Does the Old Testament predict the coming of Jesus Christ?

"He was despised and rejected—a man of sorrows, acquainted with deepest grief. We turned our backs on him and looked the other way. He was despised, and we did not care." —Isaiah 53:3 (NLT)

The importance of Jesus' connection to Old Testament prophecies cannot be overstated. The entirety of the Christian faith rests on the faithfulness of God, which is something proven time and time again through the fulfillment of God’s promises and prophecies through the ages.

Why these Parallels Matter

If Jesus is not the Messiah prophesied in the Old Testament, then everything we believe in as Christians is false. But if Jesus is the promised Messiah, then He is indeed God in the flesh, crucified, resurrected, enthroned forever as our Lord, and the fate of every soul is with Him.

Thankfully, we have many Messianic prophecies in the Jewish Scriptures, and every clear one was fulfilled by Jesus. This critical proof has been provided across centuries to give us a firm foundation to believe Jesus is the Savior of the world.

The New Testament (NT) makes many bold parallels between Jesus and the Old Testament (OT) prophecies. In several places, the NT authors (and even Jesus Himself) match OT prophecies with Christ-centered events as evidence of Jesus' prophetic fulfillment.

A Man of Sorrows

"He was despised and rejected—a man of sorrows, acquainted with deepest grief. We turned our backs on him and looked the other way. He was despised, and we did not care." —Isaiah 53:3 (NLT)

One of the most often cited prophecies about Jesus is Isaiah 53:3-11. The New Testament tells us how the Jews of Jesus’ time despised Him and rejected Him, plotting several times to have Him arrested or killed (Matthew 26:3-4; Mark 6:2-3, 14:1; Luke 22:1-2, 23:20-23; John 11:47-53).

Isaiah continues to describe the "suffering servant" of God who would be tortured and how He would be "like a lamb led to slaughter" and, ultimately, murdered (Isaiah 53:5-9). Jesus again fits the description, since He was beaten and even stood silent before His accusers (like a lamb), offering no defense (Mark 14:60-61) before His execution.

Born of a Virgin

"The Lord himself will give you the sign. Look! The virgin will conceive a child! She will give birth to a son and will call him Immanuel (which means 'God is with us')." —Isaiah 7:14 (NLT)

Isaiah also predicts that the Messiah will be born from a virgin. In chapter nine, Isaiah declares that this Child will be called Mighty God, among other names (Isaiah 7:14, 9:6).

Unless the Messiah is the subject of idolatry (calling a man “god”), then the Messiah must be God in the flesh (or God "incarnate"). Ironically, it was for this very thing – claiming to be God incarnate – that Jesus was charged with blasphemy (John 10:33).

Jesus Reads from Isaiah

At the very beginning of His ministry, Jesus goes to the synagogue in His hometown of Nazareth. There, He takes the scroll of Isaiah, and reads Isaiah 61:1-2 (Luke 4:16-19). Part of this prophecy says, "[The Spirit of God] has sent me to comfort the brokenhearted and to proclaim that captives will be released and prisoners will be freed." When He'd finished, He turned to the crowd and said, "Today, this Scripture has been fulfilled" (Luke 4:21).

The Revelations of the Disciples

After His resurrection, Jesus appeared to His disciples. but God kept them from recognizing Him (Luke 24:13-27). As they talked about the things that had happened to Jesus. They expressed how amazed they were that He had been a mighty teacher and had done miracles, how the religious leaders took Him and crucified Him, how His body was missing from His tomb three days later, and how they'd thought He was the coming Messiah.

Jesus said to them, "Wasn't it clearly predicted that the Messiah would have to suffer all these things before entering his glory?" (v. 26). Then He took the time to explain how His life, death, and resurrection connected to the Scriptures' prophecies (Luke 24:27, 44-48).

Prophecies of Places

When Jesus started His ministry, He went first to Nazareth, then left there and moved to Capernaum, beside the Sea of Galilee, in the region of Zebulun and Naphtali (Matthew 4:13). Isaiah 9:1-2, written 400 years before that time, says:

"The land of Zebulun and Naphtali will be humbled, but there will be a time in the future when Galilee of the Gentiles, which lies along the road that runs between the Jordan and the sea, will be filled with glory. The people who walk in darkness will see a great light. For those who live in a land of deep darkness, a light will shine." —Isaiah 9:1-2 (NLT)

These aren't even all the prophecies and parallels. Check out Daniel 9:24-27, Isaiah 50:6, Zechariah 12:10, and many, many more.

Jesus is the Light of the World

"He was pierced for our rebellion, crushed for our sins. He was beaten so we could be whole. He was whipped so we could be healed." —Isaiah 53:5 (NLT)

This is the sacrifice of Jesus in a nutshell. Crucifixion and wrath laid upon Him, and through His suffering and resurrection, we can become children of God. Jesus is the One the prophecies talked about. He is the light of the world and salvation for the whole world (Romans 1:16; John 1:11-13).

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