17. The Messiah Prophesied
March 2007
Topics:
What were those Prophecies?
The Coming Messiah!
A Conquering King
The Suffering Lamb of God
Dual Expectations of the Messiah
The Passover Visit
For centuries, Israel had been sacrificing animals pointing forward to a Redeemer who would sacrifice His life to pay for their sins. Sins cannot be forgiven from the sacrifice of an animal. All these sacrifices would have been to no avail if the true Sacrifice had not come, or if for any reason He had failed. But the centuries had passed, and now it was time .....
At the Jordan, John the Baptist’s powerful preaching, "Repent ye! For the kingdom of heaven is at hand!" (Matthew 3:2) rang in the ears of the people as they flocked to hear him. The time for the promised Messiah (Daniel 9:24-27) was near. "And as the people were in expectation, and all men mused in their hearts of John, whether he were the Christ, or not" (Luke 3:15).
Over three hundred prophecies in the Old Testament pointed forward to the coming of the Messiah. The everlasting covenant made with Abraham and the sacrifices made for centuries all pointed to the real sacrifice of Jesus Christ on Calvary. The ten commandment law was perfectly fulfilled by His sinless life. He came to show that the Father is a God of love and is "merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth."
When Jesus came to be baptized, John used covenant terms to describe Him: "Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world" (John 1:29). The Messiah had come!
The Bible is a book of prophecy. Here is revealed the origin of mankind, his history, and what will take place in the future. It is God’s purpose to reveal truth to His people.
7 "Surely the Lord GOD will do nothing, but he revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets" (Amos 3:7).
Prophesies are given to reveal things that we would not otherwise learn. Our learning process must begin and be guided by the written Word of God, guided by the Holy Spirit in answer to prayer. The Holy Spirit teaches the true meaning of what we read in the Bible and applies it to our lives.
12 "I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now.
13 "Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come" (John 16:12-13).
Prophecy also gives important information as to coming events. In Matthew 24, prophesying of the end time, Jesus four times warned His disciples "Take heed that no man deceive you." Knowing the truth is a strong barrier against being deceived. Prophecies are not always easily understood, but when the prophesied event occurs, it will be recognized and faith strengthened.
The Old Testament is important too. Actually, the New Testament is built upon the foundation of the Old Testament. And New Testament writers quoted liberally from the Old. It is there that much of God’s will for our lives is revealed. It is there that we find the prophecies of the coming Messiah!
29 "And now I have told you before it come to pass, that, when it is come to pass, ye might believe" (John 14:29).
11 "Now all these things happened unto them for ensamples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come" (1 Corinthians 10:11).
After Adam and Eve sinned, God spoke to them and gave them a hope and a promise. They were given a desire to do what was right, a conscience. The seed of the woman (Jesus Christ) would eventually "bruise the serpent’s head", destroy evil, and restore all that was lost. This was the first promise of a Redeemer to come.
15 "And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel" (Genesis 3:15).
The covenant was later given to Abraham in some detail. Promises to Abraham included very important details: "in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed" (Genesis 12:3); and "thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies;.... and in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed" (Genesis 22:17-18). These phrases are made significant by this New Testament verse:
16 "Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ" (Galatians 3:16).
Hidden in the promises and in the renewals of the covenant through out the Old Testament is the golden thread of the promised Redeemer to come. There are 300 promises of the Messiah. Listed here are some of them:
Old Testament prophecy New Testament fulfillment
Born of a virgin: Isaiah 7:14; Matthew 1:18, 24-25
Born in Bethlehem: Micah 5:2; Matthew 2:1
Time of His birth: Daniel 9:24-27; Luke 1:5; 2:1;
Son of God: Psalm 2:7; Matthew 3:17
His divinity: Ps 45:6-7,11; 102:24-27;
Isaiah 9:6; 25:9
His pre-existence: Micah 5:2; Ps 40:7-10; Phil 2:5-8; Col 1:17; Jn 17:24
Anointed by Holy Sp: Isaiah 11:2; Matthew 3:16-17
Ministry of miracles: Isaiah 35:5-6 Matthew 9:35
Teaching in parables: Psalms 78:2 Matthew 13:34
Seed of Abraham: Genesis 22:18 Galatians 3:16
Tribe of Judah: Genesis 49:10 Hebrews 7:14
Prec. by Messenger: Isaiah 40:3 Matthew 3:1, 2
The rejection, suffering, and death of the Messiah are prophesied in Isaiah 53. Psalm 22 prophesies remarkable details of His crucifixion:
Old Testament Prophecy - Psalm 22 New Testament Comparison
|
v.1: "My God, My God why have you forsaken me?" |
Matt 27:46: "About the ninth hour Jesus cried out in a loud voice, 'Eloi, Eloi lama sabacthani?,' which means, 'My God, My God why have you forsaken Me?'" |
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6-8: "But I am a worm and not a man, scorned by men and despised by people. All who see me mock me. They hurl insults shaking their heads; 'He trusts in the Lord, let the Lord rescue Him. Let Him deliver Him, since He delights in Him.'" |
Matthew 27:41-44: "In the same way the chief priests, the teachers of the Law and the Elders mocked Him. 'He saved others.' they said, 'But He can't save Himself! He's the King of Israel! Let Him come down now from the cross, and we will believe in Him. He trusts in God, let God rescue Him now if He wants Him, for He said "I am the Son of God." ' In the same way the robbers who were crucified with Him also heaped insults on Him." |
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14-15: "I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint, my heart has turned to wax; it has melted away within me. My strength is dried up like a potsherd, and my tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth; you lay me in the dust of death."
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John 19:34: "Instead one of the soldiers pierced Jesus' side with a spear, bringing a sudden flow of blood and water." (NOTE - This is a precise description of the crucifixion process where the hanging weight of a person's body would cause his bones to come out of joint, and would make him as one lying in the "dust of death") John 19:28: "Later, knowing that all was completed, and so that the scripture may be fulfilled, Jesus said, 'I am thirsty.' " (NOTE - Medically the flow of blood and water would mean that the heart of the person had literally burst , i.e. had "turned to wax" and "melted away", in complete fulfillment of this verse of the Psalm!) |
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16: "Dogs have surrounded me; a band of evil men have encircled me; they have pierced (kaaru) my hands and feet." |
(NOTE - This prediction was made when crucifixion did not even exist at the time!) |
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17-18: "I can count all my bones; people stare and gloat over me. They have divided my garments and cast lots for my clothing." |
John 19:23-24: "When the soldiers crucified Jesus, they took His clothes, dividing them into four shares, one for each of them, with the undergarment remaining. This garment was seamless, woven in one piece from top to bottom. 'Let's not tear it,' they said to one another, 'let's decide by lot who will get it.' " |
The above prophesies are easily seen as Christians look back on Jesus, the Christ. What did the Jews understand before He came? What were their expectations?
The prophecy of His coming from Bethlehem was easily understood, but nothing was said of His coming as a baby! The Jews did not expect a prophet to come from Nazareth of Galilee. And how about the crucifixion on Calvary? The resurrection?
Not clear also was that Messiah would be divine. The Jews were and are strongly monotheistic. To accept a Messiah who was divine would be to accept another person who was God. After centuries of struggle against idolatry, after 70 years captivity because of idolatry, they had learned their lesson all too well. Simply and humanly, it was too much to accept this concept.
However, the Messianic prophecies did include some that depicted His suffering and death; and others that describe a conquering king who would take the throne of David and live forever. This raised a problem that was difficult to solve. Would Messiah be the suffering servant, Messiah ben Joseph; or would he be the conquering king, Messiah ben David and take the throne of Israel and restore her past glory?
In looking for the fulfillment of prophecies, one must be careful and humble. It may be more important to recognize prophetic events when they happen, than to predict them in detail ahead of time. A good illustration is Peter, when he affirmed, "Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God," Jesus said that Peter, a Jew, could know this only by direct revelation from God!
It is of interest to present some of the Jewish concepts of Messiah. From this one can have a more sympathetic understanding of their reactions when Jesus actually came. Here are some prophecies, gleaned from the Internet, of the conquering king (Mashiach Ben David):
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He would be a king: Jeremiah 23:5-6; Psalm 2; 110; Matthew 27:37
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He would live forever: Psalm 102:24-27; 89:4;
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On the throne of David forever: 1 Kings 2:45; Isaiah 9:7; Jeremiah 17:25; Luke 1:32
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His kingdom forever: Daniel 2:44; 4:3,34; 6:26; 7:14
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To rule the world: Psalm 2:6-9; ch 72;
Moses Maimonides (RaMBaM), is ascribed to have said the following about the Messiah:
"If a king will arise from the House of David who is learned in Torah and observant of the mitzvot (‘commandments’, 613 in the law of Moses) as prescribed by the written law and the oral law, as David his ancestor was, and will compel all of Israel to walk in the way of the Torah and reinforce the breaches; and fight the wars of God, we may, with assurance, consider him the Messiah. If he succeeds in the above, builds the Temple in its place, and gathers the dispersed of Israel, he is definitely the Messiah. ... If he did not succeed to this degree or he was killed, he surely is not the redeemer promised by the Torah..." (Mishneh Torah).
"The concept of the King Messiah, the ‘Anointed One’ who would one day come to deliver his people from oppression at the beginning of an era of world peace had been the sustaining hope of the Jewish people for generations. King Messiah was the instrument by whom God's kingdom was to be established in Israel and in the world. This hope ran throughout the entire Tanakh (the Hebrew ‘Bible’ or Old Testament). This unique Messiah seems to be identified with the Moshia’ and would be anointed by God to:
1. Restore the
Kingdom of David
(see, for example,
Jer. 23:5, Jer 30:9,
Ezek. 34:23)
2. Restore the
Temple (Isaiah 2:2,
Micah 4:1, Zech.
6:13, Ezekiel
37:26-28)
3. Regather the
exiles (as described
in Isaiah 11:12 and
43:5-6)
4. Usher in world
peace (Isaiah 2:4)
5. Spread Torah
knowledge of the God
of Israel, which
will unite humanity
as one. As it says:
‘God will be King
over all the
world—on that day,
God will be One and
His Name will be
One’ (Zechariah
14:9)"
"In the Tanakh, the key passage on which the idea of the Messianic king who would rule in righteousness and attain universal dominion is found in Nathan's oracle to David (2 Sam 7:12-13). This covenant cannot have been fulfilled by Solomon, and therefore the Seed of which the oracle refers is another anointed King who would sit on the throne forever and ever."
12 "And when thy days be fulfilled, and thou shalt sleep with thy fathers, I will set up thy seed after thee, which shall proceed out of thy bowels, and I will establish his kingdom.
13 "He shall build an house for my name, and I will stablish the throne of his kingdom for ever" (2 Samuel 7:12-13).
Equally prominent are references to a Messiah who would be a sin bearer and would suffer (Mashiach ben Yosef):
-
Isaiah 53; Psalm 18:4-6; 35:11-12; 69:7-9;
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Psalm 22:1-18 about the crucifixion
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Mark 8:31 Son of man must suffer, be rejected, killed, and rise again.
The Suffering Messiah was prefigured by Joseph (Gen. 37-50) in the oral traditions of Judaism. Mashiach ben Yosef was considered to be a forerunner and harbinger of the final deliverer, Mashiach ben David. Mashiach ben Yosef suffered for the sins of Israel (Isaiah 53). Christians see Yeshua as the fulfillment of Mashiach ben Yosef in the Tanakh and the oral tradition. Yeshua the Messiah in His first coming is the Suffering Servant.
- "Messiah son of Joseph was slain, as it is written, ‘They shall look unto me whom they have pierced; and they shall mourn for him as one mourneth for his only son’ (Zech 12:10)."
- The Talmud explains: "The Messiah—what is his name? Those of the house of Rabbi Yuda the saint say, the sick one, as it is said, ‘Surely he had borne our sicknesses’ (Sanhedrin 98b)."
- Referring to Zech 12:10-12, "R. Dosa says: ‘(They will mourn) over the Messiah who will be slain.’" (B. Suk. 52a; also Y. Suk. 55b)
- "But he was wounded . . ." meaning that since the Messiah bears our iniquities which produce the effect of His being bruised, it follows that whosoever will not admit that Messiah thus suffers for our iniquities, must endure and suffer for them himself" (Rabbi Elijah de Vidas).
The Tanakh contains seemingly conflicted views of the Mashiach as Israel’s Deliverer. On the one hand, Messiah is portrayed as coming in great triumph "in the clouds" (Daniel 7:13), but on the other he comes riding a donkey, lowly and humble (Zechariah 9:9). This "dual aspect" of Messiah lead to the idea that there would be two Messiahs: Messiah ben Joseph and Messiah ben David.
Yeshua is Mashiach ben Yosef and Mashiach ben David
As Christians, we believe that Yeshua is both Mashiach Ben Yosef (the suffering servant, at His first coming) and Mashiach Ben David (the reigning King, at His second coming. See Isaiah 52:13-15 - 53:12, Psalm 22). He is also the Anointed Prophet, Priest, and King as foreshadowed by other m’shichim (other anointed prophets, priests, and kings) in the Tanakh.
Yeshua Hammashiach.
(Jesus the Messiah)David Brown (of AMF International) writes:
It is very common for Jewish objectors to point that "Jesus has not fulfilled all the prophecies," and to scorn the suggestion that some prophecies are for a later time and are to be fulfilled at the "second coming." The fact is, however, that prophecies about Messiah are of two seemingly mutually exclusive types, as though they were talking about two different Messiahs.
Jewish scholarship refers to Messiah ben-David and Messiah ben-Yosef. One is the positive, victorious Messiah who ushers in a kingdom of peace, the other is a suffering servant (as in Isaiah 53). The popular tendency is to think only of ben-David and ignore ben-Yosef, but the Messianic/Christian view accounts for both in one person. Interestingly, these two prophetic strains are named for David and Joseph, both of which suffered first and emerged victorious in the end.
Joseph is introduced to us with dreams of grandeur, but he was lost to Israel, actually considered dead, before his dreams came true. Eventually however, he had a "second coming" when he came back into the lives of his brothers who once rejected him. Then they bowed down to him and he became the savior of his people by providing for them in a time of famine.
David also, though anointed as King in his youth as far as God was concerned, was rejected by the current King and lived as a fugitive for many years before he finally became the quintessential King of Israel. Both of these historic figures, which Jewish tradition has recognized as being prototypes of Messiah, arrive amid promises, are pushed down, and finally emerge in glory. Shouldn’t the ultimate Messiah follow the same pattern?
As Jesus grew "in wisdom and stature and in favor with God and man" (Luke 2:52), he was taught the prophecies of the Messiah. His mother certainly presented the prophecies as they were recorded in the Bible. While faithful in her teaching, her understanding of the mission of the Messiah was limited (Matthew 12:46-47). When Jesus was twelve years old He observed the Passover in Jerusalem for the first time. See Luke 2:42-48.
The Passover was in memory of their deliverance from slavery in Egypt (Exodus 12 - 14). On the eve of the fourteenth day of the first month, the passover lamb was killed, roasted and eaten with unleavened bread. The blood of the lamb was sprinkled on the lintel and the two side posts of the door of the house. This was the sign of protection. The destroying angel passed over the marked doors, and the firstborn houses so marked were saved from death.
This was followed by the feast of unleavened bread lasting for a total of seven days. In Jesus time, the passover was celebrated at the temple in Jerusalem. At the age of twelve, he witnessed this ceremony for the first time.
"For the first time the child Jesus looked upon the temple. He saw the white-robed priests performing their solemn ministry. He beheld the bleeding victim upon the altar of sacrifice. With the worshipers He bowed in prayer, while the cloud of incense ascended before God. He witnessed the impressive rites of the paschal service. Day by day He saw their meaning more clearly. Every act seemed to be bound up with His own life. New impulses were awakening within Him. Silent and absorbed, He seemed to be studying out a great problem. The mystery of His mission was opening to the Saviour" (The Desire of Ages, 78).
But why, in the sacrifices, does a lamb have to die? A lamb cannot save a person from sin. It must mean something. Christians today recognize that the sacrificial lamb pointed forward to the Redeemer who would suffer and die for the sins of man.
Isaiah 53 showed what the death of the lamb accomplished. And not just death, but there would be suffering, opposition, and rejection. What could a twelve year old boy think, seeing His life in this way. But He did not flinch. When His parent’s questioned His staying behind at the temple, His answer showed acceptance of the will and plan of God: "Wist ye not that I must be about my Father’s business" (Luke 2: 49)?
"He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he was brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth.
"He shall see the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied: by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities" (Isaiah 53:7,11).
From the prophecy of Daniel 9:24-27 Jesus knew when His ministry would begin and when it would end. He knew when His hour would come and that His ministry would be short. He would have to use every minute and every day.
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