By the time the books of the New Testament were written,
Jesus had already been among us. The Gospels chronicle
his life, Acts
relates the story of the Ascension and the birth and
growth of the early
church. The writers of the Epistles provide us with
divinely inspired
insight into the details of what it means to be a
Christian and, in some
cases, a look into what lies ahead. Revelation, of
course, gives us in
detail the culmination of history and God's ultimate
plan for his
creation. It is a confirmation and completion of all
previous Bible
Prophecy.
But what of the Old Testament, those books of Scripture
written long before Jesus walked the earth? Do they say
anything about
this man who was God in the flesh? And if they do,
wouldn't this speak
volumes as to Scripture's reliability? The books which
comprise the Bible were written over the course of many
centuries almost
entirely by Jews, except, to the best of my knowledge,
the gospel of Luke
and the book of Acts. Let us therefore apply the Jewish
rules of
evidence.
[Note: In the presentation which follows, bracketed
sections
have been added for clarification to Bible quotations
and to denote from
where they come; OT - Old Testament or NT- New
Testament .]
[OT] Deuteronomy 19:15 One witness shall not rise up
against a
man for any iniquity, or for any sins that he sinneth:
at the mouth of
two witnesses, or at the mouth of three witnesses, shall
the matter be
established.
[NT] 2 Corinthians 13:1 This is the third time I [Paul]
am
coming to you. In the mouth of two or three witnesses
shall every word
be established.
[NT] 1 Timothy 5:19 Against an elder receive not an
accusation,
but before two or three witnesses.
We see that multiple witnesses are required for
testimony to be
accepted. so we'll keep to that standard here. Let's
begin our
investigation to see the first two chapters of the first
book of the
Bible:
[OT] Genesis 1:1-3 In the beginning God created the
heaven and the earth. And the earth was without form and
void; and
darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit
of God moved upon
the face of the waters. And God said, Let there be
light: and there was
light.
This account continues with God then "speaking"
everything
in creation into existence by the power of his Word. Our
second witness,
the Apostle John, reveals more about this Word:
[NT] Excerpted from John, chapter 1:
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with
God, and
the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with
God. All things
were made by him; and without him was not any thing made
that was made .
. . . And the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us,
(and we beheld his
glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father),
full of grace
and truth . . . And of his fulness have we all received,
and grace for
grace. For the law was given by Moses, but grace and
truth came by Jesus
Christ. No man hath seen God at any time; the only
begotten Son, which
is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him.
God revealed to Moses the following which he related to the Hebrews
shortly before he was to leave them and they were to
cross over the
Jordan into the Promised Land:
[OT] Deut. 18:15 The Lord thy God will raise up unto
thee a
Prophet from the midst of thee, of thy brethren, like
unto thee ; unto
him ye shall hearken
John confirms this:
[NT] John 1:45 Philip findeth Nathaniel, and saith unto
him, We have
found him, of whom Moses in the law and the prophets,
did write, Jesus
of Nazareth, the son of Joseph. [At this time, they did
not know of
Jesus' true Father.]
Luke also relates this statement from Simon Peter in the
book of Acts:
[NT] Acts 3:20-22 And he shall send Jesus Christ,
which before was
preached unto you: Whom the heaven must receive until
the times of
restitution of all things, which God hath spoken by the
mouth of all his
holy prophets since the world began. For Moses truly
said unto the
fathers, A prophet shall the Lord your God raise unto
you of your
brethren, like unto me, him shall ye hear in all things
whatsoever he
shall say unto you.
But we've only started. >From the prophet Micah who lived in
the 8th Century B.C. we get the actual name of the town
of Jesus'
nativity:
[OT] Micah 5:2 But thou, Bethlehem Ephrata, thought thou
be little
among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall come
forth unto me
that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have
been from of old,
from everlasting. [This is not referring to King David -
he had been
born in the same town, but it was centuries earlier. Nor
was David "from
everlasting."]
Luke and Matthew provide confirmations:
[NT] Luke 2:4-6 And Joseph also went up from
Galilee, out of the city
of Nazareth, into Judea unto the city of David, which is
called
Bethlehem; (because he was of the house and lineage of
David:) to be
taxed [counted for the Roman census ordered by Augustus]
To be taxed
with Mary his espoused wife, being great with child. And
so it was, that
while they were there, the days were accomplished that
she should be
delivered.
[NT] Matthew 2:3-6 When Herod the king had heard
these things, he was
troubled [about the Magi's words concerning the one who
was to become
ruler of Israel] and all of Jerusalem with him. And when
he had gathered
all the chief priests and scribes of the people
together, he demanded of
them where Christ should be born. And they said unto
him, In Bethlehem
of Judea: for thus it is written by the prophet, And
thou Bethlehem, in
the land of Juda, art not the least among the princes of
Juda: for out
of thee shall come a Governor, that shall rule my people
Israel.
Even the matter of Jesus virgin birth is predicted by
Isaiah
(also from the 8th Century B.C.):
[OT] Isaiah 7:14 Therefore the lord himself shall
give you a sign;
Behold a virgin will conceive, and shall bring forth a
son, and they
shall call his name Immanuel.
We find that this is exactly what happened:
[NT] Matthew 1:23 Behold a virgin shall be with
child, and shall bring
forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel,
which being
interpreted is, God with us. [Now some have said that
Matthew quoted
Isaiah out of context to apply it to Jesus because the
prophecy was
spoken originally to Ahaz, king of Judah, by Isaiah who
feared being
attacked by Rezin, king of Syria and Pekah, king of
Israel. Ahaz
foolishly appealed to the Assyrians for help instead of
trusting in God.
The Assyrians did, however, prevail against Ahaz's two
foes (2 (Kings
16:1-9). In Isaiah 7:14-16, God revealed that these
kings would no
longer be a problem before Jesus had matured. Not only
had Rezin and
Pekah been dead for centuries before Jesus' birth, their
countries as
well were long past their former glories. Rome was now
the preeminent
world power. Additionally, to the best of my knowledge,
there is no
reliable authority which mentions a virgin birth before
that of Jesus.
One should realize that it is not without precedent for
part of a
prophecy to occur at one time, while its complete
fulfillment might
arrive even thousands of years later. (See Isaiah,
chapter 61, as well
as Isaiah 9:6-7 below.) Therefore, it seems that Matthew
was quite
correct to refer to Isaiah 7:14 as specifically
referring to the virgin
birth of Jesus - especially when we consider that the
Holy Spirit
inspired the gospel that he wrote.
The Bible provides actual details of the Messiah's
ancestry:
[OT] Genesis 49:10 The sceptre shall not depart
from Judah ], nor a
lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh [the
Messiah] come; and
unto him shall the gathering of the people be [referring
to the eventual
restoration of Israel].
In the New Testament we see that both on his stepfather
Joseph's (Matthew 1:1-17) and his mother Mary's lineages
(Luke 3:23-38),
Jesus is descended from King David whose own line
reaches back to
Jacob's son Judah.
Now what will the kingdom of the Messiah be like?
[OT] Isaiah 9:6-7 For 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, Counselor, The mighty God, The
everlasting Father,
the Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government
and peace 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 forever. the zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform
this.
[OT] Daniel 7:13-14 I saw in night visions, and
behold, one like the
Son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to
the Ancient of
days [God the Father], and they brought him near before
him. And there
was given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that
all people,
nations, and languages, should serve him: his dominion
is an everlasting
dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom
that which shall
not be destroyed [which will begin at the Millennium and
lasts beyond
into eternity].
The Apostle John said:
[NT] Rev. 19:16 And he [Jesus] hath on his vesture and
on his thigh
a name written, KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS.
This king is also to be a priest, something very unusual. The royal
line, as we've already seen, comes from the tribe of
Judah. However all
Jewish priests were those descended from Moses' brother
Aaron (both men
who were descendants of Jacob's son Levi).
[OT] Exodus 28:1 And take unto thee Aaron thy
brother, and his sons
with him, from among the children of Israel [Jacob], the
he may minister
unto me in the priest's office, even Aaron, Nadab and
Abihu, Eleazar and
Ithamar, Aaron's sons.
Levites who were not of this lineage were given these other
tasks:
[OT] Numbers 1:50 But thou shall appoint the
Levites over the
tabernacle of testimony, and over all the vessels
thereof, and over all
things that belong to it: they shall bear the
tabernacle, and all the
vessels thereof; and they shall minister unto it, and
shall encamp round
about the tabernacle.
But Jesus' priesthood was to be completely different,
based
on an enigmatic figure from history named Melchizadek
who had met Abram
(later named Abraham) after he had returned from a
battle in which he
had freed, among others, his nephew Lot and Lot's family
from captivity
(Genesis, chapter 14).
[OT] Psalm 110:4 The Lord hath sworn, and will not
repent [change his
mind] Thou art a priest forever after the order of
Melchizadek
[NT] Hebrews 4:14, 5:10 Seeing then that we have a
great high priest,
that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God,
let us hold fast
our profession . . . . . Called of God an high priest
after the order of
Melchisadec [Different spelling, same person!]
But let us look at more of Jesus' First Advent where even the
manner in which Jesus entered Jerusalem was accurately
foretold:
[OT] Zechariah 9:9 Rejoice greatly, O daughter of
Zion; shout, O
daughter of Jerusalem: behold thy King cometh unto thee:
he is just, and
having salvation; lowly, and riding upon an ass, and
upon a colt the
foal of an ass.
Matthew confirms this:
[NT] Matt. 21:2-5, 8-9 [Jesus said] Go into the village
over against
you, and straightway ye shall fins an ass tied, and a
colt with her:
loose them, and bring them unto me. And if any man say
ought unto you,
ye shall say, The Lord hath need of them; and
straightway he will send
them. All this was done, that it might be fulfilled
which was spoken by
the prophet, saying, Tell ye daughter of Sion [Zion],
Behold they King
cometh unto thee, meek, and sitting upon an ass, and a
colt the foal of
an ass . . . . And a very great multitude spread their
garments in the
way; others cut down branches from the trees, and
strawed them in the
way. And the multitudes that went before, and that
followed, cried,
saying, Hosanna to the Son of David: Blessed is he who
cometh in the
name of the Lord; Hosanna in the highest
In less than a week this triumphal entry into Jerusalem
would come to a bitter end. We learn of Jesus'
rejection:
[OT] Isaiah 53:3-4 He is despised and rejected; 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. Surely he hath borne
our griefs, and
carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken,
smitten of God, and
afflicted.
[NT] John 19: 5-6a, 16 Then came Jesus forth, wearing a
crown of thorns,
and the purple robe. And Pilate saith unto them, Behold
the man! When
the chief priests therefore and officers saw him, they
cried out,
saying, Crucify him, crucify him . . . . Then delivered
he him therefore
unto them to be crucified. And they took Jesus and led
him away.
The grim prophecy below gives details of that
crucifixion:
[OT] Psalm 22:16-17 For dogs [a term often used
for evil people] have
compassed me: the assembly of the wicked have inclosed
me: they pierced
my hand and my feet. I may tell all my bones: they look
and stare upon
me. They part my garments among them, and cast lots upon
my vesture.
Matthew's account bares it out:
[NT] Matthew 27:35 And they crucified him, and
parted his garments,
casting lots: that it might be fulfilled which was
spoken by the
prophet, the y parted my garments among them and upon my
vesture did
cast lots.
The significance of Jesus' atoning sacrifice for us all is
prophesied by Isaiah, confirmed by the author of
Hebrews:
[OT] Isaiah 53:5 But he was wounded for our
transgressions, he was
bruised for our inequities: the chastisement of our
peace was upon him;
and with his stripes, we are healed.
[NT] Hebrews 10:10 By which will we are sanctified
through the offering
of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.
Even the details of his death and burial place are
predicted and
confirmed - dying with criminals and buried in a rich
man's tomb:
[OT] Isaiah 53:9-10 And he made his grave with the
wicked, and with the
rich in his death; because he had done no violence,
neither was there
any deceit in his mouth.
[NT] Mark 15:27 And with him they crucify two
thieves; the one on his
right hand and the other on his left.
[NT] John 19:38,42 And after this Joseph of
Arimathea [a wealthy man],
being a disciple of Jesus, but secretly for fear of the
Jews, besought
Pilate that he might take away the body of Jesus: and
Pilate gave him
leave. He came therefore, and took the body of Jesus . .
. There laid
they Jesus because of the Jew's preparation day; for the
sepulcre
[Joseph's own unused tomb] was nigh at hand.
But there is more! As we know, Jesus didn't stay in that
tomb. King
David said:
[NT] Psalm 16:10 For thou wilt not leave my soul
in hell [Sheol - the
place of departed spirits]; neither wilt thou suffer
thine Holy One to
see corruption. [Clearly David was not speaking of
himself, since he
died and never came back to life - 1 Kings 2:10.]
The Apostle Matthew relates the following:
[NT] Matthew 28:5-6 And the angel answered and
said unto the women [who
had come to the tomb], Fear not ye: for I know that ye
seek Jesus, which
was crucified. He is not here: for he is rise, as he
said. Come, see the
place where the Lord lay.
In the weeks that followed Jesus made many appearances to
his followers, turning their grief into joy. Forty days
after the
resurrection, Jesus ascended back into heaven from the
Mount of Olives
(Acts 1:1-11). The Bible teaches that he will return to
gather his own
out of this world, and then return to establish his
everlasting kingdom
on this earth.
But where is Jesus at this very moment? The Bible tells us that he's
in heaven with the Father, as we've already seen above
from Daniel
7:13-14 and as confirmed in the passages below:
[NT] Mark 14:62 And Jesus said [to the high priest at
his trial in
answer to his question], I am [the Christ or Messiah]:
and ye shall see
the Son of man sitting on the right hand of power, and
coming on the
clouds of heaven.
[NT] John 14:1-3 [Jesus said} Let not your heart be
troubled: ye believe
in God, believe also in me. In my Father's house are
many mansions: if
it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a
place for you.
And if I do prepare a place for you, I will come again,
and receive you
unto myself; there where I am , there ye may be also.
[NT] Acts 7:55 But he [Stephen the deacon,
immediately before he was
martyred], being full of the Holy Ghost, looked up
steadfastly into
heaven, and saw the glory of god, and Jesus standing on
the right hand
of God, And said, Behold, I see the heavens opened, and
the Son of man
standing on the right hand of God.
[NT] Hebrews 8:1 Now of the things which we have
spoken this is the
sum: We have such an high priest, who is set on the
right hand of the
throne of the Majesty in the heavens.
We've examined in this commentary only some of the Bible's many
words
about Jesus. From the Old Testament, we've encountered
the prophecies,
from the New Testament, we've seen many of them come to
pass in
astonishing accuracy.
I believe that the evidence is undeniable that the Bible is indeed
God's Word and that its promises of the age to come in
which Jesus
returns to rule a kingdom where righteousness reigns are
absolutely
guaranteed.