The Old Testament, perhaps more than any other book in the Bible, was written by prophets with a specific goal: To foretell the coming of the Messiah. Based on careful study of these prophecies, scholars have determined that only Jesus Christ -who was born of a virgin and crucified for our salvation – can be the prophesied Messiah. Some of these prophecies mention his birthplace (Micah 5:1), family tree (Genesis 3:15), life mission (“yet will I raise up” Zechariah 9:9, “as a shepherd his flock” Psalm 23), even his death itself (Psalm 22).
The prophecies of the coming Messiah are detailed in the Old Testament with more than 300 different prophecies. Many of these were given hundreds of years before the birth of Jesus Christ and were messianic in nature and fulfilled only in Him. The prophecy about Jesus is actually a major theme along with His life and teachings in the New Testament.
The Old Testament is filled with prophecies about the coming of a Savior, who would redeem mankind from sin. The book of Isaiah contains a remarkable number of messianic prophecies, and the Gospel writers find their fulfillment in Jesus Christ. This presentation will survey the numerous messianic prophecies found in both testaments, including the Messiah’s birth, life, death and resurrection as pictured graphically by Zechariah 9:9; His glorification (Isaiah 52:13-53:12); His exaltation over all enemies (Psalm 110); His Second Coming (Daniel 7; Revelation 19:11-16); The Creation Of Israel As God’s Son (Zechariah 12:1-3).
Prophecy Of The Messiah In The Old Testament
Isaiah 9:6 (Masoretic 9:5) “For a child is born unto us, a son hath been given unto us, and the government is placed on his shoulders; and his name is called, Wonderful, counsellor of the mighty God, of the everlasting Father, the prince of peace”, (Lesser)
1. The nations will be blessed through Abraham’s lineage
Prophecy:
“I will bless those who bless you,
and whoever curses you I will curse;
and all peoples on earth
will be blessed through you” (Genesis 12:3).
Fulfillment:
“And you are heirs of the prophets and of the covenant God made with your fathers. He said to Abraham, ‘Through your offspring all peoples on earth will be blessed.’ When God raised up his servant, he sent him first to you to bless you by turning each of you from your wicked ways” (Acts 3:25–26).
2. God’s covenant with Isaac’s ancestors
Prophecy:
“Then God said, ‘Yes, but your wife Sarah will bear you a son, and you will call him Isaac. I will establish my covenant with him as an everlasting covenant for his descendants after him’” (Genesis 17:19).
Fulfillment:
“Nor because they are his descendants are they all Abraham’s children. On the contrary, ‘It is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned’” (Romans 9:7).
3. The nations will be blessed through Jacob’s offspring
Prophecy:
“Your descendants will be like the dust of the earth, and you will spread out to the west and to the east, to the north and to the south. All peoples on earth will be blessed through you and your offspring” (Genesis 28:14).
Fulfillment:
Jacob is part of Jesus’ genealogy.
“the son of Jacob,
the son of Isaac, the son of Abraham,
the son of Terah, the son of Nahor” (Luke 3:34)
4. The scepter will come through Judah
Prophecy:
“The scepter will not depart from Judah,
nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet,
until he to whom it belongs shall come
and the obedience of the nations shall be his” (Genesis 49:10).
Fulfillment:
Judah is part of Jesus’ genealogy.
“the son of Amminadab, the son of Ram,
the son of Hezron, the son of Perez,
the son of Judah” (Luke 3:33)
5. David’s offspring will have an eternal kingdom
Prophecy:
“When your days are over and you rest with your ancestors, I will raise up your offspring to succeed you, your own flesh and blood, and I will establish his kingdom. He is the one who will build a house for my Name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever” (2 Samuel 7:12–13).
Fulfillment:
“This is the genealogy of Jesus the Messiah the son of David, the son of Abraham” (Matthew 1:1)
6. A virgin will give birth, and he will be called Immanuel (God with us)
Prophecy:
“Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel” (Isaiah 7:14).
Fulfillment:
“The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God” (Luke 1:35).
7. The Messiah will end up in Egypt
Prophecy:
“When Israel was a child, I loved him,
and out of Egypt I called my son” (Hosea 11:1).
Fulfillment:
“So he [Joseph] got up, took the child and his mother during the night and left for Egypt, where he stayed until the death of Herod. And so was fulfilled what the Lord had said through the prophet: ‘Out of Egypt I called my son’” (Matthew 2:14–15).
8. The Christ will be born in Bethlehem
Prophecy:
“But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah,
though you are small among the clans of Judah,
out of you will come for me
one who will be ruler over Israel,
whose origins are from of old,
from ancient times.” (Micah 5:2).
Fulfillment:
“When he had called together all the people’s chief priests and teachers of the law, he asked them where the Messiah was to be born. ‘In Bethlehem in Judea,’ they replied, ‘for this is what the prophet has written:
“‘But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,
are by no means least among the rulers of Judah;
for out of you will come a ruler
who will shepherd my people Israel.’” (Matthew 2:4–6).
Prophecies about Jesus’ ministry
It was God’s plan that Jesus would have a profound ministry during his time on earth. This collection of prophecies focuses on particularly specific elements of Christ’s earthly ministry.
9. Christ’s ministry will destroy the devil’s work
Prophecy:
“And I will put enmity
between you and the woman,
and between your offspring and hers;
he will crush your head,
and you will strike his heel” (Genesis 3:15).
Fulfillment:
“The one who does what is sinful is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil’s work” (1 John 3:8).
10. Jesus will have a sinless, blemish-free life and ministry
Prophecy:
“The animals you choose must be year-old males without defect, and you may take them from the sheep or the goats” (Exodus 12:5).
Fulfillment:
“How much more, then, will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death, so that we may serve the living God!” (Hebrews 9:14)
11. The Messiah will be humbled in order to serve mankind
Prophecy:
“You have made them a little lower than the angels
and crowned them with glory and honor.
You made them rulers over the works of your hands;
you put everything under their feet” (Psalm 8:5–6)
Fulfillment:
“It is not to angels that he has subjected the world to come, about which we are speaking. But there is a place where someone has testified:
‘What is mankind that you are mindful of them,
a son of man that you care for him?
You made them a little lower than the angels;
you crowned them with glory and honor
and put everything under their feet.’
“In putting everything under them, God left nothing that is not subject to them. Yet at present we do not see everything subject to them. But we do see Jesus, who was made lower than the angels for a little while, now crowned with glory and honor because he suffered death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone” (Hebrews 2:5–9).
12. Jesus would become the perfect sacrifice
Prophecy:
“Sacrifice and offering you did not desire—
but my ears you have opened—
burnt offerings and sin offerings you did not require.
Then I said, “Here I am, I have come—
it is written about me in the scroll.
I desire to do your will, my God;
your law is within my heart” (Psalm 40:6–8).
Fulfillment:
“Therefore, when Christ came into the world, he said:
‘Sacrifice and offering you did not desire,
but a body you prepared for me;
with burnt offerings and sin offerings
you were not pleased.’
“Then I said, ‘Here I am—it is written about me in the scroll—
I have come to do your will, my God.’”
“First he said, ‘Sacrifices and offerings, burnt offerings and sin offerings you did not desire, nor were you pleased with them’—though they were offered in accordance with the law. Then he said, ‘Here I am, I have come to do your will.’ He sets aside the first to establish the second. And by that will, we have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all” (Hebrews 10:5–10).
13. Jesus would preach righteousness to Israel
Prophecy:
“I proclaim your saving acts in the great assembly;
I do not seal my lips, Lord,
as you know” (Psalm 40:9).
Fulfillment:
“From that time on Jesus began to preach, ‘Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near’” (Matthew 4:17).
14. Jesus would teach in parables
Prophecy:
“My people, hear my teaching;
listen to the words of my mouth.
I will open my mouth with a parable;
I will utter hidden things, things from of old” (Psalm 78:1–2)
Fulfillment:
“Jesus spoke all these things to the crowd in parables; he did not say anything to them without using a parable. So was fulfilled what was spoken through the prophet:
‘I will open my mouth in parables,
I will utter things hidden since the creation of the world’” (Matthew 13:34–35).
15. Christ’s parables would fall on deaf ears
Prophecy:
“He said, ‘Go and tell this people:
“Be ever hearing, but never understanding;
be ever seeing, but never perceiving.’
Make the heart of this people calloused;
make their ears dull
and close their eyes.
Otherwise they might see with their eyes,
hear with their ears,
understand with their hearts,
and turn and be healed”‘” (Isaiah 6:9–10).
Fulfillment:
“This is why I speak to them in parables:
‘Though seeing, they do not see;
though hearing, they do not hear or understand.
In them is fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah:
‘”You will be ever hearing but never understanding;
you will be ever seeing but never perceiving.
For this people’s heart has become calloused;
they hardly hear with their ears,
and they have closed their eyes.
Otherwise they might see with their eyes,
hear with their ears,
understand with their hearts
and turn, and I would heal them”‘” (Matthew 13:13–15).
16. The Messiah would be a stone that causes people to stumble
Prophecy:
“He will be a holy place;
for both Israel and Judah he will be
a stone that causes people to stumble
and a rock that makes them fall.
And for the people of Jerusalem he will be
a trap and a snare” (Isaiah 8:14).
Fulfillment:
“Now to you who believe, this stone is precious. But to those who do not believe,
‘The stone the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone,’
and,
‘A stone that causes people to stumble
and a rock that makes them fall.’
“They stumble because they disobey the message—which is also what they were destined for” (1 Peter 2:7–8).
17. Christ’s ministry would begin in Galilee
Prophecy:
“Nevertheless, there will be no more gloom for those who were in distress. In the past he humbled the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, but in the future he will honor Galilee of the nations, by the Way of the Sea, beyond the Jordan—
The people walking in darkness
have seen a great light;
on those living in the land of deep darkness
a light has dawned” (Isaiah 9:1–2).
Fulfillment:
“When Jesus heard that John had been put in prison, he withdrew to Galilee. Leaving Nazareth, he went and lived in Capernaum, which was by the lake in the area of Zebulun and Naphtali—to fulfill what was said through the prophet Isaiah:
‘Land of Zebulun and land of Naphtali,
the Way of the Sea, beyond the Jordan,
Galilee of the Gentiles—
the people living in darkness
have seen a great light;
on those living in the land of the shadow of death
a light has dawned.’
“From that time on Jesus began to preach, ‘Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near’” (Matthew 4:12–17).
18. Jesus would draw the Gentiles to himself
Prophecy:
“In that day the Root of Jesse will stand as a banner for the peoples; the nations will rally to him, and his resting place will be glorious” (Isaiah 11:10).
Fulfillment:
“Many people, because they had heard that he had performed this sign, went out to meet him. So the Pharisees said to one another, ‘See, this is getting us nowhere. Look how the whole world has gone after him!’
“Now there were some Greeks among those who went up to worship at the festival. They came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, with a request. ‘Sir,’ they said, ‘we would like to see Jesus’” (John 12:18–21).
19. Jesus would have a miraculous ministry
Prophecy:
“Then will the eyes of the blind be opened
and the ears of the deaf unstopped.
Then will the lame leap like a deer,
and the mute tongue shout for joy.
Water will gush forth in the wilderness
and streams in the desert” (Isaiah 35:5–6).
Fulfillment:
“When John, who was in prison, heard about the deeds of the Messiah, he sent his disciples to ask him, ‘Are you the one who is to come, or should we expect someone else?’
“Jesus replied, ‘Go back and report to John what you hear and see: The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is proclaimed to the poor. Blessed is anyone who does not stumble on account of me’” (Matthew 11:2–6).
20. The Messiah would be preceded by a forerunner
Prophecy:
“A voice of one calling:
‘In the wilderness prepare
the way for the Lord;
make straight in the desert
a highway for our God.
Every valley shall be raised up,
every mountain and hill made low;
the rough ground shall become level,
the rugged places a plain’” (Isaiah 40:3–4).
Fulfillment:
“John replied in the words of Isaiah the prophet, ‘I am the voice of one calling in the wilderness, “Make straight the way for the Lord”‘” (John 1:23).
Isaiah Prophecy of Jesus KJV
| MESSIANIC PROPHECIES IN ISAIAH FULFILLED AT FIRST COMING | |
| Description of the Prophecy | New Testament Fulfillment |
| Isaiah 6:1-5 Isaiah saw the glory of God | John 12:41 |
| Isaiah 6:10 hardening of the hearts of Israel | John 12:40 |
| Isaiah 7:14 Virgin birth of the Messiah | Matthew 1:23-25 |
| Isaiah 9:1-2 Light brought to Zebulun and Naphtali | Matthew 4:12-16 |
| Isaiah 9:6 A Son to be born | Matthew 1:23; Luke 1:31-33; 2:7,11 |
| Isaiah 11:1 A shoot from Jesse (David’s lineage) | Luke 1:31-33; |
| Isaiah 11:2 Spirit of the Lord will rest on Him | Matthew 3:16; 12:18; Mark 1;10; Luke 3:22, |
| Isaiah 28:16 The Corner Stone, rejected | Matthew 21:42-44 |
