We’ve been working through the Old Testament looking for the New Testament Jesus 100’s even 1,000’s 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; John 5:46). Since the Book of Jeremiah is a part of the OT, let’s take a look to see how it points to Jesus.

Many people see Jeremiah (The Book and person) as depressing and gloomy. Jeremiah cried out and wept over the messages God wanted him to share. He expressed and wrote his words with great emotion. God was going to come down hard on His people and Jeremiah was hurting because of it. But, it wasn’t all bad news. Jeremiah also brought word of a new and everlasting covenant that would be coming. The problem was, no matter what the topic, and no matter when he spoke, no one seemed to listen to him. He begged and pleaded people to live out their faith, to act. But no one did. For 40 years he served God as a prophet. He was rejected by his friends, family, neighbors, religious and political leaders. Jeremiah was put in prison, he was thrown into a cistern, he was deprived of food and even taken against his will to another country. In the eyes of the world, he was a freak. He was not successful.

But in God’s eyes, Jeremiah was one of the most successful people in all of history. True success, as measured by God, involves obedience and faithfulness…no matter what. A lesson for all of us.

How does Jeremiah point to Jesus? Jeremiah points to Jesus as the one who would establish a new covenant. This eternal and everlasting covenant would be fulfilled when Jesus went into Galilee proclaiming the good news of God, “The time has come, the Kingdom of God is at hand. Repent and believe the good news!” (Mark 1:14-15)

May we each have the obedience and faithfulness of Jeremiah as we live to glorify God in this world.