Genesis 49:8-12 is one of the great prophecies of the Old Testament, because it foresees Jacob’s fourth son Judah becoming a great nation with an unbroken lineage all the way through to Jesus, and also what Jacob says of his son describes Jesus himself in the future as well. So it’s a prophecy about Jesus nearly two thousand years before he came.
And a prophecy about Jesus in two parts: his part as “the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the root of David who triumphs” in Revelation 5:5, pictured in Genesis 49:8-10 – and his part as “a Lamb” that “had been slain” in Revelation 5:6, pictured in Genesis 49:11-12.
Genesis 49:11, for instance, mentions “tethering his donkey to a vine, his colt to the choicest branch,” bringing to mind Jesus telling two of his disciples in Matthew 21:2 to untie a donkey and its foal so he could ride the foal into Jerusalem on the way to his death as “the Lamb of God who takes away our sins” (John 1:29).
Genesis 49:11 then adds that “he will wash his garments in wine, his robes in the blood of grapes,” bringing to mind the question asked in Isaiah 63:1, “Who is this coming with his garments stained crimson?” And then he’s asked directly in verse 2, “Why are your garments red, like those of one treading the winepress?” Whoever this person is, his clothes are stained the colour of grape juice, or as Jacob phrased it, “the blood of grapes.” The stain on his clothes looks exactly like blood, as though they’ve been washed in blood, and lots of it too.
So who is this person in Isaiah 63? Verse 1 says he’s “robed in splendour, striding forward in the greatness of his strength,” so a mighty powerful being is being pictured here. But then he identifies himself as “speaking in righteousness, mighty to save.” So all his power and splendour is directed toward saving people. Which describes Jesus perfectly in both his parts, as a triumphant King and a blood soaked Saviour “clothed with a robe dipped in blood” (Revelation 19:13).
And Jesus uses wine to picture blood too, when he lifts up a cup of wine in Matthew 26:28 and tells his disciples, “This is my blood of the covenant, which is being poured out for many for forgiveness of sins.” So was this what Jacob was also getting at in Genesis 49:11, when using terms that would later be used by Isaiah and by John in Revelation – and also by Jesus himself to describe his death? Isaiah 63, then, indicates Jacob knew about Jesus’ death, but it’s also about “Seeing Jesus’ death through his eyes”….(next blog)
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