Promises of a Messiah: 12 Passages (and a surprise bonus)

Hallelujah!

In the 12 Sundays leading up to Christmas we looked at 12 passages from the Old Testament which looked forward to the coming of the Messiah. Here’s the full list, with a brief review of what we learnt about the Messiah in each…

  • Genesis 3:15 [read post]: The Messiah would be a human being, who would finally crush the power of Satan.
  • Deuteronomy 18:15-19 [read post]: The Messiah would be a prophet who spoke for God – we would be required by God to listen to Him.
  • Psalm 110 [read post]: The Messiah would be an eternal priest, and eternal king. He would be divine.
  • Isaiah 7,9 and 11 (part 1) [read post]: The Messiah would be God-with-us. He would be born of a virgin.
  • Isaiah 7,9 and 11 (part 2) [read post]: The Messiah would be a Divine Ruler, a wonderful counsellor, the Prince of Peace. He would rule from David’s throne forever.
  • Isaiah 7, 9 and 11 (part 3) [read post]: The Messiah would be a descendant of King David, filled with spiritual power. He would not judge from appearance, but judge justly.
  • Daniel 9 [read post]: The Messiah would arrive around the 30s AD. He would die. This would happen before Jerusalem and the temple were destroyed.
  • Zechariah 9 [read post]: The Messiah would be a Saviour, who would come humbly, riding the foal of a donkey. He would begin a process of salvation and judgement.
  • Psalm 22 [read post]: The Messiah would be a mocked and scorned. And yet He would be righteous from birth. His hands and feet would be pierced, and people would gamble for his clothes.
  • Micah 5:2 [read post]: The Messiah would come from Bethlehem in Judah. He would be a Ruler for Israel – a good Shepherd. But He would actually be someone who had existed from ancient times.
  • Isaiah 40-52 [read post]: The Messiah would come for Israel, and for all the nations. He would be a servant of God, foretold by a voice in the wilderness. He would be sent by God and His Spirit. He would be disgraced and afflicted – but willingly. He would bring good news, and must be obeyed.
  • Isaiah 53 [read post]: The Messiah would be a willing servant, afflicted by God for the sins of His people. The message would not be believed – in fact, He would be rejected. He would be wounded and beaten, finally He would die though He Himself was innocent. Though He would be buried as a wicked man, He would be buried with the rich. He would rise again, and God would give Him descendants.

I wonder who all these prophecies could possibly be referring to? 🙂

Of course we could have mentioned many others… but I was only doing 12 this year. But I think these 12 illustrate the incredible importance of this one Man – the God-Man, in history. In fact, in eternity.

Again, the springboard for this study was the book Behold Your King: Prophetic Proofs That Jesus is the Messiah, by William Webster. It can be ordered through the link if you want to continue your study into more prophecies, and what many Jewish writers have said about them.

Bonus - William Webster interview!

And here’s a bonus for making it this far! There’s an interview with William Webster about his book and many of the wonderful prophecies of Scripture, that you can download and listen to for free. Go check out the William Webster interview from exactly a year ago today.

Also useful in these posts have been the following: Pierced for Our Transgressions by Steve Jeffery, Mike Ovey and Andrew Sach, and Commentary on the New Testament Use of the Old Testament edited by GK Beale and DA Carson.

Thanks for reading along! Feel free to continue the conversation by adding your comments or questions to the above posts.

Take the time to think about the promised Messiah who came to earth in humility to save us. May you look to Him for hope in the coming year, and forever!