Messianic Prophecy with Audio Series
Conclusion
Jesus in Messianic Prophecy
As we have seen, messianic prophecy are portions of scripture written far in
advance, about the events of the birth, life, ministry, death, resurrection, and
second coming of Jesus Christ. This is yet another distinguishing characteristic
of the Christian faith. For anyone who wishes to seek God, messianic prophecy
provides a wealth of hard evidence to support the credibility of the claims of
Christ. These prophecies are not opaque, but can be understood by anyone who
reads them. Some seem so clearly written about Christ, that one might wonder if
the early Christians wrote them after the fact. Yet no critic of scripture
places the origin of any the Old Testament book after the birth of Christ.
Consider again a few Suffering Servant passages of Isaiah the Prophet:
“See, my servant will prosper; he will be
highly exalted. Many were amazed when they saw him – beaten and bloodied, so
disfigured one would scarcely know he was a person. And he will again startle
many nations. Kings will stand speechless in his presence. For they will see
what they had not previously been told about; they will understand what they had
not heard about. Who has believed our message? To whom will the LORD reveal his
saving power? My servant grew up in the LORD's presence like a tender green
shoot, sprouting from a root in dry and sterile ground. There was nothing
beautiful or majestic about his appearance, nothing to attract us to him. He was
despised and rejected – a man of sorrows, acquainted with bitterest grief. We
turned our backs on him and looked the other way when he went by. He was
despised, and we did not care. Yet it was our weaknesses he carried; it was our
sorrows that weighed him down. And we thought his troubles were a punishment
from God for his own sins! But he was wounded and crushed for our sins. He was
beaten that we might have peace. He was whipped, and we were healed! All of us
have strayed away like sheep. We have left God's paths to follow our own. Yet
the LORD laid on him the guilt and sins of us all. He was oppressed and treated
harshly, yet he never said a word. He was led as a lamb to the slaughter. And as
a sheep is silent before the shearers, he did not open his mouth. From prison
and trial they led him away to his death. But who among the people realized that
he was dying for their sins – that he was suffering their punishment? He had
done no wrong, and he never deceived anyone. But he was buried like a criminal;
he was put in a rich man's grave. But it was the LORD's good plan to crush him
and fill him with grief. Yet when his life is made an offering for sin, he will
have a multitude of children, many heirs. He will enjoy a long life, and the
LORD's plan will prosper in his hands. When he sees all that is accomplished by
his anguish, he will be satisfied. And because of what he has experienced, my
righteous servant will make it possible for many to be counted righteous, for he
will bear all their sins. I will give him the honors of one who is mighty and
great, because he exposed himself to death. He was counted among those who were
sinners. He bore the sins of many and interceded for sinners.” (Isaiah
52:13-53:12 NLT)
Knowing that Isaiah wrote this over 700 years before Christ causes one to pause
and consider the gravity of God’s plan of redemption. The entire Old Covenant
can be boiled down into two powerful messages. 1) God is Holy and we are failing
sinners in a bad relationship with Him. 2) God loves us and is sending a
Messiah, who is His Son, to redeem us back into a right relationship with Him.
It’s no wonder that the early disciples, walking in the power of God, were able
to reason from the scriptures to prove that Jesus of Nazareth was and is the
promised Messiah of Israel.
Consider the experience of one of the early Evangelists named Philip:
“The Holy Spirit said to Philip, "Go over
and walk along beside the carriage." Philip ran over and heard the man reading
from the prophet Isaiah; so he asked, "Do you understand what you are reading?"
The man replied, "How can I, when there is no one to instruct me?" And he begged
Philip to come up into the carriage and sit with him. The passage of Scripture
he had been reading was this: "He was led as a sheep to the slaughter. And as a
lamb is silent before the shearers, he did not open his mouth. He was humiliated
and received no justice. Who can speak of his descendants? For his life was
taken from the earth." The eunuch asked Philip, "Was Isaiah talking about
himself or someone else?" So Philip began with this same Scripture and then used
many others to tell him the Good News about Jesus. (Acts 8:29- 35 NLT)
Co-laboring with the Holy Spirit, Philip was supernaturally taken to a high
official of Ethiopia who happened to reading Isaiah 53. Philip was able to bring
light to the messianic prophecy and lead the man into a new relationship with
God through the forgiveness provided by Jesus Christ. Many people begin their
pursuit of Christ in the same way, reading the scriptures and finding in them,
ample proof that Jesus of Nazareth is the promised Messiah.
One day, messianic prophesies for His second coming will be fulfilled.
Consider this one from the prophet Zechariah:
“For my plan is to destroy all the
nations that come against Jerusalem. "Then I will pour out a spirit of grace and
prayer on the family of David and on all the people of Jerusalem. They will look
on me whom they have pierced and mourn for him as for an only son. They will
grieve bitterly for him as for a firstborn son who has died.” (Zechariah 12:9-14
NLT)
Not only are there the spoken prophecies of the
two comings of Christ, but also the non-verbal picture and story prophecies
found in what are known as the types and shadows. The Passover lamb story is one
great example among many. The lamb’s blood was shed, and placed on the doorposts
of the Israeli families being delivered from Egyptian bondage, so that the
judgment coming upon Egypt would pass over every house where the blood was
present. The fulfillment is that Jesus is the Lamb of God, who was slain on the
Passover to protect all who trust in Him from judgment. All who accept His
sacrifice have His blood on the doorposts of their hearts, and will have
judgment from God pass over them. (Ex 12; 1 Cor 5:7)
God loves to be sought out and pursued. Then suddenly He turns and pursues His
pursuer, like a father who is playfully running from his child, suddenly turns
the game around and starts chasing the child. Soon they grab hold in a wondrous
loving embrace. (See “The God Chasers” by Tenney)
“Now He said to them, "These are My words
which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all things which are
written about Me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be
fulfilled." Then He opened their minds to understand the Scriptures, and He
said to them, "Thus it is written, that the Christ would suffer and rise again
from the dead the third day, and that repentance for forgiveness of sins would
be proclaimed in His name to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem.” (Luke
24:44-47)
