Fulfillment of a few Old Testament prophecies about Messiah Christ

Compiled by
NiteOwlDave
niteowldave@gmail.com
 
There are said to be about 350 statements or prophecies in the Old Testament about a promised Messiah that were fulfilled by Jesus Christ and documented in the New Testament.

Here are a few of the New Testament promises which were fulfilled hundreds of years later.

BORN IN BETHLEHEM
The Old Testament prophet Micah in Micah 5:2 wrote 800 years before the birth of Christ, "O Bethlehem, you are but a small Judean village, yet you will be the birthplace of my King who is alive from everlasting ages past."

Fulfillment of that prophecy is recorded in The New Testament opening book Matthew 2:1 where it is written, "Jesus was born in the town of Bethlehem in Judea, during the reign of King Herod."

BORN OF A VIRGIN
It is prophesied in Isaiah 7:14 that, "The Lord himself will choose the sign—a child shall be born of a virgin." Eight hundred years later Dr. Luke writes in Luke 1:31 of a virgin being told she will have a baby boy, "and you shall name him Jesus."

ACCLAIMED A PROPHET
It is prophesied in Deuteronomy 18:18 that the Messiah will be a prophet like Moses. That promise is completed as told in John 7:40, "...this man surely is the prophet."

RIDES IN ABOARD A COLT 
Prophet Zechariah in Zechariah 9:9 foretells that the Messiah would enter Jerusalem on a young colt. That was fulfilled 450 years later when Apostle Matthew writes in Matthew 21:4, "Tell Jerusalem her King is coming to her, riding humbly on a donkey's colt."

HE WAS REJECTED AS THE MESSIAH
The prophet Isaiah wrote in Isaiah 55 that the Messiah would be rejected by his own people. That prophecy was fulfilled 450 years later when the apostle John recorded in John 12:37, "Despite all the miracles he had done, most of the people would not believe he was the Messiah."

BETRAYED BY HIS OWN
David wrote in Psalms 41:9 that the Messiah would be betrayed by his own followers. Fulfillment of that prophecy is noted in Matthew 26:14, "Then Judas Iscariot, one of the 12 apostles, went to the chief priests and asked, 'How much will you pay me to get Jesus into your hands?'."

SPAT UPON 
Isaiah wrote in Isaiah chapters 50 and 53 that the Messiah would be struck and spat on, tried and condemned and would be silent before his accusers. Those prophecies were all fulfilled and noted in Matthew 26 and 27: "But Jesus remained silent... Then they spat in his face and struck him..."

HE WOULD BE CRUCIFIED
The psalmist foretold that the Messiah would be crucified, a Roman way of death. It was not a form of punishment carried out in Israel at that time, when King David wrote the Psalms. Matthew 27:3l says, "...and took him out to crucify him."

BETWEEN TWO THIEVES
The Messiah would be crucified between two thieves, and he would pray for his enemies, Isaiah prophecies in Isaiah 53:12. That's exactly what happened as apostle Luke points out in Luke 23: 33-34, "...there all three were crucified - Jesus on the center cross, and the two criminals on either side. ’Father forgive these people,' Jesus said, 'for they don't know what they're doing'."

OFFERED VINEGAR
It states in Psalms 69:21 that the Messiah would be offered vinegar and gall while on the cross. John 19:29 states, "A jar of sour wine was soaked in a sponge and held up to his lips."

GAMBLED FOR HIS ROBE
The Psalmist details that the Messiah's robe would be gambled for.
Bang on, as was observed and recorded in John 19:23, "...the soldiers threw dice to see who gets it (the robe)."

NO BONES BROKEN
It is recorded in the second book of the Bible, in Exodus 12:46, that the Messiah's bones were not to be broken. John 19:32-34 states, "So the soldiers came and broke the legs of the two men crucified with Jesus; but when they came to him, they saw he was dead already, so they didn't break his. However, one of the soldiers pierced his side with a spear, and blood and water flowed out."

JESUS IS OUR SACRIFICE
Isaiah points out that the Messiah was to die as a sacrifice for man's sin.
John states in chapter 11, verse 50-51, "Let this one man die for the people... Jesus' death was not for Israel alone, but for all the children of God scattered around the world.”

RAISED FROM THE DEAD
According to Psalms 16:10, the Messiah was to be raised from the dead. Acts 2:24 states, "Then God released him from the horrors of death and brought him back to life again, for death could not keep this man within its grip."

Matthew 28:16-19 states, “He told his disciples, 'I have been given all authority in heaven and earth.' Therefore go and make disciples in all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and then teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you; and be sure of this - that I am with you always, even to the end of the world."

JESUS RETURNED TO HEAVEN
According to King David in Psalm 110:1, the Messiah (Jesus) is at God's right hand. He was there before he came to earth, as Jesus Christ, and has returned there after completing the blood sacrifice for the sins of all men, even those born previous to the cross. 

His return to Heaven is confirmed in Mark 16:19 which states, "When the Lord Jesus had finished talking with them, he was taken up into heaven and sat down at God's right hand."

DOES GOD PROMISE HEALING?

By NiteOwlDave                                                      niteowldave@gmail.com
 
Some suggest that God will remove some - if not all - of our physical problems if we ask Him. Scripture, I suggest, does not support that position.

Fans of God breathed health point to Isaiah 53:5 and 1Peter 2:24. These two verses are foundational to the topic of healing, but are misunderstood and misapplied.

Isaiah 53:5 says, “But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.”

I Peter 2:24 says, “Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed.”

We are told that the word “healed,” as translated from both Hebrew and Greek, can mean either spiritual or physical healing.

It seems to me that the contexts of Isaiah 53 and 1 Peter 2 refer to spiritual healing, not physical healing. It surely is far more important to be healed, as in being forgiven, from eternally condemning sin than from being fixed of earthly ailments.

It is a given that creator God can and does heal today whom He chooses. He IS God. However, it appears that in most instances God uses sickness, disease and accidents to put us on the shelf to draw us to Him or to take believers home to Heaven.

Jesus and His apostles healed people for one purpose – as evidence that the Lord Jesus Christ was whom He claimed to be: the Son of God, the long promised Messiah.

Yes, there are documented cases of people getting prayed for, getting healed, and leaving the doctors puzzled. There are thousands more who get prayed for and limp away unchanged.

I am of the opinion that, in the majority of cases, God allows health and disease, accident and recovery, to play out according to His natural laws. We are born, we live, we die – often too young because of our own careless lifestyle habits.

We are told in the Bible to pray about our physical issues, yes. However, we must accept the results of prayer as being God’s will. Cancer, etc., which is the result of man’s fall in the Garden of Eden, usually conquers our bodies and we die.

It is said that illness and physical ailments can be caused by stress, worry, fear, etc. which are essentially lack of faith. The Bible supports the idea that illness and physical ailments are caused by several sources –

•    Unbelief in the Lord Jesus Christ
•    Unconfessed sin
•    Broken relationships
•    Demonic influence
•    Addictions
•    Natural causes

James 5:14 says, “Is any sick among you? Let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord.” That is not a promise that God will heal us. God may respond with healing.

A pastor friend puts it this way: “I know from Scripture that sometimes God chooses not to heal but will take the person into the eternal state - the 'ultimate healing'. When that happens, I let God be God, and don't try to explain the situation.

“Many that I've prayed for have found relief while many others haven't.

"For those who haven't, I encourage them to continue to trust God, and recognize that God will never forsake them, regardless of their physical condition.”

It is interesting that God uses physical problems to mold us.

We see that God did not heal the apostle Paul when he requested it before he set sail to spread the gospel of Christ to the populous around the Mediterranean.

If anyone needed to be in shape before the grind he faced, it was Paul.
 
But God said “No.” In fact, God gave him an ailment. Paul speaks of it in 2 Corinthians, chapter 12.

“…Therefore, in order to keep me from becoming conceited, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me.

“Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me.

“But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.

“That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. “For when I am weak, then I am strong.”