We are going to start a new series this year studying the Torah (first five books of the Bible). Specifically, we are going to be looking for patterns and promises of Jesus in these fantastic scrolls. Jesus is traced all throughout the Bible and we can gain a better understanding of who He is by looking at patterns that lead to Jesus and the promise of a Messiah. 

We are going to start in the first scroll of the Torah, Genesis. Genesis is full of references to Jesus and we are going to look at the major references in this series. We are going to start in the first chapter. 

In Genesis 1, God creates the universe. Jesus is of course present at this time but there is a specific time in which the triune nature of God comes out. When God creates humans it says, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness” (Genesis 1:26). The narrator uses the plural to refer to God, meaning that Jesus and the Spirit are here as well. Jesus is a part of our creation so intricately that He ends up sacrificing himself for His creation. 

We also see a prophecy of Jesus not but a few chapters later. After both Adam and Eve sin, God comes and gives them the curses that result because of their actions. In this moment of complete despair and failure, there is a promise of a Savior who will come. In Genesis 3:15 God says to the serpent, “And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel.” Although the serpent is going to strike a seed of the woman, this seed of woman is going to crush his head, giving an ultimate blow. This promise is fulfilled in Jesus when he dies (heel strike) and resurrects (crush head) from the dead. His resurrection is the final blow to Satan that loses his complete grip on humanity. John 12:31 gives reference that Jesus cast out or “crushed” Satan in his triumphant plan. 

Genesis 14 offers a story that creates a beautiful connection to Jesus. We first meet Melchizedek when Abraham meets him. After Abram’s victory, Melchizedek brings out bread and wine, a sign of a celebratory feast. The Bible says that he was king of Salem and a priest of God. “Then Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine. He was priest of God Most High” (Genesis 14:18). This is the first time in Scripture we see a priest-king that is for God. Melchizedek praises God and then Abraham gives him a tenth, like a tithe. This Melchizedek is a direct image of what the Messiah Jesus would be. Jesus is our King (Revelation 19:16) and our High Priest (Hebrews 6:20). Jesus is the one who has ultimate authority and made a sacrifice for us and became a mediator just like a priest. Melchizedek is the first priest image we see in the Bible and Jesus is the final.