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101 Portraits of Jesus in the Hebrew Scriptures
“And beginning with Moses and all the prophets, [Jesus] explained to them what was said in all the [Hebrew] scriptures concerning himself” (Luke 24:27). In 101 easy-to-access chapters, Bob Beasley has opened up the Old Testament for us in a new and powerful way. "101 Portraits of Jesus in the Hebrew Scriptures" scans Genesis to Malachi in a survey of the many types, foreshadowings, specific prophesies, mighty works, and pre-incarnate appearances of our Lord and Savior--Jesus Christ. Solidly biblical in character, 101 Portraits will deepen your understanding and love for the entire Bible. Your faith will be enriched and enlivened as you learn to see Jesus appearing in the Hebrew Scriptures as the eternally existent Creator-Sustainer of the universe; great Prophet, Priest, and King; Savior of His people; and Lord of all history. The Old Testament is all about Jesus. Learn to find the Lord on its every page.
222 pages, Paperback
First published November 15, 2007
668 people are currently reading
175 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
June 22, 2017
You may find some of these a stretch, but not many, and I think there are probably at least 101 more to find.
September 13, 2022
wonderful book
There was nothing I disliked about this book. It was a blessing and what I wanted to find and much, much more. I feel so blessed to know that the “Angel of the Lord” in the Old Testament is Jesus Christ and many truths about the Bible. This book has immensely increased my knowledge of the Bible and I want to learn more. This is a start of finding interest in the Bible.
There was nothing I disliked about this book. It was a blessing and what I wanted to find and much, much more. I feel so blessed to know that the “Angel of the Lord” in the Old Testament is Jesus Christ and many truths about the Bible. This book has immensely increased my knowledge of the Bible and I want to learn more. This is a start of finding interest in the Bible.
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October 1, 2020Great book.
This book is a very informative book about our Lord Jesus Christ. It reveals Jesus from the prophecies in the old testament and showing types and shadows of Christ. What I like most about this book is the Christ is the Centre.
This book is a very informative book about our Lord Jesus Christ. It reveals Jesus from the prophecies in the old testament and showing types and shadows of Christ. What I like most about this book is the Christ is the Centre.
February 25, 2023
Mr. Beasley worked very hard on this volume. He may have worked too hard to connect Christ Jesus and some Old Testament passages. As a devotional, it is valuable in helping to reflect upon Christ. As a scholarly effort, this needs some further work.
November 21, 2020
Helpful to a degree
Good compilation of passages where Jesus appears in the OT that is very helpful. Very heavy on allegory which is not always convincing.
Good compilation of passages where Jesus appears in the OT that is very helpful. Very heavy on allegory which is not always convincing.
December 21, 2020
interesting points to study
June 10, 2021
Helpful read
Writer has a good grasp of Old Testament and New Testament scriptures. Some interpretation may be a little to much, otherwise it is a good book.
Writer has a good grasp of Old Testament and New Testament scriptures. Some interpretation may be a little to much, otherwise it is a good book.
August 6, 2021
If you're looking for some straight-forward Scriptural insights into Jesus and the Hebrew Scriptures, you are in the right place.
January 25, 2023
Most of this I already knew. Learned some new stuff. Didn't totally agree with doctrine on the godhead or grace.
December 26, 2023
Wow! This book is amazingly-researched and presented. If you want to see prophecy in Scripture unfold before your eyes, this is the channel for that. I liked this book so much.
December 15, 2022
A very nice read. Many questions and lots of hope.
January 2, 2021
This book shows parallels between Jesus in the New Testament and Old Testament passages which could prefigure him, in some sense. It’s a learned book, but the way it is pitched is odd and potentially problematic.
Peeking into the text in places is the author’s Reformed background, his rejection of Evolution and his literalist approach to biblical interpretation. However, some of the examples of where Jesus is to be found in the Old Testament (ie before Jesus’s birth) are a figurative interpretation of the Old Testament, not a literalist one. The book ends up mixing up these very different approaches, without explaining them.
One of the fundamental assumptions of the book is that the Old Testament contains predictions (prophecies) of Jesus. This is because God knew what was to happen in Jesus’ life (later) and so the Old Testament is written to pre-figure those later events.
Yes, that is certainly one way of interpreting parallels between Old and New Testament. But critics of Christianity will take a very different approach and say that the parallels are due to the New Testament writers deliberately expressing themselves to make it look like Jesus fulfils prophecies.
Christians may reject the critics reading, but honest scholarship should at least recognise that such an alternative view exists. Otherwise the book is just a set of assumptions in favour of one reading, which ignores alternatives without stating any justification for doing so.
What the book is effectively doing is reviving the figurative approach to biblical interpretation which is found in Ancient and Medieval ‘allegorical’ readings of the bible. In particular the book is taking the ‘typology’ approach to allegory, in order to show how Jesus is pre-figured. This kind of biblical reading goes right back to theologians like Origen (184-253) so it is a very ancient approach to Christian readings of the bible.
The problem with allegorical interpretation is that it becomes very difficult to separate exegesis (reading-out from scripture) from eisegesis, which is reading into the scriptures the very ideas that are then taken as being revealed and read out. Over time, these problems have led to the decline of allegorical readings in favour of literal interpretation.
There is certainly a place for allegorical readings of the bible in the modern world, but there needs to be clarity with the reader about the fact that allegorical or figurative readings are taking place and that they are not literal readings. Otherwise a confusing and potentially simplistic concept of biblical interpretation is being conveyed to the reader.
Ultimately this book is interesting because it does pull together 101 examples of parallels between the Old and New Testament, but it is methodologically problematic in the way that it does it. This is because it is not clear enough with the reader about the assumptions and interpretative preferences which the author is imposing upon the text, in order to arrive at the particular style of biblical reading which the book represents.
Peeking into the text in places is the author’s Reformed background, his rejection of Evolution and his literalist approach to biblical interpretation. However, some of the examples of where Jesus is to be found in the Old Testament (ie before Jesus’s birth) are a figurative interpretation of the Old Testament, not a literalist one. The book ends up mixing up these very different approaches, without explaining them.
One of the fundamental assumptions of the book is that the Old Testament contains predictions (prophecies) of Jesus. This is because God knew what was to happen in Jesus’ life (later) and so the Old Testament is written to pre-figure those later events.
Yes, that is certainly one way of interpreting parallels between Old and New Testament. But critics of Christianity will take a very different approach and say that the parallels are due to the New Testament writers deliberately expressing themselves to make it look like Jesus fulfils prophecies.
Christians may reject the critics reading, but honest scholarship should at least recognise that such an alternative view exists. Otherwise the book is just a set of assumptions in favour of one reading, which ignores alternatives without stating any justification for doing so.
What the book is effectively doing is reviving the figurative approach to biblical interpretation which is found in Ancient and Medieval ‘allegorical’ readings of the bible. In particular the book is taking the ‘typology’ approach to allegory, in order to show how Jesus is pre-figured. This kind of biblical reading goes right back to theologians like Origen (184-253) so it is a very ancient approach to Christian readings of the bible.
The problem with allegorical interpretation is that it becomes very difficult to separate exegesis (reading-out from scripture) from eisegesis, which is reading into the scriptures the very ideas that are then taken as being revealed and read out. Over time, these problems have led to the decline of allegorical readings in favour of literal interpretation.
There is certainly a place for allegorical readings of the bible in the modern world, but there needs to be clarity with the reader about the fact that allegorical or figurative readings are taking place and that they are not literal readings. Otherwise a confusing and potentially simplistic concept of biblical interpretation is being conveyed to the reader.
Ultimately this book is interesting because it does pull together 101 examples of parallels between the Old and New Testament, but it is methodologically problematic in the way that it does it. This is because it is not clear enough with the reader about the assumptions and interpretative preferences which the author is imposing upon the text, in order to arrive at the particular style of biblical reading which the book represents.
February 19, 2017
My thanks go out to author Bob Beasley and Livingstone Books for providing me a review copy of this book.
Many Christians are bewildered by the Old Testament. They start reading in Genesis and give up by the time Leviticus comes around. They remember bits and pieces of a smattering of OT Bible stories: David and Goliath, the Red Sea, Daniel and the lion's den, etc. But the Old Testament (except for Psalms and Proverbs) remains generally obscure and mysterious to many.
For those who have discovered the many connections between the Old Testament and Jesus Christ, this is quite sad. Recognizing how Jesus fulfills the types of the Old Testament truly makes the Bible come alive. Nothing is so spiritually impacting as finding Christ in the Old Testament, and being moved by the picture of our God so beautifully illustrated by His works with the Israelites.
Bob Beasley is eager for the average Christian to become familiar with the many portraits of Jesus in the Hebrew Old Testament. In his book 101 Portraits of Jesus in the Hebrew Scriptures, he marches through the Old Testament highlighting many of the clearest pictures of Jesus found there. He uses promise/fulfillment and type/anti-type models as he explains the significance of the OT's witness to Christ.
Beasley explains:
…Jesus does not jump into the pages of history as a little child in a stable in Bethlehem. His story begins much further back in history than that.... all history is His Story. Jesus is the Creator God, the promised Redeemer, the great Prophet, Priest, and King of the Hebrew Scriptures. He is Yahweh, Jehovah—the great I AM—of the burning bush. He is Immanuel—God with us!
The book deals with 101 such places in the Old Testament. Each is given just two pages of space, which is why no passage is really covered in too much depth. The result is a good introduction to the Old Testament witness to Christ, most helpful for the new Christian who may be inexperienced with the Old Testament.
Beasley will give one an eye for finding Christ all throughout the Old Testament. The book's emphasis on the unity of the Bible and the person and work of Jesus Christ make it especially good. Anyone interested in learning more about the harmony of the Bible and how the OT speaks of Jesus Christ, should certainly consider this book. With its simple layout, 101 Portraits makes for a great devotional book. Each portrait of Christ can be considered slowly and provide meat for one's soul.
Many Christians are bewildered by the Old Testament. They start reading in Genesis and give up by the time Leviticus comes around. They remember bits and pieces of a smattering of OT Bible stories: David and Goliath, the Red Sea, Daniel and the lion's den, etc. But the Old Testament (except for Psalms and Proverbs) remains generally obscure and mysterious to many.
For those who have discovered the many connections between the Old Testament and Jesus Christ, this is quite sad. Recognizing how Jesus fulfills the types of the Old Testament truly makes the Bible come alive. Nothing is so spiritually impacting as finding Christ in the Old Testament, and being moved by the picture of our God so beautifully illustrated by His works with the Israelites.
Bob Beasley is eager for the average Christian to become familiar with the many portraits of Jesus in the Hebrew Old Testament. In his book 101 Portraits of Jesus in the Hebrew Scriptures, he marches through the Old Testament highlighting many of the clearest pictures of Jesus found there. He uses promise/fulfillment and type/anti-type models as he explains the significance of the OT's witness to Christ.
Beasley explains:
…Jesus does not jump into the pages of history as a little child in a stable in Bethlehem. His story begins much further back in history than that.... all history is His Story. Jesus is the Creator God, the promised Redeemer, the great Prophet, Priest, and King of the Hebrew Scriptures. He is Yahweh, Jehovah—the great I AM—of the burning bush. He is Immanuel—God with us!
The book deals with 101 such places in the Old Testament. Each is given just two pages of space, which is why no passage is really covered in too much depth. The result is a good introduction to the Old Testament witness to Christ, most helpful for the new Christian who may be inexperienced with the Old Testament.
Beasley will give one an eye for finding Christ all throughout the Old Testament. The book's emphasis on the unity of the Bible and the person and work of Jesus Christ make it especially good. Anyone interested in learning more about the harmony of the Bible and how the OT speaks of Jesus Christ, should certainly consider this book. With its simple layout, 101 Portraits makes for a great devotional book. Each portrait of Christ can be considered slowly and provide meat for one's soul.
July 24, 2013
Great book. Bite sized chapters (2 pages each .... which iis not always enough to fully develop the concept Beasley is making, although his intent was give a taste and point to Jesus which he does well ) accessible to anyone. Great for a summer read or use for devotional reading.
Beasley does a wonderful job demonstrating how every page, every character, every event in the Old Testament point to or foreshadows Christ. Being reformed in his understanding of Scripture, Beasley does share a different view on the sacraments then I, but this only comes out less then a handful of times throughout the 208 pages of the book. I would highly recommend this book to anyone, it will broaden your view of the OT, Christ, and the story of redemption.
Beasley does a wonderful job demonstrating how every page, every character, every event in the Old Testament point to or foreshadows Christ. Being reformed in his understanding of Scripture, Beasley does share a different view on the sacraments then I, but this only comes out less then a handful of times throughout the 208 pages of the book. I would highly recommend this book to anyone, it will broaden your view of the OT, Christ, and the story of redemption.
June 1, 2025
Very informative. Really enjoyed every chapter pointing back to Jesus. That is our primary focus. Will be going back to this book next year as I go through the books mentioned throughout this book. Very thankful for all the verses showing us Jesus throughout the Old Testament.
May 16, 2012
great book. Bob does a great job in finding all the scriptures that foreshadows Jesus. A great book to hand out to someone who says that Jesus is not in the Old Testament at least (Genesis-Malachi)!
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews