Elder Goh Kee Tai

  

                                                                                          Old Testament Prophecies on the first coming of Jesus Christ

 

God revealed His plan of redemption for mankind as soon as Eve succumbed to the temptation of Satan in the garden of Eden: ‘And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel’ (Gen 3:15).This is the gospel of salvation given by God Himself whereby the seed of the woman, Jesus Christ, shall strike Satan’s head at the Cross, while Satan shall afflict Him in His passion and vicarious death.

Of all the people in the world through the ages, God providentially called Abraham to get out of the idolatrous land of Ur of the Chaldees to go to a land which He would show him to establish a great and holy nation (Gen. 12:1,2;Act 7:2,3). When God made this promise to Abraham, his wife Sarah was beyond childbearing age. But he walked by faith and was blessed with one beloved son, Isaac (Gen 12:3). By progressive revelations to the patriarchs and the prophets, God showed that the promised Seed, the Redeemer of Israel and of the world (Isa 49:7), the Messiah (Dn 9:25), and the messenger of God’s covenant (Mal 3:1) would come from the descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the Jews. God promised not only to bless Abraham and his nation, but also ‘in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed’ (Gen 22:18).

God revealed to dying Jacob that the Seed would come from the tribe of Judah who would become the leader among the 12 tribes (Gen 49:8,10). This prophecy was fulfilled when David was King of Israel some 640 years later.  God made a great covenant with David: ‘And thine house and thy  kingdom shall be established forever before thee: thy throne shall be established forever’ (2 Sam 7:16). David’s dynasty did not rule uninterrupted as his successors were unfaithful and disobeyed God. Judah ceased to exist as a nation when Jerusalem was destroyed by the Babylonians in 586 BC. The covenant-keeping God did not forsake His chosen people, but promised through Isaiah: ‘And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of the roots’(Isa 11:1). Jesse was David’s father (1Sam 17:12). The Branch that shall grow up from the stump of David’s fallen kingdom (Isa 6:13) is Jesus Christ, the Davidic Messiah, the Branch of righteousness (Jer. 33:15).

In His first coming, Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham (Mt 1:1) did not rule from the throne of David, but as a Servant, rejected and persecuted by His own people, and finally condemned and crucified on the Cross. His rejection by the world was God’s plan of establishing the Davidic or Messianic kingdom  (Mt 25:31). The Davidic covenant will ultimately be fulfilled in the second coming of Christ as the Judge and King of kings and Lord of lords when He would be given the throne of David to rule His millennial kingdom on earth (Lk 1:32,33; Mt 19:28;Rev 20:6). The prophecies of David, Isaiah and other prophets on the incarnation of Jesus Christ, the promised Messiah, and His redemptive work were completely fulfilled to its minutest details in His first coming.

 

His incarnation

During the reign of the faithless king Ahaz, when Judah was under threat from being invaded by the northern kingdom Ephraim in alliance with Syria, Isaiah declared that the nation should put her faith and complete trust in the Lord’s covenant and not appealed for help from Assyria, the superpower at

that time. Isaiah offered a sign which was rejected by the king: ‘Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel’ (Is 7:14). Emmanuel is interpreted as God with us (Mt 1:23), God incarnate among us. When the fullness of time was come, this prophecy, foreordained before the foundation of the world, was fulfilled by virgin Mary. The name of this child, the Son of God (Lk 1:35),supernaturally and miraculously conceived by the Holy Spirit, is ‘JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins’ (Mt 1:21). Jesus is the Greek equivalent of the Hebrew name Jeshua which means the Lord is salvation or Saviour and Christ is the Greek equivalent of the Hebrew Meshiach which means the anointed One.

Jesus is the eternal and only begotten Son of God (Mt 8:29). He was made in the likeness of man and yet possessed all the divine attributes  (Phil 2:6,7).It was by coming in the likeness of sinful flesh and dying in the flesh that satisfied God’s holy demand for the atonement of sin. His divinity was the guarantee that He remained sinless in the flesh (1Pet 2:22) so that He could offer Himself a perfect sacrifice ‘as of a lamb without blemish and without spot’ (1 Pet 1:19).

 

His birth

The prophet Micah looked forward to the birth of the Davidic King and predicted that the birthplace of the promised Messiah would be at Bethlehem (Mic 5:2), which was also the birthplace of David (1 Sam 16:1). Jesus would have been born at Nazareth were it not for a Roman decree which required Joseph and Mary who was in the advanced stage of pregnancy to travel from Nazareth of Galilee all the way to Bethlehem of Judaea, for a census to be conducted. Baby Jesus was born in Bethlehem in a manger, in fulfillment of the prophecy of Micah (Lk 2:1-7). 

While shepherds in the field rejoiced greatly on the birth of Christ, and three wise men from the east brought expensive gifts worthy of a king and worshiped baby Jesus (Mt 2:11), King Herod was exceedingly furious when he came to know that Jesus would be the promised King of the Jews. He ordered all the babies two years of age and below in Bethlehem to be killed (Mt 2:16). Matthew viewed Herod’s atrocity and massacre of the infants at Bethlehem where there was lamentation, great mourning and inconsolable weeping of mothers to the second fulfillment of Jeremiah’s prophecy which described the terrible calamity of Judah when she was being taken captive from Jerusalem to Babylon (Mt 2:17-18; Jere 31:15).

The Lord directed Joseph and Mary to flee to Egypt where they remained there for a while until the death of Herod (Mt 2:15). Matthew applied this incident by way of typology to the deliverance of Israel whom God addressed as ‘my son, even my first born’, from Egyptian bondage (Ex  4:22), as a   fulfillment of the prophecy of Hosea : ‘When Israel was a child, then I loved him, and called my son out of Egypt’ (Hos 11:1). Israel here refers to Jesus Christ, the Head of the church. Joseph and Mary returned to Nazareth, a most unlikely place for the home city of the Messiah who is thus called a Nazarene (Mt 2:23), a contemptible or despised name, a nobody as spoken by Isaiah: ‘we esteemed him not’ (Isa 53:3) and David: ‘But I am a worm, and no man; a reproach of men, and despised of the people’ (Ps 22:6).

 

His ministry

As declared by Isaiah and Malachi (Mal 3:1; Isa 40:3-5), John the Baptist, would prepare the way for the ministry of Jesus by preaching in the wilderness of Judaea that the kingdom of God was near as the Messiah had now come (Mk 1:15) and appealed to the people to repent of their sins and believe in the gospel of eternal life (Mt 3:1-3;11:10; Lk 3:3-6).

Christ was filled with fullness of God’s Spirit, and the ministry in His first coming was unassuming, characterised by meekness, lowliness and graciousness, but in His second coming, He will bring justice to all nations under His millennial rule as recorded in Isaiah 42:1-4:’Behold my servant, whom I have chosen; my beloved, in whom my soul is well pleased: I will put my spirit upon him: and he shall shew judgment to the Gentiles. He shall not strive, nor cry; neither shall any man hear his voice in the streets. A bruised reed shall he not break, and smoking flax shall he not quench, till he send forth judgment unto victory. And in his name shall the Gentiles trust’(Mt 12:18-21).

In the beginning of His ministry, Jesus identified Himself as the Messiah by reading in the synagogue at Nazareth only that portion of Isaiah which applied to His first advent (Isa 61:1-2a): ‘The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, To preach the acceptable year of the Lord’ (Lk 4:18,19). The Jews rejected His claim and they thrust him out of the city (Lk 4:29). The people rejected Him as His words and works rebuked them (Jn 15:22,24).He left Nazareth and came to dwell in Galilee to preach the gospel of light fulfilling Isaiah’ s prophecy (Isa 9:1,2): ‘The land of Zabulon, and the land of Naphthalim, by the way of the sea, beyond Jordan, in Galilee of the Gentiles; The people which set in darkness saw great light; and to them which sat in the region and  shadow of death light is sprung up’ (Mt 4:15,16).

Christ applied Psalm 118:22,23 to His own rejection: ‘Jesus saith unto them, Did ye never read in the scriptures, The stone which the builders rejected, the same is become the head of the corner: this is the Lord’s doing, and it is marvellous in our eyes?’ (Mt 21:42).

A great multitude was drawn to Jesus because of His miracles of healing. Mathew quoted the fullfilment of the prophecy of Isaiah (Isa 53:4):‘That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Esa’ias the prophet, saying, Himself took our infirmities, and bare our sicknesses’(Mt 8:17). Though Jesus had performed so many miracles before the Jews, yet they believed not on Him as the Son of God, thus fulfilling the prophecies of Isaiah 53:1 and 6:10: ‘That the saying of  Esa’ias the prophet might be fulfilled which he spake, Lord, who hath believed our report? and to whom hath the arm of the Lord been revealed? Therefore they could not believe, because that Esa’ias said again, He hath blinded their eyes, and hardened their heart; that they should not see with their eyes, nor understand with their heart, and be converted, and I should heal them’(Jn 12:38-40).

Jesus frequently preached spiritual truths to the great multitudes in parables using analogies drawn from daily affairs. These parables were appreciated by those who were spiritually discerning and receptive and responsive to His teachings. Matthew quoted Psalm 78:2 in the fulfillment of this prophecy ‘That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying, I will open my mouth in parables; I will utter things which have been kept secret from the foundation of the world’ (Mt 13:35).

 

His triumphal entry into Jerusalem

Zechariah predicted the triumphal entry of Jesus into Jerusalem as the Davidic King who is ‘just, and having salvation; lowly, and riding upon an ass, and upon a colt the foal of an ass’(Zech 9:9). When Jesus made His entry into Jerusalem to observe the Passover feast, a great multitude spread their garments in the way, others cut down tree branches and strewed them in the way. The multitude cried ‘Hosanna to the son of David: Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord; Hosanna in the highest’ (Mt 21:9). This great prophecy was fulfilled completely. Unfortunately, the Jews thought that He would be the one to bring deliverance from the oppression of Rome; they rejected His offer of spiritual salvation by delivering them from their sins. The Jewish religious leaders were sorely displeased that the children of Jerusalem continued to praise Him in the Temple. Jesus, the Son of man,  quoted Ps 8:2 that He would be praised: ‘Yea; have ye never read, Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings thou hast perfected praise?’ (Mt 21:16).

The Lord was upset when He observed the people desecrating the Temple on the holy Sabbath by turning the house of prayers into a house of merchandise and a den of thieves (Mk 11:17; Jn 2:16), quoting Jer. 7:11. The disciples recalled the prophecy of David (Ps 69:9) on the zeal of Jesus for the holiness of God’s house: ‘The zeal of thine house hath eaten me up’ (Jn 2:17).

 

His betrayal

Despite his close association with Jesus, Judas Iscariot betrayed Him. On the night of betrayal, when Jesus was having the Lord’s supper with His 12 disciples, He quoted Ps 41: 9:‘I speak not of you all: I know whom I have chosen: but that the scripture may be fulfilled, He that eateth bread with me hath lifted his heel against me’(Jn 13:18). The reward which Judas Iscariot covenanted with the chief priests for betraying Jesus was 30 pieces of silver, the price of a slave (Mt 26:14-16). When the betrayer witnessed how the innocent Christ was condemned, he brought back the reward to the chief priests and elders in the temple and later hanged himself (Mt 27:3-5). The money was used to buy a potter’s field to bury strangers (Mt 27:9,10). This event fulfilled the prophecy of Zechariah that the children of Israel would value the worth of the good Shepherd’s ministry for 30 pieces of silver which was given for the purchase of the potter’s field  (Zech 11:12,13).

 

His sufferings and crucifixion

Isaiah’s portrayal of Christ as ‘a man of sorrows’ (Isa 53:3) was accurately reflected in the Garden of Gethsemane where the Lord ‘began to be sorrowful and very heavy’, ‘exceedingly sorrowful, even unto death’ (Mt 26:37,38).

Jesus was cruelly treated by His own people as well as the Romans during His trials before the Sanhedrin Council, King Herod and Pontius Pilate. In His trials, ‘He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he opened not his mouth’ (Isa 53:7), and ‘he had done no violence neither was any deceit in his mouth’ (Isa 53:9). They spat on His face, smote Him with their hands, and buffeted Him (Mt 26:67).Isaiah accurately described the Suffering Servant: ‘I gave my back to the smiters, and my cheeks to them that plucked off the hair: I hid not my face from shame and spitting’ (Isa 50:6).As the result of the gross mistreatment, ‘his visage was so marred’ (Isa 52:14) and could hardly be recognised as human. He was totally obedient in His unjustified humiliation, mocking, scourging, pain and suffering leading to death (Mt 27:26,28-31,39-44). John cited Ps 69:4 and Ps 35:19 for the intense hatred the people had for Jesus:’But this cometh to pass, that the word might be fulfilled that is written in their law, They hated me without a cause’(Jn 15:25).

Jesus identified Himself as the Suffering Servant in Isaiah (Isa 53:12): ‘For I say unto you, that this that is written must yet be accomplished in me. And he was reckoned among the transgressors: for the things concerning me have an end’ (Lk 22:37). A notorious murderer, Barabbas, was released instead of Him and He was crucified between two thieves (Mt 27:26,38).The crucifixion with piercing of hands, feet and side was predicted by David and Zechariah (Ps 22:16; Zech 12:10) before this excruciating, painful and unbearingly slow death was introduced by the Romans. At the Cross, He suffered intense pain and thirst (Ps 69:21;Jn 19:28).He was given vinegar mingled with gall to drink (Ps 69:21;Mt 27:34,48), but He did not take it so that His faculties would remain intact in His sacrificial death. He was surrounded and ridiculed (Mk 15:29-32) as described by David: ‘All they that see me laugh me to scorn: they shoot out the lip, they shake the head, saying, He trusted on the LORD that he would deliver him: let him deliver him, seeing he delighted in him’ (Ps 22:7,8)

Following His arrest and crucifixion, the disciples fled and were scattered. Jesus quoted  Zechariah’s prophecy regarding His disciples forsaking Him (Zech 13:7): ‘Then saith Jesus unto them, All ye shall be offended because of me this night: for it is written, I will smite the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock shall be scattered abroad’ (Mt 26:31). Matthew added:‘But all this was done, that the scriptures of the prophets might be fulfilled. Then all the disciples forsook him, and fled’ (Mt 26:56).

 

His death, burial, resurrection and ascension

In His groaning and agony in struggling with death, until His last breath, Jesus cried out ‘My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?’(Mt 27:46), the exact words use by David in Ps 22:1. Jesus felt the desertion of His Father as He bore the sins of the world (2 Cor 5:21) for the Father did not come to His aid. The Romans did not hesitate His death by breaking His bones (Jn 19:33,36), thus fulfilling the scriptures (Ps 34:20). The Roman soldiers divided His garments and cast lots on His seamless woven coat to decide who should possess it  (Ps 22:18; Mt 27:35). Joseph of Arimathaea, a disciple of Christ, sought permission from Pontius Pilate to bury Him in his sepulchre, in fulfillment of the prophecy that He would be buried with the rich (Is 53:9; Mt 27:57-60).The Romans had no knowledge of the scriptures as they fulfilled the exact details of the Old Testament prophecies on Jesus’ sufferings, humiliation, crucifixion, death and burial.

God was pleased with the work of redemptionof the Suffering Servant ‘Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee’ (Ps 2:7), and raised Him from the dead (Mt 28:6) in fulfillment of David’s prophecy which was foretold 1,000 years earlier of the resurrection of the Messiah:‘For thou wilt not leave my soul in hell; neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption’ (Ps 16:10). He was exalted and ascended to heaven (Ps 68:18;Mt 16:19).

 

Conclusion

The Jewish religious leaders knew the Old Testament prophecies well. They had been anticipating the coming of the Redeemer of Israel and of the world. Yet, when He came, they could not recognise Jesus of Nazareth as their Messiah, but unjustly despised, abhored, persecuted and rejected Him through ignorance (Act 3:17). All these events are in accordance to the ‘determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God’ (Act 2:23). Even His own brothers rejected Him (Jn 7:3-5). Isaiah 52:13-53 prophesized in amazing precision the rejection, crucifixion, death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ, and the mission of His first coming in reconciling both Jews and Gentiles to God through His vicarious death on the Cross as ‘an offering for sin’(Isa 53:10), and ‘to bear their iniquities’(Isa 53:11): ‘But 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’ (Isa 53:5).The resurrected Jesus Christ appeared to His disciples and announced ‘that all things must be fulfilled, which were written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the psalms, concerning me’ (Lk 24:44).

The kingly rule of God with its spiritual characteristics was revealed in the person and work of Christ in His first coming as the Son of God. If the people would repent and believe on Him, they would be partakers of the glorious blessings of God’s kingdom. Because of the rejection of Jesus of Nazareth as the promised Messiah to restore Israel to God, the gospel of eternal life was offered to the Gentiles in fulfillment of Isaiah’s prophecy (Isa 49:6). Those who believe in Christ by grace through faith are Abraham’s spiritual descendants. All Israel will recognise and worship Jesus as the Messiah at His second coming (Zech 12:10).

Jesus has revealed to us the manifold signs of His second coming and all these are being fulfilled before our eyes (Mt 24:13-28). For all truly born-again believers, they will be raptured when Christ comes in the clouds with great power and glory to take them to be with Him (1 Th 4:16,17). For those who are left behind on earth, they will go through seven-year great tribulation period (Mt 24:21) under the reign of the most treacherous world dictator, the Antichrist, energised by Satan (Rev 13:2). At the end of the tribulation period, Christ will once again come to earth with His saints and angels to vanquish the Antichrist and his allies at the battle of Armageddon, and thereafter establish His millennial kingdom (Mt 24:30; Rev 19:11-21; 20:6). The Antichrist and his right hand man, the False Prophet will be taken and cast alive into the lake of fire (Rev 19:20). There will be a day of judgment for all living and dead (2 Cor 5:10); for believers, they will be rewarded in accordance to what they have done from Christ (1 Cor 3:14;Mt 25:34); for unbelievers, they will be resurrected from hell and judged before the great white throne judgment and cast into the lake of fire and be tormented with Satan for forever and ever (Rev 20:7-15).

May we be spiritually discerning to behold the momentous events rapidly unfolding before us. Be sure of our own salvation and of our loved ones. Have the burden for souls perishing to a Christless eternity. Live each day for Christ and be a good testimony for Him till the Lord returns. Amen.