Prophecy in the Psalms and the Law of Moses

“He said to them, ‘This is what I told you while I was still with you: Everything must be fulfilled that is written about Me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms.’” Luke 24:44
These words were spoken by Jesus shortly before He ascended to heaven, after He had revealed Himself to the disciples in His resurrected body. This is an interesting statement, because He says that the things written about Him in the Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms have now been fulfilled.
We understand that the prophetic books of the Old Testament speak about future events and contain many prophecies about the life, ministry, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. But the Law of Moses and the Psalms? We don’t tend to think of those books as being prophetic, but they are. There are certain psalms that are recognised as being prophetic, such as Ps. 22, which portrays a graphic description of the events surrounding Jesus’ crucifixion, and Ps. 69, which describes His rejection by His own people. Ps. 24 is another prophetic psalm that looks forward to the return of Christ to establish His Kingdom. Ps. 118 contains the verses Jesus quoted of Himself at the Triumphal Entry (Ps. 118:22-24).
The Law of Moses – the books of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy – also contain many prophetic pictures of Jesus Christ. In Gen. 3 we see God promising a Saviour who would come from the human race, who would crush the serpent’s head. In Gen. 22 we see a picture of a father (Abraham) taking his son (Isaac) to the top of a hill for a sacrifice. In Gen. 37-50 we see the life of Joseph, ridiculed, thrown in prison, mistreated, and finally exalted. In Exodus we see the institution of the Passover, where a lamb was sacrificed so that death might ‘pass over’ all those who trusted in God to protect them. We see the provision of manna, bread from heaven (see John 6:48-51). In Leviticus we see the establishment of the various kinds of sacrifices, which all give us insights into the life of Christ. In Numbers we see Moses putting a serpent on a pole, so that the people might look to it and live (see John 3:14-15). In Deuteronomy we see the promise of another leader like Moses (Deut. 18:15).
Many Christians neglect to study the Old Testament, thinking that it only applies to the Jews. But there is much value to be found – simply ask, ‘What does this passage teach me about Jesus?’ – and you’ll be surprised what the Holy Spirit teaches you.