Prophecies of Old

He was pierced for our transgressions,
he was crushed for our iniquities;
the punishment that brought us peace was on him,
and by his wounds we are healed.
Isaiah 53:5

The Tanakh, or Hebrew Bible—what we refer to as the Old Testament—was written over the span of approximately a thousand years, with the “newest” book written around the 400s BC. Most scholars seem to agree that included in these books are at least 300 prophecies surrounding Jesus.

Today, we will only be looking at the prophecies surrounding His death, burial, and resurrection. And on future days, we will obviously be studying the actual fulfillment of these details and events in the last days of Jesus’ earthly life. So many of the 300+ prophecies are worth mentioning, but we only have time to skim the surface.

Let’s start with the occasion known as Palm Sunday. Zechariah 9:9 describes this triumphal entry of Jesus into Jerusalem. The people celebrated His arrival like a king, yet He was riding on a donkey.

Psalm 41:9 prophesies Judas’ betrayal of Jesus. It would be a trusted friend and not an enemy who would do the deed. Further, Zechariah foretold that the Messiah would be betrayed for 30 pieces of silver (11:12–13).

Isaiah 50:6 goes into detail about Jesus being beaten, mocked, and spit upon.

Psalm 22:14–18 not only mentions the pain of the crucifixion, but also how Jesus’ outer garment would be gambled for by others.

Isaiah 53 is known as the “Suffering Servant” passage, so I encourage you to read this chapter today. Among the many prophetic details, it speaks of Jesus being imprisoned, put on trial, being silent in front of His accusers, dying among sinners, put to death for the sins of the people, and buried in a rich man’s grave.

We also turn to Psalms to read the good news of what would happen after the Messiah’s death and burial. In chapter 16 verse 10 it mentions that God’s “faithful one” will not stay in the grave. And in 110:1 it foretells that Jesus will sit at the right hand of God until He comes to defeat His enemies.

Now, let’s step back and look at these prophecies as a whole. If you have doubts that the Old Testament is a historically accurate collection of books, you must consider the statistical odds that Jesus would fulfill so many prophecies. Just fulfilling a mere fraction of the 300+ prophecies would create a number with so many zeroes that our minds couldn’t wrap around it!

If Jesus was truly the Messiah, He would have to fulfill every one of the prophecies, which we Christians believe He undoubtedly did. As a result, take comfort, have faith, and be bold in your witness to others, knowing that Jesus Christ, the Son of the Living God, is indeed the prophesied Savior of the world!