Can We Find the Gospel in Esther, a Book That Doesn't Mention God?

I believe that every passage in Scripture ultimately points to Christ. There are some places where a connection to the gospel is obvious. Others are more difficult.

Esther is a book where the name of God isn’t even mentioned. It’s set about 100 years after the Babylonian exile in the land of Persia. So how can this story somehow connect to the gospel of Jesus? 

If we can answer this, we can also answer how the gospel connects to our own story. 

How Do You Find the Gospel in the Old Testament?

I suppose before understanding how to find the gospel in the OT, it’d be helpful for us to define the gospel. The simplest definition is one given by JI Packer: God saves sinners. If you’d like to put a bit more meat on your gospel presentation, I use two different frameworks with four points each. The first is God—Man—Christ—Response. The second is more of a story: Creation—Fall—Redemption—Glory. 

The first presentation centers upon God’s character and how humanity fails to meet God’s holy standard, as such the judgment of God is upon us. But the good news is that Jesus Christ fixes this by fulfilling what is required through his life, death and resurrection. Our only fitting response, then, is to respond to Him in repentance and faith. When this happens, we are united to Christ and his record becomes our record. 

The second presentation centers upon the overarching story of the Bible. God lovingly created us to love Him and enjoy Him forever. We were made for rest, rule, and relationship. But we made shipwreck of this, and so rather than having the blessings of obedience we are under the curse of disobedience. Rather than having peace (rest), purpose (ruling), and healthy relationship we often experience the opposite. Ultimately, we are alienated from God. But thankfully God sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to bear our curse and to fulfill what God intended for humanity. As such we now experience the blessings of Jesus’ obedience in our place. He restores the rest, rule, and relationship we were created to enjoy. Someday everything will be ultimately restored and we will live in a new heaven and a new earth. 

We could write entire books focusing on these various themes of the gospel. But every gospel story follows this basic skeleton. No matter where you find yourself in the Old Testament (or the New Testament) you can find one of these various threads. Every place in Scripture is either telling you something about God, something about our rebellion, something about His rescue, or something about our future restoration. If you can spot this, then you can fill out the rest of the story. 

The Gospel in Esther

How does God work among His people in a place where He isn’t named? That is the fundamental question over the book of Esther. It can be tempting to read this as a morality tale — be brave like Esther, have bold faith like Mordecai. But the reality is that these characters exhibit very muddy obedience. We aren’t to see Esther, Mordecai, Haman, or Xerxes as much as we are supposed to see the sovereign hand of the unnamed main character of the book. 

Yes, the absence of God’s name is striking in a book of the Bible. But that absence is an invitation to see His work even when it seems that He is silent or absent. In the midst of what appears to be godless chaos and the capricious rule of a tyrant, the story of Esther reminds us that God is still at work redeeming His people.

The setting is 100 years after the Babylonian exile in Persia. Mordecai and Esther shouldn’t even be there. They should have already returned to the land. We are to see them as almost entirely swallowed up by the pagan culture around them; they have lost their identity. Yet God remains steadfast to fulfill His promises. 

The book of Esther is in a chiastic structure. As an example, the first chapter is about the greatness of Xerxes and the last chapter is a celebration of the greatness of Mordecai. Each of the chapters correspond with another — except for chapter 6. That is the middle of the chiasm and thus the meat of the story. What do we find in Esther 6? We find a reversal of fortunes. And this is where we begin to see the gospel story emerge. 

The backdrop of this story is the mess of disobedience. It is the outcome of years of covenant unfaithfulness and years of exile as a result. This is what happens when the curses of Deuteronomy fall upon a people. The name of God departs and wickedness abounds. Do you want to know what it looks like for evil to be winning? Look no further than the first chapter of Esther. Women aren’t protected or valued as partners, equally created in the image of God — but rather as objects to be consumed. 

The story of Haman is also a picture of what happens when God is abandoned. Pride rules the day. Haman takes a personal vendetta against Mordecai (who refuses to bow to him). He threatens to wipe out an entire people because of this personal insult. A world without God is a world ruled by the Hamans of the world. 

But in chapter 6 we see a reversal. This is foreshadowing the great reversal we see through the Cross of Christ. That which seems weak is ultimately that which brings power. Just like Haman, the wicked serpent attempted to crush the head of the Son. But he’d only bruise his heel. He, again like Haman, would be defeated by his own petard. It is through the death of Christ that Satan loses any ounce of power he had. 

The story of Esther is that God is working in history to rescue a people for Himself. He is turning the tables, even when He is not named. Not even the unfaithfulness of God’s people can stop Him from accomplishing His purposes. And certainly, He will not be stopped by some pagan king who thinks he’s in charge of the whole earth. The prideful will be cast down. The humble, alongside of Jesus, will be truly exalted.

The Gospel in Esther 5

In Esther 5 we see a sharp contrast between Esther and Haman. They seem to both be consumed by “one thing.” For Haman, he is consumed by a hatred of Mordecai – or at least that is how it appears at first glance. What really drives Haman is his own self-exaltation. He will sacrifice others to see himself honored. 

Haman is a picture of the emptiness of any “one thing” that isn’t found in Christ. It will always come up empty. These are treasures that do not last. And just as happened with Haman, they will eventually bring about our death. We, like Haman, will end up impaled by our idols. 

This is contrasted with Esther. Esther is willing to sacrifice herself if it means the survival of others. In this way she is pointing us to Christ. Her "one thing," driven by selfless love and courage, is the salvation of her people. She is willing to risk her life for their deliverance. 

Esther 5 shows us the stark contrast between human pursuits driven by pride and the redemptive, selfless love of Christ. Esther's bravery and self-sacrificial actions foreshadow Christ's ultimate sacrifice for us, and Haman's downfall warns us of the destructive path of sin. This chapter, therefore, calls us to examine our own "one thing" and align our deepest desires with the will and purpose of God, finding our ultimate satisfaction and fulfillment in Christ alone.

Related articles
How Do We See the Gospel in the Book of Nehemiah?
Finding the Gospel in the Old Testament Book of Ruth
Where Do We Find the Gospel in the Book of Daniel?

Photo credit: ©Getty Images/bee32