And when the fullness of the time had come, God sent His Son, born of woman, born under the law, since the infants were made partakers of blood and body. The devil, and deliver those whom the fear of death had held in bondage all their lives. Also, He brought us out from under the power of darkness² and translated us into the kingdom of the Son of His love. In the same way, the devil, who had deceived them, was cast into the pit of fire and brimstone. Some people would ask themselves how Jesus fulfilled the Old Testament. So, how Jesus fulfilled the Old Testament?
Jesus fulfilled the Old Testament prophecies by fulfilling all the prophetic deeds foretold by the prophets Jeremiah and Isaiah. In order, the signs of the Messiah in the Old Testament are the following:
- He would be resurrected
- Messiah would also bring a new covenant
- Christ would also be the rejected cornerstone
- Messiah would perform signs of healing
Jesus Christ is the Messiah long awaited by all humankind. Also, in the Old Testament period, many prophecies referred to the life of the one who would be born of the Virgin. So the prophetic period of the Old Testament ended about four hundred years before the birth of Christ.
Who prophesied the birth of Jesus in the Old Testament?
Christ’s life has ushered in a new era in which God has again called various people to be His spokesmen. Isaiah is considered the greatest prophet of the Old Testament, his name meaning God saves. According to iconography, Isaiah had a long, pointed beard and was approaching old age. According to Jewish tradition, the prophet Isaiah lived until the time of King Manasseh. Because this king was an idol worshipper, Isaiah stood up against his pagan ways. For this, in 690, King Manasseh ordered Isaiah to be taken out of the city and cut in half with a saw.
Isaiah is the one who prophesied the birth of the baby Jesus through a woman who was a virgin and also in a stable with cattle and oxen.
He was called the Evangelist of the Old Testament because of his many prophecies about the Messiah, fulfilled in the New Testament with the birth of the Saviour from the Virgin Mary. In the 66 chapters of his book, Isaiah left messianic prophecies such as the birth of the Messiah from a virgin, so the deity of the Messiah, the Incarnation of the Lord. So the forerunner of the Messiah is John the Baptist. Also, the miracles, the passion, and the death of the Messiah, in addition to the preaching of the Messiah.
Who came to fulfill the Old Testament?
By coming into the world of the Christ Child, God reveals Himself to all humankind. So God has humbled himself so much to show us, humans, that to reach the top, you have to start at the bottom, with small steps on a gradual and progressive ladder. This means you must remove all the things that hold you back and don’t give you absolute freedom. Also, somebody said that only when you are free, become light, and climb to the top can you attain salvation.
The Messiah is the man born through the Word, so Jesus, the famous Messiah, is the one who came to fulfill all that the prophets of old foretold.
So the baby Jesus was born and brought with Him a message to humanity. The most important message of all time is humanity’s most important message. Salvation. That can be greater in this world than that man is given a perspective, a way, a blessed option, to give meaning to his life, to be saved. Through the Birth of God, God has given the greatest gift to humanity, His one and only Son, Jesus. God created the world out of love, and out of love, He gave His only Son, Jesus, and therefore the birth of the Christ Child is considered the celebration of life, love, peace, and joy. And universal happiness, for it is indeed the most significant event in the history of humanity.
What did the Old Testament say about the Messiah?
In addition, God has minted us in the person and, through the redemptive work of Jesus Christ, accomplished here and now. This is why the New Testament introduces the believer to the history of salvation that He performs. Indeed the story of the life and ministry of Jesus Christ is an integral part of the message of the Gospel and the Christian faith. Besides, Jesus proclaimed the Way, the Truth, and the Life and that no one will come to God except through Him.
Early Old Testament prophets prophesied the Messiah would come as Lord and King. And He would be born through a virgin and die on the cross for the sins of the whole world, but after three days, He would rise again.
So at the very beginning of His saving ministry³, Jesus would face strong opposition from God’s hostile spirit, the devil. Also, in the wilderness, for 40 days, Jesus is subjected to heavy temptations. Also, to turn him from the path he had set out on. But He refuses these temptations of the devil in an unyielding way, with answers taken from the Old Testament.
Key Verse Related to Jesus in Old Testament
“You may say to yourselves, ‘How can we know when the Lord has not spoken a message?’ If what a prophet proclaims in the name of the Lord does not take place or come true, that is a message the Lord has not spoken. That prophet has spoken presumptuously, so do not be alarmed…”
What was the law that Jesus fulfilled?
The New Testament allusions to Isaiah 53 demonstrate that Jesus fulfilled the Old Testament prophecies. Moreover, He identified Himself with the person described here. He took our sins upon Himself, so we could be forgiven and transformed. For who has believed in what was foretold to us? Who has known the arm of the Lord? He grew up before Him as a weak offspring, like a shoot coming out of the dry ground.
Jesus fulfilled the prophecies of the Old Testament of the prophet Isaiah in the words of Isaiah 53:5: ”But He was pierced for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities.
Besides, the punishment that brought us peace was upon Him, and by His stripes, we were healed.” Jesus suffered for others. He took upon Himself their sufferings, sorrows, sins, transgressions, and iniquity. Jesus was the sacrifice for guilt, the atoning sacrifice for sin. He offers excellent blessings to those for whom He suffers: peace and healing. It was God’s will that Jesus was crushed through suffering. God laid our iniquity on Him because he planned that He would die in our place. Jesus is righteous; no sin or guile was found in Him.
He was so despised that you turned your face away from Him, and we paid Him no heed. Yet He bore our sufferings, and our sorrows took them upon Himself, and we thought Him chastened, smitten of God, and humbled. But He was pierced for our sins, crushed for our transgressions. The punishment that gives us peace has fallen upon Him, and by His wounds, we are healed.
What did Jesus mean when He said the Scriptures are fulfilled?
All the prophecies and Old Testament scriptures were fulfilled because of Jesus. Besides, He accepted the messianic ministry itself, as the prophets described it, and he did not leave the idea that the Messiah would appear in a human form, in the form of a servant, obedient unto death. But that Messiah is incompatible with God’s kingdom, imagined by men and not willed by God. So he, therefore, had to rework an entire concept of the Messiah.
When Jesus said that all the prophecies were fulfilled, He meant that everything went according to God’s plan.
And He had only to die and rise again for the whole world’s sins. All of God’s prophecies are being fulfilled in the time He wants. As a result, the signs of the Bible’s prophecies are fulfilled daily. We need not be afraid. The Bible has begun to be fulfilled even for the revelations in the book of Revelation of John. So as proof: the number of the beast, the lying prophets, the antichrist, and the love that grows cold.
Three prophecies about Messiah in Old Testament
Not surprisingly, the Old Testament is peppered with revelations of one kind or another about Jesus Christ. But the most impressive is the prophecies that make it clear that Jesus is the Messiah.
1. The first Old Testament prophecy is revealed in Isaiah (9:6).
So for unto us, a Child is born, a Son is given, and the kingdom shall be upon His shoulder: so they shall call Him Wonderful, Counsellor, Mighty God, the Father of the ages, the Lord of peace.
2. The second prophecy is revealed in Isaiah (61:1).
Therefore the Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, for the Lord has anointed me to bring good news to the afflicted: In addition, He has sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the servants, and deliverance to the captives of war.
3. The third prophecy to be fulfilled is found in Isaiah (42:1-9).
Behold my servant, whom I uphold, my Chosen One, whom my soul delights. I have put My Spirit upon Him so that He will proclaim justice to the Gentiles. Will not crush the bruised reed nor quench the burning bush. So He will affirm judgment according to the truth. So He will not fail nor forsake till he establishes justice on the earth; in addition, the nations shall hope in his law. Thus says the Lord God who made the heavens and stretched them out, stretched out the earth and those on it, gave breath to those who dwell in it, and soul to those who walk on it.
Primary Takeaways
- God gave His only begotten Son to become a member of the human family and preserve His human nature forever. This was the guarantee that God would fulfill His Word.
- Isaiah, the messianic prophet contemporary with King Hezekiah, announced the virgin birth of the Messiah.
- It was said that the Lord God would give him the throne of his father, David. He was willing to renounce Himself: He left, left, the glory of God and was born as a man to suffer, to give His life out of love for God and us.
Conclusion
The messianic prophecy fulfilled in the New Testament is one of the most convincing testimonies of the divine origin of the Scriptures and the saving authenticity of Jesus. The Son of God, the Lord, and Saviour calls us to accept Him into our lives, for Jesus has fulfilled the Old Testament. And let every tongue confess to the glory of God the Father that Jesus Christ is Lord.
