New Life Wesleyan Church - Can Translations of the Bible Be Trusted?

Old Testament Prophecies Fulfilled by Jesus

1 Corinthians 15:3-8 (NKJV)
³For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures,⁴and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures,⁵and that He was seen by Cephas*, then by the twelve.⁶After that He was seen by over five hundred brethren at once, of whom the greater part remain to the present, but some have fallen asleep.⁷After that He was seen by James, then by all the apostles.⁸Then last of all He was seen by me also, as by one born out of due time.

There were two primary evidences the apostles used to establish the Deity and Messiahship of the Lord, Christ Jesus:

the fulfillment of Old Testament prophecies in the life of Jesus Christ -- prophecies given to the Jewish nation so that they might be able to recognize their Messiah; and
the fact of the resurrection.

Below is a listing of the Old Testament Messianic prophecies and their fulfillment as recorded in the New Testament.

* Cephas is Peter.

I. THE PROPHECIES

Note: All Scripture quotations taken from the New King James Version (NKJV).

A. Concerning His Birth Old Testament New Testament

1. Born of the seed of woman Gen. 3:15 Gal. 4:4; Matt. 1:20

2. Born of a virgin Is. 7:14 Matt. 1:18, 24, 25

3. Son of God Ps. 2:7; Is. 9:6-7 Matt. 3:17

4. Seed of Abraham (Here it is determined that the Messiah would be a Jewish descendant.) Gen. 22:18 Matt. 1:1; Gal. 3:16

5. Son of Isaac (Abraham had two sons, Isaac and Ishmael. Now God eliminates 1/2 of the lineage of Abraham.) Gen. 21:12 Lk. 3:23, 34

6. Son of Jacob (Isaac had two sons, Jacob and Esau. Now God eliminates 1/2 of the lineage of Isaac.) Num. 24:17 Lk. 3:23,34

7. Tribe of Judah (Jacob had twelve sons and each became a tribe of the Hebrew nation. Now God eliminates 1/12ths of the lineage of Jacob.) Gen. 49:10 Lk. 3:23,33

8. Family line of Jesse (Now God narrows it down even further by picking one family line out of the tribe of Judah.) Is. 11:1 Lk. 3:23,32

9. House of David (Jesse had at least eight sons (1 Sam. 16:10,11). Now God eliminates all of Jesse's sons except one, David.) Jer. 23:5 Lk. 3:23,31

10. Time of birth Dan. 9:25 Daniel's 70 Weeks

11. Born at Bethlehem (Now God eliminates all the cities in the world except one, Bethlehem.) Mic. 5:2 Matt. 2:1

12. Presented with gifts Ps. 72:10; Is. 60:6 Matt. 2:1,11

13. Massacre of innocents Jer. 31:15 Matt. 2:16

B. Concerning His Nature Old Testament New Testament

14. His Pre-Existence Mic. 5:2 Col. 1:17; John 1:1

15. He shall be called Lord Ps. 110:1 Lk. 20:41-44

16. He shall be called Immanuel ("God with us") Is. 7:14 Matt. 1:23

17. Shall be a prophet Deut. 18:18 Matt. 21:11

18. Shall be a priest like Melchizedek Ps. 110:4 Heb. 5:5,6

19. Shall be a judge Is. 33:22 John 5:30

20. Shall be a king Is. 33:22 Matt. 27:37

21. Special anointment of the Holy Spirit Is. 11:2 Matt. 3:16,17

22. His zeal for God Ps. 69:9 John 2:15-17

C. Concerning His Ministry Old Testament New Testament

23. Preceded by a messenger Is. 40:3; Mal. 3:1 Matt. 3:1,2

24. Ministry to begin in Galilee Is. 9:1,2 Matt. 4:12,13,17

25. Ministry of miracles Is. 35:5, 6a Matt. 9:35

26. Teacher of parables Ps. 78:2 Matt. 13:34

27. He was to enter the temple Mal. 3:1 Matt. 21:12

28. He was to enter Jerusalem on a donkey Zech. 9:9 Lk. 19:35-37

29. A "Stone Of Stumbling" to the Jewish nation Ps. 118:22 1 Peter 2:7

30. "Light" to the Gentiles Is. 60:3; Is. 49:6 Acts 13:47,48a

D. Concerning Events After His Burial Old Testament New Testament

31. His resurrection Ps. 16:10; Hos. 6:2 Acts 2:31

32. His ascension Ps. 68:18 Acts 1:9

33. Seated at the right hand of God Ps. 110:1 Heb. 1:3

E. Prophecies Fulfilled In One Day Old Testament New Testament

The following 29 prophecies from the Old Testament, which speak of the betrayal, trial, death and burial of Jesus, were spoken at various times by many different voices during the five centuries from 1000-500 BC. All of them were fulfilled in one 24-hour period of time in Jesus' life.

34. Betrayed by a friend Ps. 41:9 Matt. 10:4

35. Sold for 30 pieces of silver Zech. 11:12 Matt. 26:15

36. Money to be thrown down (not placed) in God's house. Zech. 11:13 Matt. 27:5

37. Price given for potter's field Zech. 11:13 Matt. 27:7

38. Forsaken by His disciples Zech. 13:7 Mark 14:50

39. Accused by false witnesses Ps. 35:11 Matt. 26:59-61

40. Mute before accusers Is. 53:7 Matt. 27:12-19

41. Wounded and bruised Is. 53:5 Matt. 27:26

42. Smitten and spit upon Is. 50:6; Mic. 5:1 Matt. 26:67

43. Mocked Ps. 22:7,8 Matt. 27:31

44. Fell under the cross Ps. 109:24 John 19:17; Lk. 23:26

45. Hands and feet pierced Ps. 22:16 Lk. 23:33

46. Crucified with thieves Is. 53:12 Matt. 27:38

47. Prayed for His persecutors Is. 53:12 Lk. 23:34

48. Rejected by his own people Is. 53:3 John 7:5,48

49. Hated without a cause Ps. 69:4 John 15:25

50. Friends stood afar off Ps. 38:11 Lk. 23:49

51. People shook their heads Ps. 109:25 Matt. 27:39

52. Stared upon Ps. 22:17 Lk. 23:35

53. Garments parted and lots cast Ps. 22:18 John 19:23,24

54. Suffered thirst Ps. 69:21 John 19:28

55. Gall and vinegar offered Him Ps. 69:21 Matt. 27:34

56. His forsaken cry Ps. 22:1 Matt. 27:46

57. Committed Himself to God Ps. 31:5 Lk. 23:46

58. His bones not broken Ps. 34:20 John 19:33

59. His heart broken (The blood and water which came from Jesus' pierced side are evidences that the heart had literally burst.) Ps. 22:14 John 19:34

60. His side pierced Zech. 12:10 John 19:34

61. Darkness over the land Amos 8:9 Matt. 27:45

62. Buried in a rich man's tomb Is. 53:9 Matt. 27:57-60

II. OBJECTIONS ANSWERED

A. Fulfilled Prophecies were Actually Written at or after the time of Jesus
Answer:

Most Hebrew scholars agree that the Old Testament, i.e. the Scriptures used in Jesus' time, was completed around 450 BC. If you question this date, then realize that the Greek translation of the Old Testament - the Septuagint - was around 280 BC. Therefore, it appears evident that there were at least 280 years between the time of the writing of the prophecies and their fulfillment in Jesus Christ.

B. The Fulfilled Prophecy in Jesus was Deliberate on His Part. He Knew the Old Testament Well Enough and Just Set Out to Fulfill All of Them.
Answer:

This might seem possible until we realize that thee were many prophecies outside of His control, such as: 1. Place of birth (Mic. 5:2); 2. Time of birth (Dan. 9:25); 3. Manner of birth (Is. 7:14); 4. Betrayal; 5. Manner of death (Ps. 22:16); 6. People's reactions (mocking, spitting, staring, etc.); 7. Piercing of His side; 8. Burial

C. The Fulfilled Prophecy in Jesus was Coincidental, An Accident
Answer:

Peter Stoner in Science Speaks (Chicago: Moody Press, 1963) determines the probability of one man fulfilling eight of the prophecies of the Old Testament for the Messiah to be 1 in 10 to the 17th power.
1 out of 100,000,000,000,000,000
Peter Stoner then goes on to consider the possibility of any one person fulfilling 48 of the prophecies by chance. Here the odds jump to 1 in 10 to the 157th power. That number would look like this:
1 out of 100,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000, 000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000, 000,000,000,000,000,000,000

CONCLUSION

"Remember the former things long past, for I am God, and there is no other: I am God and there is no one like Me, declaring the end from the beginning and from ancient times things which have not been done; Saying, 'My purpose will be established, and I will accomplish all My good pleasure.'" (Is. 46:9,10)

Source:
McDowell, Josh. (1972) Chapter 9: The Messianic Prophesies of the Old Testament Fulfilled in Chirst. In: Evidence that Demands a Verdict. Campus Crusade for Christ, Inc.