Symbolic Language Used Of The Lord Jesus Christ
The Word Of God - Lesson III G
Symbolic Language Used Of The Lord Jesus Christ
The Bible uses a number of terms to describe Christ. They are as follows:
A. THE ROCK
Deuteronomy 32:4
He is the Rock. His works are perfect and all His ways are just. A faithful God, who does no wrong, upright and just is He.
II Samuel 22:2.3a
He (David) said: The Lord is my Rock, my Fortress and my Deliverer, my God is my Rock in whom I take refuge. My Shield and the Horn of my salvation…..
Psalm 18:2
The Lord is my Rock, my Fortress and my Deliverer; my God is my Rock, in whom I take refuge, He is my shield and the horn of my salvation, my Stronghold.
Psalm 19:14
May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, O, Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer.
Psalm 92:15
The Lord is upright, He is my Rock, and there is no wickedness in Him.
Isaiah 26:4
Trust in the Lord forever, for the Lord, the Lord, is the Rock eternal.
I Corinthians 10:1-4
For I do not want you to be ignorant of the fact, brothers, that our forefathers were all under the cloud and that they all passed through the sea. They were all baptised into Moses in the cloud and the sea. They all ate the same spiritual food and drank the same spiritual drink; for they drank from the spiritual Rock that accompanied them, and that Rock was Christ.
This is a reference to Exodus 17:6
I (God) will stand before you (Moses) by the rock of Horeb. Strike the rock and water will come out of it for the people to drink.
And Numbers 20:11
Then Moses raised his arm and struck the rock with his staff. Water gushed out, and the community and their livestock drank.
I Peter 2:6-8
For in Scripture is days: See I lay a Stone in Zion, a chosen and precious Cornerstone, and the one who trusts in Him will never be put to shame. The Stone the builders rejected has become the Capstone, and a Stone that causes men to stumble, and a Rock that makes them fall.
This is a reference to Isaiah 8:13-14a
The Lord Almighty is the One you are to regard as Holy, He is the One you are to fear, He is the One you are to dread, and He will be a Sanctuary, but for both Houses of Israel He will be a Stone that causes men to stumble, and a Rock that makes them fall….
Matthew 16:15-18
But what about you? He (Jesus) asked, Who do you say I am? Simon Peter answered, You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God. Jesus replied, Blessed are you, Simon, son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by man, but by MY Father in heaven. *And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this Rock I will build My Church and the Gates of Hades will not overcome it.
According to Vine’s Expository Dictionary the word “Peter” is the Greek word “Petros” and the word “Rock” is the word “Petra”. We are therefore to understand this verse in the following way:
*And I tell you that you are “PETROS” (meaning a detached stone or boulder, or a stone that might be easily moved) and on this “PETRA” (meaning a mass of rock) I will build My Church and the Gates of Hades will not overcome it.
B. THE WORD
Furthermore, Jesus is called the Word, as in:
John 1:1
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
This is a reference to Genesis 1:1
In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.
C. THE LAMB OF GOD
Jesus is called the Lamb of God in Isaiah 53:7
He was oppressed and afflicted, yet He did not open His mouth; He was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is silent, so He did not open His mouth.
John 1:29
The next day John saw Jesus coming towards Him and said, Look the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world.
Revelation 5:11-12
Then I looked and heard the voice of many angels, numbering thousands upon thousands, and ten thousand times ten thousand. They encircled the throne and the living creatures and the elders. In a loud voice they sang: Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength and honour and glory and praise!
Revelation 5:13
Then I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and on the sea, and all that is in them, singing,To Him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be praise and honour and glory and power, for ever and ever!
Revelation 17:14
They will make war against the Lamb but the Lamb will overcome them because He is Lord of lords and King of kings – and with Him will be His called, chosen and faithful followers.
Revelation 19:9
Then the angel said to me, Write: Blessed are those who are invited to the wedding supper of the Lamb.
Revelation 21:22-23
I did not see a temple in the city, because the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. The city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives its light, and the Lamb is its lamp.
Revelation 21:27
Nothing impure will ever enter it, nor will anyone who does what is shameful or deceitful, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life.
D. THE TEMPLE
Jesus called his body a temple in John 2:18-22
Then the Jews demanded of Him, What miraculous sign can you show us to prove your authority to do all this? Jesus answered them, Destroy this temple and I will raise it again in three days. The Jews replied, It has taken forty-six years to build this temple and you are going to raise it in three days? But the temple He had spoken of was His body. After He was raised from the dead, His disciples recalled what He had said. Then they believed the Scripture and the words that Jesus had spoken.
E. THE BREAD OF LIFE
Jesus called Himself the bread of life in John 6:35
Then Jesus declared, I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me will never go hungry, and He who believes in Me will never be thirsty.
And in John 6:48-58
I am the bread of life. Your forefathers ate the manna in the desert, yet they died. But here is the bread that comes down from heaven, which a man may eat and not die. I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live for ever. This bread is My flesh, which I will give for the life of the world. Then the Jews began to argue sharply among themselves, How can this Man give us His flesh to eat? Jesus said to them, I tell you the truth, unless you can eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in you. Whoever eats My flesh and Drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day. For My flesh is real food and My blood is real drink. Whoever eats My flesh and drinks My blood remains in Me, and I in him. Just as the living Father sent Me and I live because of the Father, so the one who feeds on Me will live because of Me. This is the bread that came down from heaven. Your forefathers ate manna and died, but he who feeds on this bread will live forever.
Please remember that the above words are symbolic and are to be understood in a spiritual sense. They are not to be taken literally for Jesus said in John 6:63b
…. The words I have spoken to you are spirit and they are life.
F. THE GOOD SHEPHERD
Jesus called Himself the Good Shepherd in John 10:11
I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down His life for the sheep.
And in John 10:14-15
I am the good shepherd. I know My sheep and My sheep know Me just as the Father knows Me and I know the Father – and I lay down My life for the sheep.
G. THE GATE
Jesus called Himself the Gate in John 10:7-9
Therefore Jesus said again, I tell you the truth, I am the gate for the sheep. All who ever came before Me were thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. I am the gate; whoever enter through Me will be saved. He will come in and go out and find pasture.
H. THE WAY, THE TRUTH, THE LIFE
Jesus said of Himself that He was the way, the truth, and the life.
In John 14:6
Jesus answered, I am the way and the truth and the life. No-one comes to the Father except through Me.
I. THE VINE
Jesus called Himself the vine in John 15:1
I am the true vine and My Father is the gardener.
And in John 15:5
I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in Me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from Me you can do nothing.
In our next study we will look at Jesus after His return to heaven.