Cees en Anneke Noordzij — Christology
b6 — From Passover to Tabernacles
1. Christ as Passover Lamb
“It had to be without blemish, male, mature, as our Passover lamb, Jesus (Ex.12:5, 1Cor.5:7, John 1:29, 1Pet.1:18-19).” — §The Passover
“We know that the Lamb of God takes away the sins of the world (John 1:29). The blood of this sin offering was poured out at an altar. But the blood of the Passover lamb shows a different aspect: it serves for the redemption of ‘God’s people’ in ‘Egypt’, the domain of the ‘flesh’.” — §The Passover
Analytical note: Jesus is explicitly identified as the fulfillment of the Passover lamb: without blemish (Ex.12:5), the Lamb of God (John 1:29), ransom (1Pet.1:18-19). The authors distinguish two aspects of the blood: as sin offering (at an altar) and as Passover blood (for protection and liberation). The Passover points to liberation from the slavery of the flesh, not only to the forgiveness of guilt.
2. Protection Through the Blood of the Lamb
“‘I will come over you protectively and will prevent the destroyer from entering your houses’ (Ex.12:13,23). Thus the Lord is also for us like a protective shadow when we ‘take the Lamb into the house’ for ‘five days’, apply the ‘blood’ of the slaughtered Lamb and eat it ‘inside the house’ ‘in the night’ (Ps.91:1-10, 1Cor.5:7, John 6:51,53,54,57,58).” — §The Passover
Analytical note: The protection against the destroyer (Ex.12:13,23) is a Christus Victor motif: Christ’s blood wards off destruction. The authors apply Ps.91 and John 6 together as spiritual realization of the Passover blood. Eating and drinking the Lamb (John 6:54-56) is the spiritual fulfillment that replaces the outward rite.
3. Shadow-Antitype Hermeneutic — Christological Principle
“The book of Hebrews states that everything in the Bible is a shadow of realities yet to come (Heb.10:1). First comes the natural, then the spiritual (1Cor.15:46). First visible typology, then the spiritual reality (2Cor.4:18).” — §Introduction
“First earthly high priests, then Jesus as heavenly high priest. […] First the Jewish Passover with a lamb, then its fulfillment with the Lamb of God.” — §Introduction
Analytical note: Heb.10:1 / 1Cor.15:46 / 2Cor.4:18 form the hermeneutical triptych with which Noordzij interprets all OT feast-day types christologically. The principle “first the natural, then the spiritual” has direct christological implications: the earthly high priest is shadow, Jesus as heavenly high priest is the reality. [CONTINUITY with b2 and b3]: the same hermeneutic as John 1:17 (b2) and the ark typology (b3).
4. Resurrection as Firstfruits Sheaf (1Cor. 15:20,23)
“In type this action speaks of what happened at ‘the resurrection of Christ as the firstfruits’ (1Cor.15:20,23). When Jesus was raised, He brought the first ‘ripe fruits’ with Him (cf. Dan.12:13, Eph.4:8). ‘The tombs broke open and the bodies of many holy people who had died were raised to life. They came out of the tombs after Jesus’ resurrection and went into the holy city and appeared to many people’ (Matt.27:52-53). That was a ‘firstfruits sheaf’!” — §The Waving of the Firstfruits Sheaf
Analytical note: The firstfruits sheaf (Lev.23:10-11) typifies the resurrection of Christ (1Cor.15:20,23). Noteworthy is the explicit link to Matt.27:52-53: the saints who appeared in Jerusalem together with Jesus form the first “firstfruits sheaf.” This connects to Noordzij’s eschatological harvest structure from other sources (barley-wheat-grapes), but with emphasis on the historical beginning at Jesus’ resurrection. [CONTINUITY with b1]: in b1, Col.1:15,18 are cited (“firstborn from the dead”) without Matt.27:52-53; b6 adds that historical concretization.
5. Heavenly High Priest and Eternal Redemption (Heb. 9)
“First earthly high priests, then Jesus as heavenly high priest.” — §Introduction
“He ‘entered the Most Holy Place once for all by his own blood, thus obtaining eternal redemption’ as the eternal high priest (Heb.9:12,14,24).” — §The Great Day of Atonement
Analytical note: Heb.9:12,14,24 is the central christological text for the Day of Atonement section. Three elements are emphasized: (1) Christ’s own blood — not animal blood; (2) once for all — not repeated; (3) eternal redemption — definitive and universal. The authors present Christ’s ascension implicitly as the moment when He as eternal high priest entered the heavenly sanctuary.
6. Universal Reconciliation Through Christ’s Blood (Col. 1:20)
“God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood (Col.1:20).” — §The Great Day of Atonement
Analytical note: Col.1:20 is cited as the foundation of the great work of reconciliation. “All things” indicates universal scope — consistent with Noordzij’s apokatastasis position from other sources. The Day of Atonement type is thus christologically maximally charged: not only Israel, but all things are reconciled through Christ’s blood.
7. Two-Goat Model: Christ and the Sons
“Again the number two: two sacrificial animals, the fullness of Christ, the Son and the sons. The slaughtered sacrificial animal is clearly an image of Jesus, the Son. […] This great work of atonement has far from fully become manifest in the church of Christ, let alone outside it. It will, however, when the ‘second goat’ (=the sons) lets itself be sent ‘into the wilderness’ as ‘living, holy and pleasing sacrifices to God’ (Rom.12:1).” — §The Great Day of Atonement
“Full reconciliation between God and His people comes about through the blood of the Lamb and through the testimony of His own (Rev.12:11).” — §The Great Day of Atonement
Analytical note: The two goats of Lev.16 are interpreted as: goat 1 = Jesus (slaughtered, blood sprinkled), goat 2 = the priestly sons (sent into the wilderness). Reconciliation is therefore twofold: the completed work of Christ (Heb.9) and the ongoing ministry of the sons (2Cor.5:18-19, Col.1:24). Col.1:24 (filling up “what is still lacking in regard to Christ’s afflictions”) is here typologically grounded in the two-goat model.
8. “Christ in You” — Participation Model (Col. 1:27)
“It is ‘Christ in you, the hope of glory’, who can now ‘be formed in you’ (Col.1:27, Gal.4:19).” — §The Great Day of Atonement
Analytical note: Col.1:27 (Christ in you, the hope of glory) and Gal.4:19 (Christ formed in you) are cited as the core of the participation model. This is the spiritual fulfillment to which the Great Day of Atonement leads: not only forgiveness, but the indwelling and formation of Christ. [CONTINUITY with b3]: in b3 (ark typology), Col.1:27 is also central — “Jesus Christ in us is the hope of glory” (§The Three Curtains).
Missing from this source
- Incarnation and kenosis as separate themes (not addressed)
- Two natures doctrine / hypostatic union (not present as a category)
- Virgin birth (not addressed)
- Satisfaction theory / substitutionary atonement as a dogmatic category (the blood is mentioned, but not in a substitution framework)
- Prophetic and royal offices as developed sections (indirectly present in the trumpet proclamation section)