Hi, Jesus loves you.
How many people do you know whose lives were prophesied about before they were born? Jesus Christ is one of them. In His case, virtually everything about His life was prophesied long before He was born! What does this mean? It surely shows He is not a fake and He means business.
He is the perfect example of the fact that God, as an architect of your life, already has a plan for your life. This plan can now be built up as you grow if you will obey His instructions and walk in His footsteps.
Let’s look at some of these prophecies and see their fulfillment too.
1. Jesus was to be born of a woman
After the fall of man, God quickly made a plan to restore man to his original state and fellowship with Him. In Genesis 3:15, God said He would put enmity between satan and the woman, and between his seed and her Seed; and that He shall bruise satan’s head, and satan would bruise His heel.” In essence, Christ was going to be born of a woman (fulfilled in Matthew 1:20). He finished the enemy (Colossians 2:15) but the devil could only hurt Him a little (Matthew 27:46).
2. He would be a descendant of the patriarchs: Abraham, Isaac and Jacob (Genesis 22:18, Genesis 21:12, Numbers 24:17). This was fulfilled as recorded in Luke 3:34, Romans 9:5. So, among other things, the blessings of Abraham as God promised him in Genesis 12:1-3, can now come to all who believe through Christ (Galatians 3:14)
3. He would come from the tribe of Judah (Genesis 49:10). God, through Jacob prophesied that scepter will not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet. This was fulfilled in Luke 3:33 and confirmed in Hebrews 7:14. Jesus is the only King that lives forever and He is from Judah, according to the flesh. Kings were to come from Judah, so Christ had to come from there since He was the King of the Jews.
4. Christ would be heir to the throne of David (2 Samuel 7:12-13, Isaiah 9:6-7). God promised David that He would establish his seed over his throne forever and it was fulfilled in Luke 1: 32-33 and in Romans 1:3. And so when Blind Bartimaeus called Him “Son of David” (Mark 10:46-48), that got His attention and He didn’t hesitate to respond to Bartimaeus.
5. He would be born of a virgin (Isaiah 7:14). Isaiah prophesied that a virgin will conceive and bear a son, whose name will be called Immanuel, and it was fulfilled in Matthew 1:20-23. He had to be born of a virgin when the Holy Spirit came upon Mary so that He is born of God and free of Adamic nature characterized by sin.
6. He would be born in Bethlehem and stay a while in Egypt (Micah 5:2, Hosea 11:1). His place of birth was fulfilled in Luke 2:1-6. A decree had to go out that the entire world should be registered so that the Messiah would be born in the City of David, which is called Bethlehem, just as was prophesied by Prophet Micah. And after His birth Joseph fled to Egypt because of Herod as prophet Hosea also prophesied (Matthew 2:13-15). Therefore, take note that even the minute aspect of where you were to be born was also orchestrated by God.
7. John the Baptist (the Elijah to come) to prepare the way for Christ (Isaiah 40:3-5). A voice was to cry out in the wilderness, “Prepare the way of the Lord…” and in Luke 3:3-6, the voice turned out to be John the Baptist. In Malachi 4:5-6, it was prophesied that Elijah would come before the great day of the Lord, before the Messiah, and in Matthew 11:13-14, Jesus confirmed John as the Elijah that was to come.
8. Speaking in parables. Have you ever wondered why Jesus spoke a lot in parables? One of the reasons is that it was prophesied that He would do so in Psalm 78:2-4 and so must be fulfilled as in Matthew 13:34-35.
9. Declaration of His mission on earth (Isaiah 61:1-2). Isaiah prophesied that He would be anointed by God to preach good tidings to the poor; sent to heal the broken-hearted, proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound; to proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD, and the day of vengeance of our God; and lastly to comfort all who mourn. And in Luke 4:18-19, He read this prophecy from the book of the prophet Isaiah and in verse 21, He declared to them that this scripture was fulfilled in their hearing.
10. Details of Christ’s crucifixion, resurrection and ascension. The Lord’s betrayal, crucifixion, resurrection and ascension were so detailed that anybody who cares to consider these will know that Jesus was not a fake authority. These details were recorded in the scriptures long before Jesus was born and were all fulfilled. Let’s look at them, some were recorded in more than one book, both in the Old and New Testament but we will look at only one each:
- Christ’s betrayal – Even my own familiar friend in whom I trusted, Who ate my bread, Has lifted up his heel against me (Psalm 41:9, NKJV). Judas fulfilled this in Matthew 26:23-25
- The betrayal price money – The money given to Judas for betraying Christ was prophesied to be thirty pieces of silver and that it will eventually be used to buy a potter’s field (Zechariah 11:12-13). These were fulfilled in Matthew 27:9-10
- False accusation – prophesied in Psalm 35:11 and fulfilled in Mark 14:57-58
- Spat upon and beaten – prophesied in Isaiah 50:6 and fulfilled in Matthew 26:67
- Mocked and ridiculed – prophesied in Psalm 22:7-8 and fulfilled in Luke 23:35
- Crucified with two robbers – prophesied in Isaiah 53:12 and fulfilled in Mark 15:27-28
- Had vinegar for a drink – prophesied in Psalm 69:21 and fulfilled in John 19:28-30
- Hands and feet pierced – prophesied in Psalm 22:16 and fulfilled in John 20:25-27
- Sides pierced – prophesied in Zechariah 12:10 and fulfilled in John 19:34
- Garments divided and lots cast for His clothing – prophesied in Psalm 22:18 and fulfilled in Matthew 27:35-36
- Bones not to be broken – prophesied in Psalm 34:20 and fulfilled in John 19:33-36.
- To be forsaken by God, the Father – prophesied in Psalm 22:1 and fulfilled in Matthew 27:46
- Prayed for His accusers – prophesied in Psalm 109:4 and fulfilled in Luke 23:34
- Resurrection from the dead – prophesied in Psalm 16:10 and fulfilled in Acts 2:22-32
- Ascension into heaven – prophesied in Psalm 24:7-10 and fulfilled in Mark 16:19
- Enthronement at God’s right hand – prophesied in Psalm 110:1 and fulfilled in Mark 16:19
The Jews did all they did to Him without realizing that they were fulfilling scriptures, the word of God. But these events all prove that Jesus Christ came from God and had all these done to Him as God had said through His prophets. Interestingly, King David had a lot to say (by the Spirit) about the seed that would be over his throne forever.
Furthermore, prophet Isaiah in Isaiah 53:1-12 gave a tremendous description of the suffering that the Messiah would endure; stating that He would be a sacrifice for sin, and it was recorded fulfilled in Romans 5:6-8.
But he also prophesied that God would be satisfied and divide Him a portion with the great, and in Philippians 2:5-11, God exalted Him and gave Him a name above every other name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
All these show that Jesus Christ came on an assignment, which He completed and left immediately afterwards. So, if all the prophecies given concerning His birth, death, resurrection and ascension all came to pass, then the prophecies about His coming back (Acts 1:9-11, Revelation 22:6-21) and the events that will follow (as recorded in the book of Revelation), will surely also come to pass.
Ngozi Nwoke
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