Most people think the story of Jesus begins in Matthew chapter 1.
A baby in a manger.
Shepherds and wise men.
Bethlehem.
But what if He was showing up long before that?
What if Jesus was present, active, and appearing to people throughout the entire Old Testament, centuries before He was born in Bethlehem?
Theologians call these appearances Christophanies.
The word comes from two Greek words: Christos meaning Christ, and phainein meaning to appear.
Christ appears.
And once you start looking for them, they are everywhere.
A Quick Note Before We Start
Here is something that helps make sense of all of this.
Scripture tells us clearly that no one has ever seen God the Father and lived.
“You cannot see my face, for no one may see me and live.” Exodus 33:20 (NIV)
“No one has ever seen God.” John 1:18 (NIV)
So here is the question that naturally follows.
If no one can see the Father and live, who was Abraham talking to face to face?
Who was wrestling with Jacob all night?
Who was standing in the fire with Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego?
The answer the New Testament gives us is Jesus.
“The Son is the image of the invisible God.” Colossians 1:15 (NIV)
1. Walking in the Garden With Adam and Eve Genesis 3:8
Before the fall, God walked in the garden in the cool of the day.
Adam and Eve heard Him coming.
They were not afraid of His voice.
They knew it.
They recognized His approach.
This was not a distant, invisible God issuing commands from heaven.
This was a God who walked with His people personally.
After the fall they hid from that same presence.
And the first promise of a coming Savior was spoken in that same garden moments later. Genesis 3:15.
The God who walked with Adam in the garden was the same One who would one day walk among us in Bethlehem.
2. The Mysterious Visitor Who Appeared to Abraham Genesis 18
One afternoon Abraham was sitting at the entrance of his tent when three visitors appeared.
One of them was not an ordinary visitor.
“The LORD appeared to Abraham near the great trees of Mamre while he was sitting at the entrance to his tent in the heat of the day.” Genesis 18:1 (NIV)
The LORD appeared. In human form. And Abraham sat down and had a meal with Him.
Now here is where it gets interesting and where we have to address the elephant in the room.
God ate.
Abraham brought bread, curds, milk, and a choice calf that had been prepared. He set it before them and they ate. Genesis 18:7-8.
So for anyone wondering, God is clearly not a vegetarian. He showed up to Abraham’s house and had a full meal including the best cut of meat Abraham could prepare.
We will just leave that there.
Moving on.
This same visitor went on to tell Abraham that Sarah would have a son within the year, which is exactly what happened.
He also revealed the coming judgment on Sodom and Gomorrah and had a conversation with Abraham about it.
This was not a regular angel.
Angels do not allow themselves to be worshipped and do not speak as God in the first person.
This was Jesus, appearing before Bethlehem, sitting down to dinner with the father of the faith.
3. Melchizedek: The Mysterious Priest With No Beginning and No End Genesis 14:18-20
After Abraham returned from battle, a mysterious figure appeared to meet him.
“Then Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine. He was priest of God Most High, and he blessed Abram, saying, ‘Blessed be Abram by God Most High, Creator of heaven and earth.’” Genesis 14:18-19 (NIV)
Abraham gave him a tenth of everything.
A tithe. To a priest he had never met. Without hesitation.
The book of Hebrews unpacks why this moment is so significant.
Melchizedek had no recorded father, no mother, no genealogy, no beginning of days, and no end of life. Hebrews 7:3.
No birth record.
No death record.
He simply appears, blesses Abraham, receives a tithe, and disappears from the historical record.
The writer of Hebrews says He remains a priest forever, resembling the Son of God. Hebrews 7:3.
And notice what He brought to Abraham.
Bread and wine.
The exact same elements Jesus would use at the Last Supper over two thousand years later when He instituted communion.
4. Wrestling With Jacob All Night Genesis 32:22-30
Jacob was alone by the river Jabbok when a man appeared and wrestled with him until daybreak.
This was no ordinary wrestling match.
When the man could not overpower Jacob, He touched his hip and dislocated it with a single touch.
Jacob still refused to let go until the man blessed him.
Then Jacob said something remarkable after the encounter was over.
“I saw God face to face, and yet my life was spared.” Genesis 32:30 (NIV)
Jacob knew who he had been wrestling with.
He had physically grappled with the pre-incarnate Jesus all night and walked away with a limp and a new name.
His name was changed from Jacob to Israel.
The name of an entire nation came out of one night of wrestling with Jesus by a river.
5. The Burning Bush Exodus 3:2-6
Moses was in the wilderness tending sheep when he saw a bush burning without being consumed.
He turned aside to look.
And the voice that spoke to him from the fire identified Himself.
“I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob.” Exodus 3:6 (NIV)
Moses hid his face because he was afraid to look at God.
The same rule applies here.
No one sees the Father and lives.
The One speaking to Moses from the burning bush was Jesus, the visible image of the invisible God, commissioning Moses to lead His people out of Egypt.
6. The Pillar of Cloud and Fire Exodus 13:21-22
After the Exodus, God did not leave His people to navigate the wilderness alone.
He led them personally.
“By day the LORD went ahead of them in a pillar of cloud to guide their way, and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, so that they could travel by day or night.” Exodus 13:21 (NIV)
Paul makes this identification explicit in the New Testament.
He writes in 1 Corinthians 10:4 that the Israelites in the wilderness drank from a spiritual rock that accompanied them and that rock was Christ.
The same Christ who said I am with you always in Matthew 28:20 was leading His people through the wilderness in a pillar of fire and cloud.
He has never stopped showing up for His people.
7. The Commander of the Lord’s Army Joshua 5:13-15
Before the fall of Jericho, Joshua looked up and saw a man standing with a drawn sword.
Joshua asked him directly: are you for us or for our enemies?
The man’s answer was neither.
“Neither, but as commander of the army of the LORD I have now come.” Joshua 5:14 (NIV)
Joshua fell facedown in reverence.
The commander told Joshua to take off his sandals because the ground was holy.
That is the exact same instruction the voice gave Moses at the burning bush.
No angel would accept that worship or declare ground holy.
This was Jesus, the commander of heaven’s army, appearing to Joshua on the eve of Israel’s greatest military campaign.
8. The Fourth Man in the Fire Daniel 3:24-25
King Nebuchadnezzar had three men thrown into a furnace so hot it killed the soldiers who threw them in.
He looked into the furnace and could not believe what he saw.
“Look! I see four men walking around in the fire, unbound and unharmed, and the fourth looks like a son of the gods.” Daniel 3:25 (NIV)
Three men went in.
Four came out unharmed.
And the fourth one looked like no ordinary being.
Jesus showed up in a furnace to stand with three men who refused to bow to an idol.
He did not prevent them from being thrown in.
He went in with them.
That is the same Jesus who does not always remove the fire from our lives but promises to be present in it with us.
9. Jesus Said It Himself
If there is any doubt about whether Jesus was present and active throughout the Old Testament, He settled it Himself.
The religious leaders challenged Him about His age and His claim to know Abraham.
Jesus answered them with five words that stopped everyone cold.
“Before Abraham was born, I am!” John 8:58 (NIV)
Not: I existed before Abraham. Not: I am older than Abraham.
I am.
The same words God used when Moses asked His name at the burning bush.
I AM WHO I AM.
Exodus 3:14.
Jesus was not just claiming to be older than Abraham.
He was claiming to be the same God who had been appearing throughout the Old Testament the entire time.
The religious leaders understood exactly what He was saying.
They picked up stones to throw at Him.
What This Means
Jesus did not appear for the first time in a manger in Bethlehem.
He was in the garden with Adam and Eve.
He had dinner with Abraham.
He wrestled with Jacob.
He spoke from a burning bush.
He led His people through the wilderness as a pillar of fire.
He stood in a furnace with three men who would not bow.
The story of Jesus is not a New Testament story that references the Old Testament.
The entire Bible is one story.
And Jesus is on every page.
If you’re wondering whether Jesus really was who He claimed to be, that’s the question this entire website explores.
Start at the beginning with, Did Jesus Lie?
More Questions About Jesus
Did Jesus exist before He was born in Bethlehem?
Yes. The New Testament teaches that Jesus existed before His human birth and took part in creation itself. His birth in Bethlehem marked the beginning of His earthly life, not the beginning of His existence. Learn more in Did Jesus Exist?
Did Jesus fulfill every Old Testament prophecy about the Messiah?
Jesus fulfilled every prophecy appointed for His first coming, including those concerning His birth, ministry, death, and resurrection. The remaining prophecies point to His future return as King. Read more in Did Jesus Fulfill Every Old Testament Prophecy About the Messiah?
Did Jesus fulfill over 300 prophecies?
Yes. The Old Testament contains hundreds of prophecies that Christians believe point to the coming Messiah. Jesus fulfilled these prophecies in remarkable detail, providing powerful evidence that He is the promised Savior. Explore the evidence in Did Jesus Fulfill Over 300 Prophecies?
Did Jesus tell the truth about Isaiah 61?
Yes. When Jesus read Isaiah 61 in the synagogue, He declared that the prophecy was being fulfilled through Him. His ministry matched the promises Isaiah had written centuries earlier, while the remaining verses point to His future return. Learn more in Did Jesus Tell the Truth About Isaiah 61?
What is a Christophany?
A Christophany is an appearance of Christ before His birth in Bethlehem. Many Christians believe certain visible appearances of God in the Old Testament—including encounters with Abraham, Jacob, Joshua, and the three men in the fiery furnace, were appearances of the pre-incarnate Jesus.
Why do many Christians believe these Old Testament appearances were Jesus?
Because Scripture teaches that no one has seen God the Father, while Jesus is the visible image of the invisible God. For this reason, many Christians understand certain physical appearances of God in the Old Testament to be appearances of the Son before His incarnation.
Why does this website ask, “Did Jesus Lie?”
Every article on this website examines a different claim, prophecy, promise, or prediction made by Jesus. Together they answer one central question: Was Jesus telling the truth? If you’re beginning your journey, start with Did Jesus Lie? to see how all of the evidence fits together.
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