10 PREDICTIVE PROPHECIES FULFILLED IN JESUS by Sean McDowell for Core Christianity
Fulfilled prophecy is one of the most powerful and common evidence for the Christian faith. There are Old Testament prophecies that foreshadow New Testament realities, such as Christ being the Passover lamb (Exodus 12:21/1 Corinthians 5:7).
And there are also predictive prophecies that point forward to the coming Messiah. Here are ten of my favorites that uniquely point to Jesus:
1. Pre-existent and Divine
Micah 5:2 predicts that the Messiah—a “ruler”—shall come forth from Bethlehem “whose goings forth are from old, from everlasting.” In other words, a future ruler would be everlasting, which means he must pre-exist. Col. 1:17 affirms that Jesus was “before all things.”
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2. A Prophet
Deuteronomy 18:18 describes a future prophet whom God would speak through. This prophet was expected to perform miracles like Moses and to lead people to follow God. Jesus was a miracle-working prophet like Moses (Matt. 21:11).
3. Of the Line of Jesse and the House of David
Jesse was the father of David the king of Israel. Jewish commentators expected the Messiah to come from this genealogical line (Is. 11:1-3). The Apostle Paul affirms that Jesus descended from David (Rom. 1:1-3).
4. A Judge
The prophet Isaiah described a coming judge—the Lord—who would save Israel (Is. 33:22). The Messiah was to personally exercise judgment. And as the Apostle Paul explains, Jesus is ultimately that judge (2 Tim. 4:1).
5. King
Some leading rabbinic commentators who addressed Psalms 2:6 have claimed that it spoke first of David and then of the Messiah, both of whom were anointed king by God. Jesus was accused of being such a king, even though his kingdom was different than they expected (Matt. 27:37).
