The Bible spans hundreds of pages and more than a thousand years of history before Jesus comes on the scene. If He’s so central to the story, why does He seem to show up so late?
Jesus isn’t just a teacher who appears halfway through the Bible. He’s the eternal Son of God, and every page points His way.
Here’s the thing: Jesus isn’t just a teacher who appears halfway through the Bible. He’s the eternal Son of God, and every page points His way.
5 Old Testament Patterns That Point to Jesus
You don’t need a special pair of glasses or a background in ancient languages to find Jesus in the Old Testament. What you do need is a few patterns to look for. Once you start seeing them, you’ll begin to recognize the heart, promises, and character of Jesus wherever in the Bible you happen to be reading.
Here are five patterns to get you started.
1. Where Is Jesus in Strange Old Testament Bible Stories? (Like Balaam’s Donkey)
In Numbers 22, a spiritual specialist named Balaam is hired by a king to travel and curse God’s people. Balaam sets out on the journey, but along the road, an angel blocks his path. Balaam can’t see the angel, but his donkey can. The donkey repeatedly turns aside on the road while Balaam angrily tries to force it forward.
Finally, the donkey stops, and Balaam strikes it. Then the donkey speaks, asking why Balaam is beating the animal that has faithfully carried him for years. Balaam’s eyes are opened, and he sees the angel standing in the road. He realizes he had been heading the wrong way, and he changes course.
Look for God Stepping Into the Path of Someone Heading the Wrong Way
It’s a strange story, but if you look closely, it foreshadows the character of Jesus. In it, we see a God who steps into the path of someone heading the wrong way and confronts them to save them. It sounds a lot like Jesus warning people who are about to ruin their lives. Or Jesus stopping Paul on the road to Damascus. Or Jesus confronting Peter and then restoring him.
When we read the Old Testament, we’re not reading a part of the story where Jesus is absent. We’re reading the part where glimpses of His character are already on display.
As you read the Old Testament, ask: How does this story remind me of Jesus’ life?
Try This: As you read the Old Testament today, look for echoes of Jesus. Notice how God interacts with people, especially when they’re heading the wrong way. Those moments often reveal the same heart we see in Jesus throughout the rest of the Bible.
2. Where Is Jesus in Biblical Law Codes? (Deuteronomy, Anyone?)
Ever been reading the Bible and realized you’re several chapters deep into Old Testament laws, wondering what any of it has to do with Jesus?
It helps to remember that these laws were given to the Israelites right after they escaped slavery in Egypt. For generations, they had lived in a world where power decided everything. After leaving Egypt, they needed to know: How do you build a healthy community when the only system you’ve known was built on oppression?
That’s where the law comes in.
Take these two examples from Deuteronomy: It says that if you see your neighbor’s donkey fallen on the road, you should help get it back on its feet. And when you build a house, you need to put a railing around the roof so no one falls off (Deuteronomy 22:4, 8).
These laws might sound random, but they weren’t. Rooftops in ancient Israel were living spaces—families worked, rested, and hosted guests there. Falling off a roof was a very real possibility. Similarly, donkeys and oxen were part SUV, part tractor. A fallen donkey would have been like your truck getting a flat tire. These laws were practical, everyday instructions for caring about the people around you, thinking ahead to avoid harming others, and not ignoring someone else’s problem when you can help.
Look for Laws That Teach People to Love Their Neighbor
Centuries later, Jesus summed up the heart of God’s law in a simple, short phrase: Love God and love others. The Old Testament laws gave the ancient Israelites practical steps for how to do just that. Jesus embodied the heart of those laws when He noticed people who needed help: healing a man born blind, feeding a hungry crowd, stopping for the one person everyone else passed by.
As you read the Old Testament laws, ask: How does this passage help people love their neighbor?
Try This: Look for one small way to care for someone around you today. Maybe it’s helping someone with a task. Maybe it’s noticing a need others ignore. Maybe it’s preventing a problem before it happens.
3. Where Is Jesus in Accounts of Ancient Tribes? (Check the Tabernacle)
When you picture God in the Old Testament, where do you imagine Him? Many people assume He’s distant, watching events from far away. But when you read the story carefully, you notice something different that shows up again and again: God keeps moving closer.
In Exodus, God told His people to build a tabernacle. It was a portable temple—essentially a large tent that traveled with the Israelites through the wilderness. And it wasn’t placed outside the community. It sat right in the middle of their camp, with the tribes arranged around it.
Most ancient cultures worshiped distant gods who, according to their beliefs, preferred spending time with the powerful and spiritually elite. But the God of the Bible wants to be with His people. He’s holy and praiseworthy, and He also wants to be close. If you had asked an Israelite on that desert journey where God was, they could have said, “In the neighborhood.”
Look for God Moving Closer to People
Centuries later, John describes Jesus using language that echoes the tabernacle: He says Jesus “became flesh and made his dwelling among us” (John 1:14 NIV). The Greek word for “made his dwelling” in this verse carries the same idea as the Hebrew word for “tabernacle.” John is pointing back to that earlier story on purpose.
God once lived among His people in a tent. In Jesus, He came back to the neighborhood.
God once lived among His people in a tent. In Jesus, He came back to the neighborhood. When people watched Jesus teaching, healing, forgiving, and sharing meals with ordinary families, they were seeing the same God who once lived among Israel in the wilderness.
As you read the Old Testament, ask: How is God getting closer to people in this story?
Try This: Take a moment today and remember something that was easy for Israel to forget in the wilderness: God is near. When you pray, you’re not calling out to someone far away. You’re speaking to the God who chose to come close in Jesus.
4. Where Is Jesus When Things Go Wrong in the Old Testament? (Cue the Prophets)
Not every story in the Old Testament is meant to inspire. A lot of them are meant to show what life looks like when people refuse to love God or love others; they are cautionary tales that reveal how much we need Jesus.
We see this especially in the prophetic books. Again and again, the prophets describe a troubling situation: The people are still going to worship, still using the right spiritual language, and still offering sacrifices—but something is deeply wrong.
God says through the prophet Amos,
“I hate, I despise your religious festivals; your assemblies are a stench to me. Even though you bring me burnt offerings and grain offerings, I will not accept them. ...” Amos 5:21-22 NIV
The problem wasn’t that the people had stopped being religious. The problem was that their hearts had drifted. They were still singing songs and offering sacrifices, but they were ignoring justice, mistreating others, and using religion as a cover for lives that didn’t reflect God’s character.
Look for What Goes Wrong When People Lose the Heart of God
Centuries later, Jesus said something very similar to the religious leaders of His time: “You give a tenth of your spices—mint, dill and cumin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law—justice, mercy and faithfulness” (Matthew 23:23 NIV).
Jesus wasn’t impressed by religion that looked good on the outside but ignored the heart of God.
The cautionary stories in the Old Testament show us what religious activity can look like when it slowly drifts away from what God actually cares about. These stories underline how much we need Jesus by revealing the symptoms that result from abandoning Him: injustice, violence, greed, indifference, fear, and despair. Jesus wasn’t impressed by religion that looked good on the outside but ignored the heart of God.
When you watch Jesus closely, you see the opposite of empty religion. He pays attention to the overlooked. He shows mercy to people others reject. He speaks truth with compassion. The prophets warned about a faith that had lost its heart. Jesus shows us what living out that heart looks like.
As you read the Old Testament, ask: What goes wrong here when people hold on to religion but let go of the heart of God?
Try This: Take a moment today to ask an honest question. Is there anywhere in your life where the habits of faith are still there, but the heart behind them needs to be renewed? Ask Jesus to shape your faith so it reflects His heart toward people.
5. Where Is Jesus in Old Testament Miracle Stories? (Like Naaman’s Healing)
One of the most Christlike figures in the Old Testament is a young, unnamed captive girl. Through her story in 2 Kings 5:1-15, God shows His grace to someone who doesn’t seem to belong.
Naaman was a powerful military commander from Aram; he was someone with status, influence, and the respect of his king. But he also had leprosy, a terminal disease that slowly destroyed a person’s body and separated them from normal life.
The surprising part of the story is how help reaches him. An enslaved girl from Israel—someone with no power at all—tells Naaman’s household that a prophet in Israel might be able to heal him. Without any other options, Naaman travels to see the prophet Elisha.
When he arrives, the healing doesn’t happen the way he expects. Elisha doesn’t even come out to greet him. A messenger delivers a simple instruction: Wash in the Jordan River seven times. Naaman is offended. He had expected something dramatic, something worthy of a great commander. But eventually he listens, washes in the river, and is healed.
Look for Grace Showing Up Where It Isn’t Expected
In this story, a humble servant offers grace to an enemy and an outsider who then experiences God’s love. That pattern should sound familiar—because it’s the pattern of Jesus. And Jesus makes it clear that God’s kindness has always reached beyond the people who thought they deserved it most.
When grace appears in an Old Testament story, especially when it reaches someone unexpected, it often reveals the same heart you see in Jesus.
As you read the Old Testament, ask: How is God being kind when it isn’t deserved?
Try This: Think about a time when someone showed you kindness you didn’t earn. The Bible calls that grace. Take a moment today to thank God for the ways He’s been patient and generous with you. Then ask Him to help you show that same kind of grace to someone else.
Start Looking for Jesus
The Old Testament isn’t the part of the story where Jesus is absent. It’s the part where His character, heart, and mission are already being revealed.
The Old Testament isn’t the part of the story where Jesus is absent. It’s the part where His character, His heart, and His mission are already being revealed—through echoes, laws, presence, warnings, and unexpected grace.
So the next time you open the Old Testament and feel lost, try asking one of these five questions:
- How does this story remind me of Jesus’ life?
- How does this passage help people love their neighbor?
- How is God getting closer to people in this story?
- What goes wrong here when people hold on to religion but let go of the heart of God?
- How is God being kind when it isn’t deserved?
You might be surprised how often Jesus shows up.