A man may pretend to know the future, and by mere coincidence some of his predictions might come to pass. If he knows the climate in a given part of the country, he may prophesy that it will rain on a certain day, and it might happen. Or he may say that some day you will meet a man who has a black mustache, and very likely you will. But should this pretender add some details, as for instance, saying that the rain will start at 2 o'clock and stop at 2:25, or that you will meet that man in a certain city, and specify the date, hour, and the place, there is less chance of its coming to pass. The more detail he adds the sooner his fraud will be discovered.
But when God speaks of the future it is as certain of fulfillment in all its details as though it were recorded history, and every detail given but enhances the beauty of the prophecy and displays the divine wisdom of Him who gave it.
The Old Testament abounds with prophecies concerning the first coming of Christ, and the very multiplicity of details concerning Him and His coming leave an "honest and good heart" no room for anything but admiration and praise. Let us consider
Some of the Details
The first mention of the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ into this sin stricken world is found in Gen. 3 As soon as sin came in, God made known His purposes concerning the conqueror of Satan in these words to the serpent: "And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel." Here the coming One is called "the seed of the woman."
Next we may trace the line through whom He was to come. It was said to Abraham in Gen. 22:1818And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed my voice. (Genesis 22:18), "And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed." This is the starting point from which to trace the line through whom Messiah must come.
And when Jacob blessed his sons he indicated through which one of the twelve sons the Messiah was to come: "The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto 'Him shall the gathering of the people [s] be." Gen. 49:1010The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto him shall the gathering of the people be. (Genesis 49:10).
The line being traced through Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Judah, we shall next see what family in Judah is mentioned: "And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots." Isa. 11:11And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots: (Isaiah 11:1).
Jesse had many sons, but Isa. 9:77Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this. (Isaiah 9:7) tells us, "Of the increase of His government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David." And, "Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will raise unto David a righteous Branch, and a King shall reign and prosper, and shall execute judgment and justice in the earth." Jer. 23:55Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will raise unto David a righteous Branch, and a King shall reign and prosper, and shall execute judgment and justice in the earth. (Jeremiah 23:5).
He was to come into the world as a babe, and be born of a virgin, be the woman's seed, and come through Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Judah, Jesse, and David.
Next let us notice the prophecy as to where He was to be born: "But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall He come forth unto Me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting." Mic. 5:22But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting. (Micah 5:2).
He must be born in Bethlehem and in "Bethlehem Ephratah," in Judah-not the Bethlehem in Zebulun.
"Daniel the Prophet" tells us when the Messiah was to appear. We shall not go into the notable prophecy of Dan. 9 further than to state that there was to be a time when the Messiah was to appear, and the point of time from which calculations were to be made was definite and precise: "The going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem," which is found in Neh. 2 Those who have computed the years marvel at the accuracy with which it was fulfilled, some saying that it was to the very day of His presentation to Israel; and no doubt it was fulfilled exactly.
He would feed the poor with bread according to Psalm 132:1515I will abundantly bless her provision: I will satisfy her poor with bread. (Psalm 132:15), and open the eyes of the blind according to Psalm 146:88The Lord openeth the eyes of the blind: the Lord raiseth them that are bowed down: the Lord loveth the righteous: (Psalm 146:8). The man who had his eyes opened in John 9 said, "Since the world began was it not heard that any man opened the eyes of one that was born blind." This was a special miracle reserved for the Messiah. God had acted through prophets in the Old Testament to cure lepers and raise the dead, but of no one do we read that he opened the eyes of a blind man.
When John the Baptist became discouraged, when he was in prison, he sent some of his disciples to the Lord with a question. The answer they returned from Him was: "Go and show John again those things which ye do hear and see: the blind receive their sight, and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the poor have the gospel preached unto them." Such was the testimony of the Lord's ministry; He Himself could say, "The same works that I do, bear witness of Me, that the Father hath sent Me." John 5:3636But I have greater witness than that of John: for the works which the Father hath given me to finish, the same works that I do, bear witness of me, that the Father hath sent me. (John 5:36).
But when the Blessed One came, according to the prophecies, He was not received, but despised and rejected. This also was foretold in the Old Testament: "He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from Him; He was despised, and we esteemed Him not." Isa. 53:33He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not. (Isaiah 53:3). And "To Him whom man despiseth, to Him whom the nation abhorreth." Isa. 49:77Thus saith the Lord, the Redeemer of Israel, and his Holy One, to him whom man despiseth, to him whom the nation abhorreth, to a servant of rulers, Kings shall see and arise, princes also shall worship, because of the Lord that is faithful, and the Holy One of Israel, and he shall choose thee. (Isaiah 49:7).
Isa. 53:88He was taken from prison and from judgment: and who shall declare his generation? for he was cut off out of the land of the living: for the transgression of my people was he stricken. (Isaiah 53:8) even lets us know what would precede His being "cut off." "He was taken from prison and from judgment"; or, as given in Acts 8, where the Septuagint translation is quoted: "In His humiliation His judgment was taken away." In other words, He was to be given a trial, but an unfair one where judgment would be wrested and the innocent One be condemned to death.
Judas, one of His disciples, was to betray Him: "Yea, Mine own familiar friend, in whom I trusted, which did eat of My bread, hath lifted up his heel against Me." Psalm 41:99Yea, mine own familiar friend, in whom I trusted, which did eat of my bread, hath lifted up his heel against me. (Psalm 41:9).
Scriptures could be multiplied that foretold of His rejection and the manner of it, but these are sufficient to show some of the details that God gave many centuries before His coming.
The first scripture we referred to (Gen. 3:1515And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel. (Genesis 3:15)) indicates a conflict with Satan; this we know took place, first in the wilderness at the beginning of His ministry, and then again at the close.
That He would die for the sins of others was also foretold in Isa. 53:55But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed. (Isaiah 53:5): "But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon Him; and with His stripes we are healed."
Psalm 22 begins with those awful words. "My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me?" David wrote the psalm as a prophet, but he was never forsaken of God, nor were his hands and his feet pierced; it is plainly evident that this psalm could refer to no other than Jesus, our Lord. The first words of the psalm are the words used by the Lord Jesus in that cry of abandonment, when He, the holy One, was made sin, and was forsaken of God.
No doubt it was the intent of those who crucified Him between two thieves to bury Him in like manner; but the prophetic utterance was: "And men appointed His grave with the wicked, but He was with the rich in His death". (Isa. 53:99And he made his grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death; because he had done no violence, neither was any deceit in his mouth. (Isaiah 53:9) JND), and it had to be fulfilled. So we read of Joseph of Arimathea-a rich man-lovingly giving Him a rich man's burial.
But was He to stay in the tomb? Was death to hold Him? No indeed, for the Scriptures said, "Thou wilt not leave My soul in hell [sheol]; neither wilt Thou suffer Thine Holy One to see corruption." Psalm 16:1010For thou wilt not leave my soul in hell; neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption. (Psalm 16:10). "I waited patiently for the LORD; and He inclined unto Me, and heard My cry. He brought Me up also out of a horrible, pit, out of the miry clay, and set My feet upon a rock, and established My goings. And He hath put a new song in My mouth, even praise unto our [in resurrection victory He associates others with Himself] God." Psalm 40:1-31<<To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David.>> I waited patiently for the Lord; and he inclined unto me, and heard my cry. 2He brought me up also out of an horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and established my goings. 3And he hath put a new song in my mouth, even praise unto our God: many shall see it, and fear, and shall trust in the Lord. (Psalm 40:1‑3).
Now, reader, we have but very briefly touched upon the manifold details given centuries before the coming of Christ, which foretold His birth, of whom He was to be born, where and when, His ministry, His reception '(or rather rejection), His cutting off, His mock trial, His sufferings (both from man, and for man), His burial, and His resurrection. All these prophetic details, and many more, were precisely fulfilled.
One thing we did not mention was that in many of the scriptures quoted His deity was carefully guarded and maintained-yes, He was and is "God blessed forever," "whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting" (Mic. 5:22But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting. (Micah 5:2))-"His name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace." Isa. 9:66For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. (Isaiah 9:6).
What a treasure we have in the Bible-The Word of God! May this brief review open our eyes to see more of its beauty, its perfection, and its divine authorship, so that we shall praise Him from whom all blessings flow.