Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind... Romans 12:2
Jesus Is the Fulfillment!
The Covenant Context of the Gospel of Luke
by Kelsey Ireland (Age 15)
The gospel of Luke is a book about the beginning of the seventh and final covenantal order. Significantly, in Scripture, "seven" is the number of completion. John the Baptist will prepare Israel for the coming of the New Covenant and their salvation: Jesus. The whole point of Luke is to prove that Jesus is the fulfillment of all the Old Testament promises and figureheads.
Jesus is the fulfillment of Adam. Adam and Eve were tempted by the serpent to eat the forbidden fruit. Upon eating it, Adam plunged the world into sin. Similarly, as Luke recorded, Jesus was tempted by the serpent to eat when God had forbidden Him to. But Jesus did not disobey God and refused to eat. Jesus is the new and eschatological Adam. His triumph over the temptation is connected to Eden being restored. Through His obedience, even unto death on the cross, the world was redeemed from sin and death. (Romans 5:19: "For as through the one man's disobedience the many were made sinners, even so through the obedience of the One the many will be made righteous.")
Jesus is the fulfillment of Israel. Throughout Luke, we see Jesus reliving Israel's history, but in the way Israel should have lived it by never disobeying God's commands. After He was born, Jesus was circumcised and redeemed (according to the Old Testament Law of Israel). When He was twelve years old, He journeyed to Jerusalem to partake of the Passover. (Israel partook of the Passover in Exodus 12.) When He was thirty, He was baptized. Jesus' baptism reflected Israel's baptism through the Red Sea as she passed through the parted waters before reaching the Promised Land. Through baptism, the old Israel died and a new Israel was born, just as through Jesus' ministry an old covenantal order died, and a new and final covenantal order emerged. After being baptized, Jesus was filled with the Holy Spirit and ready to begin His public ministry to make the whole earth into the "Promised Land." His three temptations relived Israel's trials when she was in the wilderness for 40 years, craving food and her inheritance—the Promised Land. But Israel failed her test by complaining and not trusting that God would provide for her. After 40 days of fasting in the wilderness, Jesus was tested to see if He would disobey by eating. Jesus was also tempted to claim His inheritance (not only Canaan, but the entire world) the easy way by demonstrating signs of power rather than through the power of the cross. But Jesus was obedient.
Jesus is also the fulfillment of David. David was the king of Israel, but he disobeyed God. (e.g., Bathsheba, taking a census, having concubines, etc.) Now Jesus is the true King of Israel. He is a descendant of David through Joseph (Luke 3:23-38) and sinless. But Jesus is more than the fulfillment of David. David was king of Israel, but Jesus is King of the entire world. Jesus is the fulfillment of Psalm 89:34-37. God promised that David's seed and His throne would endure forever. Jesus (a descendant of David) is ruling from David's throne. His kingdom shall never end.
Jesus is the fulfillment of Jonah. Jonah was a prophet, commanded by God to preach to the Gentiles and to extend God's grace and salvation. But Jonah refused, so God had a great fish swallow him. After being "dead" three days in the belly of the fish, Jonah was "resurrected" and spat out upon the land. In contrast, Jesus was an obedient prophet who preached and demonstrated God's grace, love, and salvation, and extended it to the Gentiles as well as the Jews. Jesus died as the greater Jonah; and, after three days, He was resurrected, conquering sin and death once and for all.
The Temptations of Jesus
Jesus' supreme role in the seventh covenant is further amplified by Luke's description of His three great temptations.
Jesus' temptations are difficult to understand outside of their covenantal background and purpose. Jesus was fasting, so He was hungry. Why couldn't He eat? When Israel was "fasting" in the wilderness for 40 years, she did not trust God to provide her with food. She failed her test, but Jesus passed it by refusing to eat, thus overcoming Israel's first big temptation.
Jesus' second temptation reflected God's promise of inheritance. Israel was given very strict instructions that to claim her inheritance (the Promised Land) she must drive the Canaanites out. Again, she disobeyed. In order to relive Israel's failure, Jesus must obey God's instructions on how to conquer His inheritance (the world). Although He was tempted to take His inheritance without dying on the cross, Jesus remained faithful and passed the test.
In the third temptation, Jesus is enticed to draw upon God's divine provision (the protection of His angels). Jesus is being tempted to put God to the test just as Israel put God to the test in the wilderness at Massah. Despite all that they had seen, Israel did not trust that God would provide water for them, and so "they put the Lord to the proof by saying, ‘Is the Lord among us?'" (Exodus 17:7b). Jesus, however, refused to ask His Father for a frivolous display of His power, thus proving He was Israel's true and perfect representative.
Jesus was being tempted to claim His inheritance in any way but God's way. Instead, He chose to endure the pain and suffering of the cross. He had to die on the cross in order to conquer the world and prove He is the true Messiah. It was the only way. Jesus had to be obedient not only to redeem Israel's failures, but also to redeem us and secure our salvation. Only through His death were our sins atoned for. Praise God that He was faithful!
Return to Volume 9, Number 2.
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