Proverbs 8:22-31
Jesus is Wisdom and Fulfills All Scripture
22 “The Lord brought me forth as the first of his works,
before his deeds of old;
23 I was formed long ages ago,
at the very beginning, when the world came to be.
24 When there were no watery depths, I was given birth,
when there were no springs overflowing with water;
25 before the mountains were settled in place,
before the hills, I was given birth,
26 before he made the world or its fields
or any of the dust of the earth.
27 I was there when he set the heavens in place,
when he marked out the horizon on the face of the deep,
28 when he established the clouds above
and fixed securely the fountains of the deep,
29 when he gave the sea its boundary
so the waters would not overstep his command,
and when he marked out the foundations of the earth.
30 Then I was constantly at his side.
I was filled with delight day after day,
rejoicing always in his presence,
31 rejoicing in his whole world
and delighting in mankind.
When Luke in his Gospel wrote about Jesus, he wrote: "Then He (Jesus) said to them, 'These are the things 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."...Then in Matthew's Gospel, he writes "Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish, but to fulfill...For I tell you truly, until heaven and earth pass away, not a single jot or stroke will pass from the Law until everything is accomplished."...And in John's Gospel, he writes "Knowing then that all things had already been accomplished, that the Scripture might be fulfilled, Jesus said, 'I thirst."...
So when Jesus tells us that He fulfills Scripture, it has many meanings...We can look back to the Old Testament and find where He might have been referring to Himself and Scripture and how He fulfills the Old Testament Scriptures...
We read John's Gospel and know that Jesus was with God in the beginning and at the very beginning when the world came to be...The Proverbs author tells us about Someone who is a figure called Wisdom who was present with God at creation and participated in His Creation Work...We might believe that this is Jesus, who is often identified with Wisdom in the New Testament..."The LORD brought Me forth as the First of His Works, before His deeds of old; I was formed long ages ago, at the very beginning, when the world came to be...When there were no watery depths, I was given birth, when there were no springs overflowing with water; before the mountains were settled in place, before the hills, I was given birth, before He made the world or its fields or any of the dust of the earth...I was there when He set the heavens in place, when He marked out the horizon on the face of the deep, when He established the clouds above and fixed securely the fountains of the deep, when He gave the sea its boundary so the waters would not overstep His command, and when He marked out the foundations of the earth...Then I was constantly at His Side...I was filled with delight day after day, rejoicing always in His Presence, rejoicing in His Whole World and delighting in mankind...
Micah says in his prophecy speaks of a ruler who will come from Bethlehem, "whose goings forth are from of old, from everlasting."...This might also be a reference to Jesus' eternal existence and origin in heaven from the very beginning of time and everlasting to everlasting...
There are several verses where the different Biblical authors write about an Angel of the LORD...When the different writers speak of the Angel of the LORD, it may be Jesus...It is also highly likely that the phrase “the Angel of the LORD” usually identifies a physical appearance of God and the Presence of God...And in believing that, Jesus tells us that anyone who has seen Him has seen God...We know that Jesus said in John when talking to His Disciple Philip and the other Disciples were listening: He said: "If you really know Me, you will know My Father as well...From now on, you do know Him and have seen Him.”...Philip said, “LORD, show us the Father and that will be enough for us.”...Jesus answered: “Don’t you know Me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time?...Anyone who has seen Me has seen the Father....How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’?...Don’t you believe that I AM in the Father, and that the Father is in Me?...The words I say to you I do not speak on My Own Authority...Rather, it is the Father, Living in Me, who is doing His work...Believe Me when I say that I AM in the Father and the Father is in Me; or at least believe on the evidence of the works themselves...Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in Me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I AM going to the Father...And I will do whatever you ask in My Name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son...You may ask Me for anything in My Name, and I will do it."...
These verses from the Gospels and the author of Proverbs and Micah see Someone Spiritually coming to earth, the Messiah...And Jesus sees Himself as the culmination and fulfillment of all that was written about Him in the Old Testament...Jesus made many powerful claims that He is Divine and had pre-existence, which challenged the established religious authorities and set the stage for conflict, controversy, and ultimately, His crucifixion and resurrection...But Jesus remained steadfast in His claims about Himself...He believed His life, teachings, death, and resurrection were all in accordance with the prophecies and promises found in the Scriptures...