The Gospel’s Position Regarding Jesus as the Messiah

Is Jesus the Predicted Messiah?

Is Jesus Christ the Messiah predicted by the Hebrew Prophets of Holy Scripture? Could God have provided a predictive road map that leads to the Messiah? If Jesus is the Messiah, why was He rejected by the Jewish nation of His day? If the Jewish (Hebrew) people are the “custodians” of the Scriptures, why could they not see that Jesus was the Messiah prophesied in its pages? If Jesus is the Messiah, why do Jewish rabbinical and Hebrew Scriptural scholars today still dispute His claims to fulfilled prophecy? Can we find answers to these questions?

In this examination we will look at the Christian Old Testament (Hebrew Scripture) prophecies that are claimed by the writers of the New Testament to have been fulfilled by Jesus of Nazareth. Were these prophecies considered Messianic by the rabbis of ancient Israel only to be rejected by the more modern rabbinical scholars? Do the New Testament authors have valid grounds for the claims of fulfilled Old Testament Scriptures in the historical person of Jesus Christ? In order to answer these questions, we have to look at the evidence with as much of an open, non-biased mind as possible. Of course, we all bring our biases to any investigation of this kind and sometimes sincere, gracious and honest individuals have to agree to disagree. However, there is a level of evidence which can lead us to believing something to be true “beyond a reasonable doubt”.

I believe that we have that kind of evidence here. Let’s begin.The Hebrew word “mashiach” (messiah) “anointed one” is translated in Greek as the word “christos” which is translated into English as “christ”. The New Testament was written in the Greek language and the identification of Jesus throughout the New Testament is “Yeshua Christos” -“Jesus Christ” or in other words “Jesus, the Messiah”, “the anointed one”.“And the high priest arose and said to Him (Jesus), I put you under oath by the living God: Tell us if you are the Christ (Messiah), the Son of God! Jesus said to him, It is as you said. Matthew 26:63,64.

The Gospel’s Position Regarding Jesus as the Messiah

As we look into this examination for the Messianic claims of Jesus, there are four questions that we want answers for. These answers are provided for us in the Gospel presentation of Jesus as the Messiah.

1. What will the Messiah be like?

2. What will He do?

3. When will He come?

4. Why is He important?

The Christian faith has continuously pointed to fulfilled Old Testament (Hebrew Scripture) prophecies as proof of the Messianic claims of Jesus. Throughout the Gospels, statements are made regarding the fulfillment of the Old Testament prophecies in His person and ministry (Matthew 5:17; Luke 24:27, 44; John 15:25; Luke 22:37; Luke 4:20-21; Matthew 11:10; Matthew 13:14).Jesus stated on numerous occasions that He was the Messiah spoken of in the Hebrew Scriptures.

Prior to His crucifixion He said:“…we are going up to Jerusalem and all things that were written by the prophets concerning the Son of Man will be accomplished. For He will be delivered to the Gentiles and will be mocked and insulted and spit upon. They will scourge him and kill Him. And the third day He will rise again.” Luke 18:31-33.The apostles in the book of Acts continued this message and preached Jesus as the Messiah, evidenced by His resurrection and the fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy (Acts 3:18; 10:43: 13:29).

The entire New Testament endorses this same view regarding the Messianic predictions centering in Jesus (1 Corinthians 15:3,4; Romans 1:2; 1 Peter 2:5,6). See Note #1.The early Church Fathers carry on this same prophetic and apologetic appeal, as men such as Justin Martyr (AD 150-165), Irenaeus (AD 130-202), Origen (AD 185-254), Tertullian (AD 160-220) and others preached Jesus as Messiah founded upon His fulfillment of Messianic prophecy. Throughout the history of the Church to the present, the fulfillment of Old Testament prophecies in Jesus is a standard Christian apologetic. The Christian presentation of Jesus as Messiah stresses the primary importance of the Scriptures, and on this prophetic evidence, the Messianic claim of Jesus finds its basis.There are four lines of evidence that point to Jesus Christ as the Messiah predicted in the Hebrew Scriptures.

First, the Hebrew Scriptures (Old Testament) refer to a specific period of time when the Messiah would come. Genesis 49:10; Isaiah 11:1, Jeremiah 23:5 and Daniel 9:24-27 all point to a descendant of king David from the tribe of Judah who would arrive on the scene before the destruction of the second Jewish temple. This temple was destroyed by the Romans in A.D. 70 and this places the arrival of the “anointed one” right into the time period of Jesus, who lived approximately 40 years before the temple was destroyed. Jesus Christ of Nazareth is the only viable Messianic candidate that fits into this predicted time period.

Second, Jesus fulfills numerous Old Testament prophecies and descriptions that no one else in history has fulfilled. J Barton Payne lists in the Encyclopedia of Biblical Prophecy (127) Messianic prophecies in over 3,300 verses of the Hebrew Scriptures of which (62) are listed here. The fact that Jesus fulfills these prophecies cannot simply be the result of coincidence nor can it be the result of an attempt to falsify the life and events of Jesus Christ so as to make Him appear to meet these Messianic qualities. Neither of these two explanations are plausible.

Third, the Hebrew Scriptures affirm that the Messiah will be a “light to the Gentiles” and bring “salvation to the ends of the earth” – Isaiah 42:6,7; 49:6; 52:15. No Hebrew person in all of history has had the worldwide impact in the Gentile (non-Jewish) world( based on His work on the cross and His resurrection from the dead) like Jesus Christ. Through Jesus, Jews and Gentiles have all been united together and brought into a right relationship with the one, true and living God – the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.

Fourth, the Messianic picture presented in the Hebrew Scriptures is that of both a priestly, suffering Messiah who bears the sin of mankind and a kingly, conquering Messiah who brings peace, righteousness and justice to the world. There is a long standing rabbinical concept that this would require two Messiahs who would fulfill these roles independently. Not all of the Messianic prophecies in the Hebrew Scriptures were fulfilled in Jesus’ lifetime. The New Testament states that Jesus has already fulfilled the suffering, redeeming Messiah role in His first coming and that He has promised to return to establish His visible earthly and kingly Messiah role in His second coming. According to the Gospel record, Jesus predicted His own death and resurrection and based on the facts of this historical evidence, His claim to return as He has promised is substantial.

1. What will the Messiah be like?

2. What will He do?

The following is a list of Messianic prophecies and Scriptural pictures that find their fulfillment in Jesus of Nazareth. These passages of Scripture (both Old and New Testaments) answer the questions of what the Messiah will be like and what He will do.

Messianic Prophecies in Scripture Fulfilled by Jesus

There are also additional Messianic prophecies that describe the Messiah’s future work as the conquering King who will bring peace and justice to the world. The Messiah will set up His earthly kingdom and will administer righteousness in His government.

Prior to His crucifixion, Jesus predicted numerous future events and the record of this is found in Matthew 24-25; Mark 13; Luke 21. He stated that in the future, He would return a second time to the earth and went on to describe what His return would look like: It will be a definite, literal, visible and actual return to the earth. There will be a general resurrection of all people who have ever lived.There will be an irrevocable day of judgment for all who have ever lived. The kingdom of God will be visible and universal over all the earth.

Jesus will be the gracious and righteous King, Judge and Lord over all.“For the Son of Man will come in the glory of His Father with His angels and then He will reward each according to his works”. –( Matthew 16:27). “In My Fathers house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am there you may be also.” (John 14:2,3).“When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then He will sit on the throne of His glory. All the nations will be gathered before Him and He will separate one nation from another as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats…” (Matthew 25:31,32).

There are other New Testament passages that describe various features of Christ’s return: Matthew 16:27, John 14:3, Acts 1:11, Romans 11: Revelation 20-23. Although the New Testament does not provide as complete a description of the establishment of God’s kingdom as that described in the Hebrew Scriptures, there is no conflict with the fulfillment of these Scriptures finding their basis in Jesus Christ when He returns.

It is important to understand that not all of the Messianic prophecies of the Hebrew Scriptures were fulfilled by Jesus in His first coming and there is no indication in the Hebrew Scriptures that preclude these prophecies from being fulfilled in two separate points of time. The first coming of the Messiah was meant to accomplish atonement and redemption for all mankind by the Messiah’s death and resurrection. The second coming of the Messiah will accomplish the establishment of God’s visible kingdom on the earth. The work of the Messiah is twofold and this certainly requires performing and accomplishing this in a twofold manner. Dividing this work into the two periods of time and yet accomplishing both of these Messianic tasks by the same individual is well within the descriptions of the Hebrew Scriptures.

There are other prophecies and scriptural pictures in the Old Testament (Hebrew Scriptures) that have found their completion in Jesus and in the truths taught in the New Testament. An examination of these predictions are beyond the limitations of this presentation. Floyd Hamilton states in his book The Basis of Christian Faith, “Canon Lidden is authority for the statement that there are in the Old Testament 332 distinct predictions which were literally fulfilled in Christ.”

3. When will He come?

Along with these standard Old Testament prophecies and pictures there are also additional Scriptures that relate specifically to the time of the Messiah’s coming. Malachi 3:1 (along with Haggai 2:7-9) state that the Messiah must come while the Temple is still in existence. Since the Temple was destroyed in AD 70, by the Roman leader Titus, the Messiah had to come prior to this event. This puts the Messiah’s coming into the time period of Jesus, who lived approximately 40 years before the destruction of the Temple. Isaiah 11:1 says that the Messianic King will come after the Davidic dynasty has fallen (or been “cut down”). The coming of Jesus occurred about 600 years after the downfall of David’s throne. Genesis 49:10 states, that soon after the arrival of the Messiah (Shiloh), the tribal identity (scepter) will be removed from Judah. After the coming of Christ, the tribe of Judah did lose its distinction and has remained in this condition until the present. This again places the arrival of the Messiah into the period of the life of Jesus Christ.

Daniel 9:24-27 deals specifically with the date of the Messiah’s arrival. Depending on what starting date is chosen, all reliable Orthodox scholarship puts the predictive arrival of “Messiah”, the “anointed one” into the time period of AD 30-50. Scholar H. Hoehner, who did considerable research regarding this prophecy, dates the predictive arrival of the Messiah as taking place on Nisan 10, AD 33. This date is the day of the triumphal entry of Jesus into Jerusalem. This is a very solid Messianic prophecy pointing to Jesus of Nazareth as being the predicted Messiah.According to Biblical history, the first Jewish Temple was built by King Solomon in the 9th-10th century B.C. It was a beautiful and impressive structure.

2 Chronicles 7:1-14 states that when this temple was dedicated by Solomon, the glory of God was manifested when the temple sacrifices were offered and that fire came down from heaven and consumed the sacrifices. Verse one also states that “the glory of God filled the temple”. This temple was destroyed by the Babylonians in 586 B.C.As we move forward in history, the prophet Haggai is introduced in Hebrew Scripture. The primary theme of his writing was to encourage his Jewish people in the rebuilding of a new second temple to replace the first temple that was destroyed by the Babylonians. A second temple was indeed rebuilt and it existed in the city of Jerusalem from 516 B.C. – A.D. 70. It was renovated and further expanded by King Herod in 20-19 B.C. but was eventually destroyed by the Roman General Titus and his armies in A.D. 70.

In Haggai 2:1-9, he reminds his listeners of the glorious splendor of God’s presence in the first temple. Then Haggai states that the glory of this second temple would be greater than the glory of the first temple. This “glory” was not a “physical glory” because in every way, the second temple lacked the structural splendor and furnishings of Solomon’s temple. God’s presence and manifestation in the dedication of the first temple was indeed wonderful, so how could the glory of this second temple be “greater” than that of the first temple?

Approximately 100 years later, the prophet Malachi (3:1-3) stated that the “Lord will come to His temple” purifying and judging His people. This is a picture if a divine visitation. When did this divine visitation take place in the history of the second temple? When did this purifying, atoning and “glorious presence” take place? The second temple was destroyed by the Romans in A.D. 70 and this significant event would have to take place prior to A.D. 70. The only historical person who fits into this time period is Jesus of Nazareth. The New Testament states that God did indeed visit this temple in a personal way when Jesus, the divine Son of God, the Messiah, came into this temple as recorded in the Gospel accounts. God’s presence and glory was “greater” than the presence manifested in the first temple because the Lord Himself personally came into this second temple. There is no historical person who lived in this time period that meets these qualifications other that Jesus of Nazareth. If Jesus is not the Messiah, then who else could have been? The answer is – It’s either Jesus or no one else.

4. Why is He important?

The Old Testament prophet Isaiah looked beyond his day and into the future when he spoke of the lamb of God who would bear the sin of all mankind.

Isaiah 53:4-7 – “Surely He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed Him stricken, smitten by God and afflicted. But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was brusied for our iniquities; the chastisement for our peace was on Him and by His stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned everyone to his own way; and the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all”.

All of the sacrifices from Adam and Eve on through the Levitical system of the nation of Israel were pictures of the real sacrifice for sin that Jesus the Messiah provided for us on the cross. It was on the cross that the sin of all mankind past, present and future was dealt with. Jesus Christ is the sacrifice Lamb of God Who has taken the penalty of all of the sin and evil of all mankind on Himself by His death on the cross and only through this one effective sacrifice for sin can we be forgiven, made clean and brought into a right relationship with God. This is what the Gospel affirms and this message is interwoven throughout the entire Old and New Testaments.

If it is true that we can only know God and have eternal life with Him through Jesus’s death and resurrection, then He is of ultimate importance.Jesus Christ is the Messiah of history indeed but He is also the Messiah of Heaven – the Savior of all those who come to Him. So what will you do with the evidence regarding Jesus Christ?

Jesus said in John 8:23,24 and John 18:37 – “You are from beneath; I am from above. You are of this world; I am not of this world” – 8:23. – “Pilate said to Him, Are you a king then? Jesus answered, You say rightly that I am a king. For this cause I have come into the world, that I should bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice” – 18:37.Jesus concluded His remarks to the religious leaders in John 8:23,24 – “Therefore I say to you that you will die in your sins; for if you do not believe that I am He, you will die in your sins”. This is not just an intellectual decision but it is also a matter of the heart and will. It is a matter of surrender to Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord. If we reject Him we will die in our sins, but if we will believe and trust Him, we will have forgiveness of sin and eternal life with Him.