– Rev José Mario O Mandía
No one can predict the future birth of a man. Not even the birth of men like Buddha, Socrates or Confucius (all three were born around the 5th century BC) was expected. But there is one person whose birth was pre-announced and awaited thousands of years before he was born. The announcement of his birth also mentioned his Mother.
The book of Genesis tells us that after our first parents sinned, God stepped in with a rescue plan. (In fact, it seems to me that he always has a back-up or contingency plan in case we humans mess things up.)
Unfazed by Adam and Eve’s rebellion and ingratitude, He promised a way by which we could recover the happiness we had forfeited. Let us recall the “Protoevangelium” (“first good news or gospel”), that passage in Genesis 3:15, where God speaks to the devil: “I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.”
Here we find the first prophecy of the Savior. Here also we find the prophecy about “the woman,” the enemy of the devil (look also for this “woman” in the wedding at Cana in John 2:4; on Calvary – John 19:26; “clothed with the sun” in Revelation 12:1).
God, moreover, prepared man for the coming of the Messiah by establishing covenants with him in different stages: with Noah, with Abraham, with Moses, with David (cf CCCC 7 & 8). The Savior would come from the people with whom He had established a covenant and whom He would form.
Furthermore, God made use of prophecies and figures (or types) which pointed to the Messiah. The Old Testament is full of these Messianic prophecies and figures.
“Christians therefore read the Old Testament in the light of Christ crucified and risen. Such typological reading discloses the inexhaustible content of the Old Testament; but it must not make us forget that the Old Testament retains its own intrinsic value as Revelation reaffirmed by our Lord himself (cf Mark 12:29-31). Besides, the New Testament has to be read in the light of the Old. Early Christian catechesis made constant use of the Old Testament (cf 1 Cor 5:6-8; 10:1-11). As an old saying put it, the New Testament lies hidden in the Old and the Old Testament is unveiled in the New (Cf St Augustine, Quaest. in Hept. 2,73: PL 34,623; cf DV 16)” (CCC 129).
PROPHECIES
There are hundreds of prophecies that describe the Messiah and his future life and teachings. Saint Matthew cites many of them for his readers, who were Jews. These prophecies foretell that the Messiah will be a descendant of David (2 Samuel 7:12–16); born in Bethlehem (Micah 5:2); born of a virgin (Isaiah 7:14); preceded by a forerunner (John the Baptist, cf Isaiah 40:3-5); betrayed for 30 silver pieces (Zechariah 11:12–13); will suffer, die and be pierced (Isaiah 52:13–53:12; Zechariah 12:10); will resurrect (Psalm 16:8–11).
FIGURES AND TYPES OF THE MESSIAH
There are certain personages, events or things in the Old Testament which give a glimpse of how the Messiah would be like. These are called “types,” “images,” or “figures.” Any person, event or thing described in the Old Testament that signifies a future reality is called by these terms. For example, the manna given by God to the Israelites in the desert is a type (image or figure) of the Holy Eucharist. In the Old Testament, we see a number of figures of Christ.
Just to cite a few examples: Abel, though innocent, killed by his brother Cain; Melchisedech, a priest and king who had no known ancestors and offered bread and wine; Noah, who saved the people from the deluge; Isaac, the only son of Abraham whom he (Abraham) was asked to sacrifice; Joseph (son of Jacob), who was sold into slavery, but saved his whole family from starvation; the Paschal Lamb, sacrificed in place of the people.
This is one reason Catholics should read the Old Testament because they will find in it a treasury which will make them grow in knowledge and love of Christ and His Church (His Mystical Body) and the Eucharist.
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