“The Easter Message of the Old Testament,” Liahona, Apr. 2026.
The Easter Message of the Old Testament
Jesus’s life, suffering, death, and Resurrection are the very message of the Old Testament.
He Is Risen, by Del Parson, may be copied for Church use only
In what ways might the events of Easter—Palm Sunday, the Savior’s suffering in Gethsemane, His Resurrection, and more—be considered Old Testament events, even though they are recorded in the New Testament?
The answer to that question is based on the truth that Jesus Christ is Jehovah, the God of the Old Testament (see 3 Nephi 15:4–5), and that “all things which have been given of God from the beginning of the world, unto man, are the typifying of him” (2 Nephi 11:4).
Gethsemane
Let’s look at one key event from the Easter story. Matthew, Mark, and Luke all give accounts of Jesus’s experience in the Garden of Gethsemane. Mark relates the events in their simplest form:
“And they came to a place which was named Gethsemane: and he saith to his disciples, Sit ye here, while I shall pray.
“And he taketh with him Peter and James and John, and began to be sore amazed, and to be very heavy;
“And saith unto them, My soul is exceeding sorrowful unto death: tarry ye here, and watch.
“And he went forward a little, and fell on the ground, and prayed that, if it were possible, the hour might pass from him.
“And he said, Abba, Father, all things are possible unto thee; take away this cup from me: nevertheless not what I will, but what thou wilt” (Mark 14:32–36).
Was this an event spoken of in the Old Testament? The Gospel writers seemed to think so. Each account includes references to events of that night fulfilling Old Testament prophecy. Matthew and Mark record Jesus quoting a passage to say that the disciples would abandon Him and flee (see Zechariah 13:7; Matthew 26:31; Mark 14:27). In Luke, Jesus states, “For I say unto you, that this that is written must yet be accomplished in me” (Luke 22:37), then quoting Isaiah 53:12. Matthew was more explicit that the events of the evening were in fulfillment of prophecy. Were things not to proceed as intended, “how then shall the scriptures be fulfilled?” (Matthew 26:54). In the end, “all this was done, that the scriptures of the prophets might be fulfilled” (Matthew 26:56).
Jesus Christ Is the Message of the Old Testament
In their narratives and letters, the writers of the New Testament sometimes made connections and comparisons with the Old Testament that seem to modern readers to go beyond the words of the original authors. But their doing so, applying Old Testament verses to the ministry of Jesus, shows that they understood well a fundamental principle of the Bible: Jesus’s life, suffering, death, and Resurrection are the very message of the Old Testament. How could it be otherwise? For Jesus’s life, suffering, death, and Resurrection are at the heart of all truth.
The Suffering Servant
Believers in New Testament times had essentially the same Old Testament text that we have today. Through images, types, and shadows, it teaches us fundamental truth and points us to the Savior. For example, Isaiah’s Suffering Servant prophecy (see Isaiah 53) is very hard to explain as anything but a prophecy of Jesus. When the disciple Philip encountered a man from Ethiopia reading from that text, Philip asked:
“Understandest thou what thou readest?
“And he said, How can I, except some man should guide me? …
“The place of the scripture which he read was this, He was led as a sheep to the slaughter; and like a lamb dumb before his shearer, so opened he not his mouth.”
The Ethiopian asked:
“Of whom speaketh the prophet this? of himself, or of some other man?
“Then Philip opened his mouth, and began at the same scripture, and preached unto him Jesus” (Acts 8:30–32, 34–35).
Abinadi read the same Isaiah text to hostile listeners who could not see Jesus in the Old Testament. After reading it, he concluded, “God himself shall come down among the children of men, and shall redeem his people” (Mosiah 15:1).
Faith and Repentance
The message of Christ is indeed not absent from the Old Testament. In this great book of scripture, faith and repentance are fundamental to the person and character of Israel’s God. His capacity to save is one of the hallmarks of His divinity, and faith in His ability to deliver His people from every enemy teaches faith in His capacity to save from the greatest enemies—sin and death. Jehovah’s long-suffering and willingness to receive repentant sinners characterizes His nature. Repentance was possible because His arm of mercy was ever extended to those who forsook their sins and came to Him. Thus sincere Israelite worshippers who knew nothing of Jesus Christ understood both faith and repentance and saw them as the foundations of their relationship with a merciful God—even if they did not know the full details of their salvation.
Temple Worship and Sacrifices
Israel’s temple worship taught the Christian gospel, because vicarious atonement and subsequent forgiveness are at the very heart of the temple sacrifices. Faithful ancient Israelites knew that they could not save themselves from sin but needed to rely on the intervention of God to deliver them spiritually. Jesus, His Book of Mormon prophets, and the writers of the New Testament revealed that Christ Himself was to be God’s sacrificial lamb, but the fundamental principles had already been made known in the Mosaic law. And Israel’s Messiah was Jehovah Himself, something not always clear in the Old Testament but understood by Jesus’s followers in the Book of Mormon and the New Testament. Honorable people who looked forward to a saving Messiah were looking forward to the coming of Jesus, and many recognized Him when He came.
Old Testament Prophets Testified of Christ
By teaching Jehovah’s love and mercy and bearing testimony of Him, all of the Old Testament prophets were testifying of Christ, as the Book of Mormon says they did (see Jacob 4:4–5; 7:11). Those who could see with an eye of faith saw Jehovah as the center of all their righteous desires and devotions. Those who were taught, as was the man from Ethiopia, or whose eyes were opened, like the disciples on the road to Emmaus, were enabled then to perceive rightly that Jesus of Nazareth was their Messiah and God’s unblemished offering in their behalf. One such disciple, John the Baptist, was able to testify when he saw Jesus, “Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world” (John 1:29).
The Culmination of the Old Testament
Christian writers from Paul to the present have seen in the message of Easter the purpose and fulfillment of the Law and the Prophets. The atoning sacrifice and Resurrection of the Savior—the heart of the Easter message—is the culmination of the Old Testament, the reason for its covenant, the message of its Mosaic law, the objective of its temple, and the fulfillment of all the hopes and aspirations of its worshippers. Israel’s temple, praise, and worship had their ultimate aim in the saving mission of the Old Testament’s prophesied Messiah, Jesus Christ.