What if the very first pages of the Bible were already pointing us toward Jesus? That is exactly the journey we begin in this first instalment of Seven Signposts, a series that traces the hidden road signs embedded throughout the Old Testament that point us forward to Christ.
We start at the very beginning, with Adam, the first man, whose story is far more than a tale of failure. The Apostle Paul in Romans 5 calls Adam a 'type of the one who was to come,' meaning Adam functions as a signpost, not by similarity to Jesus, but by stunning contrast.
- Where Adam disobeyed in a garden of abundance, Jesus remained obedient in a wilderness of deprivation.
- Where Adam's sin unleashed death into the human story, Jesus' obedience opens the door to life.
- And where Adam's rebellion caused humanity to hide from God in shame, Jesus makes reconciliation with God possible.
The message lands close to home because Adam's story is our story too. We know what it is to distrust God, to choose our own way, to cover our failures with fig leaves of our own making, whether that is minimising our mistakes, justifying poor decisions, or even turning religious activity into a performance of self-sufficiency.
The profound good news is that what the first Adam could not accomplish, Jesus, the last Adam, has fully accomplished. Our righteousness does not rest on our ability to obey perfectly but entirely on the obedience of Christ, received by faith.
Discussion questions:
1. Jesus was present at creation and was not a late addition to God's story - how does understanding Jesus as central to the entire biblical narrative from the very beginning change the way you read and interpret Scripture?
2. Our righteousness does not rest on our ability to obey perfectly but depends entirely on the obedience of Jesus received by faith - in what practical ways does this truth challenge or reshape how you approach your relationship with God day to day?
3. How does recognising that God consistently takes the first step toward you affect the way you respond to Him in seasons of spiritual distance or doubt?
4. Where are you still trying to cover what only Jesus can forgive, and where are you still trying to earn what God has already freely offered - which of these two tendencies do you find most active in your own life, and what would it look like to surrender it?
