Jesus explained Scriptures from the Old Testament written about Himself. “And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, He interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself.” (Luke 24:27)
So let us begin with Moses also. During the time of Moses, the Israelites sinned against God, and complained about their situation in the wilderness. So the Lord sent fiery serpents among them and many of the Israelites died because of their sins. The Israelites then came to Moses, and confessed their sins.
“And the Lord said to Moses, ‘Make a fiery serpent and set it on a pole, and everyone who is bitten, when he sees it, shall live.’ So Moses made a bronze serpent and set it on a pole. And if a serpent bit anyone, he would look at the bronze serpent and live.” (Numbers 21:8-9)
This demonstrates what Jesus the Messiah did for us. Jesus became sin for us (symbolizing a serpent). He was set up on a pole (hung on the cross). He took our sins upon Himself and died for us so that whoever looks at Him will live, just as whoever looked at the bronze serpent was healed.
Jesus Himself made this comparison, saying, “And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in Him may have eternal life” (John 3:14-15).
Here are some other examples of the gospel proclaimed in the Old Testament.
“Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call His name Immanuel.” (Isaiah 7:14)
This was fulfilled in the New Testament: “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call His name Immanuel (which means, God with us)” (Matthew 1:23).
“But He was pierced for our transgressions;
He was crushed for our iniquities;
upon Him was the chastisement that brought us peace,
and with His wounds we are healed.
All we like sheep have gone astray;
we have turned—every one—to his own way;
and the Lord has laid on Him
the iniquity of us all.” (Isaiah 53:5-6)
In fact, the entire chapter of Isaiah 53 speaks of what Jesus did for us.
“Yet it was the will of the Lord to crush Him;
He has put Him to grief;
when His soul makes an offering for guilt,
He shall see His offspring; He shall prolong His days;
the will of the Lord shall prosper in His hand.
Out of the anguish of His soul He shall see and be satisfied;
by His knowledge shall the righteous one, My Servant,
make many to be accounted righteous,
and He shall bear their iniquities.
Therefore I will divide Him a portion with the many,
and He shall divide the spoil with the strong,
because He poured out His soul to death
and was numbered with the transgressors;
yet He bore the sin of many,
and makes intercession for the transgressors.” (Isaiah 53:10-12)
Jesus suffered more than physical pain. He also suffered in His soul and spirit more than we can understand. And He took away our sins for all who believe in Him and repent.
King David prophesied in the Old Testament,
“The Lord says to my Lord:
‘Sit at My right hand,
until I make Your enemies Your footstool.’” (Psalm 110:1)
Jesus referred this verse to Himself when He questioned the Pharisees:
“How is it then that David, in the Spirit, calls Him Lord, saying,
‘The Lord said to my Lord,
“Sit at My right hand,
until I put Your enemies under Your feet”’?
If then David calls Him Lord, how is He His son?” (Matthew 22:43-45)
We know that Jesus said this in reference to Himself, because Jesus is both Lord and the son of David.
Jesus also said, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am” (John 8:58).
Only God Almighty referred to Himself as “I am” to the Israelites during Moses’ time (Exodus 3:14). When Jesus said this, He proclaimed His deity.
So the entire gospel is spoken of in the Old Testament through the prophets. There are many more references and verses than these.
Genesis 3:15 - seed of a woman to destroy Satan, fulfilled in Romans 16:20
Genesis 22:9-10 – He would be our sacrifice, fulfilled in John 3:16
Genesis 49:10 – He would come from the tribe of Judah, fulfilled in Matthew 2:6
Exodus 12:3, 7-13 – He would be the Passover lamb, fulfilled in John 1:29
Jeremiah 23:5-6 – He would be a descendant of David, fulfilled in Matthew 1:1
Psalm 2:7 – He is God’s only Son, fulfilled in Mark 1:11
Psalm 22, Psalm 69:21 – He is the suffering Servant, fulfilled in Matthew 27:46 and John 19:29
Psalm 118:22 – He would be rejected as the cornerstone, fulfilled in Matthew 21:42
Daniel 7:13-14 – He would reign forever, fulfilled in Revelation 1:13-18
In the Messiah, the righteousness of God is fulfilled to redeem us, who cannot redeem ourselves by our own good works. Because our good works cannot cancel out any bad deeds we have done, we need the Messiah Jesus who is the perfect Lamb of God to save us from sin. The gospel of taking on the righteousness of God by faith first appeared in the Old Testament:
"Behold, as for the proud one,
His soul is not right within him;
But the righteous will live by his faith." (Habakkuk 2:4 NASB1995)
This is our faith in Christ, echoed in the New Testament so that no one will boast of his good works and be prideful. Instead, we are justified by faith in Christ who died for us in our place. He died for people in ancient times and for people who lived after He came. All who have faith in God's word (like Abraham) is saved.