9. WAS JESUS CHRIST THE MESSIAH OF OLD TESTAMENT PROPHECY?

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1 9. WAS JESUS CHRIST THE MESSIAH OF OLD TESTAMENT PROPHECY? [Note: All dates given herein are according to The Chronological Bible edited by Edward Reese] INTRODUCTION The first three chapters of the Bible describe man s creation, his sin, his alienation from God because of sin and his expulsion from Eden. From that time forward, God would strive to instill within man a consciousness of sin and sin s consequences. Man would learn that he needed forgiveness, an intercessor, a mediator, a Savior and reconciliation to God. And through numerous Old Testament prophecies, God promised to make provisions for these needs through the sending of that one who would be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace (Isa. 9:6). But was Jesus Christ the fulfillment of those Old Testament prophecies? Salvation, heaven, hell and the trustworthiness of the Bible all stand or fall on whether or not Jesus is the Son of God. Was He really the Messiah, the Savior, God with us, the King of kings and Lord of lords (Matt. 1:21-23; 3:16-17; 1 Tim. 6:15; Rev. 17:14) or was He just an ordinary man? Inasmuch as faith is said to be the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen (Heb. 11:1), where is the evidence for faith in Christ? The apostle John declared: And there are also many other things that Jesus did, which if they were written one by one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that would be written (John 21:25). But the focus of this study has to do with Old Testament prophecies about the Messiah (Christ) and their New Testament fulfillment. As to substance and evidence, this is of extreme importance in view of the fact that numerous remarkable and explicit prophecies were made about Jesus Christ s coming hundreds of years before He was born in Bethlehem. And these prophecies have been found in ancient manuscripts of the Old Testament, such as the Dead Sea Scrolls, that have been verified as being in existence long before the birth of Jesus Christ in Bethlehem. They therefore could not have been fabricated after His earthly sojourn. 1. PROPHECY OF THE PROMISED SEED In about 4,000 B.C., following the sin of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, God prophesied to the serpent (Satan - Rev. 12:9; 20:2): Genesis 3 [prophecy B.C.] 15 And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her Seed; He shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise His heel. Note the term, her Seed. Normally, the seed belongs to the man not the woman. But later, God would also have Isaiah declare: Isaiah 7 [prophecy B.C.] 14 Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel. Now observe how these prophecies were fulfilled when Jesus was born: Matthew 1 [fulfillment - 6 B.C.] 18 Now the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows: after His mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Spirit 22 So all this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying: 23 Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel, which is translated, God with us. In fulfillment of Gen. 3:15, Satan would bruise the heal of Christ through the crucifixion, but in His death Jesus would bruise Satan s head : Hebrews 2 [fulfillment: 1 st century A.D.] 14 Inasmuch then as the children have partaken of flesh and blood, He Himself (Christ) likewise shared in the same, that through death He might destroy him who had the power of death, that is, the devil, 15 and release those who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage. Then, in about 1800 B.C. there was another 1

2 seed prophecy that God made to Abraham: Genesis 22 [Prophecy: 1831 B.C.] 17 I will bless you, and I will multiply your descendants as the stars of the heaven and as the sand which is on the seashore 18 In your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because you have obeyed My voice. This promise was also made to Abraham s son, Isaac (Gen. 26:4) and to his grandson, Jacob (Gen. 28:14). Now from what single person among their descendants would come a blessing to all nations of the earth? Galatians 3 [fulfillment: 1 st century A.D.] 8 And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel to Abraham beforehand, saying, In you all the nations shall be blessed. 16 Now to Abraham and his Seed were the promises made. He does not say, And to seeds, as of many, but as of one, And to your Seed, who is Christ. 2. WHO WOULD BE THE SCEPTRE THAT WOULD RISE OUT OF ISRAEL? Numbers 24 [prophecy: 1423 B.C.] 17 I see Him, but not now; I behold Him, but not near; a Star shall come out of Jacob; a Scepter shall rise out of Israel cf. Gen. 49:10 Hebrews 1 [fulfillment: 1 st century A.D.] 8 But to the Son (Christ) He says: Your throne, O God, is forever and ever; a scepter of righteousness is the scepter of Your Kingdom. Cf. Heb. 7:14 3. WHAT PROPHET LIKE MOSES DID GOD PROMISE TO RAISE UP? Deuteronomy 18 [prophecy: 1423 B.C.] 15 The Lord your God will raise up for you a Prophet like me from your midst, from your brethren. Him you shall hear --Moses 18 I will raise up for them a Prophet like you from among their brethren, and will put My words in His mouth, and He shall speak to them all that I command Him. 19 And it shall be that whoever will not hear My words, which He speaks in My name, I will require it of him. --God Matthew 17 [fulfillment: A.D. 28] 5 (When God said of Christ:) This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Hear Him! Hebrews 1 [fulfillment: 1 st century A.D.] 1 God, who at various times and ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, 2 has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the worlds cf. Acts 3:22-26; 7: WHO OF THE SEED OF DAVID WOULD ESTABLISH AN ETERNAL KINGDOM? 2 Samuel 7 [prophecy: 1014 B.C.] 12 [God's promise to king David]: When your days are fulfilled and you rest with your fathers, I will set up your seed after you, who will come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom. 13 He shall build a house for My name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. 14 I will be his Father, and he shall be My son Isaiah 11 [prophecy: 713 B.C.] 1 There shall come forth a Rod from the stem of Jesse (the father of David), and a Branch shall grow out of his roots. 2 The Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon Him cf. Vs Righteousness shall be the belt of His loins, and faithfulness the belt of His waist. Cf. Vs And in that day there shall be a Root of Jesse, who shall stand as a banner to the people; for the Gentiles shall seek Him, and His resting place shall be glorious. Jeremiah 23 [prophecy: 597 B.C.] 5 Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, That I will raise to David a Branch of righteousness; a King shall reign and prosper, and execute judgment and righteousness in the earth. Cf. Vs. 6 Luke 1 [fulfillment: 6 B.C.] 31 [The angel Gabriel announces to Mary:] And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name Jesus. 32 He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David. 2

3 33 And He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end. --The angel, Gabriel. This fulfillment during the 1 st century A.D. is also described in Acts 2:29-31; 13:22-23; Rom. 1:3-4; 2 Tim. 2:8; and Rev. 22:16 5. HE WOULD BE BORN IN BETHLEHEM Micah 5 [prophecy B.C.] 2 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 are from of old, from everlasting. Matthew 2 [fulfillment - 5 B.C.] 1 Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king [cf. Luke 2:1-7] 6. HEROD, TRYING TO KILL JESUS, WOULD ORDER THE SLAUGHTER OF ALL MALE CHILDREN IN BETHLEHEM (two years and under) Prophesied [597 B.C.]: Jeremiah 31:15 Fulfilled [4 B.C.]: Matthew 2: GOD WOULD CALL HIS SON OUT OF EGYPT Prophesied [723 B.C.]: Hosea 11:1 Fulfilled [4 B.C.]: Matthew 2: J0HN THE BAPTIST WOULD PREPARE THE WAY FOR THE COMING OF CHRIST Prophesied [712 B.C.]: Isa. 40:3-5; Mal. 3:1; 4:5-6 Fulfilled (25 A.D.]: Luke 1:17; 7:27; Matthew 3:1-3; 11: THE SPIRIT OF THE LORD WOULD BE UPON HIM Prophesied [712 B.C.]: Isa. 61:1-3 cf. Isa. 11:2; 42:1 Fulfilled [25 A.D.]: Matthew 3:16-17; Luke 4:16-21 cf. John 3:34; Acts 10: GOD WOULD IDENTIFY HIM AND DECLARE HIM TO BE HIS SON Prophesied [712 B.C.]: Psalm 2:7 Fulfilled [25 A.D.]: Matthew 3:17; 17: HE WOULD TEACH WITH PARABLES Prophesied [1017 B.C.]: Psalm 78:2-4 Fulfilled [27 A.D.]: Matthew 13: HE WOULD BE HIGH PRIEST, NOT IN THE LEVITICAL PRIESTHOOD, BUT AFTER THE ORDER OF MELCHIZEDEK Prophesied [1014 B.C.]: Psalm 110:4 Fulfilled [1 st century A.D.]: Hebrews 5: HE WOULD BECOME A STONE OF STUMBLING AND A ROCK OF OFFENSE? Prophecy [1018 B.C.]: Psalm 118:22; Isaiah 8:14-15 Fulfilled [1 st Cent. A.D.]: Rom. 9:32-33; 1 Pet. 2: SHORTLY BEFORE HIS DEATH, HE WOULD ENTER JERUSALEM FOR THE LAST TIME RIDING ON A COLT, THE FOAL OF A DONKEY Prophesied [494 B.C.]: Zechariah 9:9 Fulfilled [29 A.D.]: Matthew 21:1-11; Mark 11: HE WOULD BE BETRAYED BY A CLOSE FRIEND Prophesied [993 B.C.]: Psalm 41:9; 55:12-14 Fulfilled [29 A.D.]: Matthew 26: HE WOULD BE BETRAYED FOR THIRTY PIECES OF SILVER Prophesied [494 B.C.]: Zechariah 11:12-13 Fulfilled [29 A.D.]: Matthew 26:14-16; 27: HE WOULD SUFFER THE HORRIBLE AGONY, ANGUISH, HUMILIATION AND PAIN OF CRUCIFIXION. OBSERVE THE FOLLOWING: Prophecy [993 B.C.]: Psalm 22:1 My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me? Why are You so far from helping Me, and from the words of My groaning? (Fulfilled in Matthew 27:46 in 29 A.D.) cf. 2 Cor. 5:21 Prophecy [993 B.C.]: Psalm 22:6 But I am a worm and no man; a reproach of men, and despised by the people. 7 All those who see Me ridicule Me; they shoot out the lip, they shake the head, saying, 8 He trusted in the Lord, let Him rescue Him; let Him deliver Him, since He delights in Him! (Fulfilled in Matthew 27:39-44 in 29 A.D.) Prophecy [993 B.C.]: Psalm 22:14 I am poured out like water, and all My bones are out of joint; My heart is like wax; it has melted within Me. 15 My strength is dried up like a potsherd and my tongue clings to My jaws; You have brought Me to the dust of death. 16 For dogs have surrounded Me; the congregation of the wicked has enclosed Me. They pierced My hands and My feet; 17 I can count all My bones. They look and stare at Me. 18 They divide My garments among them, and for My clothing they cast lots. (Fulfilled in Matthew 27:34-36; John 19:23-30 in 29 A.D.) 3

4 Prophecy [993 B.C.]: Psalm 69:20 Reproach has broken my heart, and I am full of heaviness; I looked for someone to take pity, but there was none; and for comforters, but I found none. 21 They also gave me gall for my food, and for my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink. (Fulfilled in Matthew 27:34 in 29 A.D.) Prophecy [494 B.C.]: Zechariah 12:10 And I will pour on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem the Spirit of grace and supplication; then they will look on Me whom they pierced. Yes, they will mourn for Him as one mourns for his only son, and grieve for Him as one grieves for a firstborn. (Fulfilled in John 19:32-37 and Acts 2:36-37 in 29 A.D.) Prophecy [1029 B.C.]: Psalm 34:20 He guards all his bones; not one of them is broken. (Fulfilled: John 19:32-37 in 29 A.D.) And one of the most explicit of all Messianic prophecies was made in 712 B.C.: Isaiah 53 1 Who has believed our report? (Fulfilled: John 12:37-38; Romans 10:16) And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed? 2 For He shall grow up before Him as a tender plant, and as a root out of dry ground. He has no form or comeliness; and when we see Him, there is no beauty that we should desire Him. (Fulfilled: Luke 9:58; John 1:10; and Philippians 2:7) 3 He is despised and rejected by men, (Fulfilled: John 1:11; Luke 23:18) a Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. And we hid, as it were, our faces from Him; He was despised, and we did not esteem Him. (Fulfilled: John 1:11; 7:5, 41, 42; 8:48; Mark 3:21, 30; Luke 3:23-30; and John 18:37-40) 4 Surely He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed Him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. 5 But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed. (Fulfilled: Matthew 8:17; 20:28, 26:28; Romans 4:25; 2 Corinthians 5:21; Hebrews 2:17-18, 9:28; 1 Peter 2:24, 3:18; and 1 John 3:5) 6 All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned, every one, to his own way; and the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all. (Fulfilled: 2 Corinthians 5:14-15, 21; 1 Peter 2:25; 1 John 2:2; Revelation 5:9) 7 He was oppressed and He was afflicted, yet He opened not His mouth; He was led as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before its shearers is silent, so He opened not His mouth. (Fulfilled: Matthew 26:26-63; 27:12-14; cf. Acts 8:26-39) 8 He was taken from prison and from judgment, and who will declare His generation? For He was cut off from the land of the living; for the transgressions of My people He was stricken. (Fulfilled: John 19:1-6.) 9 And they made His grave with the wicked [fulfilled when he was crucified between two thieves-- Matthew 27:38] --and with the rich at His death [fulfilled when he was buried in the tomb of Joseph, a rich man--matthew 27:57-60], because He had done no violence, nor was any deceit in His mouth. (Fulfilled: 1 Peter 2:21-22) 10 Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise Him; He has put Him to grief. When You make His soul an offering for sin, He shall see His seed, He shall prolong His days, and the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in His hand. (Fulfilled: John 10:17-18; Romans 6:8-10, 8:31-32.) 11 He shall see the labor of His soul, and be satisfied. By His knowledge My righteous Servant shall justify many, for He shall bear their iniquities. (Fulfilled: John 19:30; 2 Peter 1:3; Romans 5:1, 9, 18-19; 2 Cor. 5:21) 12 Therefore I will divide Him a portion with the great, and He shall divide the spoil with the strong, because He poured out His soul unto death, and He was numbered with the transgressors, and He bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors. (Fulfilled: Acts 2:32-36; 2 Corinthians 13:4; Ephesians 4:8-10; Colossians 2:15; Hebrews 2:14-15) 18. HE WOULD BE A FOUNTAIN OPENED FOR SIN AND UNCLEANNESS Prophecy [494 B.C.]: Zechariah 13:1 Fulfillment [1 st century A.D.]: Romans 5: HIS BODY WOULD NOT UNDERGO CORRUPTION (decomposition) AT DEATH Prophecy [1014 BC]: Psalm 16:8-10 Fulfillment [29 A.D.]: Acts 2: HE WOULD BE RESURRECTED FROM THE DEAD: Prophecy [988 B.C.]: Psalm 30:2-3 Fulfillment [29 A.D.]: Matt. 28:1-7; 1 Cor. 15:1-8 4

5 21. HE WOULD ASCEND ON HIGH Prophecy [1016 B.C.]: Psalm 68:18 Fulfillment [29 A.D.]: Acts 1: HE WOULD HAVE ALL AUTHORITY AND POWER IN HIS REIGN AS KING AND HEAD OVER HIS ETERNAL KINGDOM AND CHURCH: Prophecy [550 B.C.]: Daniel 7:13 I was watching in the night visions, and behold, One like the Son of Man, coming with the clouds of heaven! He came to the Ancient of Days, and they brought Him near before Him. 14 Then to Him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and His kingdom the one which shall not be destroyed. (cf. Psalm 2:6-8; Daniel 2:44; and Luke 1:32) Fulfillment (1 st century A.D.): Matt. 16:18; 28:18-20; Mark 9:1; Eph. 1:19-23; Phil. 2:9-11 Colossians 1 13 He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love Hebrews Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us have grace, by which we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear. 29 For our God is a consuming fire. FURTHER SUBSTANCE AND EVIDENCE THAT PROVES THE DIVINITY AND HISTORICITY OF JESUS CHRIST The first four books of the New Testament are four biographies that clearly show how Jesus Christ, as the Son of God, was the fulfillment of numerous Old Testament prophecies. From them we are informed how and why Christ came to earth, lived, taught, demonstrated His power through miracles, was put to death by crucifixion, rose from the dead and ascended back to His Father s throne in heaven. Matthew 1 and Luke 3 give His genealogy through which He came. Luke began by reporting how he had accurately researched His life from eye witnesses and was writing that you may know the certainty of those things in which you were instructed (Luke 1:4). The apostle John concludes His biography of the Christ by saying: John And truly Jesus did many other signs in the presence of His disciples, which are not written in this book; 31 but these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name. John And there are also many other things that Jesus did, which if they were written one by one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that would be written. What Jesus accomplished was not done in secret. Many eye witnesses beheld His glory. Following His resurrection from the dead, the apostle Paul would write, for example, of His appearing to more than 500 brethren at one time (1 Corinthians 15:6). Many infallible proofs bear witness to Him and the things revealed about Him in the New Testament (cf. Acts 1:3). It has been observed that all the armies that have ever marched, all the navies that have ever sailed, and all the parliaments that have ever sat have not affected the world for good as this One Solitary Life. Even time is measured from His birth as A.D. (in the year of our Lord). Then, for the past twenty centuries, there has continued the practice of water baptism, observance of the Lord s Supper in remembrance of Him, and the assembling of His disciples together on the first day of the week all of which would be meaningless if Jesus had not lived, died, been resurrected from the dead and ascended to Heaven to die no more. People do not die for the dead but for the living. And millions have died a martyrs death for Him, which would have been senseless, had Jesus not lived and been resurrected from the dead. But some will ask, what evidence is there for His existence outside of the Bible? Consider what the ancient Jewish Historian Josephus (born in AD 37) wrote about Him: And there arose about this time Jesus, a wise man, if indeed we should call him a man; for he was a doer of marvelous deeds, a teacher of men who received the truth with pleasure. He led 5

6 away many Jews, and also many of the Greeks. This man was the Christ. And when Pilate had condemned him to the cross on his impeachment by the chief men among us, those who had loved him at first did not cease; for he appeared to them on the third day alive again, the divine prophets having spoken these and thousands of other wonderful things about him; and even now the tribe of Christians, so named after him, has not yet died out. Even the ancient adversaries and enemies of Christ acknowledged the existence of Jesus, His crucifixion and His followers whom they slandered. Such an example is that of Tacitus, a pagan Roman historian, born in about AD 52 who wrote the history of Rome under the emperors. In his writing about Nero (AD 54-68), he described the great fire which ravaged Rome in AD 64 and told how it was widely rumored that Nero had instigated the fire, even though Nero blamed it on Christians and used it as an excuse to persecute and murder them. Regarding this, he wrote: Therefore, to scotch the rumor, Nero substituted as culprits, and punished with the utmost refinements of cruelty, a class of men, loathed for their vices, whom the crowd styled Christians. Christus, from whom they got their name, had been executed by sentence of the procurator Pontius Pilate when Tiberius was emperor; and the pernicious superstition was checked for a short time, only to break out afresh, not only in Judea, the home of the plague, but in Rome itself, where all the horrible and shameful things in the world collect and find a home. In AD 112 Pliny wrote a Letter to the Emperor Trajan asking his advice on how to deal with the troublesome sect of Christians, who were embarrassingly numerous in his province. According to evidence he had secured by examining some of them under torture, he wrote: It is my custom, my lord, to refer to you all questions about which I have doubts. Who, indeed, can better direct me in hesitation, or enlighten me in ignorance? In the examination of Christians I have never taken part; therefore I do not know what crime is usually punished or investigated or to what extent. So I have no little uncertainty Meanwhile I have taken this course with those who were accused before me as Christians: I have asked them whether they were Christians. Those who confessed I asked a second and a third time, threatening punishment. Those who persisted I ordered led away to execution. For I did not doubt that, whatever it was they admitted, obstinacy and unbending perversity certainly deserve to be punished. There were others of the like insanity, but because they were Roman citizens I noted them down to be sent to Rome. Soon after this, as it often happens, because the matter was taken notice of, the crime became wise-spread and many cases arose. An unsigned paper was presented containing the names of many. But these denied that they were or had been Christians, and I thought it right to let them go, since at my dictation they prayed to the gods and made supplication with incense and wine to your statue, which I had ordered to be brought into the court for the purpose, together with the images of the gods, and in addition to this they cursed Christ, none of which things, it is said, those who are really Christians can be made to do. Others who were named by an informer said that they were Christians, and soon afterward denied it, saying, indeed, that they had been, but had ceased to be Christians, some three years ago, some many years, and one even twenty years ago. All these also not only worshiped your statue and the images of the gods, but also cursed Christ. They asserted, however that the amount of their fault or error was this: that they has been accustomed to assemble on a fixed day before day light and sing by turns a hymn to Christ as a god; and that they bound themselves with an oath, not for any crime, but to commit neither theft, nor robbery, nor adultery, not to break their word and not to deny a deposit when demanded; after these things were done, it was their custom to depart and meet together again to take food, but ordinary and harmless food;... For many of every age, every rank, and even of both sexes, are brought into danger; and will be in the future. The contagion of that superstition has penetrated not only the cities but also the villages and country places... This is but a small part of outside of the Bible evidence that bears witness to the existence of Jesus Christ and His followers at the time the Bible ascribes to them. --David W. Echols Sr. 6