essianic Prophecies and Their Fulfillment - TFI Online

Messianic Prophecies andTheir FulfillmentPart 1Imagine that a celebritywas coming to your town,or a long-awaited 3Dmovie or theatrical showwas going to feature inyour city. You’d probablysee posters and advertisementsto announceits arrival, or even writeupsabout it in the printednews or on websites. Alot would go into makingeveryone aware so thatthey wouldn’t miss thespecial event.When something important is about to happen, particularly when it’s somethingthat everyone should know about, we draw attention to the event byannouncing the news through some medium—TV, newspapers, billboards,advertising flyers, word of mouth, and likely some electronic method.

Now, imagine God wanting to announce the arrivalof His own Son to earth. How would you go aboutannouncing the life of the mostimportant man to ever live?What did God do?God inspired His prophetsto announce the comingof His Son, Jesus Christ,many hundreds of yearsprior to Jesus’ birth. Theseannouncements, and theirfulfillment through Jesus,have become known as“messianic prophecies.”“Messiah”comes fromthe Hebrewword for“anointedone.” Overtime it cameto mean “theexpected kingand delivererof the Jews.”(http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/messiah)

The Old Testament containsapproximately 300messianic prophecies thatwere fulfilled by Jesus inthe New Testament, all ofwhich were given by Godto many different prophetshundreds of years beforeJesus was born. Whilethere were others whoclaimed to be the Messiahthat the Old Testamentheralded, none of themcould fulfill all of theprophecies that had beengiven! This is an astoundingexample of how thewritings in the Bible aredivinely inspired.In this two-part series,we’ll take a closer look ata few of these amazingOld Testament propheciesthat were fulfilled in Jesus’birth, life, and death.

Prophecy: Therefore the Lord himselfwill give you a sign. Behold, the virginshall conceive and bear a son, andshall call his name Immanuel. (Isaiah7:14 ESV)Fulfillment: This is how the birthof Jesus Christ came about: Hismother Mary was pledged to be marriedto Joseph, but before they cametogether, she was found to be withchild through the Holy Spirit. … Allthis took place to fulfill what the Lordhad said through the prophet: “Thevirgin will be with child and will givebirth to a son, and they will call himImmanuel”—which means, “Godwith us.” (Matthew 1:18, 22–23 NIV)The prophet Isaiah was not talkingabout anyone he knew of at thetime; he was receiving a revelationfrom God that would help peoplerecognize Jesus as the Messiahwhen He did finally come to earth.God used Isaiah many more timesto relay significant details of whatwould happen in Jesus’ life.The Jews of Jesus’ day knew ofIsaiah’s prophecies and were waitingfor the man that Isaiah hadforetold. This is why Matthew says,“All this took place to fulfill what theLord had said through the prophet,”when he tells of the unique circumstancesof Jesus’ birth. Matthewwanted to show others of the Jewishfaith that Jesus had fulfilled thisunique condition that had beenprophesied regarding the birth ofthe expected Messiah.

Prophecy: “But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah,though you are small among the clans of Judah,out of you will come for me one who will be rulerover Israel, whose origins are from of old, fromancient times.” (Micah 5:2 NIV)Fulfillment: Jesus was born in Bethlehem inJudea... (Matthew 2:1 NIV)The prophet Micah foretold the city in which Jesus would be born.In fact, when Magi from the East came to worship a newly bornking and went to King Herod’s court to ask for directions, KingHerod’s counselors quoted Micah’s prophecy as to where theexpected “Christ” (meaning Messiah) would be born. Find thatstory in Matthew 2:1–12.

The scene above describes Jesus’ triumphant entry into Jerusalem shortly beforethe Passover feast, but the prophet Zechariah was predicting more than just that:he was also telling of the coming Messiah’s nature—that Jesus would be humble,and would not be as the other earthly kings the Jews had known.Prophecy: Rejoice, Opeople of Zion! Shoutin triumph, O people ofJerusalem! Look, your kingis coming to you. He is righteousand victorious, yet heis humble, riding on a donkey—ridingon a donkey’scolt. (Zechariah 9:9 NLT)Fulfillment: They tookpalm branches and wentout to meet him, shouting,“Hosanna!” “Blessed is hewho comes in the nameof the Lord!” “Blessed isthe King of Israel!” Jesusfound a young donkey andsat upon it, as it is written.(John 12:13–14 NIV)They brought it to Jesus,threw their cloaks on thecolt and put Jesus on it.(Luke 19:29–35 NIV)

Prophecy: Those who hate mewithout reason outnumber thehairs of my head; many are myenemies without cause, those whoseek to destroy me. I am forced torestore what I did not steal. (Psalm69:4 NIV)Fulfillment: If I had not doneamong them what no one elsedid, they would not be guilty ofsin. But now they have seen thesemiracles, and yet they have hatedboth me and my Father. But thisis to fulfill what is written in theirLaw: “They hated me without reason.”(John 15:24–25 NIV)In John 15 Jesus is quotingfrom a Psalm of David, theentire chapter (Psalm 69) ofwhich is widely recognized asprophecy regarding Jesus’ lastdays and His death.

Prophecy: They put gall in my food and gave me vinegar formy thirst. (Psalm 69:21 NIV)Fulfillment: A jar of wine vinegar was there, so they soakeda sponge in it, put the sponge on a stalk of the hyssop plant,and lifted it to Jesus’ lips. (John 19:29 NIV)[Psalm 69] seems entirely prophetic of Christ. Hisdeep abasement is referred to, Psalm 69:2–5; hisprayer for his disciples and followers, Psalm 69:6;that for himself, in the garden of Gethsemane,Psalm 69:15–19; his crucifixion, Psalm 69:20–22;the vengeance of Godagainst the Jews, fromPsalm 69:23–29; theglorious manner inwhich he gets out of allhis sufferings, Psalm69:30; the abolition ofthe Mosaic rites andceremonies, Psalm69:31… ; and, finally,the establishment ofthe Gospel through thewhole world, in Psalm69:33.Commentary on the Bible, byAdam Clarke [1831].Text Courtesy of Internet SacredText Archive.S&S link: Christian Life and Faith: Biblical and Christian Foundation: Jesus, God’s Son-2fAuthored by R. A. Watterson. Illustrations by Zeb. Design by Christia Copeland.Published by My Wonder Studio. Copyright © 2012 by The Family International