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There are many prophecies about Jesus' birth and Jesus'
death. There are also prophecies about
Jesus' life, but I feel like those tend to be forgotten by the more spectacular
prophecies of His birth and death.
Though the prophecies about Jesus' birth and death
tend to get the most attention, there are also prophecies about Jesus'
life. Today we'll look at five of them.
The first prophecy we are going to look at is an
indirect prophecy. I mentioned indirect prophecies a couple weeks ago.
"When Israel was a child, I loved him, and
out of Egypt I called my son."
Hosea 11:1 (NASB).
A casual reader would not recognize this as a
prophecy but rather a statement about God bringing Israel out of Egypt in the
book of Exodus.
But Matthew, one of the gospel writers, showed us
otherwise.
"Now when [the magi] had gone, behold, an
angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, 'Get up! Take the Child and His mother and flee to Egypt,
and remain there until I tell you; for Herod is going to search for the Child
to destroy Him.' So Joseph got up and
took the Child and His mother while it was still night, and left for Egypt. He remained there until the death of
Herod. This was to fulfill what had been
spoken by the Lord through the prophet: 'Out of Egypt I called My Son.'" Matthew 2:13-14 (NASB).
I realize some may disregard this as a prophecy
because of its indirect nature. I believe
in the inspiration of the Biblical writers and believe that Matthew was
instructed by the Holy Spirit that Hosea 11:1 was indeed a prophecy.
The next prophecy I want to mention is actually a
prophecy about John the Baptist, but he had a significant role in prophecy and
in Jesus' life. John was "the
forerunner."
"'A voice is calling, 'Clear the way for the
Lord in the wilderness; make smooth in the desert a highway for our
God." Isaiah 40:3 (NASB).
Luke chapter 1 prophesies the birth of John. Verse 17 says, "It is he who will go as
a forerunner before Him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts
of the fathers back to the children, and the disobedient to the attitude of
righteousness, so as to make ready a people prepared for the Lord."
(NASB).
Matthew 3:1-3 says, "Now in those days John
the Baptist came, preaching in the wilderness of Judea, saying, 'Repent, for
the kingdom of heaven is at hand.' For
this is the one referred to by Isaiah the prophet when he said, 'The voice of
one crying in the wilderness, 'Make ready the way of the Lord, make His paths
straight!''" (NASB).
John the Baptist was born shortly before Jesus was
and came into the public eye before Jesus did.
He spoke out to the people, warning them that something new was
coming. That Someone new was coming. And when Jesus arrived, John directed the
people's attention to Him. Jesus' first followers were John's followers first.
It was also prophesied that Jesus would perform
miracles.
"Then the eyes of the blind will be opened
and the ears of the deaf will be unstopped.
Then the lame will leap like a deer, and the tongue of the mute will
shout for joy." Isaiah 35:5-6a
(NASB).
If you are unfamiliar with Jesus' miracles,
Matthew 9:18-38 is a good place to look.
Jesus healed a woman who had been bleeding for twelve years, and He
raised a girl from the dead. He also
healed two blind men and cast a demon out of a man. All four of the gospels are full of miracle
stories if you choose to study miracles further.
Jesus often taught in parables, which is also
prophesied in the Old Testament.
"I will open my mouth in a parable; I will
utter dark sayings of old." Psalm
78:2 (NASB).
Matthew brought this prophecy to light in the same
way he did the Hosea prophecy above.
"All these things Jesus spoke to the crowds
in parables, and He did not speak to them without a parable This was to fulfill what was spoken through
the prophet: 'I will open My mouth in
parables; I will utter things hidden since the foundation of the
world.'" Matthew 13:3435 (NASB).
The last prophecy I want to mention was fulfilled
at the triumphal entry, when Jesus entered Jerusalem not long before His
crucifixion.
"Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout in triumph, O daughter of
Jerusalem! Behold, your king is coming
to you; He is just and endowed with salvation, humble, and mounted on a donkey,
even on a colt, the foal of a donkey."
Zechariah 9:9 (NASB).
You can go to Luke 19:28-44 to read about the
triumphal entry and how Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a donkey and the reaction
of the people as He entered.
I am sure that I have missed other prophecies
about Jesus' life and ministry. If you
can think of any more, please mention them in the comments below.
Next week, we will talk about the prophecies about
Jesus' death.
The Bible is so wonderful! so many things to learn.
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing.
What is a layperson/non-Bible scholar to do??
ReplyDeleteHere is our dilemma: Every Christian Old Testament Bible scholar, apologist, pastor, and priest on the planet says that the Old Testament prophesies the birth and death of Jesus of Nazareth as the Jewish Messiah (ben David). However, every (non-messianic) Jewish "Old Testament" scholar and rabbi adamantly states that there is not one single prophecy in the Hebrew Bible about Jesus.
So who are we poor ignorant saps to believe?
In lieu of spending the next 10 years becoming a fluent Hebrew-speaking Old Testament scholar yourself, I would suggest using some good ol' common sense. Who is more likely to be correct:
1.) Jewish sages and rabbis who have spent their entire lives immersed in Jewish culture, the Jewish Faith, the Hebrew language, and the Hebrew Bible---for the last 2,000 years...or... 2.) seminary graduates from Christian Bible colleges in Dallas, Texas and Lynchburg, Virginia?
Sorry, Christian scholars, but using good ol' common sense, I have to go with the Jewish scholars. And Jewish scholars say that Christian translators deliberately mistranslated and distorted the Hebrew Bible to say things in the Christian Bible that is never said in the original Hebrew---for the purpose of inventing prophesies into which they could "shoehorn" Jesus!
I recommend that every Christian read the bombshell book, "Twenty-Six Reasons Why Jews Don't Believe in Jesus" by orthodox Jewish author, Asher Norman. You will be blown away by the evidence that this Jewish author presents that confirms why Jews have said the following for the last two thousand years: "Jesus of Nazareth was NOT the Messiah."