Images of Christ in the Bible

In order to know more about the person and work of Jesus Christ one turns to the Bible.  And there is a plurality of images/metaphors of Jesus in the Bible.  These images are not simply to identify Jesus or to distinguish him from others, but the images/metaphors that were given to him had other functions.  These designations bring out his personal identity, nature and character as well as his mission.

1          Nature images:  We will see some images of Christ used in the Bible in relation to nature as follows:

             (a)          First fruit:  The scripture speaks of Jesus Christ as ‘the first fruits of them that sleep’(1 Cor.15:20).  When the scripture speaks of Jesus as ‘the first fruits,’ the author is thinking in terms of a picture which every Jew would recognize.  St. Paul compares Christ’s resurrection to the ‘first fruits’ and the first fruits were presented to God on the day following the Sabbath after Passover (Lev.23:9-14; 1 Cor.15:23).  Since the Sabbath must always be the seventh day, the day after Sabbath must be the first day of the week, or Sunday, the day of Lord’s resurrection.

             The Passover Feast commemorated the deliverance of the children of Israel from Egypt.  But the Feast of Passover was also a great harvest festival.  It fell just at the time when the barley harvest was due to be ingathered.  The Law laid it down, “You shall bring the sheaf of the first fruits of your harvest to the priest; and he shall weave the sheaf before the Lord, that you may find acceptance; on the morrow after the Sabbath the priest shall weave it,” (Lev.23:10-14).  Some sheaves of barley must be reaped from a common field.  When the barley was cut, it was brought to the temple and offered to God.  It is significant to note that first fruits were a sign of the harvest to come; and the resurrection of Jesus was a sign of the resurrection of all believers which was to come.  Just as the new barley could not be used until the first fruits had been duly offered, so also the new harvest of life could not come until Jesus had been raised from the dead..

             (b)          Bread:  Bread is a vital commodity.  From earliest times the word ‘bread’ was used for food in general (Gen.3:19; Prov.6:8).  Since it was a staple article of diet, it was called ‘staff’ of  bead (Lev.26:26), which is probably the origin of our phrase ‘staff of life.’  Those who were responsible for bread were important officials, as in Egypt (Gen.40:1), and in Assyria a chief baker is honored with an eponymy.  Bread was early used in sacred meals (Gen.14:18), and loaves were included in certain offerings (Lev.21:6).  Above all, it had a special place in the sanctuary as the ‘bread of the Presence.’  The manna was later referred to as ‘heavenly bread’ (Ps.105:40).  Our Lord Jesus referred to himself as ‘the bread of God’ and as ‘the bread of life’ (Jn.6:33, 35), and he chose the bread of Passover to be the symbolic memorial of his broken body.

             (c)           Water:  Frequently water is symbolical of God’s blessing and of spiritual refreshment (Ps.23:2; Isa.32:2; 35:6-7) and the longing for it indicates spiritual need (Ps.42:1).  Jeremiah describes Yahweh as ‘the fountain of living waters’ (Jer.2:13; 17:13), a phrase that is echoed in Jn.7:38 of the Holy Spirit.  In NT water is connected with eternal life as the supreme blessing that God gives (Jn.4:14; Rev.7:17; 21:6).  The Christians identified Jesus with the rock which gave the Israelites water in the wilderness (Ex.17:6).  In the statement of Jesus, “Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, stream of living water will flow from within him,” John is probably identifying Jesus with the fountain from which the cleansing stream flows.  Water is that without which man cannot live; and Christ is the one without who man cannot live and dare not die.

             (d)          Vine:  The common grape-vine is a slender plant which trails on the ground or climbs supports by means of tendrils.  It is mentioned throughout scripture, frequently in a symbolic sense. Apart from their use in the form of wine, grapes constituted an important item in the diet of the Hebrews, supplying iron and other essential minerals.

             Used symbolically, the vine was the emblem of prosperity and peace among the ancient Hebrews.  More particularly it symbolized the chosen people.  They were the vine which God had taken out of Egypt and planted in a particular choice land (Ps.80:8-14; Isa.5:1-5).

             No fewer than five parables of Jesus related to vines and their culture.  These were the fig in the vineyard (Lk.13:6-9), laborers in the vineyard (Mt.20:1-16) etc.  Particularly significant  was Christ’s description of himself as the true vine (Jn.15:1ff.), with whom all true believers are in organic relationship.  At the Last Supper the fruit of the vine symbolized Christ’s atoning blood, becoming the Sacramental wine of the Christian communion service.  In Christian art the fruitful vine has often symbolized the union of Christ with his followers.

             (e)          Light:  The word ‘light’ is used in connection with joy, blessing and life in contrast to sorrow, adversity and death (cf. Gen.1:3f.; Job 10:22; 18:5f.).  At an early time it came to signify God’s presence and favor (cf. Ps.27:1; Isa.9:2; 2 Cor.4:6) in contrast to God’s judgment (Amos 5:18).  From this and other sources arises an ethical dualism between light and darkness, i.e., good and evil, which is quite in the NT (cf. Lk.16:8; Jn.3:19ff. etc).  God’s holiness is expressed in terms of light, e.g. In 1 Tim.6:16, where he is said to dwell in unapproachable light; cf. 1 Jn.1:5, where it is said that God is light.  In John’s Gospel the term ‘light’ refers not so much to God’s holiness as to the revelation of his love in Christ and the penetration of that love into lives darkened by sin.  But Christ refers to himself as ‘the light of the world’ (cf. Jn.8:12; 9:5), and in the Sermon on the Mount he applies this term to his disciples (Mt.5:14-16).

             (f)           Life:  In the OT, life is properly the life of God, the Ever-Living One, who has life in himself and alone has immortality (Jn:26; Rom.5:21;Rev.4:9).  He can make alive and he can kill (Rom.4:17; 2 Cor.1:9).  This life of God is manifest in Jesus Christ.  He is the true God, and eternal life (1 Jn.5:20; Jn.1:4; 14:6), the author of life (Acts 3:15), to whom the Father has granted ‘to have life in himself’ (Jn:26).  Jesus claims that he is ‘the resurrection and the life (Jn.11:25), ‘the bread of life’ (Jn.6:35) and his words are ‘Spirit and life’ (Jn.6:63).  By his resurrection he manifests himself Lord and Judge over the living and the dead.  Resurrection life now finds its meaning in the image of Jesus Christ.  For men, then, true life is grounded in Jesus Christ who became a life-giving Spirit (1 Cor.15:45).  Life image of Jesus is associated with the function of Jesus.

2          Pastoral images:  Of the pastoral images of Jesus we will study two images-Lamb and Shepherd- which are associated with his function:

             (a)          Lamb:  In NT Jesus is described as ‘lamb’ (Jn.1:29, 36; Acts 8:32; 1 Pet.1:19).  In the Gospel according to John, John the Baptist described Jesus as ‘the Lamb of God.”  This is not merely a comparison in which Jesus is said to be like a lamb; rather he is the Lamb of God.  The Christological images “Lamb of God,” or “Lamb,” or “Paschal Lamb,” all carry the meaning of ‘ransom’ or ‘redemption.’  The ‘Paschal Lamb’ has its background in the deliverance of the people of Israel from Egypt.  When they were in Egypt, God sent angels to strike the Egyptians by killing their firstborns.  But Israelites were asked to kill a lamb and smear its blood on the doorposts so that when the angel of the Lord came, seeing the blood on the doorposts, they passed over their houses.  The Passover festival commemorated this event and at every Passover a lamb is killed.  From the lamb killed on the Passover festival the title ‘Paschal Lamb’ is derived.  Another possibility for this image is the Greek word ‘pascho’ which means ‘suffer.’  According to this, Jesus is called ‘the Paschal Lamb’ because he is the Suffering Lamb (Isa.53).

             The other ‘Lamb’ images are rooted in the OT sacrificial practice.  The Jews had to offer sacrifice of atonement on the Day of Atonement.  On this day a sheep had to be slaughtered and a portion of its blood taken into the of Holies by the high priest and smeared over the Ark of Covenant; and the remaining blood of the Lamb was smeared over a goat and was released in the wilderness symbolizing that the goat carried away their sins.  The Jewish belief was that the blood of the lamb has ransomed them of their lives.  From this lamb that was killed on the Day ofAtonement the NT writers derived their Christological image ‘Lamb of God’ who carries away the sin of the world.  Therefore, this image ‘Lamb of God’ is applied to Jesus signifying forgiveness of sin through his suffering and death on the cross.  That is why John the Baptist testifies of Jesus as “the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world” (Jn.1:29).

             (b)          Shepherd:  The word ‘shepherd’ is a widely used metaphor for kings in the ancient Near East, and also in Israel (Ps.23:1).  David the king acknowledged that the Lord is his shepherd.  As a shepherd leads his sheep in paths that offer safety and well-being, so David’s shepherd guides him in ways that cause him to be secure and prosperous.

             The picture of the shepherd is woven into the language and imagery of the bible.  In the OT God is often pictured as the shepherd, and the people as his flock.  “The Lord is my shepherd: I shall not want” (Ps.23:1)  “He is our God, and we are the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his pasture” (Ps.100:3).  In the NT God’s Anointed One, the Messiah, is also pictured as the shepherd of the sheep.  “He will feed his flock like a shepherd: he will gather the lambs in his arms, and will carry them in his bosom, and gently lead those that are with young,” (Isa.40:11).  This picture passes over into the NT where Jesus identifies himself with the good shepherd.  He himself said, “I am the good shepherd.  The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep (Jn.10:10).  He is the good shepherd who will risk his life to seek and to save the one straying sheep (Mt.18:12) He has pity upon the people because they are as sheep without a shepherd (Mk.6:34).  He is the shepherd of the souls of men (1 Pet.2:25), and the great shepherd of the sheep (Heb.13:20).

             When Jesus made this statement, “I am the good shepherd,” he certainly contrasting himself to the false shepherds who were in charge of the Jewish religion of that day.  He pointed out four special pastoral ministries that he performs as the Good Shepherd:

                             (i)           He dies for the sheep (Jn.10:1-13):  Under the old dispensation, the sheep died for the shepherd; but now the good shepherd dies for the sheep.  Jesus contrasted himself to the hireling who watches over the sheep only because he is paid to do so.  But when there is danger, the hireling runs away, while the true shepherd stays and cares for the flock.  The good shepherd purchases the sheep and they are his because he died for them.  They belong to him, and he cares for them.  By nature, sheep are stupid and prone to get into danger; and they need a shepherd to care for them.

                             (ii)          He knows his sheep (Jn.10:14-15):  In John’s gospel, the word ‘know’ means much more than intellectual awareness.  It speaks of an intimate relationship between God and his people (Jn.17:3).  The good shepherd knows each of his sheep by name (Jn.10:3).

                             (iii)         He also knows our natures and needs:  While all sheep are alike in their essential nature, each sheep has its own distinctive characteristics; and the loving shepherd recognizes these traits.  He knew each of the believer personally, and he knew exactly how to deal with them.  Not only he knows our nature but he also knows our needs.  Often, we do not even know our needs.  In the pastures, by the waters, and even through the valleys, the sheep need not fear, because the Shepherd is caring for them and meeting their needs.

                             (iv)         The good shepherd brings other sheep into the flock:  Here the ‘fold’ is Judaism but there is another fold, i.e., Gentiles who are outside the covenants of Israel.  He brings the Gentiles too into the Church.

3          Human images:  In the Bible there are various human images of Jesus.  We will make an attempt to understand some of those New Testament human images of Jesus:

             (a)          King:  One of the Gospel pictures of Jesus is that as King, the ruler over the entire universe.  Isaiah had anticipated a future ruler who would sit upon David’s throe (Isa.9:7).  The author to the Hebrews applies Ps.45:6-7 to the Son of God (Heb.1:8).  Jesus himself said that in the new world the Son of Man would sit on a glorious throne (Mt.19:28).  He claimed that Kingdom of God was his (Mt.13:41).  Matthew has a special interest in presenting Jesus as King.  In his genegealogy Matthew shows Jesus to be the ‘Son of David’ and hence the ‘royal Messiah’ of theJews and at his crucifixion the soldiers taunt him, with an ironic implication, as ‘the King of the Jews’ (Mt.27:29).  Similarly, John also shows Jesus as Israel’s King through the placard that was placed above Jesus’ head: “Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews” (Jn.19:19).

             (b)          Bridegroom:  The prophets often use the analogy of the bridegroom and the bride in describing the relation between God and Israel.  The appeal to Israel to return in repentance is an appeal to forsake false lovers and to deck herself in bridal attire for what is nothing less than a remarriage (Isa.49:18; 69:10).  In the NT, John the Baptist refers to Jesus as the Bridegroom, he himself being the bridegroom’s friend who arranges the wedding and rejoices when he hears the

bridegroom’s voice announcing his coming (Jn.3:29).  Jesus also identifies himself with the divine Bridegroom in explaining why his disciples need not fast when he is with them for they are in his wedding party (Mt.9:13-14).

             (c)           Son:  In OT, ‘son’ is commonly used in Semitic languages to denote membership of a class, as ‘son of Israel’ for Israelites.  ‘Son of God’ in Hebrew means ‘god’ or god-like’ rather than ‘son of God.’  Sonship of God chiefly denotes relationship by covenant and is used (i) of Israel as a whole (Ex.4:22); (ii) of Israelites generally (Deut.14:1); (iii) of the Davidic King, Yahweh’s anointed who will rule his people forever (Ps.2:7).

             In the NT, both expressions ‘sons of God’ and ‘children of God’ occur but without obvious distinction in meaning.  NT usage is based on one or other of the OT uses of ‘son of God.’  The collective sonship of Israel is prominent in the thought of St. Paul.  Sometimes this sonship is seen as represented and fulfilled in Jesus Christ (cf. Mt.2:15).  The sonship of God’s people is linked with the special sonship of Jesus in Heb.2:10-17.  Here, Jesus’ sonship is that conferred on the Messiah-King, David’s son (Ps.2:7; 2 Sam.7:14), which itself is parallel to, and perhaps epitomizes, Israel’s covenantal sonship.

             (d)          Friend:  From the discourse of Jesus as found in Mt.11:4-19 it appears that Jesus was saddened by the sheer perversity of human nature.  To him men seemed to be like children playing in the village square.  No matter what was suggested, they did not want to do it; and no matter what was offered, they found a fault in it.  When John the Baptist came, living in the desert, fasting and despising food, isolated from the society of men; the Jews said about him, “John is mad to cut himself off from human society and human pleasures like that.”  Jesus came, mixing with all kinds of people, sharing in their sorrows and their joys, companying with them in their time of joy; and people said of him, “Jesus is a socialite; he is the friend of outsiders with whom no decent person would have anything to do.”  They called John’s asceticism madness; and they called Jesus’ sociability laxness of morals.  They could find a ground of criticism either way.

             The Jews, particularly the Pharisees, criticized John for his lonely isolation; so also they criticized Jesus for mixing too much in ordinary life and with ordinary people.  They called Jesus, “a friend of tax collectors and sinners.”

             (e)          Servant:  Jesus is designated as ‘a servant’ but very rarely we find the noun form ‘servant’ as applied by himself.  But there is the verb form ‘serve’ used by Jesus in relation to his ministry (Mk.10:45) or through actions of Jesus (cf. Jn.13).  Jesus is the model servant of God whose will is to do the will of the One who sent him (Jn.5:30), as any faithful servant representative would do.  He describes his mission as that of serving rather than being served (Mk.10:45), even to the point of giving his life as ‘ransom for many.’  As a dramatic illustration of what he has been talking about, he performs the servant role at his final meal with the disciples by washing their feet (Jn.13:1-15).

             (f)           High Priest:  References to priest and high priest in the NT assume an historical and religious continuity with the OT.  Jesus also had no basic quarrel with the prescribed function of the temple and priesthood.  However, Jesus’ own teaching had placed him at the heart of a new structure: ‘something greater than the temple is here’ (Mt.12:6); ‘destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up’ (Jn.2:19); ‘for the Son of Man also came not tobe served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many’ (Mk.10:45).  Of the NT writers, it is the author of Hebrews who picks up these threads and weaves them into a many-colored fabric.  In its passion to prove that the

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Christian faith is superior to the OT patterns of worship, letter to the Hebrews claims that Jesus has been appointed by God to be the new, the true high priest who can finally deal with human sin.  Jesus’ priesthood, surpassing Aaron’s and reaching back to Melchizedek’s, contains the perfection missing in the older sacrificial system (Heb.7:18).

             (g)          Master:  In the OT the most common term is adon (Heb.), meaning ‘lord,’ ‘sir,’ found 96 times, particularly when the reference is to person other than God.  In the NT the most frequent term is didaskalos (Gk.), meaning ‘teacher,’ ‘instructor,’ found 47 times, all in the Gospels.  A word peculiar in this connection to Luke’s Gospel and found there six times, always when the disciples are addressing Jesus, is epistates (Gk), meaning ‘superintendent,’ ‘overseer,’ (Lk.5:5).  The word kyrios (Gk),meaning ‘lord,’ ‘sir,’ is translated ‘master’ 14 times, often signifying God or Jesus Christ (Mk.13:35; Eph.6:9).

4          Other images:  Other images of Jesus found in the Bible will briefly be seen below:

             (a)          Door:  In Jn.10:7-10 Jesus said, “I am the door,” and applied this symbolic language ‘door’ to himself. He is the Door of the sheep fold and makes it possible for the sheep to leave the fold (the religion of Judaism) and to enter his flock.  The Pharisees threw the beggar out of the synagogue, but Jesus led him out of Judaism and into the flock of God (Jn.9).  Jesus, the good shepherd, does not stop with leading the sheep out; he also leads them in.  They became a part of ‘one flock’ which is his Church.  Jesus is the door of salvation (Jn.10:9).  Those who trust him enter into the Lord’s flock and they have the privilege of going ‘in and out’ and finding pasture.  As the door, Jesus delivers sinners from bondage and leads them into freedom.  When we go through the Door, we receive life and we are saved.  As we go ‘in and out,’ we enjoy abundant life in the rich pasture.  His sheep enjoy fullness and freedom.

             (b)          Way:  OT usage:  Apart from the obvious literal uses, there are a number of closely linked metaphorical ones.  They derive from the fact that one on a public path becomes known and his goal and purposes are revealed by the road he takes.  Most important is the sense of God’s purposes and will (Ex.33:13; Ps.67:2; Pr.8:22; Eze.18:25).  There follows the idea of God’s commandments (Ps.119).  ‘Way’ is used generally of man’s conduct, good or bad, and even of that of animal (Ps.1:1,6).

             NT usage:  There are two developments of OT usage that call for covenant.  In Mt.7:13-14 we have the two ways in which man can walk contrasted. The earliest evidence for this thought is found at Qumran; it is common in rabbinic literature and was developed in the Didache.  From Acts 9:2; 19:9, 23 etc we learn that ‘the Way’ was the oldest designation of the Christian Church for itself.  This is partly an extension of a use already found in the OT (Isa.40:10-11) where God’s people are seen being led along God’s way.  In Jn.14:6 Christ claims to be the summing up of all ‘the way’ in relationship to God.  Jesus does not simply teach the way; He is the Way.  Our Lord’s statement, “no man comes to the Father but by me” wipes away any other proposed way to heaven- good works, religious ceremonies, etc.  There is only one Way, and that Way is Jesus Christ.

             (c)           Cornerstone:   The chief biblical terms for stone are Heb. Eben and Gk ‘lithos’ and ‘akrogoniaios’ (cornerstone).  The common word ‘stone’ is used in the Bible with a variety of reference.  Small stones made a convenient weapon (1 Sam.17:40), small stones were a means of attack and even execution (Num.35:17), formed a handy measure of weights (Lev.19:36) and were used as knives (Ex.4:25).  Larger stones were used for different purposes: they were used to cover wells (Gen.29:2), to close the mouths of caves (Jos.10:18)  and of tombs (Mt.27:60), to serve as a landmark (2 Sam.20:8), as a memorial (Jos.10:18), and as a pillar or altar which had specifically religious associations (Gen.28:18; Deut.27:5).

             Figurative as well as literal uses of the term ‘stone’ occur in the Bible.  Notably, the ‘stone’ image is used in the NT to describe the person of Jesus.  In the Synoptic Gospels, for example, the parable of the vineyard (Mk.12:1-11) is followed by the Lord’s citation of Ps.118:22, which is obviously applied to himself (‘The very stone which the builders rejected has become the head of the corner’).  This provides us with an important clue to the self-understanding of Jesus .  The realsignificance of the passage (Mk.12:1-11) in its NT setting is made abundantly clear from Peter’s quotation of Ps.118:22, with reference to Jesus, during his speech before the Jewish court in Jerusalem (Ac.4:11).  God has vindicated Jesus whom the Jews cast out, and exalted him to the headship of the new Israel.

             The only OT occurrences of the phrase ‘cornerstone’ are Job 38:16 and Isa.28:16 (LXX akrogoniaios); and these are both figurative.  But unlike ‘head of the corner’ the stone referred to here would seem to be part of the foundation of a building and to bear its weight.  This is evidently the meaning of ‘akrogoniaios in 1 Pet.2:6, where the writer quotes Isa.28:16 itself.  Christ is now the cornerstone of the Church, the location of which is the heavenly Zion (cf. Eph.2:20; 1 Cor.3:11)

(d)               Wisdom:  In the NT the Greek word ‘sophia’ occurs frequently and repeats most of the OT usage supplemented by the relation Christ bears to the divine wisdom.  Wisdom is an attribute of God, the revelation of the divine will to human beings (Lk.11:49; 1 Cor.2:4-7), a religious and spiritual understanding of God’s will.  The distinctive element in the NT wisdom is its identification of Jesus Christ as the wisdom of God, who becomes the ultimate source of all the Christians’ wisdom (1 Cor.1:24, 30).