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Jesus - Who is he?

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Updated : 11 Apr 2006

Jesus - His fulfillment of prophesy

Time and time again the New Testament writers use the phrase...

"And so was fulfilled what the Lord said through the prophet..."

For example: see
Matt 2 v 15; v 17; v23; 13 v 14; v 35; 26 v 56; 27 v 9;
Luke 1 v 1; 4 v 21; 18 v 31; 22 v 37; 24 v 44;
John 17 v 12; 18 v 9; 19 v 24; v 28; v 36;
Acts 1 v 16; 3 v 18; 13 v 27; v 33; 26 v 7;

What did they mean?

Throughout the Old Testament God had stated through his prophets that the Messiah was going to come. The Messiah was to be the one who would save God's people, be their leader and king, and bring them together into a relationship with God.

In order that he would be recognised when he came the prophets made specific statements regarding what this person would be like and what he would do. The New Testament writers appealed again and again to the fact that Jesus fulfilled these prohesies as proof (together with the resurrection) that Jesus is the promised Messiah.

Here are a selection of the many prophesies that Jesus fulfilled. No other religious leader even comes close to fulfilling prophesy in the way Jesus did.

About His background...

A human being

Gen 3 v 15; Matt 1 v 20; Gal 4 v 4.

Right from the very first book in the Bible God promised that the one who was to come would be a human being - born of a woman.

Born of a Virgin

Isaiah 7 v 4; Matt 1 v 18-25.

The coming Messiah, while born of a woman, would have no human father.

The Hebrew word used by Isaiah (almah), translated 'virgin', denotes a young woman of marriageable age. The writers of the Septuagint, the greek translation of the old testament used a greek word (parthenos) that indicates a young virgin. The strict moral code of those days supports the view that this young woman would have been a virgin before marriage.

Mary was both young, unmarried and a virgin when Jesus was born.

The Son of God

Psalm 2 v 7; Matt 3 v 17.

The Lord God foretold that this one would be known as the Son of God. God the Father announced it at Jesus baptism and proved it again at Jesus resurrection.

Descended from Noah

Gen 22 v 18; Matt 1 v 1; Gal 3 v 16.

After the flood Noah emerges from the ark and worships God. God promises Noah that the promise will pass to one of his sons. It is from Seth that the Semitic peoples of the world are supposed to be descended, those who live mostly in the middle east including Arabs, Jews, Babylonians. The Messiah would therefore be a Semite.

Descended from Abraham

Gen 22 v 18; Matt 1 v 1; Gal 3 v 16.

God promised Abraham that from his offspring would all the earth be blessed. Note that the reference is to one 'seed', one offspring. The Messiah would therefore be a Hebrew.

Son of Isaac

Gen 21 v 12; Luke 3 v 23, 34.

Abraham had two sons, Isaac and Ishmael. God decides that it is through Isaac that the promise will be fulfilled.

Son of Jacob

Num 24 v 17; Luke 3 v 23, 34.

God again defines exactly where the Messiah will come from. Isaac had two sons, Jacob and Esau. The Messiah will be descended from Jacob. Several ancient Jewish writings indicate that the Jews recognised these verses as relating to the Messiah.

From the tribe of Judah

Gen 49 v 10; Luke 3 v 23, 33.

Jacob fathered 12 descendants who each became the leader of one of the twelve tribes of the nation of the Hebrews. Again, the promise passed to one of these - He would come from the tribe of Judah.

From the family of Jesse

Isaiah 11 v 1, 10; Luke 3 v 23, 33.

Out of all the families descended from the tribe of Judah one was chosen to be the family of the Messiah. It is from the family of Jesse.

Descendant of David

Jeremiah 23 v 5; Luke 3 v 23, 31.

Jesse had eight sons and all but one is eliminated - it is from the family of David that the Messiah will come.

All through the history of the Jews, God's chosen people, God had promised that the Messiah would come to lead, redeem and rule his people and the world. So far in this study God has defined, and redefined, where this Messiah would come from. He would be a human being, born of a woman, a Semite, a Hebrew, from Judah, in the family line of Jesse and David.

All of these prophesies Jesus fulfilled - and he's not even been born yet!

About His birth...

To be born in Bethlehem

Micah 5 v 2; Matt 2 v 1.

The very place of the Messiah's birth was predicted, Bethlehem. The Jewish leaders and experts knew this and told Herod so (Matt 2 v 6). This is exactly where Jesus was born.

Presented with gifts

Psalm 72 v 10; Matt 2 v 1, 11.

He was to be greeted by great men who would bring gifts (see also Ps 72 v 12-15). Wise men from the east brought valuable gifts to Jesus.

Children slaughtered

Jeremiah 31 v 15; Matt 2 v 16.

In the middle of a section that describes to coming Messiah and his work, including the bringing of comfort to those who suffer, Jeremiah predicts the sorrow of those whose children are no more. Herod fulfilled this prophesy when he attempted to kill Jesus immediately after birth by slaughtering all the baby boys under two years old in Bethlehem. Joseph and Mary escaped with Jesus to Egypt.

Visited Egypt

Hosea 11 v 1; Matt 2 v 13-15.

This was fulfilled when Joseph and Mary escaped with Jesus to Egypt to avoid Herod's slaughter.

About His Names and Titles...

Lord

Psalm 101 v 1; Luke 2 v 11; Matt 22 v 43-45.

Jesus points out to the experts of his day that King David calls the Messiah 'Lord'. The shepherds are told that the one born in Bethlehem is 'Christ the Lord'. Following the resurrection Thomas calls Jesus 'my Lord and my God'. See also Jesus - Liar, Lunatic or Lord.

King

Psalm 2 v 6; Matt 27 v 37.

God promises his people a King - and when he comes they crucify him. The charge against Jesus was written and displayed on the cross. "This is the King of the Jews".

Prophet

Deut 18 v 18; Matt 21 v 11.

God promises Moses a great prophet will follow him - and the people recognise Jesus as this prophet in fulfillment of the prophesy.

Priest

Psalm 110 v 4; Hebrews 3 v 1, 5 v 5-6.

God promises a priesthood that will not die or cease. Jesus resurrection after offering himself as the sacrifice for our sins shows his right to assume this position.

About His Death and Resurrection...

Most of these require little or no explanation - however they are only a sample of all the prophesies fulfilled by Jesus on the day he died.

Betrayed by a friend

Psalm 41 v 9; Matt 10 v 4.

Sold for 30 pieces of silver

Zech 11 v 12; Matt 26 v 15.

Did Not answer his accusers

Isaiah 53 v 7; Matt 27 v 12.

Wounded and beaten

Isaiah 53 v 5; Matt 27 v 26.

Hit and Spat at

Isaiah 50 v 6; Matt 26 v 67.

Hands and Feet pierced

Psalm 22 v 16; Luke 23 v 33.

Thieves crucified with him

Isaiah 53 v 12; Matt 27 v 38.

He was pierced

Zech 12 v 10; John 19 v 34.

Buried in a rich man's grave

Isaiah 53 v 9; Matt 27 v 57-60.

His Resurrection

Psalm 16 v 10; Acts 2 v 31.

For a fuller account of the events surrounding the Resurrection of Jesus click here to go to the Resurrection page on this site.

In conclusion...

The prophesies listed on this page are only a sample of the many Old Testament prophesies that Jesus fulfilled before he was born, in his birth, during his life and ministry, at his death and afterwards.

No other person in history comes anywhere near to fulfilling the prophesies about the Messiah. True, there are some prophesies that have yet to be fulfilled. But, Jesus also promised to come again, to return to this world and complete the Kingdom. Any, so far, unfulfilled prophesies will be fulfilled then.

The point to consider now is that his fulfillment of so many prophesies adds to the weight of evidence already given (the things he said; the things he did; his character; and his resurrection from the dead) that Jesus is exactly who he claimed to be - the Son of God, the Messiah, the Saviour.

How do you respond? E-mail us and let us know

If you have any questions about anything you have read on this page please e-mail us. Your comments, questions, and suggestions are always welcome.

Some Reader's Comments

Thank you, thank you, thank you

I have been looking for a site that would give me all or most of the prophesies that Christ fulfilled, and this one did it. This really helped. Keep me in your prayers.

Information very helpful - Fla.

I'm doing a research project for my religon class on "Prophecies of the Messiah". This site was very helpful to me because it was clear, short, colorful, and formated very well. It was not hard to understand and was outlined very clearly. Thankyou so much for your help! God bless. - Amanda

Do you publish a pamphlet or book that outlines the many prophesies that Jesus fulfilled? I would really be interested in knowing more. Thank you.

Evidence that Demands a verdict book cover IntroducingJesus only publishes the pages of this web site - but you can find a very full list of the prophesies that Jesus fulfilled in Josh McDowell's book Evidence that demands a verdict. This book also contains a wealth of other material supporting the claim that Jesus is the Son of God. Keep on searching and following your interest because Jesus promised that "Those who seek - will find". 'Evidence that demands a verdict' is available through Amazon.com and all good Christian book sellers.

Copyright

NIV (New International Version). Scripture quotations marked NIV are taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION. Copyright (c) 1973, 1978, 1984, by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Hodder & Stoughton Ltd. a member of the Hodder Headline Plc Group. All rights reserved. "NIV" is a registered trademark of International Bible Society. UK trademark number 1448790