Identifying the Messiah
Is there evidence in history that God gave specific information hundreds of years in advance about a person He knew would live here on earth? What specific accounts are given and where can they be found? Did the people to whom the information came recognize that they had been given special information? Do these prophecies constitute solid evidence for us today? Is it possible for us to account for this information apart from the fact it must have come from God?
The prophecies in the Old Testament are like clues in a mystery story. As we try to solve this mystery we might ask ourselves questions such as:
Who is the seed (offspring) of the woman who crushes the head of Satan?
Who is the seed of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob that will eventually bless all nations?
Who is the “prophet like Moses” of whom God says, “You must listen to him”?
Who is the one crucified?
Who is the child that is God and will have an everlasting kingdom?
Who was crushed and pierced for our transgressions? Upon whom did the Lord lay the iniquity of all mankind?
Who is the righteous Branch, the wise King, who will be called “the Lord our righteousness”?
Who is the “Anointed One” to be “cut off” after 483 years?
Who is the one who is eternal, who will be the ruler over Israel, who is born in Bethlehem Ephrathah?
Who is Jehovah, “the one they have pierced,” for whom Jerusalem and all the nation of Israel will weep and mourn?[1]
No one can deny that the Bible itself claims to be the unique revelation of God: “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work” (2 Timothy 3:16-17). Further, the Bible’s claim to uniqueness and the prophecies of a future Messiah go together. If the prophecies are truly fulfilled, then the Bible has provided information about the future that could only have come from God.
But did God indeed promise to give information through His prophets concerning the future? Yes! In fact, He said this would be proof that He was God, indeed, the true God for all the earth. He even challenged one and all to make statements about the future that would be as accurate as His statements about the future:
“Who then is like me? Let him proclaim it. Let him declare and lay out before me what has happened… and what is yet to come—yes, let him foretell what will come… Did I not proclaim this and foretell it long ago?” (Isaiah 44:7-8, emphasis added).
“Who foretold this long ago, who declared it from the distant past? Was it not I, the Lord? (Isaiah 45:21, emphasis added).
It is significant that in the most Messianic of all the Hebrew Scriptures, Isaiah, God speaks most frequently of His ability to predict the future. He challenges the false gods (idols) and their prophets to prove their case.
For example:
“…declare to us the things to come, tell us what the future holds, so that we may know that you are gods” (Isaiah 41:22-23, emphasis added).
“I foretold the former things long ago, my mouth announced them and I made them known; then suddenly I acted, and they came to pass…. Therefore I told you these things long ago; before they happened I announced them to you so that you could not say, ‘My idols did them’” (Isaiah 48:3,5, emphasis added).
The New Testament also claims that the ancient Hebrew prophets spoke by the inspiration of God: “Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet’s own interpretation. For prophecy never had its origin in the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit” (2 Peter 1:20-21, emphasis added).
It makes the further claim that the ancient prophets, whose writings spanned a thousand years, were all in agreement concerning a specific future Person: “All the prophets testify about him that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name” (Acts 10:43, emphasis added). And, “So I stand here and testify to small and great alike. I am saying nothing beyond what the prophets and Moses said would happen—that the Christ [Messiah] would suffer and, as the first to rise from the dead, would proclaim light to his own people and to the Gentiles” (Acts 26:22-23, emphasis added).
The word Messiah is taken from Psalm 2:2 and Daniel 9:25-26 where Mashiyach (Hebrew), Christos (Greek) means “Anointed One.” The term takes its meaning from the Jewish practice of “anointing” prophets, priests, and kings to their respective offices. For example, as a generic term it could be applied to an earthly king such as David (2 Samuel 19:21) who was “anointed” to fulfill the divine purpose of his office.
However, there was one unique individual to whom the term Messiah applied in a special sense. God spoke about a future ruler of Israel who would sit on the throne of David and usher in an age of unparalleled righteousness and peace. He would simultaneously hold all three offices of prophet (authoritative proclamation), priest (spiritual duties) and king (political ruler). He would be the reality and ultimate fulfillment to which all other usages of the term Messiah would be but shadowy prefigures.[2]
This would be the one to come whom God would uniquely identify beforehand. As the apostle Peter wrote, “But this is how God fulfilled what he had foretold through all the prophets, saying that his Christ [Messiah] would suffer” (Acts 3:18 NIV, emphasis added).
In our book “Knowing the Truth About Jesus the Messiah” we carefully examine several prophecies, and we see that Jesus Christ has fulfilled all of them. No one else in all human history has ever done so.
But there is so much more to explore! If you would like to examine what the Bible says about the Messiah for yourself, may we invite you to look at the following passages. Do you conclude, as we do, that these identify Jesus Christ as the Messiah sent from God? Perhaps not the conquering Messiah the Jews expected, but surely the one who would ultimately conquer evil and redeem God’s people for all eternity!
1. He will be born of a virgin (Isaiah 7:14; see Matthew 1:23).
2. He would live in Nazareth of Galilee (Isaiah 9:1,2; see Matthew 2:23; 4:15,16).
3. His birth would occasion the massacre of Bethlehem’s children (Jeremiah 31:15; see Matthew 2:18).
4. His mission would include the Gentiles (Isaiah 42:1-3,6; see Matthew 12:18-21).
5. His ministry would include physical relief (Isaiah 61:1,2; see Luke 4:16-21).
6. He would be the Shepherd struck with the sword, resulting in the sheep being scattered (Zechariah 13:7; see Matthew 26:31,56; Mark 14:27,49,50).
7. He would be betrayed by a friend for 30 pieces of silver (Zechariah 11:12,13; see Matthew 27:9,10).
8. He would be given vinegar and gall to drink (Psalm 69:21; see Matthew 27:34).
9. He would be presented with all dominion over all peoples, nations, and men of every language (Daniel 7:13,14; see Revelation 11:15).
10. He would be hated without a cause (Psalm 69:4; Isaiah 49:7; see John 15:25).
11. He would be rejected by the rulers (Psalm 118:22; see Matthew 21:42; John 7:48).
The point should be obvious. Who is the only person who has fulfilled all of these prophecies and more? Only Jesus Christ. There is simply no way to avoid this fact.
Scholars Delitzsch and Gloag have rightly concluded,“So far as we can determine, these prophecies refer to the Messiah only, and cannot be predicated of another. The ancient Jews admit the Messianic character of most of them; although the modern Jews, in consequence of their controversy with the Christians, have attempted to explain them away by applications which must appear to every candid reader to be unnatural… these and other predictions have received their accomplishment in Jesus of Nazareth…. The combination of prophecies is sufficient to prove that Jesus is the Messiah….”[3]
- This article is extracted and modified from our e-book, “Knowing the Truth about Jesus the Messiah.” Check our online catalog to get a copy of this book to find the answers to each of these questions. ↑
- Franz Delitzsch and Paton Gloag, The Messiahship of Christ (Minneapolis, MN: Klock and Klock, 1983), Book 2, pp. 50-53. ↑
- Delitzsch and Gloag, The Messiahship, Book 2, pp. 123-124. ↑
