Written 2003
“The following prophecies from the Old Testament, which speak of the betrayal, trial, defeat, and burial of our Lord Jesus Christ, were spoken at various times by many different voices during the five centuries from 1000-500 B.C. Yet all of them were literally fulfilled in Jesus in one twenty-four-hour period of time.” (McDowell, NETDV)
PROPHECIES BY SELECT VERSES:
| OLD TESTAMENT VERSE | PROPHECY | NEW TESTAMENT FULFILLMENT |
| Psalm 41:9 | “My FRIEND…who ate my BREAD…acted as a TRAITOR AGAINST ME” | John 13:18-19,21; Matthew 10:4 |
| Zechariah 11:12 | “They weighed out for my wages THIRTY PIECES OF SILVER” (Messiah will be sold for thirty pieces of silver) | Matthew 26:14-16 |
| Zechariah 11:13 | “Threw THEM [thirty pieces of silver] into the HOUSE OF THE LORD” | Matthew 27:5 |
| Zechariah 11:13 | “…for the POTTER” | Matthew 27:7 |
| Zechariah 13:7 | “STRIKE the SHEPHERD and the SHEEP will be SCATTERED” (forsaken by His disciples) | Mark 14:50; Matthew 26:31 |
| Psalm 35:11 | “FIERCE WITNESSES rise up; they ask me things that I do not know” (accused by false witnesses) | Matthew 26:59,60 |
| Isaiah 50:6 | “Those who STRUCK Me, …I did not hide My face from SHAME and SPITTING” (smitten and spit upon) | Matthew 26:67 |
| Psalm 69:4 | “Those who HATE me WITHOUT A CAUSE” | John 15:18-25 |
| Psalm 38:11 | “My LOVED ONES and my FRIENDS stand aloof from my plague, and my RELATIVES stand afar off” (friends stood afar off) | Luke 23:49 |
| Psalm 69:21 | “And for my THIRST” (suffered thirst) | John 19:28 |
| Psalm 69:21 | “They also gave me GALL for my food, and for my thirst they gave me VINEGAR to drink” (offered gall and vinegar) | Matthew 27:34 |
| Psalm 31:5 | “Into Your hand I COMMIT my SPIRIT” | Luke 23:46 |
| Psalm 34:20 (see also Psalm 22:17) | “He guards all his BONES; NOT one of them is BROKEN” | John 19:33 |
| Zechariah 12:10 | “Me whom they PIERCED” | John 19:34 |
| Amos 8:9 | “Make the SUN GO DOWN at NOON, and I will DARKEN THE EARTH in BROAD DAYLIGHT” | Matthew 27:45 |
The accuracy of these prophesies, fulfilled hundreds of years after they were recorded, speaks for itself regarding who the true Christ and Lord is!
PROPHECIES BY CHAPTERS (SPECIFICALLY ISAIAH 53 AND PSALM 22):
ISAIAH 53…When was it written?
“The prophet states that he prophesied during the reigns of ‘Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah’ (Isaiah 1:1). Some accept his call to the prophetic office as being in the year that King Uzziah died, which was about 740 B.C. (Isaiah 6:1,8). It is likely, however, he began during the last decade of Uzziah’s reign. Since Isaiah mentions the death of the Assyrian king, Sennacherib, who died about 680 B.C. (Isaiah 37:37,38), he must have outlived Hezekiah by a few years. Tradition has it that Isaiah was martyred during the reign of Manasseh, Hezekiah’s son. Many believe that the clause ‘sawn in two’ in Hebrews 11:37 is a reference to Isaiah’s death. The first part of the book may have been written in Isaiah’s earlier years, the latter chapters after his retirement from public life.
“If Isaiah began prophesying about 750 B.C., his ministry may have briefly overlapped those of Amos and Hosea in Israel, as well as that of Micah in Judah.” (Spirit Filled Life Bible)
AN ACCEPTED DATE IS 700-690 B.C.
ISAIAH 53…What does it say?
Isaiah 53:2 (see also Isaiah 52:14) shows the coming Messiah to be DISFIGURED by suffering.
FULFILLED: Mark 15:17-19
Isaiah 53:3 shows the coming Messiah to be REJECTED by his own people.
FULFILLED: John 7:5,48
Isaiah 53:4-6 shows that the coming Messiah would BEAR our SINS and SORROWS.
FULFILLED: Romans 4:25; 1 Peter 2:24
Isaiah 53:5 shows the coming Messiah to be WOUNDED and BRUISED.
FULFILLED: Matthew 27:26
Isaiah 53:7 shows the Messiah to be SILENT BEFORE ACCUSERS.
FULFILLED: Matthew 27:12
Isaiah 53:8 shows Messiah to be STRICKEN FOR TRANSGRESSIONS and a SUBSTITUTE.
FULFILLED: 2 Corinthians 5:21; Galatians 3:13
Isaiah 53:9 shows the Messiah will be BURIED in a RICH MAN’S TOMB.
FULFILLED: Matthew 27:57-60
Isaiah 53:10 shows that the Messiah’s SOUL will be made into an OFFERING FOR SIN.
FULFILLED: Hebrews 9:11-14
Isaiah 53:12 shows the Messiah to be NUMBERED with the TRANSGRESSORS (or “crucified with thieves” [see Mark 15:27,28]).
FULFILLED: Matthew 27:38; Mark 15:27,28
Isaiah 53:12 shows the Messiah to make INTERCESSION for the TRANSGRESSORS (or “persecutors”).
FULFILLED: Luke 23:34…“This office He began on the cross (Luke 23:34), and now continues in heaven (Hebrews 9:24; 1 John 2:1).” (Fausset, CCE)
Isaiah 53 depicts the coming Messiah (or Christ) as a suffering servant. Reading the chapter all the way through, and comparing what the prophet Isaiah wrote to what we know actually happened to Jesus the day of his crucifixion is almost eerie considering the book of Isaiah was written nearly 700 years before Jesus was even born (see above dating for Isaiah)! Only God could use such suffering and affliction to create the overwhelming victory Jesus gives to his believers.
Psalm 22…when was it written?
As Biblical scholars recognize David to be the author of this psalm, the date it was written must have been around 1,000 B.C., because, based on Biblical chronology and extra-Biblical sources, c.1,000 B.C. is the accepted time period for King David’s reign.
Thus, Psalm 22 was written around 1,000 years before Christ lived.
Psalm 22…what does it say?
Psalm 22:1 is the exact quote Jesus cried out on the cross.
FULFILLED: Matthew 27:46…another thing this shows is that Jesus understood Psalm 22 to be fulfilled in Him.
Psalm 22:7 (see also Psalm 109:25) shows that people would SHAKE their HEADS in RIDICULE at the Messiah.
FULFILLED: Matthew 27:39
Psalm 22:7,8 shows that the Messiah would be MOCKED.
FULFILLED: Matthew 27:29 (also Matt. 27:41-43)
Psalm 22:14 shows that the Messiah would have his BONES OUT OF JOINT (see note on Psalm 22:16 reference below) and His HEART will be like WAX; MELTED WITHIN HIM (or His HEART will be BROKEN).
FULFILLED: John 19:34…the blood and water that came forth from His pierced side are evidence that the heart had literally burst.
Psalm 22:16 shows that they will PIERCE the Messiah’s HANDS AND FEET.
FULFILLED: Luke 23:33
Psalm 22:17 shows that the Messiah could COUNT all of HIS BONES (see note on Psalm 22:16 and also see Psalm 34:20 prophecy, cited above) and that He would be STARED UPON.
FULFILLED: Luke 23:35
Psalm 22:18 shows the Messiah’s GARMENTS to be PARTED and LOTS CAST FOR HIS CLOTHING.
FULFILLED: John 19:23,24…”The Old Testament statement in Psalm 22 almost seems to be contradictory until we look at the account at the scene of the cross. The garments were parted among the soldiers, but the vesture was awarded to one by the casting of lots.” (McDowell, NETDV)
PSALM 22 CLEARLY SHOWS THE CRUCIFIXION, AND EVENTS SURROUNDING IT, TO ANYONE WHO READS THE CHAPTER. THE FACT THAT THE TYPE OF DEATH PICTURED DID NOT EVEN EXIST IN JEWISH CRIMINAL LAW UNTIL 63 B.C., AND THE PRECISION WITH WHICH THIS PSALM PREDICTS HAPPENINGS FULFILLED IN CHRIST (SO THAT EVEN HIS GARMENTS BEING PARTED, AND THE AMOUNT OF MONEY PAID FOR HIS CAPTURE WERE KNOWN), ARE TOO INCREDIBLE TO BE BRUSHED OFF AS COINCIDENCE! ADD TO THIS THE FACT THAT PSALM 22 WAS WRITTEN 1,000 YEARS BEFORE CHRIST’S BIRTH, AND ONE WILL REALIZE THE REALITY AND AWESOME LIVING POWER OF THE GOD CHRISTIAN’S SERVE!
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