Old Testament Prophecies Fulfilled during Holy Week
Old Testament Prophecies Fulfilled during Holy Week
In the Fall, I presented a talk on Messianic prophecies fulfilled by the birth of our Lord Jesus. Remember, a prophet is someone who God uses to deliver his words, instructions, or, in this case, predictions of things to come. Prophets such as Isaiah, Jeremiah, Zechariah, and David, in the Psalms, wrote words inspired by God 700-1000 years before Jesus walked the earth. Then, as these prophecies were fulfilled, the New Testament writers noted their fulfillment.
According to biblical experts, Jesus fulfilled hundreds (300) of prophecies during his life. On March 27, we discussed twelve prophecies fulfilled during Holy Week and Jesus' resurrection. I hope you will use this list as a review for Easter.
1. People in Jerusalem will celebrate when Jesus arrives on a donkey.
Old Testament Scripture: Zechariah 9:9
Rejoice greatly, Daughter Zion! Shout, Daughter Jerusalem! See, your king comes to you, righteous and victorious, lowly and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.
Fulfillment in Jesus:Matthew 21:7-9
The disciples brought the donkey and the colt and placed their cloaks on them for Jesus to sit on. A very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road, while others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. The crowds that went ahead of him and those that followed shouted, “Hosanna to the Son of David!”
2. Jesus will be betrayed for 30 pieces of silver.
Old Testament Scripture: Zechariah 11:13b
So I took the thirty pieces of silver and threw them to the potter at the house of the LORD.
Fulfillment in Jesus:Matthew 26:14, 15
Then one of the Twelve – the one called Judas Iscariot – went to the chief priests and asked, “What are you willing to give me if I deliver him over to you?” So they counted out for him 30 pieces of silver.”
3. Jesus will be quiet before his accusers.
Old Testament Scripture: Isaiah 53:7
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 its shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth.
Fulfillment in Jesus: Matthew 27:14
But Jesus made no reply, not even to a single charge—to the great amazement of the governor.
4. Jesus will be rejected.
Old Testament Scripture: Isaiah 53:3
He was despised and rejected by mankind, a man of suffering and familiar with pain.
Fulfillment in Jesus: Mark 15:12-13
What shall I do, then, with the one you call the king of the Jews? Pilate asked them. “Crucify him!” they shouted.
5. Jesus will be mocked and beaten.
Old Testament Scripture: Isaiah 50:6
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.
Fulfillment in Jesus: Matthew 27:27-30
Then the governor’s soldiers took Jesus into the Praetorium and gathered the whole company of soldiers around him. They stripped him and put a scarlet robe on him, and then twisted together a crown of thorns and set it on his head. They put a staff in his right hand. Then they knelt in front of him and mocked him. “Hail, king of the Jews!” they said. They spit on him, and took the staff and beat him on the head again and again.
6. Jesus will be among criminals at his death.
Old Testament Scripture: Isaiah 52:12b
…he poured out his life unto death and was numbered with the transgressors.
Fulfillment in Jesus:Mark 15:27
They crucified two rebels with him, one on his right and one on his left.
7. As the psalmist did, Jesus will commit his spirit into God’s hands.
Old Testament Scripture: Psalm 31:5
Into your hands I commit my spirit, deliver me, LORD, my faithful God.
Fulfillment in Jesus:Luke 23:46
Jesus called out with a loud voice, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.” When he had said this, he breathed his last.
8. Like the Passover Lamb, none of Jesus’ bones will be broken.
Old Testament Scripture:
Exodus 12:46 It must be eaten inside the house; take none of the meat outside the house. Do not break any of the bones.
Psalm 34:20 He protects all his bones, not one of them will be broken.
Fulfillment in Jesus:John 19:31-33
Because the Jewish leaders did not want the bodies left on the crosses during the Sabbath, they asked Pilate to have the legs broken and the bodies taken down. 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.
9. Jesus will be pierced.
Old Testament Scripture:
Psalm 22:16 ..they pierce my hands and my feet.
Zechariah 12:10 And I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and supplication. They will look on me, the one they have pierced.
Fulfillment in Jesus:John 19:34
Instead, one of the soldiers pierced Jesus’ side with a spear, bringing a sudden flow of blood and water.
10. Jesus will die for the sins of people.
Old Testament Scripture:
Isaiah 53:5b The punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed.
Isaiah 53:8b For he was cut off from the land of the living; for the transgression of my people he was punished.
Fulfillment in Jesus:
Matthew 27:51 And when Jesus had cried out again in a loud voice, he gave up his spirit.
1 Peter 2:24a He himself bore our sins in his body on the cross, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness.
11. Jesus will be buried with the rich.
Old Testament Scripture: Isaiah 53:9a
He was assigned a grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death.
Fulfillment in Jesus:Matthew 27:57-60
As evening approached, there came a rich man from Arimathea, named Joseph, who had himself become a disciple of Jesus. Going to Pilate, he asked for Jesus’ body, and Pilate ordered that it be given to him. Joseph took the body, wrapped it in a clean linen cloth, and placed it in his own tomb that he had cut out of the rock. He rolled a big stone in front of the entrance to the tomb and went away.
12. Jesus will be resurrected.
Old Testament Scripture:
Isaiah 53:11a After he has suffered, he will see the light of life and be satisfied.
Psalm 16:10 because you will not abandon me to the realm of the dead, nor will you let your faithful one see decay.
Hosea 6:2b On the third day he will restore us, that we may live in his presence.
Fulfillment in Jesus:Luke 24:4-6
While they were wondering about this, suddenly two men in clothes that gleamed like lightning stood beside them. In their fright, the women bowed down with their faces to the ground, but the men said to them, “Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here; he has RISEN!
Further research and thoughts related to the questions during our time together on March 26 about whether or not Jesus was separated from God on the cross
1) First, we must understand that sin separates us from God. The only way we can be right with God is through faith in Jesus. John 3:16,
John 14:5-6 NIV: 5 Thomas said to him, “Lord, we don’t know where you are going, so how can we know the way?” 6 Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
2) Jesus, being fully human and fully God, had a role to play to reunite humanity with God. In playing this role, he took on our sins on the cross, died, was resurrected, and returned to heaven to sit at God's right hand.
2 Corinthians 5:21 NIV: God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
3) On the cross, there was a point where it became dark for three hours, eventually the earth shook, and the veil in the temple (separating regular people from where God resided) tore, and Jesus died.
Luke 23:44-46 NIV - The Death of Jesus
44 It was now about noon, and darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon, 45 for the sun stopped shining. And the curtain of the temple was torn in two. 46 Jesus called out with a loud voice, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.”[a] When he had said this, he breathed his last.
Mark 14:33-34 NIV: At noon, darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon. 34 And at three in the afternoon Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?” (which means “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”)
Matthew 27:50-54 NIV: 50 And when Jesus had cried out again in a loud voice, he gave up his spirit. 51 At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth shook, the rocks split 52 and the tombs broke open. The bodies of many holy people who had died were raised to life. 53 They came out of the tombs after Jesus’ resurrection and[a] went into the holy city and appeared to many people. 54 When the centurion and those with him who were guarding Jesus saw the earthquake and all that had happened, they were terrified, and exclaimed, “Surely he was the Son of God!”
Perhaps "separated" is not the right word, because Jesus was still God himself. We use that word because we know that sin separates us from God, and God cannot be around sin. Jesus had a role to play, and he knew what was to happen, but still experienced human emotions. Remembering that God would not change the sacrifice because of the world's sin, Jesus knew it needed to happen in that way. Perhaps he had a moment when he knew God would not intervene, and things must play out. His words, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" confuse us. Some pastors feel that perhaps that was a cry of agony, yet a cry of obedience and faith.
As believers who are "saved," we have those moments when God lets things play out. We are not separated from God because we have faith in Jesus. God does not abandon us, and we must trust that God is almighty. The Holy Spirit lives within us and does not leave no matter what may happen. We may be able to ask about these moments in heaven. Maybe it all makes sense when we see Jesus face-to-face.
I think both viewpoints are correct - Jesus was fully God and fully human and perhaps there was a moment when the sins of all of us were released as part of God's plan for his son's sacrifice that could be called separation.
Either way, I think we have honored God by wrestling with this, discussing it, praying about it, and most importantly loving each other through it.
Becky
