As the Messiah, Jesus is the Suffering Servant. He came to suffer and die for us. If He didn’t offer Himself as a satisfactory sacrifice, we would still be under God’s condemnation. But, it pleased God to raise Him from the dead on the third day, in accordance with Scripture. We have many eye witnesses to that incredible resurrection. So, that proves to us that God accepted His Son’s sacrifice. Therefore, we can have our sins forgiven and join God’s family if we believe in Christ as our Lord and Savior.
The Messiah suffered to make atonement for sins
| Atonement prophecies | Fulfilled atonement prophecies |
|---|---|
| The suffering servant bore our suffering: Surely he took up our pain and bore our suffering (Isaiah 53:4). See also Isaiah 53:4-6, 11-12) | He bore our sins. He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed (1 Peter 2:24) |
| The blood makes atonement. For the life of a creature is in the blood, and I have given it to you to make atonement for yourselves on the altar; it is the blood that makes atonement for one’s life. (Leviticus 17:11) | The Messiah’s blood poured out for the many. Then he took the cup, gave thanks and offered it to them, saying, “drink from it all of you. This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins (Matthew 26:27-28). |
| Moses lifted up a bronze snake. So Moses made a bronze snake and put it on a pole. Then when anyone was bitten by a snake and looked at the bronze snake, he lived (Numbers 21:9) | Everyone who looks upon Jesus will live. Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the desert, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life (John 3:14-15) |
| The Passover lamb. Then Moses summoned all the elders of Israel and said to them, “Go at once and select the animals for your families and slaughter the Passover lamb. …(See Exodus 12:21-27) | Christ is our Passover Lamb. Get rid of the old yeast that you may be a new batch without yeast–as you really are. For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed (1 Corinthians 5:7). |
Prophecies of the suffering Messiah fulfilled before the crucifixion
| Prophecy | Fulfillment |
|---|---|
| They conspire against me. For I hear many whispering, “Terror on every side!” They conspire against me and plot to take my life (Psalm 31:13) | They will plot to kill God’s anointed. Early in the morning, all the chief priests and the elders of the people made their plans how to have Jesus executed (Matthew 27:1). |
| He did not open his mouth. He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; he was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before his shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth (Isaiah 53:7). See also Psalm 38:12-13. | The Messiah will be quiet before his accusers. When he was accused by the chief priests and the elders, he gave no answer. Then Pilate asked him, “Don’t you hear the testimony they are bringing against you?” But Jesus made no reply, not even to a single charge—to the great amazement of the governor (Matthew 27:12-14). |
| His close friend turned against him. Even my close friend, someone I trusted, one who shared my bread, has turned against me (Psalm 41:9). | The Messiah would be abandoned by one of his closest friends. “I am not referring to all of you; I know those I have chosen. But this is to fulfill this passage of Scripture: ‘He who shared my bread has turned against me (John 13:18). |
| My closest friends flee from me. Because of all my enemies, I am the utter contempt of my neighbors and an object of dread to my closest friends— those who see me on the street flee from me (Psalm 31:11). | Everyone will abandon the Messiah. Then everyone deserted him and fled. (Mark 14:50) |
Prophecies of the suffering Messiah fulfilled in Jesus’ crucifixion
| Prophecy | Fulfillment |
|---|---|
| They pierce my hands and feet. Dogs surround me, a pack of villains encircles me; they pierce my hands and my feet (Proverbs 22:16). | They would pierce Christ’s hands and feet. “They will look on the one they have pierced.” (John 19:37) |
| They divide my clothes among them. They divide my clothes among them and cast lots for my garment (Proverbs 22:18). | They would cast lots for Jesus clothing. “Let’s not tear it,” they said to one another. “Let’s decide by lot who will get it” (John 19:24) (See John 19:23-24) |
| I did not hide my face from mocking. I offered my back to those who beat me, my cheeks to those who pulled out my beard; I did not hide my face from mocking and spitting (Isaiah 50:6). | The Messiah will be mocked and abused. They spit on him, and took the staff and struck him on the head again and again (Matthew 27:30). (See Matthew 27:27-31) |
| “Let the Lord rescue him.“ “He trusts in the Lord,” they say, “let the Lord rescue him. Let him deliver him, since he delights in him” (Psalm 22:8). | The Messiah would be scorned. “He saved others,” they said, “but he can’t save himself! He’s the king of Israel! Let him come down now from the cross, and we will believe in him” (Matthew 27:42). |
| They gave me vinegar and gall. They put gall in my food and gave me vinegar for my thirst (Psalm 69:21). | The Christ’s thirst will be quenched with vinegar and gall. There they offered Jesus wine to drink, mixed with gall; but after tasting it, he refused to drink it (Matthew 27:34). |
Prophesies of the suffering Messiah fulfilled upon His death
| Why have you forsaken me? My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from saving me, so far from my cries of anguish? (Psalm 22:1) | The Messiah would be forsaken About three in the afternoon Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” (which means “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”) (Matthew 27:46). |
| I commit my spirit. Into your hands I commit my spirit; deliver me, Lord, my faithful God (Psalm 31:5). | The Messiah will cry, “Into your hands I commit my Spirit. Jesus called out with a loud voice, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.” When he had said this, he breathed his last (Luke 23:46). |
| Do not break the bones. “It must be eaten inside the house; take none of the meat outside the house. Do not break any of the bones (Exodus 12:46). | Like the Passover Lamb, none of Christ’s bones will be broken. The soldiers therefore came and broke the legs of the first man who had been crucified with Jesus, and then those of the other. But when they came to Jesus and found that he was already dead, they did not break his legs (John 19:32-33). (See John 19:31-36) |
Prophecies of the suffering Messiah fulfilled in the resurrection and ascension
| Prophecies | Fulfillment |
|---|---|
| You will not let me see decay. Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices; my body also will rest secure, because you will not abandon me to the realm of the dead, nor will you let your faithful one see decay. (Psalm 16:9-10) | God’s anointed will not see decay. Seeing what was to come, he spoke of the resurrection of the Messiah, that he was not abandoned to the realm of the dead, nor did his body see decay (Acts 2:31). |
| He hasn’t given me over to death. I will not die but live, and will proclaim what the Lord has done. The Lord has chastened me severely, but he has not given me over to death (Psalm 118:17-18). | The Messiah has risen. “Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here; he has risen!” (Luke 24:5-6) |
| I know my redeemer lives. I know that my redeemer lives, and that in the end he will stand on the earth (Job 19:25). (See also Job 19:23-27) | Christ has been granted life. For as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son also to have life in himself (John 5:26). (See also John 5:24-29) |
| When he ascended on high. When you ascended on high, you took many captives; you received gifts from people, even from the rebellious— that you, Lord God, might dwell there (Psalm 68:18). | Christ ascended into heaven. But to each one of us grace has been given as Christ apportioned it. This is why it says: “When he ascended on high, he led captives in his train and gave gifts to men” (Ephesians 4:7-8). (See also Ephesians 4:9-13) |
The final victory over death
| Prophecy | Fulfillment |
|---|---|
| Death will be swallowed up forever. On this mountain he will destroy the shroud that enfolds all people, the sheet that covers all nations; he will swallow up death forever (Isaiah 25:7-8) | The Messiah will conquer death. When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: “Death has been swallowed up in victory” (1 Corinthians 15:54). |
Have you trusted Jesus to be your redeemer?
With so much prophetic evidence that Jesus is exactly who He claimed to be, how can you reject Him without condemning yourself? God doesn’t excuse ignorance, indifference, or indecision. Place your faith in Christ alone for the forgiveness of your sins.
Ask yourself two very important questions. First, are you sure that you’ll go to heaven when you die? Secondly, are you certain why God should let you into heaven? If you don’t know for sure, you can settle that matter today. Visit my post, How to Begin Your Life Over Again and you’ll know where and how you’ll spend eternity.
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