
Jesus asked his disciples, “Who do people say that I am?” And they told him, “John the Baptist; and others say, Elijah; and others, one of the prophets.” And he asked them, “But who do you say that I am?” (Mark 8:27-29)
Jesus asked that question “who do you say that I am?” to His disciples and it’s a question that every one of us must answer for ourselves. For your redemption, it matters not who I say Jesus is, it only matters who you say that Jesus is.
Prior to Jesus, followers of God would atone for their sins by sacrificing an animal to God as blood was required to atone for their sins (Lev 4:20). Sin is death and must be atoned by life through blood (Lev 17:11). This is a seemingly grotesque practice and is the result of sin and rejection of God and His commandments. However, it does provide a vivid display of how evil sin is–it literally brings death into the world. When we sin, we are bringing death into the world and either we will suffer that death, or an atoning sacrifice will be used as a remission of our sins. As sins continued to be committed, sacrifices continued as the debt had to be atoned for (Lev 4-6). Sacrificing of animals is only a temporary covering of sins and foreshadowed an eternal, perfect and final sacrifice that would be provided by God Himself (Isa 53:5-12).
God, through the prophet Isaiah, tells humanity that He will redeem humanity by sending a servant who will bear our iniquities, transgression and sins and through the suffering of this servant we will be healed (Isa 52:3; 13; 53:5). When the Jews of old sacrificed animals only their present sin was temporarily laid on the sacrifice; God is telling humanity that He will send a servant and lay all of humanities transgression, iniquity, sin, debt and death on His servant (Isa 53:6). This is God’s sacrifice to humanity that will be sufficient to forgive every sin, committed by every person at any time for eternity (Isa 53:10). Throughout the entire Old Testament God is constantly reminding and hinting of the coming of this servant that God will send as a final sacrifice for our sins.
In many scriptures, through many prophets, judges, kings and servants of God prophecy of God’s servant and our messiah/savior is revealed. It is revealed that the messiah will be born of a virgin, (Isa 7:14) be rejected by His own people, (Psa 69:8) would be a prophet, (Deu 18:15) would be declared the Son of God, (Psa 2:7) would b e a Nazarene, (Isa 11:1) would be betrayed, (Zec 11:12-13) falsely accused (Psa 35:11), be pierced in His hands and feet (Psa 22:16), soldiers would gamble for His garments (Psa 22:18), bones would not be broken (Exo 12:46), forsaken by God (Psa 22:1), resurrected from the dead (Psa 16:10), ascend to heaven (Psa 24:7) and would be sacrificed for sin (Isa 53:5-12). These are just a few of the 300+ prophecies that were written about the Messiah by the Old Testament writers. All of these prophecies were written between hundred and thousands of years prior to Jesus by multiple different authors who, in most cases, never met one another. Check out the chart below detailing less than a quarter of the prophecy written and fulfilled about the Messiah:
# | Prophecy Of Jesus | Old Testament Scripture | New Testament Fulfillment |
1 | Messiah would be born of a woman. | Genesis 3:15 | Matthew 1:20 Galatians 4:4 |
2 | Messiah would be born in Bethlehem | Micah 5:2 | Matthew 2:1 Luke 2:4-6 |
3 | Messiah would be born of a virgin | Isaiah 7:14 | Matthew 1:22-23 Luke 1:26-31 |
4 | Messiah would come from the line of Abraham | Genesis 12:3 Genesis 22:18 | Matthew 1:1 Romans 9:5 |
5 | Messiah would be a descendant of Isaac. | Genesis 17:19 Genesis 21:12 | Luke 3:34 |
6 | Messiah would be a descendant of Jacob. | Numbers 24:17 | Matthew 1:2 |
7 | Messiah would come from the tribe of Judah. | Genesis 49:10 | Luke 3:33 Hebrews 7:14 |
8 | Messiah would be heir to King David’s throne | 2 Samuel 7:12-13 Isaiah 9:7 | Luke 1:32-33 Romans 1:3 |
9 | Messiah’s throne will be anointed and eternal. | Psalm 45:6-7 Daniel 2:44 | Luke 1:33 Hebrews 1:8-12 |
10 | Messiah would be called Immanuel | Isaiah 7:14 | Matthew 1:23 |
11 | Messiah would spend a season in Egypt. | Hosea 11:1 | Matthew 2:14-15 |
12 | A massacre of children would happen at Messiah’s birthplace. | Jeremiah 31:15 | Matthew 2:16-18 |
13 | A messenger would prepare the way for Messiah | Isaiah 40:3-5 | Luke 3:3-6 |
14 | Messiah would be rejected by his own people. | Psalm 69:8 Isaiah 53:3 | John 1:11 John 7:5 |
15 | Messiah would be a prophet. | Deuteronomy 18:15 | Acts 3:20-22 |
16 | Messiah would be preceded by Elijah | Malachi 4:5-6 | Matthew 11:13-14 |
17 | Messiah would be declared the Son of God | Psalm 2:7 | Matthew 3:16-17 |
18 | Messiah would be called a Nazarene. | Isaiah 11:1 | Matthew 2:23 |
19 | Messiah would bring light to Galilee | Isaiah 9:1-2 | Matthew 4:13-16 |
20 | Messiah would speak in parables | Psalm 78:2-4 Isaiah 6:9-10 | Matthew 13:10-15, 34-35 |
21 | Messiah would be sent to heal the brokenhearted. | Isaiah 61:1-2 | Luke 4:18-19 |
22 | Messiah would be a priest after the order of Melchizedek. | Psalm 110:4 | Hebrews 5:5-6 |
23 | Messiah would be called King. | Psalm 2:6 Zechariah 9:9 | Matthew 27:37 Mark 11:7-11 |
24 | Messiah would be praised by little children. | Psalm 8:2 | Matthew 21:16 |
25 | Messiah would be betrayed. | Psalm 41:9 Zechariah 11:12-13 | Luke 22:47-48 Matthew 26:14-16 |
26 | Messiah’s price money would be used to buy a potter’s field. | Zechariah 11:12-13 | Matthew 27:9-10 |
27 | Messiah would be falsely accused. | Psalm 35:11 | Mark 14:57-58 |
28 | Messiah would be silent before his accusers. | Isaiah 53:7 | Mark 15:4-5 |
29 | Messiah would be spat upon and struck. | Isaiah 50:6 | Matthew 26:67 |
30 | Messiah would be hated without cause. | Psalm 35:19 Psalm 69:4 | John 15:24-25 |
31 | Messiah would be crucified with criminals. | Isaiah 53:12 | Matthew 27:38 Mark 15:27-28 |
32 | Messiah would be given vinegar to drink. | Psalm 69:21 | Matthew 27:34 John 19:28-30 |
33 | Messiah’s hands and feet would be pierced. | Psalm 22:16 Zechariah 12:10 | John 20:25-27 |
34 | Messiah would be mocked and ridiculed. | Psalm 22:7-8 | Luke 23:35 |
35 | Soldiers would gamble for Messiah’s garments. | Psalm 22:18 | Luke 23:34 Matthew 27:35-36 |
36 | Messiah’s bones would not be broken. | Exodus 12:46 Psalm 34:20 | John 19:33-36 |
37 | Messiah would be forsaken by God. | Psalm 22:1 | Matthew 27:46 |
38 | Messiah would pray for his enemies. | Psalm 109:4 | Luke 23:34 |
39 | Soldiers would pierce Messiah’s side. | Zechariah 12:10 | John 19:34 |
40 | Messiah would be buried with the rich. | Isaiah 53:9 | Matthew 27:57-60 |
4 1 | Messiah would resurrected from the dead. | Psalm 16:10 Psalm 49:15 | Matthew 28:2-7 Acts 2:22-32 |
42 | Messiah would ascend to heaven | Psalm 24:7-10 | Mark 16:19 Luke 24:51 |
43 | Messiah would be seated at God’s right hand. | Psalm 68:18 Psalm 110:1 | Mark 16:19 Matthew 22:44 |
44 | Messiah would be a sacrifice for our sin | Isaiah 53:5-12 | Romans 5:6-8 |
*Chart by:https://www.thoughtco.com/prophecies-of-jesus-fulfilled-700159
Now, who is Jesus? Jesus is eternal and already existed in heaven before His physical manifestation (John 17:5). He manifested physically as a human through divine conception and birth of the virgin Mary (Matthew 1:20). Jesus was given the name Immanuel, which literally translates to “God with us” (Mat 1:22-23). Jesus is God with us and since God is perfect, so is Jesus as God and Jesus are One (John 10:30). Jesus gathered 12 disciples and they followed Him nearly everywhere He went, watching, learning and imitating His actions. Jesus spoke and acted with authority, He healed the sick, gave sight to the blind, ears to the deaf, cast out demons and even brought people back from the dead (John 11:43-33). Jesus performed miracles, changed lives and preached what it meant to be a follower of the Word. While doing this Jesus fulfilled over 300 plus prophecies written about Him hundreds to thousands of years before His appearance, every single one of them He fulfilled perfectly. Most of these prophecies were out of the control for an impostor to fulfill. For instance, one cannot control their place of birth (born in Bethlehem), the actions of others (He was betrayed, falsely accused, hated without cause and pierced in His hands and feet), nor could anyone perform miracles or resurrect themselves if they were acting alone as a man. Sure, one could fulfill a few of these prophecies, but no one but the true messiah sent by God could fulfill them all.
*For a comprehensive historical breakdown of Jesus and the resurrection watch the following video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BCk-7KHFSaQ&t=23s
Continue reading the next part “How Can I Be Saved?” by clicking here!