A Messiah was prophesied throughout the Bible many years before He came to earth. The following verses show how God had planned for a Savior ever since humanity fell into sin. Here’s a look into how Jesus fulfilled all the prophecies concerning the Savior.
Prophesied Messiah and the snake
“Then the Lord God said to the serpent, ‘…And I will make enemies of you and the woman, and of your offspring and her Descendant; He shall bruise you on the head, and you shall bruise Him on the heel.'” (Genesis 3:14-15)
“Then the Lord said to Moses, ‘Make a fiery serpent, and set it on a standard; and it shall come about, that everyone who is bitten, when he looks at it, he will live.’ And Moses made a bronze serpent and set it on the standard; and it came about, that if a serpent bit any man, when he looked to the bronze serpent, he lived.” (Numbers 21:8-9)
“As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up; so that whoever believes will in Him have eternal life.” (John 3:14-15)
“He made Him who knew no sin to be sin in our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.” (2 Corinthians 5:21)
Ever since sin entered the world, God planned for the Messiah to make atonement for our sins. Even though the Messiah would be killed (bruised on the heel), He would kill the power of the serpent (bruise the serpent on the head).
This Messiah (Jesus) became sin for us even though He did not sin. He became a symbol for sin, and was lifted up on a cross just as the serpent in the wilderness was lifted up by Moses. In this way, Jesus died for our sins, becoming our substitute and taking the punishment we deserve on Himself. He was the Righteous who died for the unrighteous. So whoever looks to Him will be saved just as whoever looked to the bronze serpent lived.
Prophesied Messiah is the Son of God
“I will tell of the decree:
The Lord said to Me, ‘You are My Son;
today I have begotten You.
Ask of Me, and I will make the nations Your heritage,
and the ends of the earth Your possession.’” (Psalm 2:7-8)
“The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, ‘Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!'” (John 1:29)
The blood of animals can never make true atonement for sins. God prepared His perfect Son to be our sacrifice. He is the Lamb of God. Jesus paid the price for our sins so that we can be righteous through Him.
Prophesied Messiah is the Son of David
“The LORD says to my Lord: “Sit at My right hand, until I make Your enemies Your footstool.” (Psalm 110:1)
“So all the generations from Abraham to David are fourteen generations; from David to the deportation to Babylon, fourteen generations; and from the deportation to Babylon to the Messiah, fourteen generations.” (Matthew 1:17)
David talks about the Messiah in Psalm 110. But why does David call Him Lord if the Messiah is his son? The truth is the Messiah is the Son of God, who came to earth in the flesh as a descendant of David. His genealogy can be found in Matthew 1 in the New Testament.
Prophesied Messiah born of a virgin in Bethlehem
“Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel.” (Isaiah 7:14)
“But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah, who are too little to be among the clans of Judah, from you shall come forth for Me One who is to be ruler in Israel, whose coming forth is from of old, from ancient days.” (Micah 5:2)
So Micah prophesied the Messiah would come from the town of Bethlehem, which means House of Bread. And Isaiah prophesied He would be miraculously born from a virgin. The New Testament Bible records:
“‘Behold, the virgin will conceive and give birth to a Son, and they shall name Him Immanuel,’ which translated means, ‘God with us’. And Joseph awoke from his sleep and did as the angel of the Lord commanded him, and took Mary as his wife, but kept her a virgin until she gave birth to a Son; and he named Him Jesus.” (Matthew 1:23-25)
“Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, magi from the east arrived in Jerusalem, saying, ‘Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we saw His star in the east and have come to worship Him.'” (Matthew 2:1-2)
By the time Jesus came to earth, the Hebrew Bible (Old Testament) had already been completed and translated into Greek from Hebrew. In fact, the Greek translation called the Septuagint was completed in the 2nd Century BC.[1] So there is no way these prophecies of the Old Testament were written after the fact. And it is well known at the time of Jesus that He was fulfilling them.
Prophesied Messiah would be crucified
“But He was pierced through for our transgressions,
He was crushed for our iniquities;
The chastening for our well-being fell upon Him,
And by His scourging we are healed.
All of us like sheep have gone astray,
Each of us has turned to his own way;
But the Lord has caused the iniquity of us all
To fall on Him.” (Isaiah 53:5-6)
“My strength is dried up like a piece of pottery,
And my tongue clings to my jaws;
And You lay me in the dust of death.
For dogs have surrounded me;
A band of evildoers has encompassed me;
They pierced my hands and my feet.
I can count all my bones.
They look, they stare at me;
They divide my garments among them,
And they cast lots for my clothing.” (Psalm 22:15-18)
This prophecy came true when Jesus was crucified. “When they had crucified Him, they divided up His clothes by casting lots.” (Matthew 27:35)
Jesus suffered more than the pain of physical death. Because He bore the sins of all mankind, He suffered in the spirit and soul more than we can understand.
“Just as many were astonished at you, My people,
So His appearance was marred more than any man
And His form more than the sons of men.
Thus He will sprinkle many nations,
Kings will shut their mouths on account of Him;
For what had not been told them they will see,
And what they had not heard they will understand.” (Isaiah 52:14-15)
“As a result of the anguish of His soul,
He will see it and be satisfied;
By His knowledge the Righteous One,
My Servant, will justify the many,
As He will bear their iniquities.
Therefore, I will allot Him a portion with the great,
And He will divide the booty with the strong;
Because He poured out Himself to death,
And was numbered with the transgressors;
Yet He Himself bore the sin of many,
And interceded for the transgressors.” (Isaiah 53:11-12)
The New Testament makes clear what Jesus did for us.
“For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins. Therefore, when He comes into the world, He says,
‘Sacrifice and offering You have not desired,
But a body You have prepared for Me;
In whole burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin You have taken no pleasure.
Then I said, “Behold, I have come
(In the scroll of the book it is written of Me)
To do Your will, O God.”’ ” (Hebrews 10:4-7)
“Therefore, He had to be made like His brethren in all things, so that He might become a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people.” (Hebrews 2:17)
It is not possible for the blood of animals to take away our sins.
“He takes away the first [animal sacrifices] in order to establish the second. By this will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.
Every priest stands daily ministering and offering time after time the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins; but He, having offered one sacrifice for sins for all time, sat down at the right hand of God, waiting from that time onward until His enemies be made a footstool for His feet. For by one offering He has perfected for all time those who are sanctified.” (Hebrews 10:9-14)
Jesus, the perfect Son of God, died for us so that we can be perfect through His righteousness, not our own. Good deeds cannot cancel out bad ones. The sacrifices of animals cannot make atonement for our sins. We need a perfect Savior to pay our sin debt in full. This is what Jesus did for us.
Daniel predicted the timing of the Prophesied Messiah
The prophet Daniel predicted the exact time of the Messiah’s coming in the book of Daniel.
“So you are to know and understand that from the issuing of a decree to restore and rebuild Jerusalem, until Messiah the Prince, there will be seven weeks and sixty-two weeks; it will be built again, with streets and moat, even in times of distress. Then after the sixty-two weeks, the Messiah will be cut off and have nothing, and the people of the prince who is to come will destroy the city and the sanctuary.” (Daniel 9:25-26)
The Bible often equates one day to one year (e.g. Genesis 29:27, Numbers 14:34, Ezekiel 4:5-6). So from the issuing of the decree to restore and rebuild Jerusalem, there would be seven weeks or 49 years and sixty-two weeks or 434 years. The first 49 years was the time it took to rebuild Jerusalem. After that, 434 years passed until Messiah came.[2]
“Some of the sons of Israel and some of the priests, the Levites, the singers, the gatekeepers, and the temple servants went up to Jerusalem in the seventh year of King Artaxerxes.” (Ezra 7:7)
“Now this is the copy of the letter which King Artaxerxes gave to Ezra the priest, the scribe, learned in the words of the commandments of the Lord and His statutes to Israel: ‘Artaxerxes, king of kings, to Ezra the priest, the scribe of the Law of the God of heaven, perfect peace. And now I have issued a decree that any of the people of Israel and their priests and the Levites in my kingdom who are willing to go to Jerusalem, may go with you….'” (Ezra 7:11-13)
Artaxerxes, King of Persia, was born in 465 BC.[3] The “seventh year of King Artaxerxes” is 458 BC. So in 458 BC, Artaxerxes King of Persia gave the decree to start rebuilding Jerusalem.
Ezra thanked God for His favor: “For we are slaves; yet in our bondage our God has not abandoned us, but has extended favor to us in the sight of the kings of Persia, to give us reviving to erect the house of our God, to restore its ruins, and to give us a wall in Judah and Jerusalem.” (Ezra 9:9)
458 BC + 7 weeks or 49 years (rebuild Jerusalem) + 62 weeks or 434 years = circa 26 AD
About 26 AD was around the time Jesus the Messiah began His earthly ministry. He was cut off (crucified) a few years after. In 70 AD, during the Jewish-Roman War, the last defenses in Jerusalem were breached by the Romans and the temple in Jerusalem was destroyed.[4]
Thus, the prophecy of Daniel regarding the 7 weeks and 62 weeks was fully fulfilled: “Then after the sixty-two weeks, the Messiah will be cut off and have nothing, and the people of the prince who is to come will destroy the city and the sanctuary” (Daniel 9:26).
(Note: There were several decrees at the time of the return from Babylon. All of them were around Ezra and Nehemiah’s time, during the reigns of Persian kings Darius and Artaxerxes. These decrees fall within the time frame of when Jesus came to earth.)
Jewish Traditions and Holy Days
Not only does the Bible contain many prophecies of the Messiah, Jewish traditions and holidays also point to Jesus as the Messiah. To learn more, see Jewish Holy Days.
See a Jewish lady’s testimony on how she came to faith in Jesus the Messiah.
Messiah’s second coming
In the future, the temple in Jerusalem will be rebuilt and sacrifices to God will resume. But this will be interrupted by the evil one.
Daniel prophesied that, after an unknown period of time, there will be one week (7 years) during which the abomination of desolation will set up a covenant with many peoples. In the middle of the week, he will put an end to sacrifices.
“…Even to the end there will be war; desolations are determined. And he will make a firm covenant with the many for one week, but in the middle of the week he will put a stop to sacrifice and grain offering; and on the wing of abominations will come one who makes desolate, even until a complete destruction, one that is decreed, is poured out on the one who makes desolate.” (Daniel 9:26-27)
What will happen in the end?
“Now at that time Michael, the great prince who stands guard over the sons of your people, will arise. And there will be a time of distress such as never occurred since there was a nation until that time; and at that time your people, everyone who is found written in the book, will be rescued. Many of those who sleep in the dust of the ground will awake, these to everlasting life, but the others to disgrace and everlasting contempt.” (Daniel 12:1-2)
“From the time that the regular sacrifice is abolished and the abomination of desolation is set up, there will be 1,290 days. How blessed is he who keeps waiting and attains to the 1,335 days!” (Daniel 12:11-12)
The Messiah will come again after the week is completed (after 1335 days from the the middle of the week, which is about a little more than 3.5 years).
This is what will happen when He comes again:
“Then a shoot will spring from the stem of Jesse,
And a branch from his roots will bear fruit.
The Spirit of the Lord will rest on Him…
And He will delight in the fear of the Lord,
And He will not judge by what His eyes see,
Nor make a decision by what His ears hear;
But with righteousness He will judge the poor,
And decide with fairness for the afflicted of the earth;
And He will strike the earth with the rod of His mouth,
And with the breath of His lips He will slay the wicked.
Also righteousness will be the belt about His loins,
And faithfulness the belt about His waist.
And the wolf will dwell with the lamb,
And the leopard will lie down with the young goat,
And the calf and the young lion and the fatling together;
And a little boy will lead them…
And the weaned child will put his hand on the viper’s den.
They will not hurt or destroy in all My holy mountain,
For the earth will be full of the knowledge of the Lord
As the waters cover the sea.” (Isaiah 11:1-9)
It is unknown at what time Daniel’s last week will begin. Between the time the Messiah was cut off to the time of the end, there are an unknown number of days.
But Jesus gave a hint to the nation of Israel: “For I say to you, from now on you will not see Me until you say, ‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!’” (Matthew 23:39).
“The stone which the builders rejected
Has become the chief corner stone.” (Psalm 118:22)
“Now if their transgression is riches for the world and their failure is riches for the Gentiles, how much more will their fulfillment be! … For if their rejection is the reconciliation of the world, what will their acceptance be but life from the dead?” (Romans 11:12,15)
In the end, all the remnant of Israel will be saved (Romans 11:26). When Israel believes, Christ the Messiah will start His reign on earth!
[1] The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica. (2020, May 12). Septuagint, biblical literature. Britannica. Retrieved from https://www.britannica.com/topic/Septuagint
[2] Our Daily Bread Ministries. The Daniel Papers: Daniel’s Prophecy of 70 Weeks, ed. David Sper (Grand Rapids, Michigan: RBC Ministries, 2009), pp. 15-16. Retrieved from http://web001.rbc.org/pdf/discovery-series/the-daniel-papers.pdf
[3] The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica. (1998, July 20). Artaxerxes I, King of Persia. Britannica. Retrieved from https://www.britannica.com/biography/Artaxerxes-I
[4] Lohnes, Kate. (2018, August 29). Siege of Jerusalem, Jewish-Roman war [70 CE]. Britannica. Retrieved from https://www.britannica.com/event/Siege-of-Jerusalem-70