"Teaching God's Word to God's World"
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The
awesomeness of the Bible is not necessarily found completely in its fulfilled
prophecies, its historical accuracy, its accounts of God's mighty heroes, or
it's guidelines for every day living. These are indeed fascinating aspects of
the Bible, each adding its own evidence of authenticity to the "big
picture" of the Bible as a whole. The Bible's
greatest wonder has to be Jesus Christ and His scheme of redemption. The truly
remarkable facet of the Bible is that Christ can be seen in each and every book
- Old Testament as well as the New Testament. Every book, every
chapter, and every line holds a picture of Jesus Christ.
The
book of Jeremiah is no exception. It
holds many Messianic prophecies that show a beautiful picture of the coming
Savior and His Kingdom. The scathing rebukes and the condemnation preached by
Jeremiah is overshadowed by the consolation and promises from God concerning
the coming Messiah.
Jeremiah 23:5-6, "5 Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I
will raise unto David a righteous
Branch, and a King shall reign and prosper, and shall execute judgment and
justice in the earth. 6 In his days Judah shall be saved, and Israel shall
dwell safely: and this [is] his name whereby he shall be called, THE LORD OUR
RIGHTEOUSNESS."
Jeremiah 30:9, "But they shall serve the LORD their God, and David their king, whom I will raise up unto
them."
Jeremiah 31:31-34, "31 Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that
I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of
Judah: 32 Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the
day [that] I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt;
which my covenant they brake, although I was an husband unto them, saith the
LORD: 33 But this [shall be] the covenant that I will make with the house of
Israel; After those days, saith the LORD, I will put my law in their inward
parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be
my people. 34 And they shall teach no more every man his neighbor, and every
man his brother, saying, Know the LORD: for they shall all know me, from the
least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the LORD: for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no
more."
Jeremiah 33:15-16, "15 In those days, and at that time, will I
cause the Branch of righteousness to
grow up unto David; and he shall execute judgment and righteousness in the
land. 16 In those days shall Judah be saved, and Jerusalem shall dwell safely:
and this [is the name] wherewith she shall be called, The LORD our
righteousness."
These
Scriptures, far from being all
inclusive of the prophecies of Christ given by Jeremiah, show the redemption
that would be offered to all mankind - Jew and Gentile - through Jesus. The
Jews anxiously awaited their coming Redeemer. Little did they know that the
very man who preached God's message to them would himself be representative of
their long awaited Messiah.
What Is A "Type?"
A
type can be described as such:
"to mark an impression. A fore-shadow; a prefigure of things to come."
A type can be seen as an object,
person, symbol or event that is similar but not identical to the anti-type (the fulfillment of the type). Thus, a comparison between
the two will bring out an analogy that will present a clear Biblical truth.
The
rules concerning typology must be
kept in mind when speaking about types.
This assures that the meaning of the Scriptures
are not stretched into absurd proportions, or that we read into the passages
things that were not intended. A type
must be directly appointed or designated within the Bible in order to be used to teach doctrine. But an illustrative
type, though not to be used for doctrinal teaching, must obviously
illustrate God's Truth. Most importantly, we must affirm that the anti-type
is always superior to the type.
The
whole purpose of a type is to teach,
illustrate, and/or predict Biblical truths. In this study, we can see Jeremiah
as an illustrative type of Christ,
being that it is not specifically designated in the Scriptures as being a type.
Let's look at some of the comparisons between Jeremiah and Christ, and we will
see how Jeremiah was remarkably prefiguring the incarnate Christ.
JEREMIAH AND CHRIST
Both were "innocent blood."
Jeremiah
Jeremiah 26:15, "Be
assured, however, that if you put me to death, you will bring the guilt of innocent
blood on yourselves, and on this city, and on those who live in it, for in
truth the LORD has sent me to you to speak all these words in your
hearing."
Christ
Matthew
27:4, "I have sinned, he said,
for I have betrayed innocent blood." (Judas speaking of Jesus)
Both
wept over Jerusalem's sins
and
the coming judgment.
Jeremiah
Jeremiah
13:17, "But if you do not listen,
I will weep in secret because of your
pride, my eyes will weep bitterly, overflowing with tears, because the
LORD's block will be taken captive."
Christ
Luke
19:41, "As he approached
Jerusalem and saw the city, he wept over
it."
Both
wanted justice for their enemies. Jeremiah sought
vengeance
whereas Christ sought forgiveness.
Jeremiah
Jeremiah
18:23, "But you know, O LORD, all
their plots to kill me. Do not forgive
their crimes or blot out their sins from your sight. Let them be overthrown
before you; deal with them in the time of your anger."
Christ
Luke
23:34, "Jesus said, Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing. And they
divided up his clothes by casting lots."
Both
were accused of being "mad."
Jeremiah
Jeremiah
29:26, "The LORD has appointed
you priest in place of Jehoiada to be in charge of the house of the LORD; you
should put any madman who acts like a prophet into the stocks and neck
irons." (In a letter from Shemaiah to Zephaniah - speaking of
Jeremiah)
Christ
John
10:20, "Many of them said, He is
demon-possessed
and
raving mad. Why listen to him?"
(The Jews speaking
of
Jesus)
Both
were accused of being
self-appointed
prophets.
Jeremiah
Jeremiah
29:27, "So why have you not
reprimanded Jeremiah from Anathoth, who poses
as a prophet among you? (In a letter from Shemaiah to Zephaniah - speaking
of Jeremiah)
Christ
John
8:53, "Are you greater than our
father Abraham? He died, and so did the prophets. Who
do you think you are?" (speaking to Jesus)
Both
were mocked by their enemies
as
well as their brethren.
Jeremiah
Jeremiah
20:7, "O LORD, you deceived, and
I was deceived, you overpowered me and prevailed. I am ridiculed all day long; everyone mocks me."
Christ
Luke
18:31-32, "Then He took the
twelve aside and said to them, Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and all
things that are written by the prophets concerning the Son of Man will be
accomplished 32 For He will be delivered to the Gentiles and will
be mocked and insulted and spit
upon."
Matthew
27:31, "And when they
had mocked Him, they took the robe off Him, put His own clothes on Him, and
led Him away to be crucified."
Luke
22:63, "Now the men who held Jesus mocked Him and beat Him."
Their
brethren and enemies waited to
catch
both in a "slip of the tongue."
Jeremiah
Jeremiah
20:10, "I hear many whispering
Terror on every side! Report him! Let's report him! All my friends are waiting
for me to slip, saying, Perhaps he will be deceived; then we will prevail
over him and take our revenge on him."
Christ
Luke
11:53-54, "When Jesus left there,
the Pharisees and the teachers of the law began to oppose Him fiercely and to
besiege Him with questions. 54 waiting to catch Him in something He might say."
Both were said to be worthy of death.
Jeremiah
Jeremiah
26:11, "Then the priests and the
prophets said to the officials and all the people, This man should be sentenced to death because he has prophesied
against this city. You have heard it with your own ears."
Christ
Matthew
26:65-66, "Then the high priest
tore his clothes and said, He has spoken blasphemy! Why do we need any more
witnesses? Look, now you have heard the blasphemy. 66 What do you think? He
is worthy of death, they answered."
Both were defended by some of God's spokesmen.
Jeremiah
Jeremiah
26:16, "Then the officials and
all the people said to the priest and the prophets, This man should not be
sentenced to death! He has spoken to us
in the Man of the LORD our God."
Christ
John
10:21, "But others said, These
are not the sayings of a man possessed by a demon. Can a demon open the eyes
of the blind?"
Both were put out of the land of the living.
Jeremiah by his enemies' desire - Jesus
litertally.
Jeremiah
Jeremiah
11:19, "I had been like a gentle
lamb led to the slaughter. I did not realize that they had plotted against me,
saying, Let us cut him off from the land
of the living, that His Name be remembered no more."
Christ
Isaiah
53:8, "By oppression and judgment
He was taken away. And who can speak of his descendants? For He
was cut off from the land of the living, for the transgression of my people
he was stricken."
Both were "led as a lamb to the slaughter."
Jeremiah's enemies, but Jesus in fact.
Jeremiah
Jeremiah
11:19, "I had been like a gentle lamb led to the slaughter; I did not
realize that they had plotted against me, saying, Let us destroy the tree and
its fruit; let us cut him off from the land of the living, that his name be
remembered no more."
Christ
Isaiah
53:7, "He was oppressed and
afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth. He
was led like a lamb to he slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is
silent, so He did not open His mouth."
Both were conspired against to secretly be killed.
Jeremiah
Jeremiah
18:23, "But you know,
O LORD, all their plots to kill me. Do not forgive their crimes or blot out
their sins from your sight. Let them be overthrown before you; deal with them in
the time of your anger."
Christ
John
11:53, "So from that day on they plotted to take His life.