The Scriptures Foretold Jesus' Coming

The Scriptures Foretold Jesus’ Coming

 

Jesus said that all the Scriptures foretold His coming. Down through the ages God spoke to His people through the prophets promising the coming Messiah and showing and telling Israel what their Messiah and Savior would be like.  We read in Luke where Jesus reminded his disciples that He would fulfill all of the ancient prophecies.  “Jesus said to them, ‘This is what I told you while I was still with you: Everything must be fulfilled that is written in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms.”  (Luke 24:44) 

 

Let’s read some of these prophecies that we find in the Psalms and more in Isaiah.  Portraits of the long-expected Messiah and our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.  Many of these prophecies were written down in Scripture over a thousand years before Jesus was born. And God’s promises of the coming Savior were taken seriously by those who tried to obey God’s laws.

 

 Righteous Jews and other Gentile followers of God were watching and waiting for the promised Savior to come.  Remember the wise men from the East who followed the star to Bethlehem to worship the baby Jesus?  They were “wise” because they had known the Scriptures and were looking for their coming King.  When they saw the star in the sky they wondered if that might be a sign of the promised Savior.  And they were right! Wise men and women still follow Jesus!

 

 We will start with God’s Word to the prophet Isaiah (Isaiah 52:13-53:9) concerning the then future Savior, who was revealed to Isaiah as a Suffering and Glorious Servant.  Here in Isaiah 52 and 53 God’s people were given a picture of what their future Messiah and Savior would look like and be like.  Let’s read this amazing prophecy picturing the crucified and risen Christ, from Isaiah 52 and 53.  

 

“See, my servant will act wisely.  He will be raised and lifted up and highly exalted.  Just as there were many who were appalled at Him.  His appearance was so disfigured beyond that of any man.  And His form marred beyond human likeness.  So will He sprinkle (with His cleansing blood) many nations, and kings will shut their mouths because of Him. For what they were not told, they will see.  And what they have not heard, they will understand. “ (Isaiah 52:13-15)

 

“Who has believed our message and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?  He (the coming Savior) grew up before him like a tender shoot.  And like a root out of dry ground.  He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to Him.  Nothing in His appearance that we should desire Him.  He was despised and rejected by people.  A Man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering.  Like One from whom people hide their faces.  He was despised, and we esteemed Him not.”  (Isaiah 53: 1-3)

 

“Surely He took up our sins and infirmities and carried our sorrows.  Yet we considered Him stricken by God.  Smitten by Him and afflicted.  But He was pierced (His hands and feet) for our transgressions (sins).  He was crushed for our iniquities: And the punishment that brought us peace was upon Him.  And by His wounds we are healed! “(Isaiah 53:4-5)

 

All we, like sheep have gone astray.  Each of us has turned to his own way.  And the Lord has laid on Him (Jesus) the iniquity of us all.  He was oppressed and afflicted.  Yet He did not open His mouth.  He was led like a lamb to the slaughter.  And as a sheep before her shearers is silent, So He did not open His mouth. (Jesus didn’t talk back or argue with His judges and murderers) By oppression and judgment, He was taken away.  And who can speak of His descendants?  For he was cut off from the land of the living.  For the transgressions (sins) of my people He was stricken.  He was assigned a grave with the wicked.  (Jesus was put to death with and between two criminals.) And with the rich in His death, (Jesus’ body was put in a rich man’s grave.)  though He had done no violence.  Nor was any deceit in His mouth.”  (Isaiah 53:6-9)

 

But then God gives Isaiah, the prophet, another picture of His Son; a picture of the risen and victorious Lord Jesus Christ.  “After the suffering of His soul, He will see the light of life,(the risen Christ)  and be satisfied.  In His knowledge, My righteous Servant will justify many people and He will bear their sins.  Therefore, I will give Him a portion among the great.  And he will divide the spoils with the strong.  Because He poured out His life unto death.  And was numbered with the sinners.  For He bore the sins of many, and made intercession for the sinners.” (Another picture of Jesus taking our sins upon Himself and praying for us) (Isaiah 53 11-12)

 

We find many hints and prophecies of how the coming Messiah will suffer and die in the Psalms.  Psalms 16:10b says, “Nor will You(God) allow your Holy One (Jesus) to see decay.”   One of many prophecies that hints that Jesus will rise from the dead before His body decays.

 

 Psalms 22:14-16a give several short portraits of Jesus on the cross: “I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint.  My tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth, (Jesus cried out that He was thirsty while He was on the cross) And also, “You lay Me in the dust of death.  Dogs have surrounded Me: a band of evil men has encircled Me.”

Psalms 22:16b-17 continues “They have pierced My hands and feet. (nails were driven through Jesus’ hands and feet)  I can count all my bones:  People stare and gloat over Me.  They divide my garments among themselves and cast lots for my clothing. “(the Roman soldiers who crucified Jesus cast lots to see who could keep His robe and clothes) And Psalms 69:21 shows more of the agonies Jesus endured on the cross: “They gave Me gall and vinegar for my thirst.”  (New Testament Scriptures say that Jesus was given gall and vinegar when He was on the cross.)

 

Psalms 118:19-22) describes Jesus bringing salvation. And He is also referred to as the “Cornerstone that holds up the whole building.  “Open for me the doors of righteousness: (Jesus is the door) through which the righteous may enter.  I will give You thanks, for You answered me:  You have become my salvation.  The Stone the builders rejected has become the Cornerstone. (One of Jesus’ many names is the Cornerstone) The Lord has done this, and it is marvelous in our eyes.  This is the day that the Lord has made.  Let us rejoice and be glad in it.”    

 

And Psalms 72 also describes the coming Savior as the glorious King of Kings.  “All kings will bow down to Him, and all nations will serve Him.  For He will deliver the needy who cry out and the afflicted who have no one to help.  (vs. 11-12) And: “May His Name endure forever: May it continue as long as the sun.  All nations will be blessed through Him and they will call Him blessed.  Praise be to the Lord God, the God of Israel.  Who alone does marvelous deeds. Praise be to His Glorious Name, forever: may the whole earth be filled with His glory.  Amen and Amen.”  (Psalms 72:18-20)  

 

 

 

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The Scriptures Foretold Jesus’ Coming

 

Jesus said that all the Scriptures foretold His coming. Down through the ages God spoke to His people through the prophets promising the coming Messiah and showing and telling Israel what their Messiah and Savior would be like.  We read in Luke where Jesus reminded his disciples that He would fulfill all of the ancient prophecies.  “Jesus said to them, ‘This is what I told you while I was still with you: Everything must be fulfilled that is written in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms.”  (Luke 24:44) 

 

Let’s read some of these prophecies that we find in the Psalms and more in Isaiah.  Portraits of the long-expected Messiah and our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.  Many of these prophecies were written down in Scripture over a thousand years before Jesus was born. And God’s promises of the coming Savior were taken seriously by those who tried to obey God’s laws.

 

 Righteous Jews and other Gentile followers of God were watching and waiting for the promised Savior to come.  Remember the wise men from the East who followed the star to Bethlehem to worship the baby Jesus?  They were “wise” because they had known the Scriptures and were looking for their coming King.  When they saw the star in the sky they wondered if that might be a sign of the promised Savior.  And they were right! Wise men and women still follow Jesus!

 

 We will start with God’s Word to the prophet Isaiah (Isaiah 52:13-53:9) concerning the then future Savior, who was revealed to Isaiah as a Suffering and Glorious Servant.  Here in Isaiah 52 and 53 God’s people were given a picture of what their future Messiah and Savior would look like and be like.  Let’s read this amazing prophecy picturing the crucified and risen Christ, from Isaiah 52 and 53.  

 

“See, my servant will act wisely.  He will be raised and lifted up and highly exalted.  Just as there were many who were appalled at Him.  His appearance was so disfigured beyond that of any man.  And His form marred beyond human likeness.  So will He sprinkle (with His cleansing blood) many nations, and kings will shut their mouths because of Him. For what they were not told, they will see.  And what they have not heard, they will understand. “ (Isaiah 52:13-15)

 

“Who has believed our message and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?  He (the coming Savior) grew up before him like a tender shoot.  And like a root out of dry ground.  He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to Him.  Nothing in His appearance that we should desire Him.  He was despised and rejected by people.  A Man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering.  Like One from whom people hide their faces.  He was despised, and we esteemed Him not.”  (Isaiah 53: 1-3)

 

“Surely He took up our sins and infirmities and carried our sorrows.  Yet we considered Him stricken by God.  Smitten by Him and afflicted.  But He was pierced (His hands and feet) for our transgressions (sins).  He was crushed for our iniquities: And the punishment that brought us peace was upon Him.  And by His wounds we are healed! “(Isaiah 53:4-5)

 

All we, like sheep have gone astray.  Each of us has turned to his own way.  And the Lord has laid on Him (Jesus) the iniquity of us all.  He was oppressed and afflicted.  Yet He did not open His mouth.  He was led like a lamb to the slaughter.  And as a sheep before her shearers is silent, So He did not open His mouth. (Jesus didn’t talk back or argue with His judges and murderers) By oppression and judgment, He was taken away.  And who can speak of His descendants?  For he was cut off from the land of the living.  For the transgressions (sins) of my people He was stricken.  He was assigned a grave with the wicked.  (Jesus was put to death with and between two criminals.) And with the rich in His death, (Jesus’ body was put in a rich man’s grave.)  though He had done no violence.  Nor was any deceit in His mouth.”  (Isaiah 53:6-9)

 

But then God gives Isaiah, the prophet, another picture of His Son; a picture of the risen and victorious Lord Jesus Christ.  “After the suffering of His soul, He will see the light of life,(the risen Christ)  and be satisfied.  In His knowledge, My righteous Servant will justify many people and He will bear their sins.  Therefore, I will give Him a portion among the great.  And he will divide the spoils with the strong.  Because He poured out His life unto death.  And was numbered with the sinners.  For He bore the sins of many, and made intercession for the sinners.” (Another picture of Jesus taking our sins upon Himself and praying for us) (Isaiah 53 11-12)

 

We find many hints and prophecies of how the coming Messiah will suffer and die in the Psalms.  Psalms 16:10b says, “Nor will You(God) allow your Holy One (Jesus) to see decay.”   One of many prophecies that hints that Jesus will rise from the dead before His body decays.

 

 Psalms 22:14-16a give several short portraits of Jesus on the cross: “I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint.  My tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth, (Jesus cried out that He was thirsty while He was on the cross) And also, “You lay Me in the dust of death.  Dogs have surrounded Me: a band of evil men has encircled Me.”

Psalms 22:16b-17 continues “They have pierced My hands and feet. (nails were driven through Jesus’ hands and feet)  I can count all my bones:  People stare and gloat over Me.  They divide my garments among themselves and cast lots for my clothing. “(the Roman soldiers who crucified Jesus cast lots to see who could keep His robe and clothes) And Psalms 69:21 shows more of the agonies Jesus endured on the cross: “They gave Me gall and vinegar for my thirst.”  (New Testament Scriptures say that Jesus was given gall and vinegar when He was on the cross.)

 

Psalms 118:19-22) describes Jesus bringing salvation. And He is also referred to as the “Cornerstone that holds up the whole building.  “Open for me the doors of righteousness: (Jesus is the door) through which the righteous may enter.  I will give You thanks, for You answered me:  You have become my salvation.  The Stone the builders rejected has become the Cornerstone. (One of Jesus’ many names is the Cornerstone) The Lord has done this, and it is marvelous in our eyes.  This is the day that the Lord has made.  Let us rejoice and be glad in it.”    

 

And Psalms 72 also describes the coming Savior as the glorious King of Kings.  “All kings will bow down to Him, and all nations will serve Him.  For He will deliver the needy who cry out and the afflicted who have no one to help.  (vs. 11-12) And: “May His Name endure forever: May it continue as long as the sun.  All nations will be blessed through Him and they will call Him blessed.  Praise be to the Lord God, the God of Israel.  Who alone does marvelous deeds. Praise be to His Glorious Name, forever: may the whole earth be filled with His glory.  Amen and Amen.”  (Psalms 72:18-20)  

 

 

 

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