Lesson Eight
The Witness of Fulfilled Old Testament Prophecies

Jesus is referred to "as the Word". Scripture is also called "the Word".
The scriptures in the hands of the Jewish people were what we called, The Old Testament.

OT Scripture testifies of Jesus


It would have been awesome to be walking on that road to Emmaus listening to Jesus give that bible study to two travelers. But we can look in scriptures as well to see how they testify (witness) that Jesus is indeed the promised Messiah!

Some of the most significant prophecies regarding our Savior:

The Birth of Jesus:
Isaiah 7: 14;
Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.
Matthew 1:23 Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us.

Isaiah 9:6 For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.
John 14:27 Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.
John 18:32 I am not alone, because the Father is with me.
16:33 These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.
1 Tim. 1:2 Grace, mercy, and peace, from God our Father and Jesus Christ our Lord.

Micah 5:2, But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, [though] thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth
Matth. 2 :1 Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea in the days of Herod the king,

The Forerunner John the Baptist

Isaiah 40:3 The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the LORD, make straight in the desert a highway for our God.
John 1:23 He said, I [am] the voice of one crying in the wilderness, Make straight the way of the Lord, as said the prophet Esaias.

His Anointing:
Isaiah 11:2 And the spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him
John 1:32 And John bare record, saying, I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and it abode upon him. For the zeal of thine house hath eaten me up;

Temple cleansed
Psalms 69:9 For the zeal of thine house hath eaten me up;
John 2:16-17 And said unto them that sold doves, Take these things hence; make not my Father's house an house of merchandise. And his disciples remembered that it was written, The zeal of thine house hath eaten me up.

Trouble with Family
Psalms 69:8 I am become a stranger unto my brethren, and an alien unto my mother's children.
Mark 3:31 There came then his brethren and his mother,[to try and persuade him to be more compliant] 3:33 And he answered them, saying, Who is my mother, or my brethren?
3:34 And he looked round about on them which sat about him, and said, Behold my mother and my brethren! For whosoever shall do the will of God, the same is my brother, and my sister, and mother.

Triumphal Entry
Zech 9:9 Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem: behold, thy King cometh unto thee: he [is] just, and having salvation; lowly, and riding upon an ass, and upon a colt the foal of an ass.
John 12:13 Took branches of palm trees, and went forth to meet him, and cried, Hosanna: Blessed [is] the King of Israel that cometh in the name of the Lord.
12:14 And Jesus, when he had found a young ass, sat thereon; as it is written,
12:15 Fear not, daughter of Sion: behold, thy King cometh, sitting on an ass's colt.

Judas at the Last Supper
Psalms 41:9 Yea, mine own familiar friend, in whom I trusted, which did eat of my bread, has lifted up his heel against me.
John 13:18 I speak not of you all: I know whom I have chosen: but that the scripture may be fulfilled, He that eateth bread with me hath lifted up his heel against me.

Thirty Pieces of Silver
Zechariah 11:12 And I said unto them, If you think good, give [me] my price; and if not, forbear. So they weighed for my price thirty [pieces] of silver.
11:13 And the LORD said unto me, Cast it unto the potter: a goodly price that I was priced at of them. And I took the thirty [pieces] of silver, and cast them to the potter in the house of the LORD.
Matth 26:15 And [Judas] said, What will ye give me, and I will deliver him unto you? And they covenanted with him for thirty pieces of silver.
Matth. 27:3 Then Judas, which had betrayed him, when he saw that he was condemned, repented himself, and brought again the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders, ...
27:5 And he cast down the pieces of silver in the temple, and departed, and went and hanged himself... 27:7 And they took counsel, and took the silver and bought with them the potter's field, to bury strangers in.

Crucifixion
Psalms 22:16 For dogs have compassed me: the assembly of the wicked have enclosed me: they pierced my hands and my feet.
22:17 I may tell all my bones: they look [and] stare upon me.
22:18 They part my garments among them, and cast lots upon my vesture.
Psalms 34:20 He keepeth all his bones: not one of them is broken.

John 19:36 For these things were done, that the scripture should be fulfilled, A bone of him shall not be broken.
19:37 And again another scripture saith, They shall look on him whom they pierced.
Matt. 27:35 And they crucified him, and parted his garments, casting lots: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, They parted my garments among them, and upon my vesture did they cast lots.

And the most read OT description of Jesus dying for our sins, is found in
Isaiah 53

Amen! This is The Greatest Miracle. The life you receive through this miracle is why you live a godly life. Ultimately, you will either bear fruit because you have life or be burned because you don't.

Jesus was a narcissist. He just would not stop lifting Himself up. Check out our full discussion of this topic at SSGG 11/23/24 - Themes in the Gospel of John: "Fulfilling Old Testament Prophecies" and share any comments, questions, or concerns.

Jesus was no more a narcissist than a are the life saving team risking their lives to save people on a sinking ship in the midst of a huge storm, shouting to drowning people to grab the lifeline and be pulled into safety.

What Jesus has done goes far beyond the heroic, self denying rescue personnel.
Jesus IS God, one with the Father. The only Savior (both the Father and the Son are said to be the only Savior) because they are one God, in two persons. That is who Jesus is.
The very One Who spoke and creation happened, the very One Who gave the law in the Old Testament, came to this earth as a human to save the transgressors of God's law,-- all who truly believe in Him.

People think the Old Testament God is different from Jesus. That's not correct. The Old Testament is all about Jesus. Jesus was the member of the Godhead who spoke and acted in the Old Testament. He was the One in the cloud of fire leading Israel, He was the Rock from which flowed life giving water. He was also the One Who routed Israel's enemies when they appealed to Him for help. He is the way, the truth and the life.

When Jesus tried to reveal this truth to critics in Jerusalem, He did NOT stand there thinking -- boy, I'm sure going to show these guys who I really am, I've got more ammunition than they ever bargained for-- I'm going to show them.
NO!
Jesus wept over stubborn Jerusalem "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem," he said, "thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them that are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathers her chickens under her wings, but ye would not." Again He weeps over the devoted city, exclaiming, "O that you would have known, even thou in this thy day, the things that belong unto thy peace." Then with tears in His eyes and quivering lips, He pronounced the irrevocable sentence, "But now they are hid from thine eye." {BTS, September 1, 1908 par. 5}

A narcissist is a "wanno be" who lifts himself up above everyone, but is NOT what he wants people to think he is. His behavior is usually very selfish and putting the other person to disadvantage.
That is NOT Jesus, not even remotely.

Jesus was willing to lay it all aside, in order to save us.
He IS God, one with the Father. They are one together in all of salvation. Perfect, unselfish love. Perfect holiness. To see Jesus, is to see the Father. It is reality. It is the ONLY way of salvation.

So why compare the awesome LOVE, the total unselfish love of Christ to a self serving narcissist?

The video addressed exactly that question. Was any of it unclear? Maybe watch it again. It?s less than 60 seconds.

So true. He was the express image of the Father.

Yes, far beyond. He came to give life to the dead.

Did you know that keeping the law doesn?t give life? Shocking to some, but true. If there was a law that could give life, then righteousness would have been by the law. Galatians 3:21 But the righteousness of God comes through faith in Jesus, not by the law. Romans 3:21-22 If you want to hear more, check out our discussion here: SSGG 11/30/24 - Themes in the Gospel of John: "The Source of Life"