Apologetics: The Prophecies

There are numerous prophetic references to the Messiah in the Old Testament, and the fulfillment of these prophecies by Jesus is at times uncanny. It’s an impressive list of prophecies — so many that we can’t begin to cover them all.

Moreover, as you can imagine, skeptics question the applicability of many of these texts. And, indeed, the church should be cautious to make only those claims truly justified by the text.

In addition, we must be careful not to limit these prophecies to apologetics. They, in fact, establish much of the theology of the New Testament, and the New Testament becomes much clearer when we read it in line of its prophetic ancestry. But that’s too big of a topic for today. For today, we’re just going to cover the predictive power of prophecy as evidence of the foreknowledge of God and the truth that Jesus is God’s Messiah.

We begin in Genesis, the book of beginnings. God began his relationship with Israel by making a covenant with Abraham (then Abram) —

(Gen 12:1-3 ESV) Now the LORD said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. 2 And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. 3 I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”

This covenant is expanded and repeated throughout Abraham’s life, but the gist of God’s promises are found here — and they shape the rest of the Bible all the way to the end of Revelation.

In particular, God promised to eventually bless “all the families of the earth” through his descendants — which happened in Jesus over 2,000 years later.

Oh, and by the way, the Old Testament clearly predates Jesus by hundreds of years by anyone’s reckoning. And there is no other child of Israel who can lay claim to having blessed the entire world.

(Gen 49:10 NET) 10 The scepter will not depart from Judah, nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet, until he comes to whom it belongs; the nations will obey him.

Near the end of Genesis, Jacob, the grandson of Abraham, blesses each of his 12 sons. And he promises to the descendants of Judah perpetual rule. Beginning with David, Judahites ruled in Israel and then Judah until the fall of Jerusalem at the hand of Nebuchadnezzar.

But Jesus, a descendant of David and Judah, claimed the throne of David and rules the nations from heaven.

(Psa 110:1-4 NET) Here is the LORD’s proclamation to my lord: “Sit down at my right hand until I make your enemies your footstool!” 2 The LORD extends your dominion from Zion. Rule in the midst of your enemies! 3 Your people willingly follow you when you go into battle. On the holy hills at sunrise the dew of your youth belongs to you. 4 The LORD makes this promise on oath and will not revoke it: “You are an eternal priest after the pattern of Melchizedek.”

Psalm 110 is a major theme of Acts and Hebrews. Here the LORD (God the Father) promises to “my lord” dominion and priesthood. David wrote the Psalm, and so the New Testament interprets “my lord” as David’s lord, that is, Jesus.

To sit at a king’s right hand was a great honor, and often indicated co-regency, where a king would appoint his son to serve as king with him, to avoid a power struggle on the father’s death and to train the king on the job.

Thus, God is pictured as appointing David’s lord as co-regent and an eternal priest.

(Psa 22:1 NET) My God, my God, why have you abandoned me? I groan in prayer, but help seems far away.
2 My God, I cry out during the day, but you do not answer, and during the night my prayers do not let up.

Jesus quoted a portion of this Psalm on the cross for two reasons. First, this is what Jews customarily said when they thought they were about to die. Second, the words plainly apply to Jesus.

God forsook Jesus because it was necessary that he die on the cross. It’s unimaginable to us what pain that must have been to Jesus. God is always with us. We are never truly forsaken by God and will not ever know unless we find ourselves damned. It’s an unimaginably horrible fate.

6 But I am a worm, not a man; people insult me and despise me. 7 All who see me taunt me; they mock me and shake their heads. 8 They say, “Commit yourself to the LORD! Let the LORD rescue him! Let the LORD deliver him, for he delights in him.”

Jesus was, of course, mocked with just such words on the cross.

9 Yes, you are the one who brought me out from the womb and made me feel secure on my mother’s breasts.
10 I have been dependent on you since birth; from the time I came out of my mother’s womb you have been my God.

And while this passage could be true of many, it is far more true of Jesus than anyone else, because of his conception by the Spirit.

12 Many bulls surround me; powerful bulls of Bashan hem me in. 13 They open their mouths to devour me like a roaring lion that rips its prey.

Bulls and lions would have appeared on the banners of the Roman soldiers there.

14 My strength drains away like water; all my bones are dislocated; my heart is like wax; it melts away inside me.
15 The roof of my mouth is as dry as a piece of pottery; my tongue sticks to my gums. You set me in the dust of death.

Clearly a reference to how it would feel on the cross.

16 Yes, wild dogs surround me– a gang of evil men crowd around me; like a lion they pin my hands and feet.

A vivid prophecy of the nails on the cross.

17 I can count all my bones; my enemies are gloating over me in triumph. 18 They are dividing up my clothes among themselves; they are rolling dice for my garments.

Again, literally fulfilled at the crucifixion.

(Isa 9:6-7 NET) 6 For a child has been born to us, a son has been given to us. He shoulders responsibility and is called: Extraordinary Strategist, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. 7 His dominion will be vast and he will bring immeasurable prosperity. He will rule on David’s throne and over David’s kingdom, establishing it and strengthening it by promoting justice and fairness, from this time forward and forevermore. The LORD’s intense devotion to his people will accomplish this.

(Isa 11:1-6 NET) A shoot will grow out of Jesse’s root stock, a bud will sprout from his roots.

Jesse is the father of David.

² The LORD’s spirit will rest on him– a spirit that gives extraordinary wisdom, a spirit that provides the ability to execute plans, a spirit that produces absolute loyalty to the LORD. 3 He will take delight in obeying the LORD. He will not judge by mere appearances, or make decisions on the basis of hearsay. 4 He will treat the poor fairly, and make right decisions for the downtrodden of the earth. He will strike the earth with the rod of his mouth, and order the wicked to be executed. 5 Justice will be like a belt around his waist, integrity will be like a belt around his hips.

6 A wolf will reside with a lamb, and a leopard will lie down with a young goat; an ox and a young lion will graze together, as a small child leads them along.

Up to verse 6, a merely very wise king with the Spirit of God might be in mind. But v. 6 is clearly pictures a dramatic, eschatological change in the world because of this King.

(Isa 11:7-10 NET) 7 A cow and a bear will graze together, their young will lie down together. A lion, like an ox, will eat straw. 8 A baby will play over the hole of a snake; over the nest of a serpent an infant will put his hand. 9 They will no longer injure or destroy on my entire royal mountain. For there will be universal submission to the LORD’s sovereignty, just as the waters completely cover the sea. 10 At that time a root from Jesse will stand like a signal flag for the nations. Nations will look to him for guidance, and his residence will be majestic.

This passage looks beyond the crucifixion and Ascension to the Second Coming.

(Isa 42:1-9 NET) “Here is my servant whom I support, my chosen one in whom I take pleasure. I have placed my spirit on him; he will make just decrees for the nations. 2 He will not cry out or shout; he will not publicize himself in the streets. 3 A crushed reed he will not break, a dim wick he will not extinguish; he will faithfully make just decrees. 4 He will not grow dim or be crushed before establishing justice on the earth; the coastlands will wait in anticipation for his decrees.”

The Gospels, of course, speak clearly of the meekness of Jesus before his accusers at this trial.

5 This is what the true God, the LORD, says – the one who created the sky and stretched it out, the one who fashioned the earth and everything that lives on it, the one who gives breath to the people on it, and life to those who live on it:
6 “I, the LORD, officially commission you; I take hold of your hand. I protect you and make you a covenant mediator for people, and a light to the nations, 7 to open blind eyes, to release prisoners from dungeons, those who live in darkness from prisons. 8 I am the LORD! That is my name! I will not share my glory with anyone else, or the praise due me with idols. 9 Look, my earlier predictive oracles have come to pass; now I announce new events. Before they begin to occur, I reveal them to you.”

V. 6 speaks of God himself commissioning this king to be a light to the nations in fulfillment of the covenant with Abraham — to heal the blind and to do far more.

(Isa 50:5-6 NET) 5 The sovereign LORD has spoken to me clearly; I have not rebelled, I have not turned back. 6 I offered my back to those who attacked, my jaws to those who tore out my beard; I did not hide my face from insults and spitting.

One of a series of prophecies about the Suffering Servant who will die for the sins of the world.

The following passage has been called the Gospel According to Isaiah. The New Testament sits squarely atop this prophecy —

(Isa 52:13-12 NET) 13 “Look, my servant will succeed! He will be elevated, lifted high, and greatly exalted – 14 (just as many were horrified by the sight of you) he was so disfigured he no longer looked like a man; 15 his form was so marred he no longer looked human– so now he will startle many nations. Kings will be shocked by his exaltation, for they will witness something unannounced to them, and they will understand something they had not heard about.

Isaiah 53:1 Who would have believed what we just heard? When was the LORD’s power revealed through him? 2 He sprouted up like a twig before God, like a root out of parched soil; he had no stately form or majesty that might catch our attention, no special appearance that we should want to follow him.

3 He was despised and rejected by people, one who experienced pain and was acquainted with illness; people hid their faces from him; he was despised, and we considered him insignificant.

4 But he lifted up our illnesses, he carried our pain; even though we thought he was being punished, attacked by God, and afflicted for something he had done. 5 He was wounded because of our rebellious deeds, crushed because of our sins; he endured punishment that made us well; because of his wounds we have been healed.

6 All of us had wandered off like sheep; each of us had strayed off on his own path, but the LORD caused the sin of all of us to attack him. 7 He was treated harshly and afflicted, but he did not even open his mouth. Like a lamb led to the slaughtering block, like a sheep silent before her shearers, he did not even open his mouth. 8 He was led away after an unjust trial – but who even cared? Indeed, he was cut off from the land of the living; because of the rebellion of his own people he was wounded.

9 They intended to bury him with criminals, but he ended up in a rich man’s tomb, because he had committed no violent deeds, nor had he spoken deceitfully.

10 Though the LORD desired to crush him and make him ill, once restitution is made, he will see descendants and enjoy long life, and the LORD’s purpose will be accomplished through him.

11 Having suffered, he will reflect on his work, he will be satisfied when he understands what he has done. “My servant will acquit many, for he carried their sins. 12 So I will assign him a portion with the multitudes, he will divide the spoils of victory with the powerful, because he willingly submitted to death and was numbered with the rebels, when he lifted up the sin of many and intervened on behalf of the rebels.”

We next turn to Micah —

(Mic 5:2-4 NET) As for you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, seemingly insignificant among the clans of Judah – from you a king will emerge who will rule over Israel on my behalf, one whose origins are in the distant past. 3 So the LORD will hand the people of Israel over to their enemies until the time when the woman in labor gives birth. Then the rest of the king’s countrymen will return to be reunited with the people of Israel. 4 He will assume his post and shepherd the people by the LORD’s strength, by the sovereign authority of the LORD his God. They will live securely, for at that time he will be honored even in the distant regions of the earth.

And Zechariah —

(Zec 9:9-11 NET) 9 Rejoice greatly, daughter of Zion! Shout, daughter of Jerusalem! Look! Your king is coming to you: he is legitimate and victorious, humble and riding on a donkey – on a young donkey, the foal of a female donkey. 10 I will remove the chariot from Ephraim and the warhorse from Jerusalem, and the battle bow will be removed. Then he will announce peace to the nations. His dominion will be from sea to sea and from the Euphrates River to the ends of the earth. 11 Moreover, as for you, because of our covenant relationship secured with blood, I will release your prisoners from the waterless pit.

(Zec 11:12-13 NET) 12 Then I said to them, “If it seems good to you, pay me my wages, but if not, forget it.” So they weighed out my payment– thirty pieces of silver. 13 The LORD then said to me, “Throw to the potter that exorbitant sum at which they valued me!” So I took the thirty pieces of silver and threw them to the potter at the temple of the LORD.

(Zec 12:10 NET) 10 “I will pour out on the kingship of David and the population of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and supplication so that they will look to me, the one they have pierced. They will lament for him as one laments for an only son, and there will be a bitter cry for him like the bitter cry for a firstborn.”

(Mal 3:1-4 NET) “I am about to send my messenger, who will clear the way before me. Indeed, the Lord you are seeking will suddenly come to his temple, and the messenger of the covenant, whom you long for, is certainly coming,” says the LORD who rules over all. 2 Who can endure the day of his coming? Who can keep standing when he appears? For he will be like a refiner’s fire, like a launderer’s soap. 3 He will act like a refiner and purifier of silver and will cleanse the Levites and refine them like gold and silver. Then they will offer the LORD a proper offering. 4 The offerings of Judah and Jerusalem will be pleasing to the LORD as in former times and years past.