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God has given prophesies so that the Messiah would be recognized. The Jewish scriptures reveal to us the nature and circumstances concerning the anointed one.

The Old Testament prophesied His birth, life, death, and resurrection. These prophecies were written hundreds of years before the birth of Christ and only He has fulfilled them. Isaiah 53 describes what happens to the Messiah. Who does this sound like it's speaking of?

“He is despised and rejected by men,

A man of sorrows and acquainted with grief.

And we hid, as it were, our faces from Him;

He was despised and we did not esteem Him.

Surely He has borne our griefs

And carried our sorrows;

Yet we esteemed Him stricken,

Smitten by God, and afflicted.

But He was wounded for our transgressions,

He was bruised for our iniquities;

The chastisement for our peace was upon Him,

And by His stripes we are healed.

All we like sheep have gone astray;

We have turned, every one, to his own way;

And the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.

(Isa. 53:3-6)

In the above verse, “Stripes” refers to marks that are left on a body after it has been struck with a whip. The book of Psalms describes the piercing of the Messiahs hand and feet. This is written hundreds of years before the Roman punishment of crucifixion was ever invented. Psalm 22:16-18 even describes how His clothes were divided which is fulfilled in Matt. 27: 35, we read:

“For dogs have surrounded Me;

the congregation of the wicked has enclosed Me,

They pierced my hand and feet;

I can count all My bones.

They look and stare at Me.

They divide My garments among them,

And for My clothes they cast lots.”

(Psalm 22:16-17)

Jesus Himself says that he is the prophesied Messiah. Christ says:

"...all things must be fulfilled which were written in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms concerning Me...Thus it is written, and thus it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead the third day..."

(Luke 24:44-46)

In Psalm 41:19 we read the prophecy about the Messiah being betrayed by a friend:

“Even my own familiar friend in whom I trusted, Who ate my bread, Has lifted his heel against me.”

The fulfillment is written in Matthew 26:47:

“Now His betrayer had given them a sign, saying, ‘Whomever I kiss, He is the One; seize Him.’ Immediately he went up to Jesus and said, ‘Greetings Rabbi!’ and kissed Him. But Jesus said, ‘Friend, why have you come?’ Then they came and laid hands on Jesus and took Him.” Also read Luke 22:21-22 and John 13: 18, 21, 26.

In Isaiah 50:6 we see the prophecy about the Messiah being beat and spit on:

“I gave my back to those who struck Me, And My cheeks to those who plucked out my beard; I did not hide my face from shame and spitting.”

The fulfillment is written in Matthew 26:67-68:

“Then they spat on his face and beat Him; and others struck Him with the palms of their hands, saying, ‘Prophesy to us, Christ! Who is the one who struck you?’

Also check in Mark 14:65 and John 19:1-3.

These and many other verses in the Old Testament describe events in the life of one person. This is evidence which supports the belief of Christians and Messianic Jews that Jesus was who He had claimed to be. For the sake of space I have not written word for word every single prophecy, but below is a list where many of these prophesies and the fulfillments:

Old Testament Prophecy: New Testament Fulfillment:

Born of a virgin (Isa.7:14) Matt. 1:20-23

Born in Bethlehem (Mic.5:2) Luke 2:4-7

He would be a prophet like Moses (Deut. 18:15) Acts 3:20-23

Descendant of Abraham (Gen. 12:3; 17;9) Matt. 1:1-2

Preceded by a forerunner (Mal.3:1) Matt. 11:10

Enter in Jerusalem on a donkey (Zech. 9:9) Matt. 21:4-5

He would be rejected by His own people (Ps.118:22) John 1:10-11

Betrayed by His friend (Ps. 41:9) Luke 22: 21-22

Betrayed for 30 pieces of silver (Zech.11:12) Matt. 26: 14-15

Spat on and struck (Isa.50-6) Luke 22:37, Mark 15:19

Suffers with sinners (Isa. 53-12) Matt 27:38, Mark 15:27

Remains silent during his trial Matt 26:63

Dies for world’s salvation (Isa.53:4-8) Matt 27:26,35,39

Pierced through hands and feet (Ps.22:16) John 20:25-27

Pierced through His side (Zech.12:10) John 19:34-37

Soldiers gambled for His clothing (Ps.22:18) Matt. 27:35

Buried in a rich man’s tomb (Isa.53:9) Matt. 27:57-60

Would be resurrected (Ps.16:10) Matt. 28:5-7, 1 Peter 3:19

He would ascend into heaven (Ps. 68:18) Acts 1:9

There are more than four dozen major predictions about the coming Messiah, all of which only Jesus fulfilled. Could Christ, accidentally or purposely, determine His birthplace or the method of His execution? What about the soldiers gambling for His garments? 1 in 10157 is the calculated probability of one man in history fulfilling 48 Old Testament prophecies.1 Coincidence?

Jesus Himself announced that He would die and be resurrected:

“So the Jews answered and said to Him, ‘What sign do you show us, since you do these things?’ Jesus answered and said to them, ‘Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.’Then the Jews said, ‘It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and You will raise it up in three days?’ But He was speaking of the temple of His Body” (John 2:19-20).

He predicts this elsewhere in John10:10-11, Matt 12:40; Mark 8:31.

Why don’t Jewish people accept Jesus as Messiah? The majority of Jewish people

are expecting a political Messiah, one who would establish a physical kingdom on earth.

Back in 1947-48 before Israel became a nation, many of the Jewish people did not

support the idea of a Jewish state without the coming of the Messiah.

In regard to the prophecies about the Messiah, in Isaiah 52, He is called a Servant.

Some Jewish theologians now interpret the “Servant” to be the nation of Israel itself.

Shlomo Yitzchaki was the first to make this claim.2 However, there seems to be some

problems with this recent interpretation:

The Servant is sinless (Isa. 53:9). The nation of Israel is not sinless, nor is any other nation on planet Earth.

The Servant does not give any resistance (Isa. 53:7). Israel always gives resistance in the face of adversity.

The Servant dies for the sins of others (Isa. 53:4-6, 8, 10-12). Israel did not die and is not paying for the sins of anyone else.

This new interpretation is to take our eyes off of Jesus Christ. The passages in Isaiah obviously refer to and individual and not a nation. Jesus is the only one in history to fulfill what was written. Jesus even proclaimed that He came to fulfill prophecy, we read:

“…all things must be fulfilled which were written in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms concerning Me.” (Luke 24:44)

Wasn't Jesus only sent for the Jews only? Many people quote Matthew in support of this. Jesus says:

“I was not sent except to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” (Matt. 15:24)

In this verse Jesus responses to a gentile woman asking to be healed. She then shows a display a great faith and then Jesus heals her. Jesus is sent to the Jew first, then He is sent to the Genitles.

When Jesus was a child He was in the temple with His parents at one point. A man named Simeon, whom the Holy Spirit was upon, came in the temple to see the child Messiah and says:

"For my eyes have seen Your salvation which You have prepared before the face of all peoples, A light to bring revelation to the Gentiles, and the glory of Your people Israel.” (Luke 2:30-32)

Jesus Himself says:

"And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come." (Matt. 24:14)

"And other sheep I have which are not of this fold; them also I must bring, and they will hear My voice; and there will be one flock and one shepherd." (John 10:16)

“Thus it is written, and thus it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead the third day, and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem." (Luke 24:46-47)

"Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit..." (Matt. 28:19)

"For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life." (John 3:16)

A light to the gentiles: Not only is Jesus promised to the Jews, it is the Jewish Messiah who would be the light to all the nations. God says in the Old Testament to the Messiah who is called the Servant:

“ I, the LORD, have called You in righteousness, And will hold Your hand; I will keep You and give You as a covenant to the people, As a light to the Gentiles" (Isaiah 42:6)

"I will also give You as a light to the Gentiles, That You should be My salvation to the ends of the earth." (Isaiah 49:6)

Not only is Jesus the Messiah of the Jews, but for the anyone who will accept Him as Lord and Savior. Yes, most of the Jews are still waiting for their Messiah, but He has already come and gone. Don't worry. He'll be back.

Traditional Jews have many objections to the Messiahship of Yeshua. There are answers to these objections. Please take the time to investigate in more detail and visit this website: www.ilifetv.com/thinkitthru/