He was wounded for our transgressions; He was
bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon Him;
and with His stripes we are healed.(Isaiah 53:5)
The stone which the builders rejected has become the
chief cornerstone. (Psalm 118:22)
He will swallow up death for all time, and the Lord God will
wipe away tears from all faces, and He will remove the reproach of His
people from all the earth. (Isaiah 25:8)
:
The Old Testament was completed
hundreds of years before Jesus was born. A large number of prophecies
were made in astonishing detail by many people throughout these books.
In fact, fulfilled prophecy is one of the distinguishing marks of the
Bible, authenticating its claim to be the inspired Word of God.
For example, the Old Testament indicated Jesus would be
betrayed by someone he trusted. "Even my close friend whom I trusted,
he who has shared my bread, has lifted up his heel against me" (Psalm 41:9). The New Testament, which records Jesus' life and resurrection,
reveals that one of the 12 people Jesus chose to be part of his inner
circle betrayed him: "Then Judas Iscariot, one of the Twelve, went to
the chief priests to betray Jesus to them" (Mark 14:10).
More than 300 Messianic prophecies like this were made in the
Old Testament and then fulfilled through Jesus' life, death and
resurrection. The chances of one person fulfilling a mere eight of
these prophecies are one-in-100,000,000,000,000,000. For one person to
fulfill 48 of these prophecies, the number becomes staggering – one
chance in 10-to-the-157th power. Add to that the 250 other prophecies,
and it becomes impossible for any other person except Jesus to ever fit
that particular sequence of time and events.
Messiah to be born
of a virgin: Prophesied – Isaiah 7:14; Fulfilled – Matthew 1:18-25
Messiah to be
accursed and crucified: Prophesied –
Deuteronomy
21:22-23, Psalm 22,
Psalm 69:21; Fulfilled –
Matthew
27:34-50; John 19:28-30, Galatians 3:13
Messiah to be
raised from the dead: Prophesied – Psalm 16:10; Fulfilled – Acts 13:35-37
For a more thorough discussion of Messianic prophecies
fulfilled by Jesus, visit greatcom.org.