Literary Types for Jesus from the Hebrew Scriptures

Homily for Friday of the Second Week in Lent

While there are portions of the Old Testament or Hebrew Scriptures that are quite unsavory, I am always fascinated by the many characters in the Hebrew Scriptures who provide us with a way to understand the mission of Jesus.

Abraham had a son by the name of Isaac. God asked Abraham to sacrifice his son. The agony that this caused for Abraham was tremendous. God was asking him to sacrifice his only son. Though he would have been much stronger than his father, Isaac puts up no resistance when Abraham binds him and places him on the altar. God the Father also sacrifices his only son for our sake, and Jesus willingly goes to his death on the cross.

Jacob was the younger son of Isaac. The various wives of Jacob give birth to twelve sons. Those twelve sons go on to form the nation of Israel with its twelve tribes. Jesus, the son of God, chooses twelve men who he calls apostles to form the church.

Joseph was one of the sons of Jacob. His brothers hated him because of his father’s love for him; they are intent on killing him because they are jealous of the favor that he holds in the eyes of his father. He is sold into slavery for twenty pieces of silver. Jesus was sold by Judas for thirty pieces of silver; he too was beloved of his father as attested both at the River Jordan and atop Mount Horeb.

Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph are all literary types for Jesus. Without a doubt, God’s plan to ransom us from sin was a carefully developed plan that unfolded throughout the Scriptures. In the allegory of the vineyard, Jesus reviews that plan. He speaks of how the Father had sent his servants, the prophets, to claim what was rightfully his. They beat, mistreated, disregarded, and even killed those who had been sent to them to recall them to their agreement with God. When he sent his son, they also put him to death.

Consequently, when we are disregarded, we know that God understands. When we are mistreated, God understands. When we are unappreciated or discarded, because they have already done this to God’s Son, God understands. In his most trying time, during his passion, Jesus turned to his Father. This Lent, let us do the same. Let us turn to the Father for the strength to forgive and endure as he has done for us since he created us.