As two men journeyed along the road to Emmaus, they were joined by Jesus. Their eyes were restrained to the extent that they were unable to recognize the Lord (Luke 24:16). The two conversed with their traveling companion, telling him about the “Prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people” (Luke 24:19). They confessed their initial belief that this Jesus was the promised Redeemer of Israel, except He had been crucified so they had grown discouraged. The two men even detailed the discovery of the empty tomb and the first proclamation of the resurrection, though they themselves did not seem to believe. Once the two men had shared their incomplete account of Jesus, the Lord educated them further: “And beginning at Moses and all the Prophets, He expounded to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself” (Luke 24:27). There are more than 300 prophecies recorded in the Old Testament scriptures which point to the Messiah. Incredibly, Jesus fulfilled every one of them in precise detail! Let us briefly discuss a small sampling from this area of prophecy.
The Messiah’s Place of Birth
Jesus was born in the city of David, that is, Bethlehem (Luke 2:4, 11). Modern-day students of the Bible can search and find the Old Testament prophecy regarding Bethlehem, but perhaps what is most striking about this matter concerns something in the New Testament record. When King Herod sought to find the baby Jesus, he gathered all the chief priests and scribes together and asked them where the Christ, the King of the Jews, was to be born (Matt. 2:1-6). They answered according to the writing of the prophet Micah: “But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, Though you are little among the thousands of Judah, Yet out of you shall come forth to Me The One to be Ruler in Israel, Whose goings forth are from of old, From everlasting” (Mic. 5:2). They revealed the truth to Herod by going to the source. It is so simple and yet so powerful!
The Messiah’s Price of Betrayal
Jesus was betrayed by one of His apostles, Judas Iscariot (Matt. 10:4). This was also a matter which God revealed beforehand, that the Lord’s “familiar friend” would lift his heel against the Messiah (Ps. 41:9; John 13:18). Judas approached the chief priests of the Jews to betray Jesus to them (Mk. 14:10-11). They were glad and promised to give Judas a reward, counting out to him thirty pieces of silver (Matt. 26:14-16; Luke 22:3-6). Amazingly, when God spoke through Zechariah about five centuries earlier, He revealed the betrayer’s price, “thirty pieces of silver” (Zech. 11:12-13). This connection is further upheld by the discussion of the “potter’s field” in the aftermath (Matt. 27:3-10). It is noteworthy how even the enemies of Christ played a part in building the case for His confirmed identity as the Messiah.
The Messiah’s Place of Burial
Jesus was taken by lawless hands and put to death by crucifixion (Acts 2:22-23). After a Roman centurion confirmed the death for Pilate, Joseph of Arimathea was granted permission to take the body (Mark 15:42-45). Joseph, assisted by Nicodemus, wrapped the Lord’s body in strips of linen along with spices and laid it to rest in a tomb hewn from the rock, “where no one had ever lain before” (Luke 23:53; John 19:38-42). This tomb belonged to the rich man from Arimathea (Matt. 27:57-61). In doing so, Joseph and Nicodemus helped to provide the fulfillment of prophecy concerning the Suffering Servant, the Messiah. Isaiah spoke concerning the Savior, “He was cut off from the land of the living; For the transgressions of My people He was stricken. And they made His grave with the wicked—But with the rich at His death” (Isa. 53:8-9).
Truly, there is much in the Old Testament concerning Jesus. The Lord pointed this out to His opponents among the Jewish leaders, saying, “You search the Scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life; and these are they which testify of Me” (John 5:39). God’s prophets had been gradually unveiling the divine plan for the redemption of mankind through the Seed of woman (Gen. 3:15). From the first sin and throughout the history of the people of Israel, they have had the privilege to herald out tidings of the Savior. All mankind must note, when these foretellers spoke of the Messiah to come, they provided specific details—information which only God could impart to them. This preserved prophetic record stands as a key witness in establishing the identity of Jesus of Nazareth as the Son of God and our Messiah.