Romans 5:14, Hebrews 10:1, John 1:29
More Than Prophecy
The Old Testament points to Christ in more ways than through direct prophecy. One of the most important and most rewarding is through typology — the pattern of persons, events, and institutions in the Old Testament that prefigure and foreshadow their greater fulfilment in Christ.
A type is a real, historical person, event, or institution that God designed to foreshadow something — usually Christ or His work — that would come later. The later reality is the antitype, which is greater than the type.
Biblical Warrant for Typology
The New Testament writers themselves employed typological reading of the Old Testament extensively:
Paul calls Adam "a type of the one who was to come" (Romans 5:14). He describes the rock that provided water in the wilderness as Christ (1 Corinthians 10:4). He calls the Passover lamb a type of Christ, "our Passover lamb" (1 Corinthians 5:7). The writer of Hebrews develops at length the typological relationship between the Levitical priesthood and Christ's high priesthood, between the tabernacle and the heavenly reality, between the sacrificial system and Christ's once-for-all sacrifice.
Jesus Himself employed typology: "As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up." (John 3:14).
Major Types in the Old Testament
Adam — the first man whose disobedience brought death; Christ is the last Adam whose obedience brings life (Romans 5:12-21, 1 Corinthians 15:45-49).
Noah — saved through judgment (the flood); believers are saved through the judgment that fell on Christ (1 Peter 3:20-21).
Abraham — called to leave everything in faith; the father of all who believe; his willingness to sacrifice Isaac foreshadows the Father's sacrifice of His Son.
Moses — the mediator of the old covenant, the lawgiver, the one who led God's people out of slavery; Christ is the mediator of the new covenant, the fulfilment of the law, who leads His people from slavery to sin.
David — the shepherd-king after God's own heart; the prototype of the greater Son of David who rules forever.
The Passover — the lamb whose blood protects from judgment; Christ is "the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world." (John 1:29).
The Temple — the dwelling place of God among His people; Christ is "the temple" (John 2:21), and believers together are the temple of the Holy Spirit.