As we saw last week, the death and resurrection of the Messiah was foretold and prophetically pointed to many centuries before, in the writings of the Old Testament.
And we saw in Luke 24:25-26 how Jesus himself taught his disciples that the prophets foretold that the Messiah should suffer first, and then enter into glory.
Today we look at how Jesus’ birth and ministry were foretold by the Scriptures.
Now, some of these Scriptures are straightforward prophet predictions about the Messiah, which find fulfillment in Jesus.
And some of these Scriptures present what we call “types” of Jesus, as we saw last week. These are models or images of Jesus that come from various individuals, especially David, or the nation of Israel as a whole.
- So, what happened to David, for instance, becomes a prophetic picture of Jesus’ life.
- So, what David said, for example, become prophetic pronouncements about or from Jesus.
What happened before, in Israel, foreshadows what happens in Jesus, who is the true fulfillment of all of God’s plans and purposes.
Last week we started at the end with Jesus’ death and resurrection, today we move backwards, first to Jesus’ ministry and then to his birth. And again, I am being selective giving you some, but not all of the examples.
Jesus’ ministry was foretold
1. His ministry was preceded by a forerunner: Malachi 3:1 – “Behold, I send my messenger and he will prepare the way before me.”
John the Baptist came before Jesus to prepare the way – Matthew 11:10. Jesus and the gospel writers make this clear in several places.
2. He lived in Galilee: Isaiah 9:1-2 – ”In the former time he brought into contempt the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, but in the latter time he has made glorious the way of the sea, the land beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the nations. The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness, on them has light shined.”
This is a text that is a part of the Messianic scripture, “to us a child is born.”
Jesus lived and ministered in Galilee – Mark 1:14. Matthew 4:15 notes this as a fulfillment of Isaiah.
3. He was full of the Spirit: Isaiah 11:2 – “And the Spirit of the Lord will rest upon him, the Spirit of wisdom and the Spirit of understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord.”
This comes from a broader messianic passage of scripture in Isaiah.
Jesus was full of the Spirit – Matthew 3:16; Luke 4:14. The Spirit came upon him at his baptism. And Jesus was know as one who did works of power by the Spirit, and for his understanding and wisdom.
4. He proclaimed the Kingdom of God: Isaiah 52:7 – “How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him who brings good news of happiness, who publishes salvation, who says to Zion, ‘Your God reigns.’”
This is a passage connected to the messianic servant, who gives his life for the sin of the people.
Jesus preached the good news of the Kingdom of God or the reign of God – Mark 1:15; Luke 4:43.
5. He ministered to the outcasts and the hurting: Isaiah 61:1-2 – “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me to bring good news to the poor; he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”
Jesus ministered to the needy and lowly – tax collectors, sinners and prostitutes – Luke 15:1; In Luke 4:21 Jesus says that his ministry is a fulfillment of this text.
6. He took away people’s suffering: Isaiah 53:4 – “Surely he has borne our grief and carried our sorrows.“
Jesus healed people and cast of demons – Matthew 8:14-17; the last verse here noting this as a fulfillment of Isaiah 3:4.
7. He was Moses’ successor as prophetic teacher: Deuteronomy 18:18 – “I will raise up for Israel a prophet like Moses from among their brothers. And I will put my words in his mouth, and he shall speak to them all that I command him.”
Jesus was a teacher greater than Moses – In Acts 3:22-23 Peter applies this verse from Deuteronomy to Jesus. And Jesus himself said, “you have one teacher, the Messiah” (Matthew 23:8) alluding to this verse.
8. He spoke in parables: Psalm 78:2 – “I will open my mouth in parables; I will utter dark sayings from of old.”
Jesus was famous for speaking in parables – Matthew 13:35 notes this as a fulfillment of Psalm 78
9. His message was rejected: Isaiah 53:1 – “Who has believed what they heard from us? And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?”
Again from a messianic section of Isaiah.
Jesus’ message was rejected – John 12:37-38. This last verse citing this as a fulfillment of Isaiah 53:1.
10. He was presented to Israel riding on a donkey: Zechariah 9:9 – “Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold your king is coming to you; righteous and having salvation is he, humble and mounted on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.”
As we saw last week Zechariah has several messianic allusions.
Jesus entered Jerusalem riding on a donkey – Matthew 21:4-5 notes this as a fulfillment of this text.
After this point is where we picked up the story of his death and resurrection – last week. But now, moving back in time even further, in the Old Testament Scriptures, we see that . . .
Jesus’ birth was foretold
11. He was born of a virgin: Isaiah 7:14 – “Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel” (God with us).
Just as Hezekiah was born to a young woman as a sign that God remembered his promise to David for a son to rule; that God was with them. So with Jesus.
Jesus was born of the virgin Mary as a sign of God coming to save – Luke 1:26-35; Matthew 1:18-23. In Jesus, God is with us in the most powerful way possible – the presence of his own Son.
Matthew notes the connection between these verses.
12. He was born in Bethlehem: Micah 5:2 – “But you, O Bethlehem . . . from you shall come forth for me one who is to be ruler in Israel, whose origin is from of old, from ancient days.”
Jesus was born in Bethlehem – Matthew 2:1-6. This last verse showing that his birth was the fulfillment of this prophetic prediction.
13. He was a descendent of David: Isaiah 11:1 – ”There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse, and a branch from his roots shall bear fruit.”
This was seen as a messianic text. The Messiah was to be a descendent of David, Jesse’s son, who would sit on his throne.
Jesus was a descendent of David – Luke 3:31-32; Matthew 1:6; Acts 13:23
14. He was born to rule: Isaiah 9:6-7 – “For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name will be called wonderful counselor, Mighty God, everlasting Father, prince of peace. Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end, on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and uphold it with justice and righteousness from this time forth and forevermore.”
Jesus was born to rule – Matthew 2:1-12 tells the story of the wise men who came to honor the king of the Jews. And indeed he rules right now, sitting at the right hand of God, and will rule the earth fully when he returns in glory.
Jesus taught his disciples about these things
As we saw last week, Jesus came to his disciples to show them that his death and resurrection was foretold by the prophets.
Well, we can also say more generally that Jesus taught his disciples about everything written about him in the Scriptures.
As Jesus goes on to say in Luke 24:44-45 – “These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you, that everything written about me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.” Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures.” His birth and ministry would have been included in this “everything written about me.”
And Jesus would have used some of the very verses we have just looked at to teach his disciples these things.
As I step back and look at all this I say:
What a great God we serve! – indicating ahead of time what would happen.
What a faithful God we serve! – keeping all his promises.
What a merciful God we serve! – doing all of this for our salvation.
William Higgins
