You may find that in your Christian Bible there is a list of Messianic prophecies fulfilled by Jesus. However, some of these will not be accepted well by most Jews. Below is a list of the more clear passages, ones that are hard to refute. I built this list for a Jewish friend, knowing that the person would never accept some of the commonly refered to O.T. passages, since they are not as clear.
(Note: Old Testament passages are in Red, and New testament fulfillment's are in green.)
Watch as the promise of God is directed through a specific lineage.
And the Lord God said to the serpent, Because you have done this, Cursed are you more than all cattle, And more than every beast of the field; On your belly shall you go, And dust shall you eat All the days of your life; 15 And I will put enmity Between you and the woman, And between your seed and her seed; He shall bruise you on the head, And you shall bruise him on the heel.
- This seems a strange comment really, since human beings are born of the seed of the
man, not the woman. From the context of the rest of the passage it is clear that this was
not going to be an ordinary man, but the promised Messiah that would defeat the enemy once
for all time. In the process the enemy would bruise the Messiah on the heal. (Not a deadly
blow) The Messiah would bruise him on the head.
Isaiah 7:14 - "Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, a virgin will be with child and bear a son, and she will call His name Immanuel.
Isaiah 9:6 - 6 For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us; And the government will rest on His shoulders; And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace. 7 There will be no end to the increase of His government or of peace, On the throne of David and over his kingdom, To establish it and to uphold it with justice and righteousness From then on and forevermore. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will accomplish this.
Zechariah 12:10
Psalm 22:6-18 But I am a worm, and not a man, A reproach of men, and despised by the people. 7 All who see me sneer at me; They separate with the lip, they wag the head, saying, 8 "Commit yourself to the Lord; let Him deliver him; Let Him rescue him, because He delights in him." 9 Yet Thou art He who didst bring me forth from the womb; Thou didst make me trust when upon my mother’s breasts. 10 Upon Thee I was cast from birth; Thou hast been my God from my mother’s womb. 11 Be not far from me, for trouble is near; For there is none to help. 12 Many bulls have surrounded me; Strong bulls of Bashan have encircled me. 13 They open wide their mouth at me, As a ravening and a roaring lion 14 I am poured out like water, And all my bones are out of joint; My heart is like wax; It is melted within me. 15 My strength is dried up like a potsherd, And my tongue cleaves to my jaws; And Thou dost lay me in the dust of death. 16 For dogs have surrounded me; A band of evildoers has encompassed me; They pierced my hands and my feet. 17 I can count all my bones. They look, they stare at me; 18 They divide my garments among them, And for my clothing they cast lots.
Zechariah 11:11-13 And I said to them, "If it is good in your sight, give me my wages; but if not, never mind!" So they weighed out thirty shekels of silver as my wages.13 Then the Lord said to me, "Throw it to the potter, that magnificent price at which I was valued by them." So I took the thirty shekels of silver and threw them to the potter in the house of the Lord.
Matt 27:3-10 Then when Judas, who had betrayed Him, saw that He had been condemned, he felt remorse and returned the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders,4 saying, "I have sinned by betraying innocent blood." But they said, "What is that to us? See to that yourself!"5 And he threw the pieces of silver into the sanctuary and departed; and he went away and hanged himself.6 And the chief priests took the pieces of silver and said, "It is not lawful to put them into the temple treasury, since it is the price of blood."7 And they counseled together and with the money bought the Potter’s Field as a burial place for strangers.8 For this reason that field has been called the Field of Blood to this day.9 Then that which was spoken through Jeremiah the prophet was fulfilled, saying, "And they took the thirty pieces of silver, the price of the one whose price had been set by the sons of Israel;10 and they gave them for the Potter’s Field, as the Lord directed me."
Micah 5:2 "But as for you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, Too little to be among the clans of Judah, From you One will go forth for Me to be ruler in Israel. His goings forth are from long ago, From the days of eternity."
Luke 2:4 - Now it came about in those days that a decree went out from Caesar Augustus, that a census be taken of all the inhabited earth.2 This was the first census taken while Quirinius was governor of Syria.3 And all were proceeding to register for the census, everyone to his own city.4 And Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the city of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and family of David,5 in order to register, along with Mary, who was engaged to him, and was with child.6 And it came about that while they were there, the days were completed for her to give birth.7 And she gave birth to her first-born son;
Hosea 11:1 When Israel was a youth I loved him, And out of Egypt I called My son.
13 Now when they had departed, behold, an angel of the Lord *appeared to Joseph in a dream, saying, "Arise and take the Child and His mother, and flee to Egypt, and remain there until I tell you; for Herod is going to search for the Child to destroy Him."14 And he arose and took the Child and His mother by night, and departed for Egypt;15 and was there until the death of Herod, that what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet might be fulfilled, saying, "Out of Egypt did I call My Son."
16 Then when Herod saw that he had been tricked by the magi, he became very enraged, and sent and slew all the male children who were in Bethlehem and in all its environs, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had ascertained from the magi.17 Then that which was spoken through Jeremiah the prophet was fulfilled, saying,
18 "A voice was heard in Ramah, Weeping and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children; And she refused to be comforted, Because they were no more."
Malachi 3:1 - "Behold, I am going to send My messenger, and he will clear the way before Me. And the Lord, whom you seek, will suddenly come to His temple; and the messenger of the covenant, in whom you delight, behold, He is coming," says the Lord of hosts.
Daniel 9:26 - "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.
Isaiah 52:10 - The Lord has bared His holy arm In the sight of all the nations, That all the ends of the earth may see The salvation of our God.
Isaiah 9:1 - 1 But there will be no more gloom for her who was in anguish; in earlier times He treated the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali with contempt, but later on He shall make it glorious, by the way of the sea, on the other side of Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles. 2 The people who walk in darkness Will see a great light; Those who live in a dark land, The light will shine on them.
Matthew 4:12 - Now when He heard that John had been taken into custody, He withdrew into Galilee;13 and leaving Nazareth, He came and settled in Capernaum, which is by the sea, in the region of Zebulun and Naphtali.14 This was to fulfill what was spoken through Isaiah the prophet, saying, 15 "The land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, By the way of the sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles— 16 "The people who were sitting in darkness saw a great light, And to those who were sitting in the land and shadow of death, Upon them a light dawned."
Zechariah 9:9 - Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout in triumph, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your king is coming to you; He is just and endowed with salvation, Humble, and mounted on a donkey, Even on a colt, the foal of a donkey.
Mark 11:7 - 1 And as they *approached Jerusalem, at Bethphage and Bethany, near the Mount of Olives, He *sent two of His disciples,2 and *said to them, "Go into the village opposite you, and immediately as you enter it, you will find a colt tied there, on which no one yet has ever sat; untie it and bring it here.3 "And if anyone says to you, ‘Why are you doing this?’ you say, ‘The Lord has need of it’; and immediately he will send it back here."4 And they went away and found a colt tied at the door outside in the street; and they *untied it.5 And some of the bystanders were saying to them, "What are you doing, untying the colt?"6 And they spoke to them just as Jesus had told them, and they gave them permission.7 And they *brought the colt to Jesus and put their garments on it; and He sat upon it.8 And many spread their garments in the road, and others spread leafy branches which they had cut from the fields.9 And those who went before, and those who followed after, were crying out, "Hosanna! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord; 10 Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David; Hosanna in the highest!" 11 And He entered Jerusalem and came into the temple;
Isaiah 53: 1-3 Who has believed our message? And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed? 2 For He grew up before Him like a tender shoot, And like a root out of parched ground; He has no stately form or majesty That we should look upon Him, Nor appearance that we should be attracted to Him. 3 He was despised and forsaken of men, A man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief; And like one from whom men hide their face, He was despised, and we did not esteem Him.
Luke 22:63 - And the men who were holding Jesus in custody were mocking Him, and beating Him,64 and they blindfolded Him and were asking Him, saying, "Prophesy, who is the one who hit You?"65 And they were saying many other things against Him, blaspheming.
Isaiah 53:4 Surely our griefs He Himself bore, And our sorrows He carried; Yet we ourselves esteemed Him stricken, Smitten of God, and afflicted. 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 53:10-12 But the Lord was pleased To crush Him, putting Him to grief; If He would render Himself as a guilt offering, He will see His offspring, He will prolong His days, And the good pleasure of the Lord will prosper in His hand. 11 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. 12 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: 7 He was oppressed and He was afflicted, Yet He did not open His mouth; Like a lamb that is led to slaughter, And like a sheep that is silent before its shearers, So He did not open His mouth.
Luke 23:8 - Now Herod was very glad when he saw Jesus; for he had wanted to see Him for a long time, because he had been hearing about Him and was hoping to see some sign performed by Him.9 And he questioned Him at some length; but He answered him nothing.
Mark 15:4 - And Pilate questioned Him, "Are You the King of the Jews?" And answering He *said to him, "It is as you say."3 And the chief priests began to accuse Him harshly.4 And Pilate was questioning Him again, saying, "Do You make no answer? See how many charges they bring against You!"5 But Jesus made no further answer; so that Pilate was amazed.
Isaiah 53:9 His grave was assigned with wicked men, Yet He was with a rich man in His death,
Mark 15:27 - 25 And it was the third hour when they crucified Him.26 And the inscription of the charge against Him read, "THE KING OF THE JEWS."27 And they *crucified two robbers with Him, one on His right and one on His left.28 [And the Scripture was fulfilled which says, "And He was numbered with transgressors."]
Matthew 27:57 - 57 And when it was evening, there came a rich man from Arimathea, named Joseph, who himself had also become a disciple of Jesus.58 This man went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. Then Pilate ordered it to be given over to him.59 And Joseph took the body and wrapped it in a clean linen cloth,60 and laid it in his own new tomb, which he had hewn out in the rock; and he rolled a large stone against the entrance of the tomb and went away.
Psalm 22:17 - For dogs have surrounded me; A band of evildoers has encompassed me; They pierced my hands and my feet. 17 I can count all my bones. They look, they stare at me; 18 They divide my garments among them, And for my clothing they cast lots.
Matthew 27:35 - 35 And when they had crucified Him, they divided up His garments among themselves, casting lots;
Psalm 34:20 - 19 Many are the afflictions of the righteous; But the Lord delivers him out of them all. 20 He keeps all his bones; Not one of them is broken.
John 19:32 - 31 The Jews therefore, because it was the day of preparation, so that the bodies should not remain on the cross on the Sabbath (for that Sabbath was a high day), asked Pilate that their legs might be broken, and that they might be taken away.32 The soldiers therefore came, and broke the legs of the first man, and of the other man who was crucified with Him;33 but coming to Jesus, when they saw that He was already dead, they did not break His legs;34 but one of the soldiers pierced His side with a spear, and immediately there came out blood and water.35 And he who has seen has borne witness, and his witness is true; and he knows that he is telling the truth, so that you also may believe.36 For these things came to pass, that the Scripture might be fulfilled, "Not a bone of Him shall be broken." 37 And again another Scripture says, "They shall look on Him whom they pierced."
Psalm 16:10 - Therefore my heart is glad, and my glory rejoices; My flesh also will dwell securely. 10 For Thou wilt not abandon my soul to Sheol; Neither wilt Thou allow Thy Holy One to undergo decay.
Mark 16:6 - 6 And he *said to them, "Do not be amazed; you are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who has been crucified. He has risen; He is not here; behold, here is the place where they laid Him.
If you find yourself wondering how all of the above could have happened, it couldn't happen without someone being eternal, living long enough to make these things come about, and predicting them way before they happened. It makes sense to believe that the eternal being that planned this is the God of the Bible, since all of the predictions were made by Him.
How can you know what God wants from you, now that you know who He is?