Jesus in the Old Testament is a series of posts that will offer my readers a chance to consider pictures or shadows of Jesus in the Old Testament. As mentioned in the introduction to this series, some may be obvious, some may be not so obvious, and some may simply be a facet of the Lord those reading may not have considered previously.

I hope as we venture through this series, we will see the Lord in many wonderful pictures throughout the Old Testament.

SEEING JESUS IN

Daniel

Law Fulfilled

Daniel 6:12 Then they came near and said before the king, concerning the injunction, “O king! Did you not sign an injunction, that anyone who makes petition to any god or man within thirty days except to you, O king, shall be cast into the den of lions?” The king answered and said, “The thing stands fast, according to the law of the Medes and Persians, which cannot be revoked.”

Luke 24:44 Then he said to them, “These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you, that everything written about me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.”

Each of the men in our post this morning were the subject of a law.

For Daniel, a specific, temporoary law was intended directly for Daniel, crafter by his peers and subordinates in the kingdom, and ratified by the king of the Medes and Persians. This law was created specifically to address Daniel “in connection with the law of his God” (Daniel 6:5)

Although an unjust law, Daniel was immediatley impacted by the law, and was in defiance of the law as soon as he knew of it. He valued his connection with his God, and would accept the unrighteous result of the government’s rule over him as he sought to know God.

For Jesus, the eternal law of God (not the Medes and Persians) were not only written of Him, but specifically described the unrighteous result of a governement’s rule over His life as He sought to obey His Father.

Both Daniel and Jesus were the intended recipients of a law, and in thier obedience to the One above, fulfilled the law written specifically for thier lives.

There are numerous wrinkles to the similarities in this picture of Christ in Daniel, yet the fact remains. Both men, in thier obedience to the God they worshipped, fulfilled a law, each man entering into a death sentence. Both entered “death” and both were rescued out of death.

For our post this morning, consider that a law was fulfilled in both of these men’s lives. For Daniel, the law was developed by a human government out of spite and maliciousness, and was used to condemn him to death. For Jesus, the law was a reflection of His own perfections, and in order to rescue Daniel (and us), He willingly took the place of condemnation, as One who was guilty of breaking His own righteous standards.

How can we not be a thankful people? Everything about Jesus is better!

---

Thanks again for coming to visit. I hope you found something of interest in this post and would appreciate a comment, to begin a discussion. If you know someone this blog may bless (or challenge), send them a link, so they may join us in our discussion.

Come join us at Considering the Bible