Understanding the Bible #5- Bible Themes: Messiah

Understanding the Bible

Chapter 5- Bible Themes: Messiah

As we have seen, God's Word reveals both the Holiness of God and the sinfulness of man. Man is in bondage to sin and under God's judgment.

But even before man fell into sin, God knew his need and made preparation to send a Redeemer who would save His people from the guilt and power of their sins. (cp. Rev 13:8, Eph 1:3-4)

This Redeemer is often referred to as "the Messiah". "Messiah" is a Hebrew word meaning "anointed". "Christ" is a Greek word with the same meaning. In the OT, men were anointed with oil when they were appointed to the offices of prophet, priest, or king. Prophecies concerning the Messiah foretold that he would fill all three of these offices (eg., prophet: Deu 18:15-19 , priest: Psa 110:4 , king: 2Sam 7:7-13). As Jesus' began His ministry, he was anointed with the Holy Spirit (Mat 3:16,17, Joh 1:32-34). He fulfilled the role of Prophet in His teaching. He is Priest in His sacrificial death and in His present ministry of intercession. He will enter fully into His role as King, at His second coming.

The OT contains at least 333 prophecies concerning the Messiah. Many of these were fulfilled at Christ's first coming. The remainder await His return. Let's look first at a few of the prophecies which have been fulfilled.

**Prophecies of Messiah's First Coming** (an incomplete list)
Subject	OT Prophecy	NT Fulfillment
He would come- -The seed of the woman	Gen 3:15	Gal 4:4, 1Joh 3:8
-Through Abraham	Gen 22:18	Mat 1:1
-Through Isaac	Gen 21:12	Heb 11:17-19
-Through Jacob & Judah	Gen 28:14	Rev 5:5
-At a set time	Gen 49:10	Luk 2:1,2
-At a specific time	Dan 9:25-26	Luk 3:1, 21-22
-At a specific place	Mic 5:2	Mat 2:1
He would be- -Born of a virgin (1)	Isa 7:14	Mat 1:18,21, Luk 1:34
-Emmanuel: "God with us"	Mic 5:2, Isa 9:6	Luk 1:35
-Adored by great persons	Psa 72:10	Mat 2:2,11
-Called out of Egypt	Hos 11:1	Mat 2:14,15
-Preceded by a forerunner	Mal 3:1	Luk 1:17
-Anointed by the Spirit	Isa 11:2, Isa 61:1	Mat 3:16, Acts 10:38
-Born of David's seed	Jer 23:5	Mat 1:1
-Heir to David's throne	Isa 9:7, 2Sam 7:12-13, Jer 23:5	Luk 1:32-33
-A Prophet like Moses	Deu 18:15	Acts 3:20-22
-A Priest after the order of Melchizedek	Psa 110:4	Heb 5:5,6
His ministry in Galilee	Isa 9:1-2	Mat 4:12,14-16,23
His entry into Jerusalem	Zech 9:9	Mat 21:1-5, Mark 11:7-11
His humility & compassion	Isa 42:2,3	Mat 12:15-20
His miracles	Isa 35:5-6	Mat 11:4-6
His guilelessness	Isa 53:9	1Pet 2:22
His reproach	Psa 69:9	Rom 15:3
He was rejected	Psa 69:8, Isa 53:3	Joh 1:11, Joh 7:3,5
He was hated by men	Psa 69:4, Isa 49:7	Joh 15:24-25
He was rejected by the rulers	Psa 118:22	Mat 21:42
Jews & Gentiles both were against Him	Psa 2:1-2	Acts 4:24-27
He was betrayed by a friend	Psa 41:9	Joh 13:18-21
He was forsaken by His disciples	Zech 13:7	Mat 26:56
He was sold for 30 pieces of silver	Zech 11:12	Mat 26:15
His price purchased the potter's field	Zech 11:13	Mat 27:3-7
He was silent before accusers	Isa 53:7	Mat 26:62,63, Mat 27:12-14
He was smitten	Mic 5:1	Mat 27:30
He was spit upon & beaten	Isa 50:6	Mark 14:65, Joh 19:1
He was crucified	Psa 22:16	Joh 19:18, Joh 20:25
He was forsaken by God	Psa 22:1	Mat 27:46
He was mocked as He died	Psa 22:7-8	Mat 27:39-44
He was given vinegar	Psa 69:21	Mat 27:34
His suffering was intense	Psa 22:14-15	Joh 19:28, cp. Luk 22:42-44
His garments were divided by lot	Psa 22:18	Mat 27:35
He was numbered with transgressors	Isa 53:12	Mark 15:27-28
He made intercession for His murderers	Isa 53:12	Luk 23:34
He yielded to death	Isa 53:12	Mat 27:50
His death: a vicarious sacrifice (2)	Isa 53:4-6	Mat 20:28, Rom 5:6-8
His bones were not broken	Ex 12:46, Psa 34:20	Joh 19:33,36
He was pierced (3)	Zech 12:10	Joh 19:34,37
He was buried with the rich	Isa 53:9	Mat 27:57-60
His resurrection	Psa 16:10,11	Acts 2:29-32, Mark 16:6,7
His ascension	Psa 68:18	Luk 24:51
His place at God's right hand	Psa 110:1	Heb 1:3, Mark 16:19
His priestly office in heaven	Zech 6:13	Rom 8:34
He is the foundation stone	Isa 28:16	1Pet 2:5-7
Gentiles would be converted because of Him	Isa 11:10, Isa 42:1	Acts 10:45

Notes to table above:

Virgin- The hebrew word for "virgin" (Almah) is used seven times in the Bible (Gen 24:43; Ex 2:8; Psa 68:25; Prov 30:19; Song 1:3; 6:8; Isa 7:14). In context, these passages are referring to young women who are virgins. In the third century B.C., the Jewish scriptures were translated into Greek by Hebrew scholars. When the scholars came to the Hebrew word "almah", they used the Greek word for virgin "parthenos". Matthew (Mat 1:23), quoting Isa 7:14 from the Greek Septuagint translation, used this word (parthenos) for virgin.

Rashi (1040-1150 A.D.), the great medieval Jewish commentator, known for his opposition to Christianity stated, "Behold the 'Almah' shall conceive and bear a son and shall call his name Immanuel. This means that our Creator shall be with us. And this is the sign: the one who will conceive is a girl who never in her life has had intercourse with any man. Upon this one shall the Holy Spirit have power." (Buksbazen, "Isaiah the Prophet", Vol 2, p. 150, as quoted by David M. Levy, in "How Would you Recognize the Messiah?", The Friends of Israel Gospel Ministry.)
The sacrificial nature of Messiah's death is clearly shown in Isaiah 53. For a more complete discussion of this important passage, see Isaiah 53: Of Whom Does the Prophet Speak?, by Victor Buksbazen
Pierced- Other OT passages also use this word in regard to Messiah's sufferings. Compare Psa 22:16, and Isa 53:5 (where the word "wounded" is literally "pierced"). These passages predicted Messiah's death by crucifixion, long before this method of execution was know to the Jewish people. (Isaiah wrote about 700 B.C., David wrote about 1000 B.C.)

Many of the above passages apply to both the first and second appearings of the Messiah. Consider the following note (at Acts 1:11) from the "Scofield Reference Bible" (Oxford University Press, 1917):

The two Advents- Summary:

The O.T. foreview of the coming Messiah is in two aspects- that of rejection and suffering (as, e.g. in Isa 53), and that of earthly glory and power (as, e.g. in Isa 11; Jer 23; Eze 37). Often these two aspects blend in one passage (e.g. Psa 2). The prophets themselves were perplexed by this seeming contradiction (1Pet 1:10,11). It was solved by partial fulfilment. In due time the Messiah, born of a virgin according to Isaiah, appeared among men and began His ministry by announcing the predicted kingdom as "at hand" (Mat 4:17). The rejection of King and kingdom followed.
Thereupon the rejected King announced His approaching crucifixion, resurrection, departure, and return (Mat 12:38-40; Mat 16:1-4,21,27; Luk 12:35-46; Luk 17:20-36; Luk 18:31-34; Luk 19:12-27; Mat 24; Mat 25
He uttered predictions concerning the course of events between His departure and return (Mat 13:1-50; Mat 16:18; Mat 24:4-26).
This promised return of Christ becomes a prominent theme in the Acts, Epistles, and Revelation.

Taken together, the N.T. teachings concerning the return of Jesus Christ may be summarized as follows:

That return is an event, not a process, and is personal and corporeal [ie., He will return bodily] (Mat 23:39; Mat 24:30; Mat 25:31; Mark 14:62; Luk 17:24; Joh 14:3; Acts 1:11; Php 3:20; 1The 4:14-17).
His coming has a threefold relation: to the church, to Israel, and to the nations.
1. To the church, the descent of the Lord into the air to raise the sleeping and change the living saints is set forth as a constant expectation and hope (Mat 24:36,44,48-51; Mat 25:13; 1Cor 15:51,52; Php 3:20; 1The 1:10; 1The 4:14-17; 1Tim 6:14; Titus 2:13; Rev 22:20).
2. To Israel, the return of the Lord is predicted to accomplish the yet unfulfilled prophecies of her national regathering, conversion, and establishment in peace and power under the Davidic Covenant (Acts 15:14-17 with Zech 14:1-9)
3. To the Gentile nations, the return of Christ is predicted to bring the destruction of the present political world-system (Dan 2:34,35; Rev 19:11); the judgment of Mat 25:31-46, followed by world-wide Gentile conversion and participation in the blessings of the kingdom (Isa 2:2-4; Isa 11:10; Zech 8:3,20,23; Zech 14:16-21.

For further discussion of the first and second coming of Messiah, see "The Two Advents" by C.I. Scofield.

For more on prophecies about the Messiah, see the separate study in the Psalms of the Messiah.

Go to Understanding the Bible, Lesson #6 - Major Bible Doctrines (in brief).

Limited permission is granted to copy & distribute these notes from www.theBookWurm.com

Go to The Book opening page.