… a type in Scripture is a person or thing in the Old Testament that foreshadows a person or thing in the New Testament. For example, the flood of Noah’s day (Genesis 6—7) is used as a type of baptism in 1 Peter 3:20–21. The word for “type” that Peter uses is figure. When we say that someone is a type of Christ, we are saying that a person in the Old Testament behaves in a way that corresponds to Jesus’ character or actions in the New Testament. When we say that something is “typical” of Christ, we are saying that an object or event in the Old Testament can be viewed as representative of some quality of Jesus.
https://www.gotquestions.org/typology-Biblical.html
The OT contains pictures of Jesus such as the bronze serpent which Jesus refers to in John 3:14-15 and is depicted in Numbers 21:9. Some would make a distinction between types and illustrations; types have a direct NT connection. For our purpose of learning of Christ in the OT, we will not make such a distinction. We will use the term “type” for all illustrations or symbols of Christ in the OT whether mentioned in the NT or not.
These are not prophecies about Christ in a predictive sense but illustrations which point to Him. In some cases, they would not have been easy to see beforehand but in hindsight they clearly show us about him. Think of a reflection in water. It shows much of the object, but it is not as clear or detailed. As a mere reflection and not the item itself, there are some things we need to keep in mind about these pictures.
One, we should not seek new doctrines from the types but use them as illustrations of what the NT teaches. We need to be careful to not read too much into the type. The key to know when we have gone too far is when what we are finding is not taught in the NT. Remember the type is a picture of what the NT is teaching us. In the story of Jonah, Jonah is in the belly of the great fish for three days as Jesus is in the grave but to take the story of Jonah to teach somehow Jesus was spit out of the grave is taking the type too far.
The type is brief and incomplete: the NT is the fulfillment of the type. In the account of Isacc as the promised son, we have a picture of the promise fulfilled in the coming of Jesus, but Jesus is the greater fulfillment: a much greater promise. Isacc is the promised son to carry on the family line; Jesus is the promised son to bring all people to reconciliation with God, the blessing to all nations.
The type is not the point of the OT passage. We still need to study the biblical text for what it is teaching. The type is a secondary implication of the passage. We miss the point if we just look for pictures of Jesus. God has so much to teach in the OT along with what it says about Christ.
Typology will work in two ways. One way is by a comparison to Christ. As Abraham was to sacrifice his son Isaac to show his obedience and faith in God, Jesus did sacrifice himself out of obedience to God and to pay for the sin of the world. The type being lesser, the fulfillment greater. The other way typology works is contrast such as in Adam. As Adam brought sin to the world, Jesus brought righteousness.
As we continue forward in the “Jesus in the OT” series, we will look at many examples of the OT use of typology to point us to Jesus. Hopefully, we will get the key message: Jesus has been the point from the very beginning. Sin did not catch God by surprise. Christ was not His plan “B”. He is THE plan “before the foundation of the world” (1 Peter 1:20, Eph 1:4).
Until the next time we see you here at CultivatingFaith.org, God Bless! #CultivatingFaithOrg