The Prophets Spoke (Boy, did they ever!)
Peter wrote that the prophets “searched intently and with the greatest care, trying to find out the time and circumstances (of the predicted) sufferings of the Messiah and the glories that would follow.”
That time had now come. And as you are about to hear in this PODCAST, it was amazing!
Last week, we made the point that the portrait of Jesus painted in the Old Testament, by the Old Testament prophets, was dramatically detailed and stunningly complete. Just reading the Old Testament leaves the reader with nothing left to the imagination as far as Jesus is concerned.
Oh sure. The New Testament adds a bit of color here, some contours there. Think of the Old Testament as a black & white photo of Jesus in contrast to a New Testament color image—vivid color at that!
The New Testament is not so much new revelation about Jesus—His incarnation, ministry, crucifixion, resurrection—as it is a magnifying glass that allows us to see a bit more detail that was already there on the canvas of Old Testament.
So we are now going to unveil for you that Old Testament canvas, allowing you to see it in all its prophetic glory.
Imagine a blank canvas before you. With each biblical brushstroke, a bit more of the portrait will gradually emerge. Are you ready?
We’ll start with this stunner, right out of the gate. (But, don’t worry, I will not dive into all 332 of the Old Testament prophecies regarding Jesus… just a few)
Here is what God, Himself said to Satan incarnate as early as the third chapter of Genesis:
“I will put enmity
between you and the woman,
and between your offspring and hers;
he will crush your head,
and you will strike his heel.” (Genesis 3:15)
And, God promised that Jesus would be a direct descendant of Abraham, as He had promised Abram:
I will bless those who bless you,
and whoever curses you I will curse;
and all peoples on earth
will be blessed through you.” (Genesis 12:3)
Also God promised that Jesus would be of the bloodline of King David:
“For the time is coming,”
says the Lord,
“when I will raise up a righteous descendant
from King David’s line.
He will be a King who rules with wisdom.
He will do what is just and right throughout the land. (Jeremiah 23:5)
Additionally, God promised that Jesus will be of the seed of Isaac, as He told Abraham:
“…Sarah, your wife, will give birth to a son for you. You will name him Isaac, and I will confirm my covenant with him and his descendants as an everlasting covenant.”(Genesis 17:19)
Not only did God promise Jesus’ bloodline, but also which city He would come from:
But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah,
are only a small village among all the people of Judah.
Yet a ruler of Israel,
whose origins are in the distant past,
will come from you on my behalf. (Micah 5:2)
To clarify the gender of the Messiah, God promised that Jesus would come as a baby boy:
For a child is born to us,
a son is given to us.
The government will rest on his shoulders.
And he will be called:
Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. (Isaiah 9:6)
God’s prophets delivered the message upon which a miracle would take place in order for Jesus to be born:
Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel. (Isaiah 7:14)
God promised that after being born, Magi from the east would come to worship the Messiah:
All nations will come to your light;
mighty kings will come to see your radiance…… Vast caravans of camels will converge on you,
the camels of Midian and Ephah.
The people of Sheba will bring gold and frankincense
and will come worshiping the Lord. (Isaiah 60:3,6)
God promised that Jesus’ birth would be accompanied by Herod’s decree to slaughter the innocents:
This is what the Lord says:
“A voice is heard in Ramah,
mourning and great weeping,
Rachel weeping for her children
and refusing to be comforted,
because they are no more.” (Jeremiah 31:15)
God’s prophets also foretold that the Messiah would be forced to flee to Egypt:
…out of Egypt I called my son. (Hosea 11:1)
God told mankind that His Son would be preceded by a forerunner, whom we know today as John the Baptist:
A voice of one calling:
“In the wilderness prepare
the way for the Lord;
make straight in the desert
a highway for our God. (Isaiah 40:3)
God’s prophets declared that Jesus would be rejected by His own brothers:
I am a foreigner to my own family,
a stranger to my own mother’s children (Psalm 69:8)
They prophesied that Jesus would be rejected by Israel’s religious leaders:
The stone the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone;
23 the Lord has done this,
and it is marvelous in our eyes. (Psalm 118:22-23)
Isaiah prophesied that Jesus would heal the blind and the deaf:
Then will the eyes of the blind be opened
and the ears of the deaf unstopped.
6 Then will the lame leap like a deer,
and the mute tongue shout for joy. (Isaiah 35:5-6)
The Messiah would be God’s light to the Jews… and also to the Gentiles.
The people who walk in darkness
will see a great light.
For those who live in a land of deep darkness,
a light will shine. (Isaiah 9:2)
God says, “You will do more than restore the people of Israel to me.
I will make you a light to the Gentiles,
and you will bring my salvation to the ends of the earth.” (Isaiah 49:6)
The prophets said that the Messiah would come for those in our society, both then and now, who are invisible to everyone, but who are never invisible to God.
He will rescue the poor when they cry to him;
he will help the oppressed, who have no one to defend them.
13 He feels pity for the weak and the needy,
and he will rescue them.
14 He will redeem them from oppression and violence,
for their lives are precious to him. (Psalm 72:12-14)
We were told that Jesus would be a loving, gentle, caring man of compassion:
He will feed his flock like a shepherd.
He will carry the lambs in his arms,
holding them close to his heart.
He will gently lead the mother sheep with their young. (Isaiah 40:11)
He would be perfect and sinless… yet still killed as a criminal:
He had done no wrong
and had never deceived anyone.
But he was buried like a criminal (Isaiah 53:9)
The prophets even foretold Jesus’ triumphant entry, which happened on the back of a donkey:
Rejoice, O people of Zion!
Shout in triumph, O people of Jerusalem!
Look, your king is coming to you.
He is righteous and victorious,
yet he is humble, riding on a donkey (Zechariah 9:9)
The Messiah would be betrayed by His friend:
Even my best friend, the one I trusted completely,
the one who shared my food, has turned against me. (Psalm 41:9)
The Old Testament is filled with more and more prophesies foretelling how Jesus would be falsely tried and condemned, beaten and spit upon, mocked, humiliated, and killed by crucifixion… even though this act hadn’t even invented by the Romans yet.
My enemies surround me like a pack of dogs;
an evil gang closes in on me.
They have pierced my hands and feet.
17 I can count all my bones.
My enemies stare at me and gloat.
18 They divide my garments among themselves
and throw dice for my clothing. (Psalm 22:16-18)
It was prophesied that the Messiah would die as a sacrifice for our sins:
But he was pierced for our rebellion,
crushed for our sins.
He was beaten so we could be whole.
He was whipped so we could be healed.
6 All of us, like sheep, have strayed away.
We have left God’s paths to follow our own.
Yet the Lord laid on him
the sins of us all….…8 Unjustly condemned,
he was led away.
No one cared that he died without descendants,
that his life was cut short in midstream.
But he was struck down
for the rebellion of my people…… But it was the Lord’s good plan to crush him
and cause him grief.
Yet when his life is made an offering for sin,
he will have many descendants.
He will enjoy a long life,
and the Lord’s good plan will prosper in his hands.
11 When he sees all that is accomplished by his anguish,
he will be satisfied.
And because of his experience,
my righteous servant will make it possible
for many to be counted righteous,
for he will bear all their sins.
12 I will give him the honors of a victorious soldier,
because he exposed himself to death.
He was counted among the rebels.
He bore the sins of many and interceded for rebels. (Isaiah 53:5-6, 8, 10-12)
The Old Testament prophets also spoke of details of Jesus’ death, including the facts that He would grow thirsty, be given vinegar to drink, and be buried in a rich man’s tomb:
He had done no wrong
and had never deceived anyone.
But he was buried like a criminal;
he was put in a rich man’s grave. (Isaiah 53:9)
And, yes… it was prophesied long before Jesus’ birth that He would be raised from the dead:
For you will not leave my soul among the dead
or allow your holy one to rot in the grave.
11 You will show me the way of life,
granting me the joy of your presence
and the pleasures of living with you forever. (Psalm 16:10-11)
…and upon His resurrection, Jesus would be seated at the right hand of God the Father:
The Lord said to my Lord,
“Sit in the place of honor at my right hand
until I humble your enemies,
making them a footstool under your feet.” (Psalm 110:1)
ALL THIS to say…
There were at least 332 specific Old Testament prophesies describing a complete picture of the life, death, resurrection, and eternal position of Jesus Christ, the Messiah. This reveals the willful blindness of the religious leaders who viewed Jesus and an existential threat to their power, popularity and position. Their rejection of Jesus happened with their eyes wide open to who He was… and what was prophesied in their Holy Books about Him.
You see, as we have mentioned before, God staked the credibility of His message on the fact of fulfilled prophesy. Not only in the 100% accurate prophesies found in the Old Testament, but also quoted over 70 times throughout the New Testament.
As a single example, consider Peter’s words:
This salvation was something even the prophets wanted to know more about when they prophesied about this gracious salvation prepared for you. 11 They wondered what time or situation the Spirit of Christ within them was talking about when He told them in advance about Christ’s suffering and His great glory afterward.
12 They were told that their messages were not for themselves, but for you. And now this Good News has been announced to you by those who preached in the power of the Holy Spirit sent from heaven. It is all so wonderful that even the angels are eagerly watching these things happen.
13 So prepare your minds for action and exercise self-control. Put all your hope in the gracious salvation that will come to you when Jesus Christ is revealed to the world. 14 So you must live as God’s obedient children. (1 Peter 1:10-13)
If the angels in heaven are eagerly watching these things happen… if they are amazed at what God has done, is doing, and continues to do for you and me and all of mankind… Are you?
(This podcast is by Dewey Bertolini. discovered by Christian Podcast Central and our community — copyright is owned by the publisher, not Christian Podcast Central, and audio is streamed directly from their servers.)