will be crushed."
45When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard Jesus' parables, they knew he was talking about them. 46They looked for a way to arrest him, but they were afraid of the crowd because the people held that he was a prophet.

Here is a similar pair of scriptures, but emphasizing the joyful shout of the people of Jerusalem as they receive their Messiah.

Psalm 118:26

26 Blessed is he who comes in the name of the LORD. From the house of the LORD we bless you.

Luke 19:37-38

The Triumphal Entry
37When he came near the place where the road goes down the Mount of Olives, the whole crowd of disciples began joyfully to praise God in loud voices for all the miracles they had seen:
38"Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord!"
"Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!"

Click here to go to part 3