Old Testament Prophecy Concerning The Messiah
QUESTION: What can we learn from Old Testament prophecy concerning the Messiah?ANSWER:It is a fact that Old Testament prophecy concerning the Messiah -- the first coming and the ministry of the Messiah -- were fulfilled to the letter in the New Testament. Just to name a few:
- He was the "seed of a woman" -- prophecy: Genesis 3:15 and fulfilled: Galatians 4:4.
- He was a descendent of Abraham -- prophecy: Genesis 12:3 and fulfilled Matthew 1:1.
- He was from the tribe of Judah – prophecy: Genesis 49:10 and fulfilled: Luke 3:33.
- He was the heir to the throne of David – prophecy: Isaiah 9:7 and fulfilled Luke 1:32-33.
- His birth place in Bethlehem – prophecy: Micah 5:2 and fulfilled: John 1:2, Luke 2:4-5, 7.
- Born of a virgin – prophecy: Isaiah 7:14 and fulfilled: Luke 1:26-27, 30-31.
There are many others that we could cite, including the time of His birth, rejection by His own, a priest after the order of Melchizedek, betrayed by a friend for thirty pieces of silver, accused by false witnesses, crucified with malefactors, pierced through hands and feet, soldiers gambled for his clothing, no bones broken, His side pierced, buried with the rich and resurrected. There are 44 Old Testament prophecies that were fulfilled at the Messiah's first coming.
The fact that all of the Old Testament prophecy concerning the Messiah and His first coming has come true with such detail brings clarity to the issue of what is going to happen in the future. For there are prophecies concerning the Messiah that still await fulfillment. The biggest lesson for us to learn here is that God keeps His promises and just as the prophecies concerning the coming Messiah have been fulfilled in Christ Jesus' first coming, so the rest of the messianic prophecies will be fulfilled in the second coming.
Christ Himself brought our attention to that dual coming when He read from a prophecy found in Isaiah 61:1-2 (Recorded in Luke 4:18-19). “The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on Me, because the LORD has anointed Me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent Me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners, to proclaim the year of the LORD's favor and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn" (Isaiah 61:1-2).
Jesus left off His reading of this passage in the middle of Isaiah 61:2. The first half of the prophecy found in the Isaiah 61:1-2 passage deals with the first coming of the Messiah and the presentation of His signs to Israel. However, the last half of that verse "and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn" deals with His second coming. In His first coming, the Messiah came as the suffering servant and offered His life a sacrifice to reconcile man to God but in the second coming the Messiah will come as the triumphant LORD and all His enemies will be made His footstool (Matthew 22:44).
Therefore, the lesson for us to learn from Old Testament prophecy concerning the Messiah is that the LORD'S Word is true, God keeps His promises and not one "jot or one tittle" shall pass away until all will be fulfilled (Matthew 5:18).
