What Are The Jesus Pictures?

The Jesus Pictures are, as you might guess, pictures of Him in the Old-Original Testament (OT). TJPs is the abbreviation. The “T” can also stand for TaNaK / Tanach, because the pictures of Jesus I refer to are found exclusively in the Jewish Scriptures just as Jesus and the apostles said in many places.

Before anything material or of time was created, there was the spiritual. The spiritual exists and existed before the material and before time. God’s Holy Spirit moved through time and painted pictures of Jesus in people through history. These Jesus Pictures became recorded as the OT / TaNaK / Hebrew Scriptures.

Some TJPs are more obvious than others, depending on how the people in the story flowed with the Spirit of Christ, resisted the Messiah’s Spirit, or were just plain ignoring God and His Spirit of the Anointed One (1Pe 1:11). TJPs are not explicitly spelled out in the actual sentences that tell a historical OT story. Nor are the TJPs seen when you discover the moral to the OT Bible story. Rather, they are spiritually beheld. In the NT, the Apostle Paul writes about only wanting to see the meaning of, and thus know Christ already crucified with ongoing reality in and among a people (1Co 2:2). (By the way, that is exactly what the Greek means.)

Likewise, in Galatians 3:1, Christians are bewitched when they do not maintain these graphic portrayals of Christ and Him crucified – that is maintain “seeing their meaning.” The reason why is that you can learn who Jesus is and what kind of person He is by beholding the spiritual reality seen within these OT pictures. How does this work?

The same Spirit who caused the pictures to be recorded in the OT, is the same Spirit who can open our eyes to seeing them. Moreover, if we are indeed seeing them by that authoring light of the Spirit who caused them to be recorded, then the very same Spirit now seen and recognized can transform our spirits in the present (2Co 3:18). Of course, the “god of this world” strives to keep Christians blind to this (2Co 4:4). Most people do not even know why Moses with the glowing face is used by Paul as his example for this.

(Note: the “unbelievers” of 2Co 4:4 are not secular folk, but people claiming to be Christians who disbelieve this. They are redeemed people who are not spiritually congruent to Jesus as head of His body (1Co 2:16). The Spirit of His mind is not known in a personal and narrowly, specific way that is life-giving. After all that was the Corinthians’ problem with all their divisions.)

For instance, it is possible to merely read Daniel and the lion’s den as a Bible story with a moral to it. But if you share in the same Spirit of Christ that moved through Daniel’s life and his circumstances, then you can see Jesus pictured in the story. A quick overview is the opening in and out of the lion’s den. Think of Jesus’ tomb. Daniel went one-way into an opening for his death. The stone was rolled over the opening. The stone was sealed by the government. Daniel was in a place of death. But death could not keep Daniel, because he was righteous. The devourer could not open its mouth. Thus, Daniel came out the same opening with life. The king was so amazed by Daniel’s God that he wrote letters to many nations. That sure sounds like Jesus’ burial and resurrection in the NT letters, because it is a picture of Jesus’ reality.

I am not talking about predictive prophecy or types and shadows as they are commonly taught. But I am talking about seeing Jesus (Heb 2:9). The aspect of Jesus I am seeing is the same yesterday, today, and forever (Heb 13:8). Jesus is The Promised Seed, singular in Gal 3:16. In other words, He is the Promised Seed of the woman in Gen 3:15. Jesus can be seen all the way from the start with Gen 1:1 to the end of the OT.

But learning to recognize and identifying that is not the end goal. Merely seeing Jesus pictured in the story is not yet eternal reality. It needs to be more than just staring at you right in the face. The final and most important part is engaging with the Holy Spirit regarding the picture of Jesus seen. Why? Because in that spiritual conversation, there always is the potential for the eternal and spiritual glory that moved through the story of old to shine into your present times here on this earth. You cannot really control anything about this last part. it must be entirely given by the Holy Spirit showing you what kind of person Jesus is. Then you will understand why Paul only was determined to see the meaning of, and thus know only one thing (1Co 2:2, Gal 6:14, Php 3:13). What does the Holy Spirit reveal? The answer is Jesus “as he always is,” literally being unto us righteousness – not some commodity (1Co 1:30). When beholding by the spirit with heart eyes illuminated, you realize that you are united with Jesus now (Eph 1:17-18). You know as a fact that you are seated with Him now (Eph 2:5). Yes, you are knowing what kind of person He is now, was, and always will be!

I know that sounds mystical, and it better be! Because if that Mat 7:22-23 conversation happens, you won’t need to say that you did all this stuff for Jesus, but rather, He will know you, because you took the time to get to know Him. Learn to see Him “as He is.” (1Jo 2:27-3:3).