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William Webster

24 December 2009

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

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.

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!

18 October 2009

Promises of a Messiah: Psalm 110

Jim Misc 2

The Messiah would be a human who would crush the head of Satan, a prophet like Moses who God would require everyone to listen to. But this week we look at a passage with implications so amazing we see it striking people in Bible times speechless.

Statue of King David at King David's Tomb in Jerusalem, Israel

Statue of King David
at King David’s Tomb in Jerusalem
photo courtesy of Kaplar

Last week we were standing with Moses at the end of his life. We’re going to fast forward about another 420 year later, to the times of King David. A prolific song writer, David was at it again, writing a short song that we know as Psalm 110. An excerpt:

The LORD says to my Lord: "Sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies your footstool." … The LORD has sworn and will not change his mind, "You are a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek." (PsaÂ 110:1,4)

The Mysterious Person

The Name translated as LORD here is the Name of God sometimes translated as Jehovah or Yahweh – the True Eternal God who made Himself known to Israel. But the question is – who is David talking about when he says "my Lord"? It’s similar to the English word – Lord, or master.

Just from these verses alone, the plot thickens. We have someone who Jehovah is speaking to, who David himself holds in high honour. This person is a kingly figure, triumphant over his enemies. And yet, he is also a priest – a priest forever! Not in the Jewish Levitical priestly line, but a more ancient line – that of Melchizedek.

Melchizedeck?

Melchizedeck was another priest-king in the ancient city of Salem. After Abram’s triumph over the kings when he rescued Lot, he was met by this king. Melchizedeck brought Abram provisions, and blessed him, and Abram gave him a tenth of everything. (Gen 14:18-20)

This mysterious king apparently held a position of honour above Abram himself – the person in Psalm 110 is greater than Israel’s great King, and Israel’s great Father.

Speechless

Looking at the Jewish sources before and after Christ, there were some that said the Psalm was talking about the Messiah, and others that said it wasn’t. In sources after Christ, there was eventually a fairly consistent interpretation that this was the Messiah (such as in the Genesis Midrash and Midrash on the Psalms).

But Jesus’ audience apparently did take the passage to be talking about the Messiah – who they also believed to be the Son of David.

The Sadducees and Pharisees had been questioning Jesus – in other words, trying to trap him. Finally, Jesus turned the tables on them, by asking a question about this very Psalm. Whose son is the Messiah, He asked. Well, the Son of David, of course, answered the Pharisees.

He [Jesus] said to them, "How is it then that David, in the Spirit, calls him Lord, saying, ‘The Lord said to my Lord, Sit at my right hand, until I put your enemies under your feet’? If then David calls him Lord, how is he his son?" (MatÂ 22:43-45)

Of course, the great King David wouldn’t call his own son "Lord", would he? Of course not! Knowing the culture and the use of the word, the Pharisees didn’t know what to say.

They were struck speechless.

There’s only one person greater than a king – Someone Divine.

Prophet, Priest and King

After He rose, Christ ascended to reign as King and intercede on behalf of His people as Priest. The author of Hebrews expands on what David alluded to in this psalm in Hebrews 7. Jesus is not just another priest, daily offering sacrifices that can never take away sin. Jesus is a High Priest of a different kind – an eternal priest who offered Himself once and for all, doing away with the daily sacrifices (Heb 7:27).

Consequently, he is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them. (HebÂ 7:25)

A prophet, a priest, and a king – yet one eternal, unlike any before – Someone Divine. The identity of this person is enough to strike anyone speechless. But as we continue in the weeks ahead, we’ll see some more concrete promises about how the Messiah could be identified, and what He would do. More next week!

As a starting point for my posts, I’m reading Behold Your King: Prophetic Proofs That Jesus Is The Messiah by William Webster. In his book, he talks about many more prophecies and how they were fulfilled by Jesus. He also focuses on how various Jewish sources interpreted these passages.

If you want to take your study one step further, you can order the book by clicking the image to the right.