We’ve been working through the Old Testament looking for the New Testament Jesus hundreds, even thousands, of years before He was born. They’re all great stories on their own, but they absolutely paint a picture of who Jesus will be and what he’ll do for those who believe. Jesus claimed that the entire Old Testament pointed to Him (Luke 24:27, 44; John 5:39, 46; Romans 1:1-2; 1 Peter 1:10-12). Since the Book of Haggai is a part of the OT, let’s look to see how it points to Jesus.

Haggai lived, and the book was written, 520 or so years before Jesus was born. He was a prophet known for calling men and women to live out their priorities…the important stuff. He was calling people back to God’s values (Haggai 1:4), challenging people to respond. The people had forgotten their purpose, they were tired and running out of energy. They were more concerned about their own needs rather than the important things of God. In their case, they were in the middle of rebuilding the Temple and had had enough.

We live 2021 years after Jesus’ death. We’re called Christians. We are called to help men and women see what’s important too, to live out their priorities…the important stuff. To call people back to God’s values, challenging people to respond. But we forget our purpose, we get tired and run out of energy. We get more concerned about our own needs rather than the important things of God. But in our case, we’re in the middle of building the Kingdom with the help of the Holy Spirit.

The message of Haggai is 1) about our ongoing work of building up the Kingdom of God. To keep our priorities even when we get tired. And 2) just like the OT points to Jesus, we need to be a living example pointing others to the true and perfect temple, Jesus Christ (John 2:19-22).