Jesus, Old Testament Prophesies Fulfilled

Day 1

15I will put hostility between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring. He will strike your head, and you will strike his heel.
GENESIS 3:15 (CSB)

Commentary

There are several hundred prophecies in the Old Testament (OT) which refer to the coming Messiah. Jesus fulfilled some 300 of them alone in His first coming to this Earth and will fulfill the remaining in His second coming. The case for Jesus can be made entirely with the OT. In fact, the Apostles did just that as they were tasked with writing the books of the New Testament (NT).

Skeptics will often argue that Jesus knew the Old Testament Scripture and just did some of the things to “fulfill” them. However, God appointed an exact time frame for Messiah’s entry into this world, which details are recorded in Daniel 9:25 and in Nehemiah chapter 2. The time frame of the 483 years from Nehemiah beginning the rebuilding of Jerusalem to Messiah’s ministry landed at AD 32. It would be impossible for a person to be at that exact time in history and fulfill even 8 of these OT prophecies. Josh and Sean McDowell, in their book Evidence That Demands a Verdict, calculate that the odds of that very thing happening would be 1 in 10 to the 17th power. That’s 10 with 17 zeros after it. Yet the NT records Jesus fulfilling hundreds of OT prophecies.

The verse above is the first prophecy of Jesus, the offspring or Seed who would eventually strike the head of the serpent (Satan). The Hebrew word that is translated to offspring in some English Bibles is zera, literally meaning seed. In Biology 101, we learn that women don’t have seed, only men do. So this prophesy is also suggesting a virgin birth. There are so many powerful OT prophecies of Jesus, it is impossible to cover them all in a small devotional such as this, but over following days we will look at a handful more of Old Testament prophecies of Messiah that Jesus fulfilled.

Soul Search

Have I spent much time in the OT studying the prophecies that Jesus fulfilled?

Prayer

Heavenly Father, Your timing is always perfect and Your Word is always sure. Help me to see these things and use them as tools for defending the faith and planting and watering seeds in the hearts of those around me. In Jesus’ name, I pray. Amen

Day 2

14Therefore, the Lord himself will give you a sign: See, the virgin will conceive, have a son, and name him Immanuel.
ISAIAH 7:14 (CSB)

Commentary

The Virgin Birth

Not only did Genesis 3:15 hint at the virgin birth, but Isaiah wrote of it directly. The name Emmanuel means God with us. Messiah would need to be fully man and fully God.

Fulfillment In Jesus

It is recorded by Matthew that Mary conceived Jesus and that it was the direct result of the Holy Spirit impregnating her, not any human action.

20But after he had considered these things, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, don’t be afraid to take Mary as your wife, because what has been conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.
MATTHEW 1:20 (CSB)

OT Prophecy

Messiah would also need to come from the line of Abraham and the royal line of King David.

3I will bless those who bless you, I will curse anyone who treats you with contempt, and all the peoples on earth will be blessed through you.
GENESIS 12:3 (CSB)

God promised Abraham that all people would be blessed through him. Meaning that from his lineage (Jacob a.k.a. the Jewish people) would come the Messiah.

12When your time comes and you rest with your ancestors, I will raise up after you your descendant, who will come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom.13He is the one who will build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever.
2 SAMUEL 7:12-13 (CSB)

Fulfillment In Jesus

1An account of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the Son of David, the Son of Abraham:
MATTHEW 1:1 (CSB)
34son of Jacob, son of Isaac, son of Abraham, son of Terah, son of Nahor,
LUKE 3:34 (CSB)

Soul Search

Have I recognized the precision with which the Bible has documented genealogies?

Prayer

Heavenly Father, thank You for this gift of eternal life that You had planned out before creation. Guide me when I study Your Word, to see these awesome prophecies and fulfillments. In Jesus’ name, I pray. Amen

Day 3

2Bethlehem Ephrathah, you are small among the clans of Judah; one will come from you to be ruler over Israel for me. His origin is from antiquity, from ancient times.
MICAH 5:2 (CSB)

Commentary

Messiah Would Be Born In Bethlehem

The prophet Micah was a man sent by God to the kingdom of Judah to warn about their coming destruction, due to their rejection of God. Along with those prophecies, God also gave Micah some prophetic insight into the coming Messiah several hundred years later. This prophecy is so exact that it could only be the Bethlehem that Jesus was born in. This is noted by the word Ephrathah, which is another name for that exact Bethlehem, the place where Jacob’s wife Rachel was buried many centuries prior.

Fulfillment In Jesus

4Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee, to Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and family line of David,5to be registered along with Mary, who was engaged to him and was pregnant.6While they were there, the time came for her to give birth.
LUKE 2:4-6 (CSB)

As we see from Luke’s Gospel, Joseph and the pregnant Mary made their way to Bethlehem to be registered, and God made sure that Jesus was born while they were there, fulfilling His words through Micah.

Soul Search

Am I amazed at how everything in Scripture fits perfectly together?

Prayer

Heavenly Father, if I have any doubt about the perfection of Your Word, then remove that doubt from me today. In Jesus’ name, I pray. Amen

Day 4

1When Israel was a child, I loved him, and out of Egypt I called my son.
HOSEA 11:1 (CSB)

Commentary

Messiah Would Come From Egypt

At first glance, this might seem odd. Jesus was born in Bethlehem and grew up in Nazareth. Why would, through the prophet Hosea, God say Egypt? If you know the book of Matthew, then you’ll know that Joseph, Mary, and Jesus fled to Egypt for a period of time, at God’s command, to avoid the decree of King Herod to kill all firstborn males in Bethlehem.

Fulfilled In Jesus

14So he got up, took the child and his mother during the night, and escaped to Egypt.15He stayed there until Herod’s death, so that what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet might be fulfilled: Out of Egypt I called my Son.
MATTHEW 2:14-15 (CSB)

After Herod died, God appeared to Joseph in a dream and told him to take Mary and Jesus back to Israel. This was to fulfill the prophecy given through Hosea.

Soul Search

Do I see that even the smallest of details, Jesus fulfilled?

Prayer

Heavenly Father, a prophecy alone can’t even begin to tell us how You will fulfill it, but when You do, it is amazing and helps to solidify my faith. Thank You, Father, for giving us these fulfilled prophecies so that we can know that the yet-fulfilled ones will also come to pass at some point. You alone know the future. In Jesus’ name, I pray. Amen

Day 5

3He was despised and rejected by men, a man of suffering who knew what sickness was. He was like someone people turned away from; he was despised, and we didn’t value him.
ISAIAH 53:3 (CSB)

Commentary

Messiah Would Be Rejected

God told Isaiah that the Messiah would be rejected the first time around, not accepted by His own people.

Fulfillment In Jesus

11He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him.
JOHN 1:11 (CSB)

Sadly, the majority of religious Jews of that time were looking for a man of political power and might. They overlooked the prophecies of Messiah’s first coming as a servant and sacrifice, and instead, focused their hearts and minds on the prophecies which Jesus will fulfill in His second coming. Because of this, they rejected Jesus as foretold. Something that had to take place for Jesus to be crucified for the sins of the world.

41As he approached and saw the city, he wept for it,42saying, “If you knew this day what would bring peace ​— ​but now it is hidden from your eyes.43For the days will come on you when your enemies will build a barricade around you, surround you, and hem you in on every side.44They will crush you and your children among you to the ground, and they will not leave one stone on another in your midst, because you did not recognize the time when God visited you.”
LUKE 19:41-44 (CSB)

God visited them, and they should’ve known by the OT Scripture. Today, we have the complete canon of Holy Scripture, and like those spiritual blind Jews of the first century AD, many are failing to see what God’s Word says about Christ’s soon return to this Earth. It’s my prayer that you are one of the remnant who are keeping your eyes on the Lord and are aware of the season in which we live, because Jesus will one day fulfill all remaining prophecies regarding Him.

Soul Search

Are my spiritual eyes and ears open to the signs of the time?

Prayer

Lord Jesus, You are Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Prince of Peace — my Savior and Lord. You have told us that You are coming quickly, like a thief in the night. You told us to watch the leaves on the “fig tree”, as they bud, so that we will know when “summer” is near, which will be the time of Your return. I long for that day. Come quickly, Lord Jesus! In Your Wonderful and Mighty name, I pray. Amen