Prophecies of the Messiah: How Jesus' birth, life, and death were predicted

One of the most important questions we can ask ourselves is, “Who is Jesus?” Many people make claims about Him: the way he lived, the things he said, the places he went, and who he was. We all come to a conclusion in our own minds about this, but we often do so looking back on what happened during his time on earth.

What many people don’t realize is how much was written about Him before he was even born. Centuries before his birth, the Jewish people awaited a special person God had promised them — a saviour they called the “Messiah”. They believed He would rescue them from the oppression of Roman rulers and establish a new Jewish kingdom. The Hebrew word “Messiah” means “Anointed One,” and its Greek translation is “Christ”. This is why Christians call Jesus “Jesus Christ” — we believe he is the one who was promised.

When we read through the Old Testament (the first part of the Bible), we find more than 60 direct statements regarding the expected Messiah, and more than 270 direct consequences of his life mentioned. Some prophecies are so specific that the chance of one person fulfilling just 8 of them is 1 in 100 quadrillion (1 in 100,000,000,000,000,000). The odds of fulfilling 48 of these prophecies are 1 in 10 to the power of 157 (1 with 157 zeros after it). Add to that the other prophecies and it soon becomes clear that such precise prophecies could not just have been fulfilled by chance.

Although not all prophecies about the Messiah have been fulfilled yet, we believe one day they will be. Let’s look at some amazing examples of these ancient prophecies about Jesus.

Prophecy 1: The Messiah would be born in Bethlehem (~800 BC)

Around 800 years before Jesus was born, the prophet Micah wrote about the birthplace of the Messiah:

In Israel, two towns were named Bethlehem — one in Zebulun and the other in Judah. Micah specifically references Bethlehem Ephrathah, situated about five miles southwest of Jerusalem in the hill country of Judah. Bethlehem was considered "little", or insignificant, among the cities of Judah, yet would serve as the birthplace of this future ruler.

This prophecy refers to “one who is to be ruler in Israel,”  clearly a reference to the coming Messiah, describing him as "of old, from ancient days", this is telling us that the person who was to come would in fact be someone coming from the distant past. The expression "from ancient days" is showing us that he is eternal, meaning that the coming Messiah would be God Himself.

In the New Testament, we find this prophecy fulfilled in the life of Jesus:

Prophecy 2: The Messiah would be born of a virgin (~720 BC)

One of the most extraordinary prophecies regarding Jesus’ birth is that he would be born of a virgin. This prophecy, written by the prophet Isaiah, was initially a sign to a king in Israel (Ahaz), but its deeper meaning was revealed in the New Testament:

This prophecy tells us that the Messiah would not be born through natural means, as no man would be involved in his birth. The New Testament describes this unique event, where the Holy Spirit miraculously enabled Mary to conceive. The child would be called “Immanuel,” meaning “God with us.” This name reveals that God himself was coming down to be with us — a promise that he still keeps today by being present in our lives.

Prophecy 3: The Messiah would be betrayed by a close friend (~1015 BC)

The prophecies about the Messiah include some of the darker moments in Jesus’ life, including His betrayal. In Psalm 41, King David writes about a betrayal by a close friend, which foreshadows Jesus’ experience with Judas Iscariot:

In Jesus’ life, this “close friend” was Judas Iscariot, one of his twelve disciples. Judas witnessed Jesus’ miracles, heard his teachings, and shared meals with him. Yet, he betrayed Jesus for thirty pieces of silver — a sum that was also foretold in Zechariah 11:13, written around 520 BC. Judas betrayed Jesus after sharing a meal with Him, perfectly fulfilling this prophecy.

This is a sobering reminder: if Judas who saw everything Jesus did with his own eyes could turn away from him and could betray him, how much more are we capable of, who have not physically witnessed the same events as Judas? Remember! Being a Christian is not just about being in the right place, with the right people like going to Church etc... It is not just doing good things, it is the firm belief that Jesus Christ (God himself) came down into this world to die on a cross for you, to take away your sin, let us never forget this.

Prophecy 4: The Messiah would die for the sins of others (~700 BC)

Isaiah 53, written around 700 BC, describes the Messiah’s suffering and death. This chapter portrays a man rejected by his peers and willing to face judgment on behalf of others. Jesus was put on trial by Pontius Pilate, who could find no fault in Him. Pilate even tried to release Jesus by offering to free him over a known criminal, but the crowd demanded Jesus’ crucifixion instead.

This might seem a massive failure but in his death Jesus had the greatest victory. In his death, Jesus took upon himself the judgment we deserved. Facing the horror of this burden, he prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane:

Despite this, Jesus willingly went to the cross, where he bore the punishment for our wrongdoings so that we can find peace and salvation in him.

Prophecy 5: The Messiah will reign

At the beginning of this article, we noted that the Messiah was expected to reign. Even Jesus’ disciples, after his death, thought their hopes had been shattered:

The disciples who spoke these words were walking away from Jerusalem after Jesus had died. Their hopes were crushed, but little did they realise that they were talking to the resurrected Jesus himself! Jesus explained that the Messiah had to suffer first, then enter into his glory. He opened their eyes to see the fulfilment of Scripture:

After the disciples had the full story, they were no longer disheartened but excited, and ran back to Jerusalem to tell the rest of the disciples what had happened. 

We believe that Jesus will one day return to reign over the world, he will reign in a way no one has ever reigned before, bringing true peace and justice. That will be an exciting time. Until then, he offers us an opportunity to let him reign in our hearts, bringing us his peace and joy.

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