This week’s article heralds the writer’s apologetic discourse on the person of Jesus, His hypostatic union, the enigmatic nature and theophany which he (the writer) intends to periscopically dissect under the rubric “Who is Jesus? Unmasking the Great mystery of the Bible” in no distant days to remove doubt and establish the truth through the Biblical and theological lens espoused by archaeological discoveries.

The theologians, Christian educators, and the Bible students understand that Christ was the Word who had been with God, who was God, who made all things, that the same became flesh to live among men (John 1:1-3, 14), and that His preexistence with the Father before His incarnation is well understood but not to the Jews who lacked the understanding (John 8:56-59). The prophecies about Jesus Christ in the Old Testament to the angelic revelation in the New Testament began the emergence of new hope of Good news that He would be born of a virgin (Isa.7:14) in Bethlehem (Mic,5:2), He would live in Galilee (Isa.9:1-2), and His name shall be called JESUS because He would be the new hope of salvation to His people (Matt.1:21), and the physical presence of God would be with them (Matt.1:23; cf. John 1:1, 14). This created a new hope in the mind of the people to the extent that Abraham rejoiced (hoped) to see Jesus’ day (John 8:56).

It should be noted that Moses was the first prophet to reveal the coming of the Messiah through the type and shadow penned in the Torah. The offering of Isaac on the mount of Moriah by Abraham is a preview of Jesus’ crucifixion on Mount Moriah in Jerusalem (Gen.22). The ashes of the red heifer in the book of Numbers chapter 19 reveal details of what would happen to Christ Jesus on the Cross. More so, the brass serpent on the pole was a type and shadow of Christ, who would carry our sins to the cross (Num.22:8-9). 

Again, the enigmatic nature of Jesus’ birth signifies the hope of good news for many people: that He (Jesus) is the new hope of salvation for the sinners (1Thess.5:8; cf.Matt.1:21); the new hope of deliverance to the oppressed who had been in despair (Exo.3:7-10); the new hope of healing to the sick (Exo.15:26; Deut.7:15; Jer.30:17; 1Pet.2:24); the new hope of comfort to the hurting or the brokenhearted (Isa.61:1; Lk.4:18 ); the new hope of freedom to the captives (Isa.61:1; Lk.4:18); the new hope of joy to the sorrowful (John 16:20); the new hope of acceptance to the outcast (Jer.30:17); the new hope of eternal life promised before the world began (Titus 1:2; 3:7); He is the hope of glory (Col.1:27; Rom.5:2); the hope of the promise (Acts 26:6); He is the hope of the gospel (Col.1:23); the hope of righteousness by faith (Gal.5:5); the good hope through grace (2Thess.2:16); and the new hope of safety for all (Psalms 127:1; Prov.21:31).