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Q. Does the Old Testament tell us where the Messiah comes from? Micah 5:2

A. “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.” This verse tells us the Messiah will come out of Bethlehem.

Q Was the prophecy of the coming Messiah fulfilled? Luke 2:1-7

A. [Read the passages.] Yes. The prophecy was fulfilled.

Q. How does the Old Testament tell us the Messiah will come? Isaiah 7:14

A. “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 Messiah will come born as a baby to a virgin.

Q. Was the prophecy about how the Messiah would come fulfilled? Matthew 1:23

A. “Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,” which is translated, “God with us.” In this verse an angel from heaven just informed a virgin woman named Mary, that she was chosen by God to be the Messiah's mother.

Q. Does the Old Testament give us a clue to the lineage of the Messiah? Gen 49:8-10

A. [Read the passages.] Yes, the Old Testament gives a clue to the lineage of the Messiah. It says His lineage is of Judah. “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.”

Q. Does the New Testament confirm that the Messiah came from the lineage of Judah? Luke 1:30-32

A. “Then the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. and behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name JESUS. 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." The New Testament does say that the Messiah came out of Judah, because the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David. David is of the lineage of Judah.

Q. What is another prophecy of the Old Testament about the coming Messiah? Numbers 24:17

A. “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, And batter the brow of Moab, And destroy all the sons of tumult.” A star will rise out of Judah.

Q. What does the New Testament say about the star of Judah and the coming Messiah? Matthew 2:1, 2

A. “Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, saying, “Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we have seen His star in the East and have come to worship Him.”” The Old Testament prophecy from the previous question told when to look for the Messiah to come. The “star in the east” announced to those who knew the prophecy that the Messiah has come.

Q. Did the Old Testament tell about the Messiah's ministry in advance? Isaiah 61:1-3

A. [Read the passages.] Yes! The Messiah's ministry was told far in advance. This is the Old Testament prophecy about the good news of salvation.

Q. Was the prediction of the Messiah's ministry ever fulfilled? Luke 4:16-21

A. [Read the passage] Yes. The man, Jesus, was the one who the prophecies of the coming Messiah was told about. Jesus Himself used the Old Testament Scriptures to point out that He was the one that God sent to bring Salvation to a dying world.

Q. Does the Old Testament tell us that the Messiah would be betrayed by some one close to Him? Psalms 55:12-14

A. “For it is not an enemy who reproaches me; Then I could bear it. Nor is it one who hates me who has exalted himself against me; Then I could hide from him. But it was you, a man my equal, My companion and my acquaintance. We took sweet counsel together, And walked to the house of God in the throng.” These verses tell us that some one has betrayed someone, and it's not just anyone, it is some one close, someone the one betrayed knows well.

Q. Was the prophecy, in the previous question, fulfilled in Jesus? Matthew 26:47-50

A. [Read the passages] Yes. The prophecy in the previous question fits with the incident that happened, when Jesus was betrayed by Judas, one of His twelve disciples.

Q. Does the Old Testament tell us that the Messiah was betrayed for a price? Zechariah 11:12-13

A. “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. (Verse 13), 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 tells us that the Messiah would be betrayed for thirty pieces of silver. This also tells us that something else happens that to the silver. It goes to by a potters field. A potter's field is “A place for the burial of unknown or indigent persons. (http://www.thefreedictionary.com/potter%27s+field).”

Q. Was the prophecy of the of the betrayal price and the potter's field fulfilled? Matthew 27:3-9

A. [Read the passage] Yes. This prophecy was fulfilled. The Pharisees had paid Judas, who was one of Jesus twelve disciples, 30 pieces of silver to betray Jesus. Judas realized what he had done, by betraying Jesus and had remorse for his actions. He tried to make amens by giving the silver back, but the leaders of the temple didn't want it back; so Judas threw the silver to their feet, ran out of the temple and hanged himself. The leaders of temple did not want the silver to go back into the treasury of the temple because it had the price of blood on it, so they bought a “potter's field (cemetery)” with the silver.

Q. Does the Old Testament predict that the Messiah would suffer to take away our sins? Isaiah 53:4-7

A. [Read the passages] Yes! In fact, it also says that, “He was led as a lamb to the slaughter (v. 7).” This also says the the Messiah would suffer “chastisement for our peace” and we would be healed by His stripes.

Q. Was the prophecy of the Messiah suffering for our sins fulfilled? Acts 8:32-35

A. [Read the passages] Yes. Philip taught a eunuch about how Jesus died for the sins of the people. The eunuch believed and was baptized. John the Baptist also made a statement before Jesus was lead as a lamb to the slaughter, he said, “Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! (John 1:29).” He said this about Jesus the day after he had baptized Jesus in the Jordan river.

Q What does the Old Testament tell about what happens to the Messiah after He is “led like a lamb to the slaughter”? Psalms 22:16

A. “For dogs have surrounded Me; The congregation of the wicked has enclosed Me. They pierced My hands and My feet.” They pierced His hands and feet, He would be crucified.

Q. What does the New Testament say about the Messiah's pierced hands and feet? Luke 23:33; 24:39

A. “And when they had come to the place called Calvary, there they crucified Him, and the criminals, one on the right hand and the other on the left.” In the days of the Roman Rule, when a Jew suffered the death penalty; the Jew was nailed by the hands and feet to a wooden cross and left to hang there until their life expired.

A. “Behold My hands and My feet, that it is I Myself. Handle Me and see, for a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see I have.” After Jesus resurrected from death and came out of the tomb, He appeared to His disciples to prove to them that He was a live. He wanted them to understand that the prophecy that He would rise again on the third day (Luke 9:22), came true.

Q. Is there anything else the Old Testament says would happen to the Messiah during His crucifixion? Psalms 22:18

A. “They divide My garments among them, And for My clothing they cast lots.” Why is it important for us to know what they did with His clothes during His crucifixion? The details of the prophecies of how the Messiah would suffer death are important so we can understand when, where, how it happened and who it happened to; so we can pin point who the Messiah is.

Q. Did the parting of Jesus garments happen as the prophecy said it would? Matthew 27:46

A. “Then they crucified Him, and divided His garments, casting lots, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet: “They divided My garments among them, And for My clothing they cast lots.” Yes! The Old Testament prophecy came true, and it happened just as it said it would.

There are more Old Testament prophecies about the crucifixion of Jesus, lets examine some more of them and compare it with the New Testament to see if they came true.

 

Q. What does the Psalms say about Jesus last words? Psalms 22:1

A. “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me? Why are You so far from helping Me, And from the words of My groaning?”

Q. What does Matthew say about Jesus last words? Matthew 27:46

A. “And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, “Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?” that is, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?”

Q. What does the Psalms say about Jesus bones? Psalms 34:20

A. “He guards all his bones; Not one of them is broken.”

Q. Does the New Testament confirm that none of Jesus bones were broken? John 19:36

A. “For these things were done that the Scripture should be fulfilled, “Not one of His bones shall be broken.” Yes, it is confirmed that none of Jesus bones were broken. It is said that the Roman Soldiers would break the legs of the crucified to speed their death if the crucifixion was taking place the day before the Sabbath. The Jews didn't want anyone hanging on a cross on the Sabbath.

Q. How did the Old Testament say the Messiah would be buried? Isaiah 53:9

A. “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.” Though They would bury Him with the wicked, He would be put in a rich mans tomb.

Q. Does the New Testament confirm that Jesus was buried in a rich man's tomb? Matthew 28:2-7

A. [Read the passage] Yes, this prophecy came true. Joseph of Arimathea, who became a disciple of Christ, was a rich man and he gave his own tomb for Jesus to to be buried in.

Q. Does the Old testament tell us that the Messiah would come back from the dead? Psalms 16:10

A. “For You will not leave my soul in Sheol, Nor will You allow Your Holy One to see corruption.” Yes the Old Testament tells us that the Messiah would rise from the dead.

Let's stop for a minute and take a close look at the word Sheol, what does it mean? Sheol is a Hebrew word meaning “the abode of the dead”, “the underworld”, “the common grave of man kind” or “pit.” It was the common destination of the righteous and the unrighteous dead. The word Sheol was later translated into the Greek word Hades. In Greek mythology, Hades means; the gloomy, twilight afterlife.(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sheol)

Essentially, both words are used in the Bible to simply mean the grave or hell. Often these words are misinterpreted to mean; a place where people are sent after death, to burn forever.

Q. Does the New testament confirm the prophecy that the Messiah would be risen from the dead? Matthew 28:2-7

A. [Read the passages] Yes, the New Testament confirms that Jesus rose from the dead. The women that was seeking Jesus was Mary Magdalene and another woman named Mary (see verse 1).

The prophecies in the Old Testament are important for us to know, even today. There are many people, today, that do not believe that the man called Jesus was the Messiah. We need the Old Testament prophecies to help prove that these prophecies really did take place. We need the old prophecies of the Messiah to prove that the man called Jesus, was in fact the promised Messiah. We need the prophecies to compare with the accounts about Jesus in the New Testament to confirm that the man called Jesus, who live almost 2000 years ago, fits the Old Testament description of the Messiah. With out the prophecies it would be much more difficult to prove who the Messiah was and that He came the first time just as the prophecies predicted He would.

 

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