Signposts
I’m going to show my age with this one simple question: Do you remember the days of road-trips before we all had GPS on our phones? Do you remember the feeling of driving along the interstate watching for the mileage signs indicating how many more miles you had to your destination? It was a source of both agony & comfort for me.
Agony because I would repeatedly discover how far we had yet to travel. Let’s be real…there is only so long a hyperactive kid can last before coming apart on a long road-trip. Now that I’m a parent, I undertstand the turmoil I caused during these adventures. Sorry, Mom & Dad!
At the same time, though, mileage signs were a source of comfort. I found great joy & satisfaction watching the distance to our destination decrease as time passed. As the numbers decreased, my excitement increased. I should probably apologize to my parents for this also because I know what I’m like when I get excited about something. Sorry (again), Mom & Dad!
This past summer, my family & I decided to take a vacation to Chattanooga, TN. Like many other people from the Midwest, we had driven through Nooga (what the locals call it) on our way to Florida, but we had never spent more than a night. In our minds, it was simply a rest-stop on a long journey, so we had never viewed it through any lens other than that.
When my wife was a child, her family went to Florida almost every year to visit relatives. They would all pile into the Chevy Astro van and start the long trek down — counting mileage markers as they went. They would usually stop in Chattanooga for a quick respite during the journey. As a result, she had been to many of the attractions for which Nooga is famous, but her second family — the kids & I — had never had the opportunity.
When we started talking about potential vacation destinations for our family this past summer, Florida was at the top of the list. We all wanted some time on the beach and an opportunity to visit extended family — especially Karen’s grandmother who is now in her late-90s. Unfortunately, our travel budget was about half of what it needed to be, so we crossed off the beach and started looking for someplace a little closer to home. It was then that the idea popped into my head: Our budget is half of what it needs to be to get us to Florida, and Chattanooga is half the distance to Florida. Perfect! With that in mind, we decided to make Nooga our destination.
We did all of the usual tourist activities including Lookout Mountain, Ruby Falls, Rock City, the Chattanooga Trolley, and the Tennessee Aquarium. We ate too much ice cream at Clumpies and enjoyed incredible food at local restaurants including Puckett’s Grocery & Restaurant. One afternoon, we strolled across the Tennessee River on the famous Walnut Street Bridge and enjoyed watching the kayakers and stand up paddle boarders in the river far below. I’m an outdoors guy (more backpacking & mountain biking than hunting & fishing), so the next day we rented our own kayak and SUPs for a few hours to experience the river up close & personal. We ended our time in Tennessee with an incredible hike in Savage Gulf State Park which is located a couple of hours north of Chattanooga.
The only downside of the trip (other than not being Florida) was that I couldn’t convince my family to go whitewater rafting on the Ocoee River. Guess I’ll have to go back with the guys sometime soon!
All in all, it was one of my favorite vacations ever. It was a week of unhurried and unscheduled time with my family. Plans were frequently made the night before and sometimes altered in the moment as opportunities arose. Chattanooga is an incredible destination for those who want both urban experiences and wilderness adventures in close proximity to each other.
The only downside to Chattanooga is it’s distance from where I currently live. (I’ve suggested moving there several times since this vacation. My family doesn’t seem to be willing to go with me, though!) The fastest driving route from my hometown to Chattanooga is 556 miles. That’s a long drive to be counting down the mileage markers!
Which brings me back to my original question: Do you remember the feeling of driving along the interstate watching the mileage signs?
Signposts — in their various forms — play a critical role in our lives. They tell us we are heading in the right direction. They tell us which way to turn and which road to take. They tell us how much further we have to travel for each leg of our trip. They are markers along the path directing us towards our destination and foreshadowing our arrival.
It has always fascinated me that the Old Testament is replete with signposts pointing the reader towards Jesus. Over & over, we see glimpses and hints and prophetic statements about him. These are moments in the text that direct our thoughts to the future towards a very specific final destination — the promised Messiah. These are moments in the text that tell us where we are heading and remind us that we are on the right path.
We see one such Old Testament signpost suddenly appear in the conversation between Jesus & Nicodemus. As they talked late into the night, Nicodemus had a hard time believing what Jesus was trying to teach him…
If you don’t believe me when I tell you about earthly things, how can you possibly believe if I tell you about heavenly things? No one has ever gone to heaven and returned. But the Son of Man has come down from heaven. And as Moses lifted up the bronze snake on a pole in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, so that everyone who believes in him will have eternal life. “For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. God sent his Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through him. (John 3:12–17)
Did you see the Old Testament signpost? Or were you driving too fast along the New Testament Interstate to see it?
Sometimes we miss those mileage markers along the side of the road, don’t we? As a child, those were some of my most frustrating moments during long road-trips. I would try to keep an eye out for the signposts, but sometimes I was deep in conversation or fast asleep in the passenger seat and would miss seeing the sign completely. Other times, I could see the signs coming in the distance, but my line of sight was obstructed at the last minute by large trucks traveling beside our car.
Sometimes we miss the signposts in the Old Testament because we didn’t even know they existed. Sometimes we miss them because we didn’t even know we were supposed to be watching for them.
Let me share with you a passage from the Old Testament and then I want you to go back and read again the conversation between Jesus & Nicodemus. The passage I’m about to have you read comes from Numbers which is the fourth book in the Bible. It tells of a specific incident that took place in the wilderness after Moses led the people of Israel out of Egypt.
Then the people of Israel set out from Mount Hor, taking the road to the Red Sea to go around the land of Edom. But the people grew impatient with the long journey, and they began to speak against God and Moses. “Why have you brought us out of Egypt to die here in the wilderness?” they complained. “There is nothing to eat here and nothing to drink. And we hate this horrible manna!”
So the Lord sent poisonous snakes among the people, and many were bitten and died. Then the people came to Moses and cried out, “We have sinned by speaking against the Lord and against you. Pray that the Lord will take away the snakes.” So Moses prayed for the people.
Then the Lord told him, “Make a replica of a poisonous snake and attach it to a pole. All who are bitten will live if they simply look at it!” So Moses made a snake out of bronze and attached it to a pole. Then anyone who was bitten by a snake could look at the bronze snake and be healed! (Numbers 21:4–9)
Now go back and read the conversation again between Jesus & Nicodemus. Did you see the Old Testament signpost this time?
If you didn’t know this account from the Old Testament, I can see why it would be easy to miss it in the New Testament. “Bronze snake on a pole? What in the world is Jesus talking about? He’s gone off the deep end again, guys!”
But here’s the deal…we may have missed seeing the signpost, but there is no way Nicodemus did. He knew exactly what Jesus was talking about. He was a Pharisee which meant he was an expert in the Old Testament. I guarantee you Nicodemus already knew this story. He probably just didn’t realize this story was a signpost pointing towards Jesus. Most likely you didn’t realize this either the first time you read it in Numbers.
Most likely you also don’t realize there are many, many more Jesus Signposts sprinkled throughout the Old Testament. Let me share a few…
Adam was a signpost pointing towards Jesus. The first man born of the earth prepares us for Jesus who is the first man born of heaven. Trent Hunter & Stephen Wellum in their book Christ from Beginning to End elaborate upon Adam as a signpost. They state he was prophet, priest & king just as Jesus would one day come to be. Adam ushered in an era that would find it’s conclusion in Jesus. The Apostle Paul refers to Jesus as the “last Adam.” (1 Corinthians 15:45) Adam & Jesus are bookends of the story.
Noah & the Ark were signposts pointing towards Jesus. Judgment was brought upon the world in the days of Noah, but righteousness was found in a single man and salvation was found in a vessel. Jesus is both our righteousness and our vessel to rescue us from God’s forthcoming divine judgment.
Abraham & Isaac were signposts pointing towards Jesus. Abraham was a father willing to sacrifice his son. He fully-trusted God would raise him from the dead. Isaac was a son who was willing to be sacrificed. He fully-trusted his father’s plan. Do I need to connect the dots for you on this one?
Just one more and then I’ll turn the page for us…
Jonah in the belly of the whale is a signpost pointing towards Jesus. Jonah spent three days in the dark depths of the whale before being brought back from the dead. This is a signpost pointing to Jesus who would lie dead himself in the tomb for three days before rising to life once again.
There are countless other Jesus Signposts throughout the Old Testament. As difficult as this lengthy & challenging portion of the Scriptures is to read, the Old Testament is critical to helping prepare our hearts & minds for the coming Messiah. The Old Testament helps us understand the New Testament in ways we never could have imagined. It also helps us realize that Jesus — the second person of the Trinity — has been with us from the very beginning.
You see…Jesus didn’t make his first appearance in a stable 2,000 years ago. Too many faithful people of God limit Jesus to just a few decades on Earth. He wasn’t created by God as an after-thought at that moment in time. Let me take you back to how John begins his Gospel…
In the beginning the Word [Jesus] already existed. The Word was with God, and the Word was God. He existed in the beginning with God. God created everything through him, and nothing was created except through him. The Word gave life to everything that was created, and his life brought light to everyone. (John 1:1–4)
The Word is Jesus. Jesus is the Word. Jesus is God in the flesh. He is both fully God and fully man. He wasn’t created by God at a specific moment in time. Jesus existed before time began. In fact, he created time. While I can’t wrap my head around it, Jesus was instrumental in the creation of all that we know.
Have you read The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis? I remember reading these books as a child. I was fascinated by the world Lewis had created, and I was amazed at the “person” and power of Aslan.
If you haven’t read the books then you probably don’t understand why I put quotation marks around “person.” Aslan, you see, was not a person but rather a very large lion. In fact, most of the characters are talking animals. There are only a few humans in the books — sons of Adam & daughters of Eve. In The Lion, the Witch & the Wardrobe, C.S. Lewis writes of the moment Susan (one of the four main human characters) meets Aslan for the first time. She is talking with Mr. Beaver who is preparing her for Aslan’s arrival.
“Aslan is a lion — the Lion, the great Lion,” Mr. Beaver exclaimed.
“Ooh” said Susan. “I’d thought he was a man. Is he — quite safe? I shall feel rather nervous about meeting a lion”
“Safe?” said Mr Beaver. “Who said anything about safe? Course he isn’t safe. But he’s good. He’s the King, I tell you.”
If you know that C.S. Lewis was one of the world’s greatest Christian writers then it’s not hard to embrace that Aslan — the all-powerful Lion-King of Narnia — is a portrait of Jesus. When I read these books as a Middle School student, I didn’t realize this. I didn’t realize Aslan was a signpost. Imagine my surprise when I became a follower of Jesus years later while in college and heard my Campus Pastor casually mention in one of his Sunday morning messages that Aslan was an illustration of Jesus.
What?!? How did I miss such an obvious signpost???
Simple…I wasn’t looking for it.
Just like most of us aren’t looking for Jesus in the Old Testament.
In another one of his books, C.S.Lewis writes of the moment Aslan created the world of Narnia. You can read it in Chapters 8 & 9 of The Magician’s Nephew. In this staggeringly beautiful retelling of Genesis 1, Lewis places the reader at Aslan’s side as he sings into existence all of Creation. He literally creates through the spoken word.
The Word gave life to everything that was created. (John 1:4)
As Aslan begins to sing, the black sky — void of anything prior to this moment — is soon filled with countless stars which begin to sing in chorus. Light soon bursts forth and then water followed quickly by earth. Aslan uses his giant paws to sculpt mountains and rivers and oceans into existence. It is a breath-taking scene you must read for yourself. My words simply cannot do justice to the words of Lewis himself.
I share all of this — signposts about Jesus in the Old Testament and in the writings of C.S. Lewis — simply to say this: We need a bigger picture of Jesus.
We cannot relegate Jesus to the four Gospel accounts. We must not contain Him to the New Testament alone. He existed before time began and all of Scripture points to Jesus.
The Old Testament prepares us for his arrival. Matthew, Mark, Luke & John provide eyewitness accounts of his time on earth. The rest of the New Testament reminds us of the life & teaching of Jesus. And sprinkled throughout the New Testament are hints & glimpes about his return one day.
In fact, there is one book at the very end of the New Testament which is fairly explicit about the manner in which Jesus will return. When I read this book, I can’t help but think again of Susan’s conversation with Mr. Beaver.
“Is he — quite safe? I shall feel rather nervous about meeting a lion.”
“Safe?” said Mr Beaver. “Who said anything about safe? Course he isn’t safe. But he’s good. He’s the King, I tell you.”
