Jesus: From the Scriptures

Introduction

This is a follow up from our study in Acts 17, from July 3, 2022, titled "Welcoming the Word." 
Several of our folks were asking for more information on Prophecy regarding Jesus from the Old Testament. What a joy it is to unpack this further for you. Enjoy! ~Jeff

Acts 17:1–3
Now when they had passed through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica, where there was a synagogue of the Jews. Then Paul, as his custom was, went in to them, and for three Sabbaths reasoned with them from the Scriptures, explaining and demonstrating that the Christ had to suffer and rise again from the dead, and saying, “This Jesus whom I preach to you is the Christ.” 

Note the phrase: “from the Scriptures”—Paul primary taught of Jesus’ identity and work of salvation by simply going through the “scriptures,” meaning—the part of the Bible we call the “Old Testament.” This means Paul was showing them fulfilled prophecy! For 1st Century Jews who already believed in the “scriptures,” prophecy was the most powerful way to prove the work & identity of Jesus.

Paul wasn’t the only one who taught of Jesus from the Old Testament. Jesus taught of Himself from the “scriptures” as well—

Luke 24:25–27
Then He said to them, “O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken! Ought not the Christ to have suffered these things and to enter into His glory?” And beginning at Moses and all the Prophets, He expounded to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself.
 
Luke 24:44–46
Then He said to them, “These are the words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all things must be fulfilled which were written in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms concerning Me.” And He opened their understanding, that they might comprehend the Scriptures. Then He said to them, “Thus it is written, and thus it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead the third day…”

Think of all the amazing Prophecies Jesus and the Apostles would have been sharing with the Jews to win them to faith; how their own scriptures foretold how Jesus! We know some of these teachings exactly—the New Testament specifically quote them and connect them to Christ. Others aren’t mentioned explicitly, but they are clearly prophetic of Jesus.

For review, here is a quote from our study on July 3:
“Jesus…
• Would be of the tribe of Judah, and a direct descendant of King David
• Would be born of a Virgin, and His birth would be marked by a star and royal visitors from afar
• Would be born in Bethlehem, grow up in Egypt, & start His ministry in Galilee and Nazareth
• Would do miracles: giving sight to the blind, hearing to the deaf, voice to the dumb, mobility to the lame, even raising the dead
• Would fulfill the roles of King, and Priest, and Prophet
• Would both King of Kings, and also Servant of All
• Would be like the Passover Lamb, and the Manna from Heaven, and the Water from a Rock / and fulfill every sacrifice in scripture
• Would be rejected and despised / sold out for 30 pieces of silver / handed over to the Gentiles / crucified on a cross / pierced / and die as an innocent substitute to bear the world’s sins
• And then, He would rise again alive from the tomb.
• These facts and many more were all predicted hundreds and thousands of years earlier in the Jewish scriptures. Paul had a LOT to talk about!”

Dates of the following prophecies:

Adam (>4000BC)
Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph (~2000s BC)
Job (~2000BC)
Moses (~1500BC)
David (~1000BC)
Solomon (~950BC)
Isaiah (~750BC)
Hosea (~750BC)
Micah (~700BC)
Jeremiah (~600BC)
Zechariah (~520BC)


Here is the breakdown of each prophecy:

JESUS would...

...BE OF THE TRIBE OF JUDAH

Genesis 49:10 (to Jacob, recorded by Moses)
The scepter shall not depart from Judah, Nor a lawgiver from between his feet, Until Shiloh comes; And to Him shall be the obedience of the people.

— “The scepter” refers to the rule of kings, and “Shiloh” is a term for the peaceful reign of the Messiah.

— Bonus: This prophecy also means Messiah won’t come until the Jews have lost their “scepter”—governing authority; giving a timeframe for Messiah’s arrival. This happened when the Romans took away the Jews right to govern during the time of Pontius Pilate, shortly before Jesus’ ministry. This is seen in John 18:31 So Pilate said to them, “Take Him yourselves, and judge Him according to your law.” The Jews said to him, “We are not permitted to put anyone to death,”

...BE A DIRECT DESCENDANT OF KING DAVID

Isaiah 11:1
There shall come forth a Rod from the stem of Jesse, And a Branch shall grow out of his roots. The Spirit of the LORD shall rest upon Him, The Spirit of wisdom and understanding, The Spirit of counsel and might, The Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD.

— “Jesse” was King David’s father—so the “stem” of Jesse was King David.

Jeremiah 23:5–6
“Behold, the days are coming,” says the LORD, That I will raise to David a Branch of righteousness; A King shall reign and prosper, And execute judgment and righteousness in the earth. In His days Judah will be saved, And Israel will dwell safely; Now this is His name by which He will be called: THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS

Psalm 132:10–11 (Most likely during the time of Solomon)
For Your servant David’s sake, Do not turn away the face of Your Anointed. The LORD has sworn in truth to David; He will not turn from it: I will set upon your throne the fruit of your body.

— These promises to David were connected to Christ in the NT:

Luke 1:32
He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David.

Acts 13:22–23
And when He had removed him, He raised up for them David as king, to whom also He gave testimony and said, ‘I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after My own heart, who will do all My will.’ From this man’s seed, according to the promise, God raised up for Israel a Savior—Jesus

...BE BORN OF A VIRGIN

Genesis 3:15 (to Adam, recorded by Moses)
And I will put enmity Between you and the woman, And between your seed and her Seed; He shall bruise your head, And you shall bruise His heel.”

— “Seed” is always used for the man’s role in procreation—except for here in Genesis, speaking of the Messiah born of a Virgin, who would defeat satan.

Isaiah 7:14
Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel.

— The Hebrew word “virgin” here in Isaiah can be either a young woman or an actual virgin—the first fulfillment of Isaiah words were regarding a young married woman bearing a child. But—when referred to in the New Testament (Matthew 1:23), the Greek word which can only mean “virgin” was used to show the ultimate fulfillment of this in Christ Jesus’ birth to a virgin.

...BE IDENTIFIED BY A STAR AT HIS BIRTH

Numbers 24:17 (Moses)
“I see Him, but not now; I behold Him, but not near; A Star shall come out of Jacob; A Scepter shall rise out of Israel,

— Interestingly, this prophecy comes from one of the strangest characters in the Bible: Balaam, the guy who talked to his donkey. He was a mystic who was working for Israel’s enemies, but was forced to only speak truth by God.

...RECEIVE ROYAL VISITORS FROM AFAR AT HIS BIRTH

Isaiah 60:6
All those from Sheba will come; They will bring gold and frankincense, And will bear good news of the praises of the LORD.

Psalm 72 (Solomon)
The kings of Tarshish and of the isles Will bring presents; The kings of Sheba and Seba Will offer gifts. Yes, all kings shall fall down before Him; All nations shall serve Him.

...BE BORN IN BETHLEHEM

Micah 5:2&4
“But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, Though you are little among the thousands of Judah, Yet out of you shall come forth to Me The One to be Ruler in Israel, Whose goings forth are from of old, From everlasting…”
…And He shall stand and feed His flock In the strength of the LORD, In the majesty of the name of the LORD His God; And they shall abide, For now He shall be great To the ends of the earth; And this One shall be peace.


Matthew 2:6 connects Jesus to this prophecy. This is one of the clearest and most powerful prophecies of Jesus in all the scriptures!

...GROW UP IN EGYPT

Hosea 11:2b
…And out of Egypt I called My son.

Matthew 2:15 connects Jesus to this prophecy.

...START HIS MINISTRY IN GALILEE

Isaiah 9:1–2
Nevertheless the gloom will not be upon her who is distressed, As when at first He lightly esteemed The land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, And afterward more heavily oppressed her, By the way of the sea, beyond the Jordan, In Galilee of the Gentiles. The people who walked in darkness Have seen a great light; Those who dwelt in the land of the shadow of death, Upon them a light has shined.

Matthew 4:12–16 connect Jesus to this prophecy.

...BE FROM NAZARETH

Matthew 2:23
“And he came and dwelt in a city called Nazareth, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophets, “He shall be called a Nazarene.”

The town of Nazareth didn’t exist in the time of the Old Testament, so the reference is a bit obscure; scholars speak of several different ways the Old Testament foreshadowed this:

1 • "BRANCH" = "NEZER" / The word for “Branch” in the Old Testament is “Nezer”—and the Branch is a term for the Messiah! This is a play on words—a homonym for “Nazarene.”

Isaiah 11:1
There shall come forth a Rod from the stem of Jesse, And a Branch shall grow out of his roots. The Spirit of the LORD shall rest upon Him

Jeremiah 23:5
“Behold, the days are coming,” says the LORD, That I will raise to David a Branch of righteousness;

2 • NAZARETH = SCORN! That Messiah would be scorned and rejected—like those from Nazareth in Jesus’ day—

Isaiah 53:2
For He shall grow up before Him as a tender plant, And as a root out of dry ground. He has no form or comeliness; And when we see Him, There is no beauty that we should desire Him. He is despised and rejected by men…
 
Psalm 69:9
Because zeal for Your house has eaten me up, And the reproaches of those who reproach You have fallen on me.
 
John 1:45–46 reflects this attitude: Philip found Nathanael and said to him, “We have found Him of whom Moses in the law, and also the prophets, wrote—Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.” And Nathanael said to him, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?”

3 • NAZARITE SOUND LIKE NAZARETH • That this is a play on words, from the Old Testament “Nazirite,” vow of separation, taken, for example, by Samson, Samuel, and John the Baptist. Jesus was not a Nazirite, and never took such a vow—but “Nazirite” is a close homonym of “Nazarene” in the NT, and speaks of Jesus’ devotion to God.

...BE A HEALER: Giving sight to the blind, hearing to the deaf, voice to the dumb, mobility to the lame

Isaiah 35:5–6a
Then the eyes of the blind will be opened And the ears of the deaf will be unstopped. Then the lame will leap like a deer, And the tongue of the mute will shout for joy.

Isaiah 42:7
I will keep You and give You as a covenant to the people, As a light to the Gentiles, To open blind eyes

...RAISE THE DEAD

Isaiah 26:19
Your dead shall live; Together with my dead body they shall arise. Awake and sing, you who dwell in dust

— There is also prophecy here through “typology”— the OT prophets were pictures of Jesus’ ministry. Jesus’ raising the dead identified Him as a Great Prophet, like those of the OT…
 
Luke 7:15–16
So he who was dead sat up and began to speak. And He presented him to his mother. Then fear came upon all, and they glorified God, saying, “A great prophet has risen up among us”; and, “God has visited His people.”

1 Kings 17:22
Then the LORD heard the voice of Elijah; and the soul of the child came back to him, and he revived.

2 Kings 4:32–37
Elisha raises the Shunammite’s son

...BE A KING

2 Samuel 7:16–17 (David)
And your house and your kingdom shall be established forever before you. Your throne shall be established forever.” ’ ” According to all these words and according to all this vision, so Nathan spoke to David.

— Luke 1:32
“Your house and your kingdom shall endure before Me forever; your throne shall be established forever.” ’ ”

...& A PRIEST

Psalm 110:4 (David)
“You are a priest forever According to the order of Melchizedek.”

— King David knew from God that he was a priest—not an official priest from the tribe of Levi, but according to a different “order”—he was like the Kingly Priest Melchizedek from the book of Genesis. Melchizedek is a typological prophetic picture of Jesus.

Hebrew 6:20 explains…
…where the forerunner has entered for us, even Jesus, having become High Priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.

...& A PROPHET

Deuteronomy 18:15 (Moses)
“The LORD your God will raise up for you a Prophet like me from your midst, from your brethren. Him you shall hear,

Acts 3:22 connects this to Jesus.

• HE WOULD BOTH KING OF KINGS…

See “Son of David” and “King” above

...& SERVANT OF ALL

Isaiah 42:1–3
“Behold! My Servant whom I uphold, My Elect One in whom My soul delights! I have put My Spirit upon Him; He will bring forth justice to the Gentiles. He will not cry out, nor raise His voice, Nor cause His voice to be heard in the street. A bruised reed He will not break, And smoking flax He will not quench; He will bring forth justice for truth.

Matthew 12:18–20 connects this with Jesus
 
— Jewish Rabbis were so confused about language of the Messiah being a lowly servant, that they imagined two messiahs: one a King like David, the other a Suffering Servant like Joseph!
Joseph is one of the clearest typological pictures of Jesus in the Old Testament. Genesis 37, for example shows Joseph’s jealous brothers selling him to the Egyptians in their jealousy—a striking parallel to the Pharisees rejection of Jesus.

...BE LIKE THE PASSOVER LAMB

1 Corinthians 5:7
For indeed Christ, our Passover, was sacrificed for us.
 
— Referring to Exodus 12

...& THE MANNA FROM HEAVEN

John 6:31–35
Our fathers ate the manna in the desert; as it is written, ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’ ” Then Jesus said to them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, Moses did not give you the bread from heaven, but My Father gives you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is He who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.” Then they said to Him, “Lord, give us this bread always.” And Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life.

— Referring to Exodus 16

...& THE WATER FROM THE ROCK

1 Corinthians 10:4
and all drank the same spiritual drink, for they were drinking from a spiritual rock which followed them; and the rock was Christ.

— Referring to Exodus 17:6 & Numbers 20:8–11

...FULFILL EVERY SACRIFICE

Hebrews 10 is a long and complete explanation of this. For example:

Hebrews 10:3–5, 12
But in those sacrifices there is a reminder of sins every year. For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and goats could take away sins. Therefore, when He came into the world, He said: “Sacrifice and offering You did not desire, But a body You have prepared for Me…
…But this Man, after He had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down at the right hand of God

— Referring to, for example, Leviticus ch 1–7 & 16

...BE REJECTED AND DESPISED

Isaiah 53:3
He is despised and rejected by men, A Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. And we hid, as it were, our faces from Him; He was despised, and we did not esteem Him.

Psalm 22:6–8 (David)
But I am a worm, and no man; A reproach of men, and despised by the people. All those who see Me ridicule Me; They shoot out the lip, they shake the head, saying, “He trusted in the LORD, let Him rescue Him; Let Him deliver Him, since He delights in Him!”

...BE SOLD OUT FOR 30 PIECES OF SILVER

Zechariah 11:12–13

Then I said to them, “If it is agreeable to you, give me my wages; and if not, refrain.” So they weighed out for my wages thirty pieces of silver. And the LORD said to me, “Throw it to the potter”—that princely price they set on me. So I took the thirty pieces of silver and threw them into the house of the LORD for the potter.

— This was fulfilled in Matthew 27:3–10.

— Note: Also fulfilled in this passage: that the silver was used to purchase a potter’s field!

...BE HANDED OVER TO THE GENTILES

Psalm 22:16 & 20 (David)
For dogs have surrounded Me; The congregation of the wicked has enclosed Me…
…Deliver Me from the sword, My precious life from the power of the dog.

Psalm 22 is the most quoted OT passage in the NT—because it is so clearly about Jesus!

— Note: “Dogs” seems like a derogatory term to refer to people, but it is a common idiom in the first Century (see Matthew 15:24–28).

...BE CRUCIFIED AND PIERCED

Psalm 22:16–17
They pierced My hands and My feet; I can count all My bones. They look and stare at Me.

Zechariah 13:6–7a
And one will say to him, ‘What are these wounds between your arms?’ Then he will answer, ‘Those with which I was wounded in the house of my friends.’ “Awake, O sword, against My Shepherd, Against the Man who is My Companion,” Says the LORD of hosts. “Strike the Shepherd, And the sheep will be scattered;

Isaiah 49:16
See, I have inscribed you on the palms of My hands;

Zechariah 12:10
“And I will pour on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem the Spirit of grace and supplication; then they will look on Me whom they pierced. Yes, they will mourn for Him as one mourns for his only son, and grieve for Him as one grieves for a firstborn.

 John 19:37 connect this to Jesus

...DIE AS AN INNOCENT SUBSTITUTE to bear the world's sins

Isaiah 53:5 & 11
But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, And by His stripes we are healed…
…By His knowledge My righteous Servant shall justify many, For He shall bear their iniquities. Therefore I will divide Him a portion with the great, And He shall divide the spoil with the strong, Because He poured out His soul unto death, And He was numbered with the transgressors, And He bore the sin of many, And made intercession for the transgressors.

...RISE AGAIN ALIVE FROM THE TOMB

Job 19:25
For I know that my Redeemer lives, And He shall stand at last on the earth;

Psalm 16:10
For You will not leave my soul in Sheol, Nor will You allow Your Holy One to see corruption.
Acts 13:35–37 connects this to Jesus

Isaiah 53:9–11a
And they made His grave with the wicked—But with the rich at His death, Because He had done no violence, Nor was any deceit in His mouth. Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise Him; He has put Him to grief. When You make His soul an offering for sin, He shall see His seed, He shall prolong His days, And the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in His hand. He shall see the labor of His soul, and be satisfied.

— Here in the most precise passage of Jesus’ atoning death in the OT, we find both his burial “with the rich,” but also “…He shall prolong His days…”!

—MORE PROPHECIES—

Here are a few more key prophecies not mentioned on Sunday...

...BE BEATEN, SPAT UPON, & HIS BEARD PLUCKED OUT

Isaiah 50:6
I gave My back to those who struck Me, And My cheeks to those who plucked out the beard; I did not hide My face from shame and spitting.

Isaiah 52:14
Just as many were astonished at you, So His visage was marred more than any man, And His form more than the sons of men;

...HAVE HIS CLOTHES DIVIDED BY CASTING LOTS

Psalm 22:18
They divide My garments among them, And for My clothing they cast lots.
 
— Matthew 27:35 connects this with Jesus

...HAVE NO BONES BROKEN AT HIS CRUCIFIXION

Psalm 34:20
— He guards all his bones; Not one of them is broken.
 
 John 19:36 connects this to Jesus

Numbers 9:12
…nor break one of its bones. According to all the ordinances of the Passover they shall keep it.

— The Passover Lamb was a “type” of Jesus.

Exodus 12:46
...nor shall you break one of its bones.

— Interestingly, no explanation is given of why the Passover lamb’s bones must be kept intact. It only makes sense in light of Jesus’ crucifixion!

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