Messianic Prophecies: Evidence of Christ Part 1

Photography by Lonnie Paulson

Introduction to Messianic Prophecy

In my Open Study Bible, listed in the back are forty-four prophecies of the Messiah which were fulfilled in Jesus Christ. Jesus the Christ is the Messiah. Christ is not Jesus’ last name. The word “Christ” is a title. If you define the word Messiah or Christ in English, it would be “Anointed One.” Many of the Jewish priests and kings before Christ would be anointed with olive oil. Christ is the English interpretation of the Greek word, Χριστός pronounced as Kristos. which comes from the Hebrew word that in English is Messiah.

Parchment Background Paper © Alexmax/Dreamstime.com

Above is the Hebrew word for Messiah

In the Old Testament the Jews were always looking for the Messiah who would save them from sin and grant them peace in their nation. When the Messiah showed up most Jews did not believe that Jesus was their Messiah. They read the scriptures and knew that the Messiah would conquer their enemies and there would be peace throughout the land. Yes, it will happen in the future that the Jews along with the Gentiles who have faith in Christ will have peace from their enemies and will rule and reign together. That happens when Christ comes back as a roaring Lion in the second coming. The “stumbling block” for the Jews was that most of the first century Jews at the time of Jesus thought that this would all happen at once. However, God has designed this Messianic event in two parts. The first part is that the Messiah would be the suffering servant as Isaiah the prophet prophesied about in Isaiah 53. Jesus the son of God part of the triune God would condescend in human form known as the incarnation. He would be born as a baby and grow to an adult, and His mission was to save those who would believe and follow Him.

Jesus would do this by being the only perfect man without sin who sacrificed Himself on a cross of crucifixion, shed His blood for us. Jesus died and was buried and rose from the dead proving that He was God in the flesh. “For Christ also suffered once for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive by the Spirit” (1 Peter 3:18 NKJV). Part one of this article will cover Messianic prophecy of Jesus, before His birth, at the birth of Jesus, during Jesus’ ministry, and the arrest of Jesus. The second part will cover Jesus’ crucifixion, death, and resurrection. I will not cover all forty-four prophecies listed in the back of my Bible but will give you a few examples.

 Before the Birth of Jesus

The first offering of love to sinners that God showed was the future promise of the Messiah who would save sinners from the wrath of God and these elected sinners would be transformed into new creatures as though they were without sin and would enter eternal life. In the Garden of Eden in chapter three of Genesis God the Father talks to Adam and Eve about their rebellious act of sin. Although God was extremely disappointed in their disobedience through His love for them, He had a remedy. “I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel” (Genesis 3:15 ESV). These prophetic words are known by theologians as the “First Gospel” or in Greek terminology, “The Protoevangelium.” I wanted to quote here what John MacArthur writes about Genesis 3:15 in his ESV study Bible. “In the midst of the curse passage, a message of hope shone forth—the woman’s offspring called ‘he’ is Christ, who will one day defeat the Serpent. Satan could only ‘bruise’ Christ’s heel (cause him to suffer), while Christ will bruise Satan’s head (destroy him with a fatal blow).”¹ This prophecy was fulfilled in Jesus Christ. One scripture that shows this prophetic fulfillment is Galatians 4:4. “But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law.”

Seven hundred years before the birth of Christ the prophet Micah who lived close to the border of Judah prophesied the birthplace of the Messiah. “But you, Bethlehem, Ephrathah, though you are little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of you shall come forth to Me the One to be ruler in Israel, whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting” (Micah 5:2 NKJV). Seven hundred years later you had the birth of Jesus. The prophet Isaiah wrote that the Messiah would be born from a virgin woman. Isaiah started his ministry during the end of King Uzziah. Isaiah’s ministry extended from (c.740 to 680 B.C.). Here is what Isaiah prophesied about the virgin birth of the Messiah. “Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel” (Isaiah 7:14 NKJV).

The Birth of Jesus

When Jesus was born Mother Mary wrapped Him in cloths and laid Him in a manger. The gospel writer Luke writes about shepherds out in the fields tending sheep during the night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them and the glory of the Lord shone around them and the shepherds were terrified. “Then the angel said to them, ‘Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people. For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be the sign to you: You will find a Babe wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a manger’” (Luke 2:10–12 NKJV). This announcement of the birth of Jesus is a fulfillment of a famous prophetic message from the prophet Isaiah. “For unto us a Child is born, Unto us a Son is given; And the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace” (Isaiah 9:6 NKJV). In reading the gospel of Matthew you will see a lot of Messianic prophecy because Matthew wrote for a Jewish audience. The Jews knew the Hebrew scriptures. Notice the beginning of the book of Matthew also has an extended genealogy which Jews would have been interested in.

After Jesus’ circumcision Joseph and Mary presented Jesus in the temple with a sacrifice which would have been a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons. There was a man in the temple full of the Holy Spirit whose name was Simeon. The Holy Spirit revealed to Simeon that he would not see death until he had seen the Christ. When Simeon saw the baby Jesus, he knew right away who He was. Simeon took the baby Jesus into his arms and blessed Him. “Lord, now you are letting your servant depart in peace, according to your word; for my eyes have seen your salvation that you have prepared in the presence of all peoples, a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and for glory to your people Israel” (Luke 2:29–32 ESV). Simeon’s message was a fulfillment of the prophet Isaiah. “The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness, on them has light shone” (Isaiah 9:2 ESV). Anna was a female prophet of 84 years of age and a widow. She never left the temple; she worshipped, fasted, and prayed night and day. As Simeon was talking with Mary and Joseph, Anna began praising God. She was talking to everyone at the temple about Jesus who is the Messiah that would deliver Jerusalem.

 Jesus’ Ministry

After Jesus’ baptism by John the Baptist and after Satan tempted Jesus in the wilderness for 40 days Jesus was ready to announce His ministry. Joseph and Mary raised Jesus to manhood in the Galilean city of Nazareth. On the Sabbath Jesus entered the synagogue, and it was His turn to read the Hebrew scriptures. He was handed a scroll of Isaiah. Jesus opened the scroll and began to read: “The Spirit of the LORD is upon Me, Because He has anointed Me To preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted. To proclaim liberty to the captives And recovery of sight to the blind, To set at liberty those who are oppressed; To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD” (Luke 4:18–19 NKJV). Jesus then gave the scroll back to the attendant and sat down. After He sat down Jesus told all those who heard Him read the scripture of Isaiah, “Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.” The Jews asked Him, “Are you not Joseph’s son? Jesus explained who He was further. After hearing Jesus’ response to the prophecy claiming He was the Messiah. They all thrust Him out of the synagogue and the city of Nazareth. They tried to throw Him over a cliff. Jesus was able to escape.     

This was the fulfillment of Isaiah 61:1–2a NKJV. “The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon Me, Because the LORD has anointed Me To preach good tidings to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to the captives; And the opening of the prison to those who are bound; To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD.” Two things I want to note about this verse. First the wording of the Isaiah prophecy may seem a little different when Luke wrote it in his gospel, which is because Luke was quoting from the Greek Septuagint instead of the original Hebrew Scriptures. The Greek Septuagint was a Greek translation of the Hebrew scriptures translated c.200 B.C. Jews at that time were becoming more familiar with Greek. Next is the second note I wanted to mention. The end of the second verse of Isaiah 61 mentions the day of vengeance of our God. Why did Jesus not quote this part? The day of vengeance is about the end of the age when the wrath of God comes down to earth, this is known as the second coming. When Jesus comes back again, He is coming back to show His wrath.

Let us move up to the last week of Jesus’ ministry. I want to mention here the “Triumphal Entry” or what is also known as “Palm Sunday.” All four gospels cover this event. Jesus and His followers were on their way to Jerusalem. They stopped at Bethphage on the Mount of Olives. This is where Jesus told two of his disciples to look for a donkey and a colt and bring them to Him. The disciples did what Jesus said, and they also laid their clothes on the back of the donkey. A multitude of people were watching and cheering Jesus who was riding on the back of a donkey. They quoted from Psalm 118:26. “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD!” The prophet Zechariah whose ministry was 522–509 B.C. prophesied about the Triumphal Entry of Jesus. “Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your King is coming to you; He is just and having salvation, Lowly and riding on a donkey, A colt, the foal of a donkey” (Zechariah 9:9 NKJV).

While on the Mount of Olives with His disciples Jesus speaks in detail about the end of the age known as the second coming of Jesus Christ. Jesus speaks of a time that the prophet Daniel prophesied about the future “abomination of desolation.” “Then he shall confirm a covenant with many for one week; But in the middle of the week He shall bring an end to sacrifice and offering. And on the wing of abominations shall be one who makes desolate, Even until the consummation, which is determined, Is poured out on the desolate” (Daniel 9:27 NKJV). The subject matter of this blog is apologetics, but here there is a crossover to eschatology that I must mention. This is where Daniel is writing about the role of the Antichrist in what is known as the great tribulation. Jesus tells us to pay attention to the writings of Daniel. So, when you read the book of Revelation to learn about the end times, you must also pay attention to what Jesus said and read Daniel. Jesus agreed with Daniel.

Jesus’ Arrest

One of Jesus’ disciples, Judas Iscariot, had an evil spirit in his heart and wanted to benefit financially using information he had about where Jesus resided. Judas goes to the chief priests and asks them about how much money they would give him if he would deliver Jesus to them. The priests offered him thirty pieces of silver. This was a fulfillment of the prophetic words of Zechariah. “Then I said to them, ‘If it is agreeable to you, give me my wages; and if not, refrain.’ So they weighed out for my wages thirty pieces of silver” (Zechariah 11:12 NKJV). After Jesus shared with His disciples the Passover what we Christians call the “Last Supper” they went out to the Mount of Olives. This is where Jesus shared a prophecy of Zechariah. “Then Jesus said to them, ‘All of you will be made to stumble because of Me this night, for it is written: I will strike the Shepherd, And the sheep will be scattered’” (Mark 14:27 NKJV). Here is the Zechariah prophecy in full. “Awake, O sword, against My shepherd, Against the Man who is My Companion,” Says the LORD of hosts. “Strike the Shepherd, And the sheep will be scattered; Then I will turn My hand against the little ones” (Zechariah 13:7 NKJV). Zechariah’s prophecy was fulfilled in the gospel of Mark. After Jesus was arrested his disciples ran away. “Then they all forsook Him and fled” (Mark 14:50 NKJV).

Written by Lonnie Paulson

Messianic Prophecies: Evidence of Christ Part 1: End Notes

1)      John MacArthur. The John MacArthur Study Bible ESV; Crossway; Wheaton, IL 60187 (2010) p 22.