As one reads through the Bible, we find progressively detailed prophecies about the identity of the Messiah. Obviously, as the prophecies become increasingly detailed, the field of qualified - candidates - becomes increasingly narrow.
In showing a Jewish person that Jesus is the Messiah, one effective approach is to begin with broad prophecies and then narrow the field to include increasingly specific and detailed prophecies. You might use circles to graphically illustrate your points as you share these prophecies.
As suggested by Stuart Dauermann, seven increasingly detailed -circles of certainty- include:
1. Messiah’s humanity (Genesis 3:15).
2. Messiah’s Jewishness (Genesis 12:1-3; 28:10-15).
3. Messiah’s tribe (Genesis 49:10).
4. Messiah’s family (2 Samuel 7:16; Jeremiah 23:5-6).
5. Messiah’s birthplace (Micah 5:2).
6. Messiah’s life, reception, and death (Isaiah 52:13; 53).
7. Chronology of Messiah’s appearing (Daniel 9:24-26).
Let us look at these in a little more detail.
Circle 1: The Circle of the Messiah’s Humanity
Scripture says that the Messiah had to become a human being. This circle is obviously a very large circle.
The Messiah’s humanity is prophetically spoken of in Genesis 3:15, when God is pronouncing judgment against the serpent following the fall of Adam and Eve:
And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel.
The word "offspring" refers to descendants. The Messiah would be a descendant of the woman - that is, He would be a human being. We find this fulfilled in Galatians 4:4-5:
But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law, To redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons.
Circle 2: The Circle of the Messiah’s Jewishness
Scripture says that the Messiah had to be Jewish - that is, He had to be a descendant of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. This narrows the circle considerably. Of all human beings who have ever lived, only Jewish human beings would qualify.
Point the Jewish person to Genesis 12:1-3, where God makes a covenant with Abraham (the "father" of the Jews):
"Now the LORD had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father's house, unto a land that I will shew thee: And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing: And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed."
Then point the Jewish person to Genesis 28:10-15:
And Jacob went out from Beersheba, and went toward Haran. And he lighted upon a certain place, and tarried there all night, because the sun was set; and he took of the stones of that place, and put them for his pillows, and lay down in that place to sleep. And he dreamed, and behold a ladder set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven: and behold the angels of God ascending and descending on it.
And, behold, the LORD stood above it, and said, I am the LORD God of Abraham thy father, and the God of Isaac: the land whereon thou liest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed; And thy seed shall be as the dust of the earth, and thou shalt spread abroad to the west, and to the east, and to the north, and to the south: and in thee and in thy seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed. And, behold, I am with thee, and will keep thee in all places whither thou goest, and will bring thee again into this land; for I will not leave thee, until I have done that which I have spoken to thee of.
These Bible passages indicate that the promised seed (in Genesis 3:15) was to come through the line of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
Circle 3: The Circle of the Messiah’s Tribal Identity
The circle gets even narrower when it is demonstrated that the Messiah had to come from the tribe of Judah. This is demonstrated in Genesis 49:10:
The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto him shall the gathering of the people be.
Here Jacob is on his deathbed. Before he dies, he affirms that the sceptre (of the ruling Messiah) would be from the tribe of Judah.
Circle 4: The Circle of the Messiah’s Family
Scripture tells us that the Messiah had to be from David’s family. This narrows the circle still further. We see this affirmed in 2 Samuel 7:16:
And thine house and thy kingdom shall be established for ever before thee: thy throne shall be established for ever.
We also read in Jeremiah 23:5-6:
Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will raise unto David a righteous Branch, and a King shall reign and prosper, and shall execute judgment and justice in the earth.
6 In his days Judah shall be saved, and Israel shall dwell safely: and this is his name whereby he shall be called, THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS.
Clearly the ruling Messiah had to come from the family of David.
Circle 5: The Circle of the Messiah’s Birthplace
Scripture clearly prophesies that the Messiah was to be born in Bethlehem. This narrows the circle of possible candidates for the Messiah tremendously. Micah 5:2 tells us:
But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting.
So far we have seen that the Messiah had to become a human being, had to be a Jew, had to be from the tribe of Judah and the family of David, and He must be born in Bethlehem (a small, insignificant city in ancient times). Failure to fulfill any one of these conditions disqualifies a person as a possible candidate.
Circle 6: The Circle of the Messiah’s Manner of Life, Rejection, and Death
Regarding the Messiah’s manner of life, rejection, and death, point the Jewish person to Isaiah 53. Note the following excerpts:
Who hath believed our report? and to whom is the arm of the LORD revealed? For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground: he hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him. He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not. Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. (Isa. 53:1-4).
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 openeth not his mouth. He was taken from prison and from judgment: and who shall declare his generation? for he was cut off out of the land of the living: for the transgression of my people was he stricken. And he made his grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death; because he had done no violence, neither was any deceit in his mouth. (Isa. 53:7-9).
Note from these verses that: (1) The Messiah was to be despised and rejected by His fellow Jews. (2) He would be put to death following a judicial proceeding. (3) He would be guiltless. Obviously these facts about the Messiah narrow the circle still further.
Circle 7: The Circle of Chronology
Point the Jewish person to Daniel 9:24-26:
Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city, to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most Holy. Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the Prince shall be seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks: the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublous times. And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself: and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined.
Regarding this passage, note the following facts: (1) The city would be rebuilt, as would the Temple. (2) The Messiah would come. (3) The Messiah would be "cut off" (die) but not for Himself. (4) The city and the Temple would be destroyed.
Note especially that the Messiah had to come and die prior to the destruction of the second temple, which occurred in A.D. 70.
Clearly, this narrows the circle of potential candidates incredibly. Is there anyone who has fulfilled all these conditions? Is there anyone who was a human being, a Jew, from the tribe of Judah and the family of David, born in Bethlehem, was despised and rejected by the Jewish people, died as a result of a judicial proceeding, was guiltless, and came and died before the destruction of the second temple in A.D. 70?
Yes there was, and His name was Jesus!
To further demonstrate that Jesus fulfilled the messianic prophecies of the Old Testament, note the following facts, which are derived from my book, Christ Before the Manger: The Life and Times of the Preincarnate Christ. These prophecies - taken together - narrow the field so much that there can be no doubt as to who the Messiah is.
MESSIANIC PROPHECIES FULFILLED IN CHRIST
From the Book of Genesis to the Book of Malachi, the Old Testament abounds with anticipations of the coming Messiah. Numerous predictions - fulfilled to the -crossing of the t- and the -dotting of the i- in the New Testament - relate to His birth, life, ministry, death, resurrection, and glory.
Now, some liberal scholars have attempted to argue that these prophecies were made after Jesus lived, not before. They have suggested that the books of the Old Testament were written close to the time of Christ and that the messianic prophecies were merely Christian inventions. But to make this type of claim is to completely ignore the historical evidence. Indeed, Norman Geisler and Ron Brooks point out:
Even the most liberal critics admit that the prophetic books were completed some 400 years before Christ, and the Book of Daniel by about 167 B.C. Though there is good evidence to date most of these books much earlier (some of the Psalms and earlier prophets were in the eighth and ninth centuries B.C.), what difference would it make? It is just as hard to predict an event 200 years in the future as it is to predict one that is 800 years in the future. Both feats would require nothing less than divine knowledge.
God’s ability to foretell future events is one thing that separates Him from all the false gods. Addressing the polytheism of Isaiah’s time, God said:
And who, as I, shall call, and shall declare it, and set it in order for me, since I appointed the ancient people? and the things that are coming, and shall come, let them shew unto them.(Isa. 44:7).
Fear ye not, neither be afraid: have not I told thee from that time, and have declared it? ye are even my witnesses. Is there a God beside me? yea, there is no God; I know not any. (Isa. 44:8).
Tell ye, and bring them near; yea, let them take counsel together: who hath declared this from ancient time? who hath told it from that time? have not I the LORD? and there is no God else beside me; a just God and a Saviour; there is none beside me.(Isa. 45:21).
I have declared the former things from the beginning; and they went forth out of my mouth, and I shewed them; I did them suddenly, and they came to pass. Because I knew that thou art obstinate, and thy neck is an iron sinew, and thy brow brass; I have even from the beginning declared it to thee; before it came to pass I shewed it thee: lest thou shouldest say, Mine idol hath done them, and my graven image, and my molten image, hath commanded them.(Isa. 48:3, 5).
Of course, anyone can make predictions - that is easy. But having them fulfilled is another story altogether. "The more statements you make about the future and the greater the detail, the better the chances are that you will be proven wrong." But God was never wrong; all the messianic prophecies in the Old Testament were fulfilled specifically and precisely in the person of Jesus Christ.
Jesus often indicated to listeners that He was the specific fulfillment of messianic prophecy. For example, He made the following comments on different occasions:
"Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil." (Matt. 5:17).
"But all this was done, that the scriptures of the prophets might be fulfilled. Then all the disciples forsook him, and fled." (Matt. 26:56).
"And he said unto them, These are the words which I spake unto you, while I was yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled, which were written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the psalms, concerning me." (Luke 24:44).
"Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me. And ye will not come to me, that ye might have life." (John 5:39-40).
"For had ye believed Moses, ye would have believed me: for he wrote of me. But if ye believe not his writings, how shall ye believe my words?" (John 5:46-47).
"And he closed the book, and he gave it again to the minister, and sat down. And the eyes of all them that were in the synagogue were fastened on him. And he began to say unto them, This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears." (Luke 4:20-21).
An in-depth study of the messianic prophecies in the Old Testament is beyond the scope of this article. However, the chart below lists some of the more important messianic prophecies that were directly fulfilled by Jesus Christ.
MESSIANIC PROPHECIES FULFILLED BY JESUS CHRIST
Topic:
Seed of woman
Old Testament Prophecy N/T Fulfillment in Christ
Genesis 3:15 Galatians 4:4
Topic:
Line of Abraham
Old Testament Prophecy N/T Fulfillment in Christ
Genesis 12:2 Matthew 1:1
Topic:
Line of Jacob
Old Testament Prophecy N/T Fulfillment in Christ
Numbers 24:17 Luke 3:23, 34
Topic:
Line of Judah
Old Testament Prophecy N/T Fulfillment in Christ
Genesis 49:10 Matthew 1:2
Topic:
Line of Jesse
Old Testament Prophecy N/T Fulfillment in Christ
Isaiah 11:1 Luke 3:23, 32
Topic:
Line of David
Old Testament Prophecy N/T Fulfillment in Christ
2 Samuel 7:12-16 Matthew 1:1
Topic:
Virgin Birth
Old Testament Prophecy N/T Fulfillment in Christ
Isaiah 7:14 Matthew 1:23
Topic:
Birthplace: Bethlehem
Old Testament Prophecy N/T Fulfillment in Christ
Micah 5:2 Matthew 2:6
Topic:
Forerunner: John
Old Testament Prophecy N/T Fulfillment in Christ
Isaiah 40:3, Malachi 3:1 Matthew 3:3
Topic:
Escape into Egypt
Old Testament Prophecy N/T Fulfillment in Christ
Hosea 11:1 Matthew 2:14
Topic:
Herod kills children
Old Testament Prophecy N/T Fulfillment in Christ
Jeremiah 31:15 Matthew 2:16
Topic:
King
Old Testament Prophecy N/T Fulfillment in Christ
Psalm 2:6 Matthew 21:5
Topic:
Prophet
Old Testament Prophecy N/T Fulfillment in Christ
Deut 18:15-18 Acts 3:22-23
Topic:
Priest
Old Testament Prophecy N/T Fulfillment in Christ
Psalm 110:4 Hebrews 2:17
Topic:
Judge
Old Testament Prophecy N/T Fulfillment in Christ
Isaiah 33:22 John 5:30
Topic:
Called "Lord"
Old Testament Prophecy N/T Fulfillment in Christ
Psalm 110:1 Luke 2:11
Topic:
Called "Immanuel"
Old Testament Prophecy N/T Fulfillment in Christ
Isaiah 7:14 Matthew 1:23
Topic:
Anointed by Holy Spirit
Old Testament Prophecy N/T Fulfillment in Christ
Isaiah 11:2 Matthew 3:16-17
Topic:
Zeal for God
Old Testament Prophecy N/T Fulfillment in Christ
Psalm 69:9 John 2:15-17
Topic:
Ministry in Galilee
Old Testament Prophecy N/T Fulfillment in Christ
Isaiah 9:1-2 Matthew 4:12-16
Topic:
Ministry of miracles
Old Testament Prophecy N/T Fulfillment in Christ
Isaiah 35:5-6 Matthew 9:35
Topic:
Bore world’s sins
Old Testament Prophecy N/T Fulfillment in Christ
Psalm 22:1 Matthew 27:46
Topic:
Ridiculed
Old Testament Prophecy N/T Fulfillment in Christ
Psalm 22:7-8 Matthew 27:39, 43
Topic:
Stumbling stone to Jew
Old Testament Prophecy N/T Fulfillment in Christ
Psalm 118:22 1 Peter 2:7
Topic:
Light to Gentiles
Old Testament Prophecy N/T Fulfillment in Christ
Isaiah 60:3 Acts 13:47-48
Topic:
Taught parables
Old Testament Prophecy N/T Fulfillment in Christ
Psalm 78:2 Matthew 13:34
Topic:
Cleansed the temple
Old Testament Prophecy N/T Fulfillment in Christ
Malachi 3:1 Matthew 21:12
Topic:
Sold for 30 shekels
Old Testament Prophecy N/T Fulfillment in Christ
Zechariah 11:12 Matthew 26:15
Topic:
Forsaken by disciples
Old Testament Prophecy N/T Fulfillment in Christ
Zechariah 13:7 Mark 14:50
Topic:
Silent before accusers
Old Testament Prophecy N/T Fulfillment in Christ
Isaiah 53:7 Matthew 27:12-19
Topic:
Hands and feet pierced
Old Testament Prophecy N/T Fulfillment in Christ
Psalm 22:16 John 20:25
Topic:
Heart broken
Old Testament Prophecy N/T Fulfillment in Christ
Psalm 22:14 John 19:34
Topic:
Crucified with thieves
Old Testament Prophecy N/T Fulfillment in Christ
Isaiah 53:12 Matthew 27:38
Topic:
No bones broken
Old Testament Prophecy N/T Fulfillment in Christ
Psalm 22:17 John 19:33-36
Topic:
Soldiers gambled
Old Testament Prophecy N/T Fulfillment in Christ
Psalm 22:18 John 19:24
Topic:
Suffered thirst on cross
Old Testament Prophecy N/T Fulfillment in Christ
Psalm 69:21 John 19:28
Topic:
Vinegar offered
Old Testament Prophecy N/T Fulfillment in Christ
Psalm 69:21 Matthew 27:34
Topic:
Christ’s prayer
Old Testament Prophecy N/T Fulfillment in Christ
Psalm 22:24 Matthew 26:39
Topic:
Disfigured
Old Testament Prophecy N/T Fulfillment in Christ
Isaiah 52:14 John 19:1
Topic:
Scourging and death
Old Testament Prophecy N/T Fulfillment in Christ
Isaiah 53:5 John 19:1, 18
Topic:
His "forsaken" cry
Old Testament Prophecy N/T Fulfillment in Christ
Psalm 22:1 Matthew 27:46
Topic:
Committed self to God
Old Testament Prophecy N/T Fulfillment in Christ
Psalm 31:5 Luke 23:46
Topic:
Rich man’s tomb
Old Testament Prophecy N/T Fulfillment in Christ
Isaiah 53:9 Matthew 27:57-60
Topic:
Resurrection
Old Testament Prophecy N/T Fulfillment in Christ
Psalm 16:10; 22:22 Matthew 28:6
Topic:
Ascension
Old Testament Prophecy N/Tt Fulfillment in Christ
Psalm 68:18 Luke 24:50-53
Topic:
Right hand of God
Old Testament Prophecy N/Tt Fulfillment in Christ
Psalm 110:1 Hebrews 1:3
Any reasonable person who examines these Old Testament prophecies in an objective manner must conclude that Jesus was the promised Messiah. "If these messianic prophecies were written hundreds of years before they occurred, and if they could never have been foreseen and depended upon factors outside human control for their fulfillment, and if all of these prophecies perfectly fit the person and life of Jesus Christ, then Jesus had to be the Messiah."
Indeed, Christ on three different occasions directly claimed in so many words to be the "Christ." (Note that the word Christ is the Greek equivalent of the Hebrew word Messiah.) For example, in John 4:25-26 Jesus encountered a Samaritan woman who said to Him: "The woman saith unto him, I know that Messias cometh, which is called Christ: when he is come, he will tell us all things. Jesus saith unto her, I that speak unto thee am he. " Later, Jesus referred to Himself in the third person, in His high priestly prayer to the Father, as "Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent." (John 17:3). In Mark 14:61-62 we find the high priest asking Jesus, "Art thou the Christ, the Son of the Blessed?" To which Jesus declared unequivocally, "I am."
Others also recognized that Jesus was the prophesied Messiah. In response to Jesus’ inquiry concerning His disciples’ understanding of Him, Peter confessed: "Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God" (Matt. 16:16). When Jesus said to Martha, "Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this? She saith unto him, Yea, Lord: I believe that thou art the Christ, the Son of God, which should come into the world." (John 11:25-27).
Some may ask why Jesus didn’t explicitly claim more often to be the prophesied Messiah. Bible scholar Robert L. Reymond offers us some keen insights in answering this question:
Jews of the first century regarded the Messiah primarily as Israel’s national deliverer from the yoke of Gentile oppression....Had Jesus employed uncritically the current popular term as a description of Himself and His mission before divesting it of its one-sided associations and infusing it with its richer, full-orbed Old Testament meaning, which included the work of the Messiah as the Suffering Servant of Isaiah, His mission would have been gravely misunderstood and His efforts to instruct the people even more difficult. Consequently, the evidence suggests that He acknowledged He was the ‘Christ’ only where there was little or no danger of His claim being politicized - as in the case of the Samaritan woman, in private conversation with His disciples (at the same time, demanding that they tell no one that He was the Messiah), in semi-private prayer, or before the Sanhedrin when silence no longer mattered or served His purpose.
Even if Jesus had never verbally claimed to be the prophesied Messiah, the very fact that He was the precise fulfillment of virtually hundreds of messianic prophecies cannot be dismissed, as some liberal critics have attempted. The odds against one person fulfilling all these prophecies is astronomical; indeed, it is impossible to calculate. But fulfill these prophecies, Jesus did - and then He added proof upon proof regarding His identity by the many astounding miracles He performed. Truly, Jesus is the Messiah.
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