Concerning this salvation, the prophets who prophesied about the grace that was to be yours searched and inquired carefully, inquiring what person or time the Spirit of Christ in them was indicating when he predicted the sufferings of Christ and the subsequent glories (1 Peter 1:10, 11).
Have you ever read the Old Testament and wondered, “What does this have to do with me? Isn’t it strictly about God's dealings with the nation of Israel?"
Those thirty nine books do tell her riveting story…a story filled with just about everything under the sun. And, it's true, much of what was written applied only to Israel, like the dietary laws and the sacrificial system and the levitical priesthood.
However, according to Peter, those Old Testament prophets were telling another story as well…a story that had you in mind. Those prophets prophesied about the grace that you received in Christ.
Now, as Peter wrote, they didn't know the who or when. Yet, the shadow of what was to come loomed large in their minds, and oh were they curious. They searched and inquired carefully trying to figure it all out. But God revealed to them "that they were not serving themselves but you" (1 Peter 1:12).
Moved by the Spirit of Christ, they told the story of your salvation…your rescue from the power of sin and death…your eternal inheritance…your new life…all by the grace of the Lord Jesus.
He is your salvation.
And the prophets of old told his story. So the next time you open the pages of the Old Testament, remember Peter's words. Those prophets wrote to serve you, to tell you of the great salvation you have experienced through the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
The prophets of old searched and inquired about the salvation that you and I enjoy through faith in Jesus Christ. They would have given anything to be in our shoes…free in Christ. Today, rejoice. God's grace is yours.
In Him,
Bob Christopher