Table of Contents
1. Messiah was to suffer and die
Messiah would be rejected by men
Prophecy:
“He is despised and rejected of men…” Isaiah 53:3.
Fulfillment:
“And they bowed the knee before him, and mocked him, saying, Hail, King of the Jews!” Matt. 27:29.
“Then cried they all again, saying, Not this man, but Barabbas.” John 18:40.
Messiah would be a man of sorrows
Prophecy:
“… a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not.” Isaiah 53:3.
Fulfillment:
“Jesus wept.” John 11:35.
“And ye will not come to me, that ye might have life.” John 5:40.
“And when he was come near, he beheld the city, and wept over it…” Luke 19:41.
Messiah would bear upon himself our sorrows
Prophecy:
“Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.” Isaiah 53:4.
Fulfillment:
“And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying… My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?” Matt. 27:46.
“For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust…” 1 Peter 3:18.
Messiah would be wounded for our sins
Prophecy:
“But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.” Isaiah 53:5.
Fulfillment:
“Then Pilate therefore took Jesus, and scourged him.” John 19:1.
“And, having made peace through the blood of his cross…” Col. 1:20.
“Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed.” 1 Peter 2:24.
Messiah would not remain in the grave
Prophecy:
“For thou wilt not leave my soul in hell; neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption.” Psalm 16:10.
Fulfillment:
“This Jesus hath God raised up, whereof we all are witnesses.” Acts 2:32.
2. Messiah was to be resurrected
Messiah would ascend on high
Prophecy:
“Thou hast ascended on high, thou hast led captivity captive: thou hast received gifts for men; yea, for the rebellious also, that the LORD God might dwell among them.” Ps. 68:18.
Fulfillment:
“And when he had spoken these things, while they beheld, he was taken up; and a cloud received him out of their sight.” Acts 1:9.
“Now that he ascended, what is it but that he also descended first into the lower parts of the earth? He that descended is the same also that ascended up far above all heavens, that he might fill all things.” Eph. 4:9-10.
Messiah was to sit on the right hand of God
Prophecy:
“The LORD said unto my Lord, Sit thou at my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool.” Psalm 110:1.
Fulfillment:
“For David is not ascended into the heavens: but he saith himself, The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand, until I make thy foes thy footstool. Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly, that God hath made the same Jesus, whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ.” Acts 2:34-36.
Numerous other prophecies were fulfilled by Jesus, which evidence even more fully that he was indeed the Messiah that the Old Testament prophets pointed to in their writings. Some of these include:
Messiah would be born in Bethlehem
Prophecy:
“But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting.” Micah 5:2. Fulfillment:
Fulfillment:
“Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem, saying, Where is he that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him.” Matt. 2:1-2.
“And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be taxed… And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judaea, unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem… And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn.” Luke 2:1-7.
Lots would be cast for his garment
Prophecy:
“They part my garments among them, and cast lots upon my vesture.” Psalm 22:18.
Fulfillment:
“And they crucified him, and parted his garments, casting lots: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, They parted my garments among them, and upon my vesture did they cast lots.” Matthew 27:35.
Not a bone of his would be broken
Prophecy:
“The fourteenth day of the second month at even they shall keep it, and eat it with unleavened bread and bitter herbs. They shall leave none of it unto the morning, nor break any bone of it: according to all the ordinances of the passover they shall keep it.” Numbers 9:2-14.
Fulfillment:
“But one of the soldiers with a spear pierced his side, and forthwith came there out blood and water. And he that saw it bare record, and his record is true: and he knoweth that he saith true, that ye might believe.” John 19:34-35.
After all these prophecies that were perfectly fulfilled by Christ, there is one more prophecy that remains to be fulfilled, and it is that…
3. Messiah will come again a second time
According to the clear prophecies of the Old and the New Testaments, those living today can be fully assured that Messiah – Jesus Christ – will come to this earth again, this time not as a Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief but as a King of Kings and Lord of Lords. In view of the signs that were predicted in the Bible, we are convinced that we are standing on the threshold of this solemn event.
“For yet a little while, and he that shall come will come, and will not tarry. Now the just shall live by faith…” Hebrews 10:37.
The tongue is weak to describe the glory of his glorious coming, “for the powers of heaven shall be shaken. And then shall they see the Son of man coming in a cloud with power and great glory”. Luke 21:26, 27.
“And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.” Matt. 24:31.