The Prophecies of Jesus Christ’s 1st Coming (continued)

ISAIAH 52-53, PENNED AROUND 740BC

In Isaiah 52:7-15, verse 7 is a prophecy about us Christians, the saints, perhaps now and in the future. Verses 8-10 is definitely a second coming prophecy. Verses 13-15 is about Jesus and his sacrifice for mankind, and how badly he was beaten, beyond recognition. This prophecy, coupled to Isaiah 53 is about Jesus Christ’s death and is 100 percent accurate. Isaiah wrote this about 740 BC. This prophecy alone is enough to verify the Bible and Jesus of Nazareth’s authenticity as the Messiah. The Orthodox Jews carry Old Testament Bibles on them in which Isaiah 53 has been deleted from the text. I wonder why? But the Dead Sea Scrolls were found and accurately dated before 100 BC. They contain the entire book or scroll of Isaiah, proving this wasn’t a “later addition” as some would like to say. Isaiah 52:1-15, “How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace; that bringeth good tidings of good, that publisheth salvation; that saith unto Zion, Thy God reigneth! Thy watchmen shall lift up the voice; with the voice together shall they sing: for they shall see eye to eye, when the Lord shall bring again Zion. Break forth into joy, sing together, ye waste places of Jerusalem: for the Lord hath comforted his people, he hath redeemed Jerusalem. The Lord hath made bare his holy arm in the eyes of all nations; and all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of our God. Depart ye, depart ye, go ye out from thence, touch no unclean thing; go ye out of the midst of her; be ye clean, that bear the vessels of the Lord. For ye shall not go out with haste, nor go by flight: for the Lord will go before you; and the God of Israel will be your reward [margin: will gather you up]”…verses 13-15, “Behold, my servant shall deal prudently, he shall be exalted and extolled, and be very high. As many were astonied [astonished] at thee; his visage was so marred more than any man, and his form more than the sons of men: So shall he sprinkle many nations; the kings shall shut their mouths at him: for that which had not been told them shall they see; and that which they had not heard shall they consider.”

Isaiah 53:1-12, “Who hath believed our report? And to whom is the arm of the Lord revealed? For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground: he hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him. He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not. Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes [margin: bruise] we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all. He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth. He was taken from prison and from judgment: and who shall declare his generation? For he was cut off out of the land of the living: for the transgression of my people was he stricken. And he made his grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death [cf. Matthew 27:57]; because he had done no violence, neither was any deceit in his mouth. Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in his hand. He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied: by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities. Therefore will I divide him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong; because he hath poured out his soul unto death: and he was numbered with the transgressors [cf. Mark 15:28]; and he bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors [cf. Luke 23:34].”

Now lets look at this prophecy about the sacrificial death of Jesus Christ more closely. Verse 7-8, “He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb [silent], so he openeth not his mouth. He was taken from prison and from judgment…” Matthew 26:57-68, “And they that had laid hold on Jesus led him away to Caiaphas the high priest, where the scribes and the elders were assembled. But Peter followed him afar off unto the high priest’s palace, and went in, and sat with the servants, to see the end. Now the chief priests , and elders, and all the council, sought false witness against Jesus, to put him to death: but found none: yea, though many false witnesses came, yet found they none. [A major point about Hebrew law here. It was illegal to hold meetings of their council at night. All these legal proceedings should have been carried out in daylight. Taken along with using false witnesses, they were railroading Jesus, taking proper judgment from him, just as Isaiah 53:8 said it would be.] At last came two false witnesses, and said, ‘This fellow said, I am able to destroy the temple of God, and to build it in three days.’ And the high priest arose, and said unto him, ‘Answerest thou nothing? What is it which these witness against thee?’ But Jesus held his peace. And the high priest answered and said unto him, ‘I adjure thee by the living God, that thou tell us whether thou be the Christ, the Son of God.’ Jesus saith unto him, ‘Thou hast said; nevertheless I say unto you, Hereafter shall ye see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven.’ Then the high priest rent his clothes, saying, ‘He hath spoken blasphemy; what further need have we of witnesses? Behold, now ye have heard his blasphemy. What think ye?’ They answered and said, ‘He is guilty of death.’ Then they spit in his face, and buffeted him; and others smote him with the palms of their hands, saying, ‘Prophesy unto us, thou Christ, Who is he that smote thee?’” Jesus had the opportunity to defend himself legally three times, once before Caiaphas, where in reality he could have shown the illegality of holding a council trial at night, against Hebrew law, as well as speaking up to defend himself, which he didn’t. Instead he spoke something that would get him condemned in their eyes, even though it was the truth. Another opportunity came before Pilate, and a third opportunity would come before Herod, whom Pilate sent him to. Jesus used none of these opportunities to defend himself, but was silent as a lamb, as Isaiah 53:7-8 points out. He was silent and they robbed him of proper judgment, fulfilling that prophecy that was over 771 years old.

Matthew 27:11-53, “And Jesus stood before the governor [Pilate]: and the governor asked him, saying, ‘Art thou the King of the Jews?’ And Jesus said unto him, ‘Thou sayest.’ And when he was accused of the chief priests and elders, he answered nothing. Then said Pilate unto him, ‘Hearest thou not how many things they witness against thee?’ And he answered him to never a word; insomuch that the governor marvelled greatly. Now at the feast the governor was wont to release unto the people a prisoner, whom they would. And they had a notable prisoner, called Barabbas. Therefore when they were gathered together, Pilate said unto them, ‘Whom will ye that I release unto you? Barabbas, or Jesus which is called the Christ?’ [Interesting that even Pilate knew Jesus was called the Christ or Messiah. Nothing happened in Palestine that Pilate didn’t know about, and he had probably been following the events of Jesus’ life with amused interest due to the jealousy he was stirring among the chief priests and elders.] For he new that for envy they had delivered him. When he was set down on the judgment seat, his wife sent unto him, saying, ‘Have thou nothing to do with that just man: for I have suffered many things this day in a dream because of him.’ But the chief priests and elders persuaded the multitude that they should ask Barabbas, and destroy Jesus. The governor answered and said unto them, ‘Whether of the twain will ye that I release unto you?’ They said, ‘Barabbas.’ Pilate saith unto them, ‘What shall I do then with Jesus which is called Christ?’ They all say unto him, ‘Let him be crucified.’ And the governor said, ‘Why? What evil hath he done?’ But they cried out the more, saying, ‘Let him be crucified.’ When Pilate saw that he could prevail nothing, but that rather a tumult was made, he took water, and washed his hands before the multitude, saying, I am innocent of the blood of this just person: see ye to it.’ Then answered all the people, and said, ‘His blood be on us, and on our children.’ [I am sure this “multitude” was made up exclusively of the temple guard and employees of the temple, and perhaps their families, pressed into this nasty service of lending support to their cause before Pilate. The general populace loved Jesus. Don’t forget, all the chief priests and elders (minus Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus) had spent half the previous night railroading Jesus into an illegal death sentence. This was done to hide this event from the general populace. When they left the high priest’s residence with Jesus to come to Pilate, they probably sent word to all the temple employees and guards who could be spared to come along and lend their support for the condemnation of Jesus before Pilate. What an evil curse this small crowd brought down on the Jewish race, a curse that would be exacted on innocent Jews down through the centuries, as history attests to. God’s not angry at the Jews. The Jews didn’t kill Christ. In reality, if you want to get technical, some Italian and Syrian Roman soldiers killed Jesus. Most of the Jewish population in and around Jerusalem didn’t even know this was taking place, and wouldn’t till after it happened. (Read Jim Bishop’s “The Day Christ Died”.]

“Then released he Barabbas unto them: and when he had scourged Jesus, he delivered him to be crucified. [Scourging is done with a leather whip that had jagged pieces of glass and bone imbedded in it. When a Roman has finished scourging a person, he is near death, as it rips much of the flesh off wherever it hits. Remember Isaiah 52 said his visage was marred more than any man? That was done through this scourging.] Then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus into the common hall, and gathered unto him the whole band of soldiers. And they stripped him, and put on him a scarlet robe. And when they had platted a crown of thorns, they put it upon his head, and a reed in his right hand: and they bowed the knee before him, and mocked him, saying, ‘Hail, King of the Jews!’ And they spit upon him, and took the reed, and smote him on the head. And after that they had mocked him, they took the robe off from him, and put his own raiment on him, and led him away to crucify him. And as they came out, they found a man of Cyrene, Simon by name: him they compelled to bear his cross. [Jesus was so weak by now that he couldn’t carry his own cross. Don’t think Jesus was physically weaker than others. He wasn’t. He was brought up as a carpenter. The scourging had brought on this weakness. Don’t forget, Isaiah 52 said he was to be marred, more than any man.] And when they had come unto a place called Golgatha, that is to say, a place of a skull, they gave him vinegar to drink mingled with gall: and when he had tasted thereof, he would not drink…” Psalm 69:20-21, “Reproach hath broken my heart; and I am full of heaviness: and I looked for some to take pity, but there was none; and for comforters, but I found none. They gave me also gall for my meat; and in my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink.” “And they crucified him, and parted his garments, casting lots: that it might be fulfilled, which was spoken by the prophet, They parted my garments among them, and upon my vesture did they cast lots…” Psalm 22:18, “They part my garments among them, and cast lots upon my vesture.” “…And sitting down they watched him there; and set up over his head his accusation written, THIS IS JESUS THE KING OF THE JEWS. Then were there two thieves crucified with him, one on the right hand, and another on the left. And they; that passed by reviled him, wagging their heads, and saying, ‘Thou that destroyest the temple, and buildest it in three days, save thyself. If thou be the Son of God, come down from the cross. Likewise also the chief priests mocking him, with the scribes and elders, said, ‘He saved others; himself he cannot save. If he be the King of Israel, let him now come down from the cross, and we will believe him. He trusted in God: let him deliver him now, if he will have him: for he said, I am the Son of God. The thieves also, which were crucified with him, cast the same in his teeth. Now from the sixth hour there was darkness over all the land unto the ninth hour. And about the ninth hour [3pm] Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying ‘Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?’ That is to say, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?’”…Psalm 22:1, “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? Why art thou so far from the words of my roaring? “…Some of them that stood there, when they heard that, said, ‘This man calleth Elias. And straightway one of them ran, and took a spunge, and filled it with vinegar, and put it on a reed, and gave him to drink. The rest said, ‘Let be, let us see whether Elias will come to save him. Jesus, when he had cried again with a loud voice, yielded up the ghost. And, behold, the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom: and the earth did quake, and the rocks rent: and the graves were opened: and many bodies of the saints which slept arose, and came out of the graves after his resurrection: and went into the holy city, and appeared unto many.”

Isaiah 53:9, “And he made his grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death; because he had done no violence, neither was any deceit in his mouth.” Matthew 27:38, “Then were there two thieves crucified with him, one on the right hand, and another on the left.” Luke 23:23, “And when they were come to the place, which is called Calvary, there they crucified him, and the malefactors, one on the right hand, and the other on the left.” Matthew 27:57-60, “When the even was come, there came a rich man of Arimathea, named Joseph, who also himself was Jesus’ disciple: he went to Pilate, and begged the body of Jesus. Then Pilate commanded the body to be delivered. And when Joseph had taken the body, he wrapped it in a clean linen cloth, and laid it in his own new tomb, which he had hewn out in the rock: and he rolled a great stone to the door of the sepulchre, and departed.”

On the Road to Emmaus

Luke 24:13-31, “Now that same day two of them were going to a village called Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem. They were talking with each other about everything that had happened. As they talked and discussed these things with each other, Jesus himself came up and walked along with them; but they were kept from recognizing him.

He asked them, ‘What are you discussing together as you walk along?’

They stood still, their faces downcast. One of them, named Cleopas [Jesus’ uncle], asked him, ‘Are you only a visitor to Jerusalem and do not know the things that have happened there in these days?’

‘What things?’ he asked.

‘About Jesus of Nazareth,’ they replied. ‘He was a prophet, powerful in word and deed before God and all the people. The chief priests and our rulers handed him over to be sentenced to death, and they crucified him; but we had hoped that he was the one who was going to redeem Israel. And what is more, it is the third day since all this took place. In addition, some of our women amazed us. They went to the tomb early this morning but didn’t find his body. They came and told us that they had seen a vision of angels, who said he was alive. Then some of our companions went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said, but him they did not see.’

He said to them, ‘How foolish you are, and how slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! Did not the Christ have to suffer these things and then enter his glory?’ And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself.

As they approached the village to which they were going, Jesus acted as if he were going farther. But they urged him strongly, ‘Stay with us, for it is nearly evening; the day is almost over.’ So he went in to stay with them.

When he was at the table with them, he took bread, gave thanks, broke it and began to give it to them. Then their eyes were opened and they recognized him, and he disappeared from their sight…” [N.I.V.] You should now know beyond a shadow of a doubt that Jesus is the prophecied Messiah. This concludes this study on the 1st Coming of Jesus Christ.

Closing Statements

Again, Josh McDowell in his book "MORE THAN A CARPENTER" gives some pretty clear statements which I will use to close this study on the prophecies of Jesus Christ's 1st coming.

WERE THESE PROPHECIES JUST COINCIDENTAL?

"…"Why, you could find some of these prophecies fulfilled in Kennedy, King, Nasser, etc." replies a critic.

"Yes, one could possibly find one or two prophecies fulfilled in other men, but not all sixty major prophecies and 270 ramifications. In fact, if you can find someone who can fulfill only half of the predictions in Messiah in Both Testaments by Fred John Meldau, the Christian Victory Publishing Company of Denver is ready to give you a $1,000 reward.

""H. Harold Hartzler, of the American Scientific Affiliation, in the forward of a book by Peter W. Stoner writes: "The manuscript for Science Speaks has been carefully reviewed by a committee of the American Scientific Affiliation members and by the Executive Council of the same group and has been found, in general, to be dependable and accurate in regard to the scientific material presented. The mathematical analysis included is based upon principles of probability which are thoroughly sound, and Professor Stoner has applied these principles in a proper and convincing way."

"The following probabilities are taken from that book to show that coincidence is ruled out by the science of probability. Stoner says that by using the modern science of probability in reference to eight prophecies, "we find that the chance that any man might have lived down to the present time and fulfilled all eight prophecies is 1 in 10 to the 17th power." That would be 1 in 100,000,000,000,000,000. In order to help us comprehend this staggering probability, Stoner illustrates it by supposing that "we take 10 to the 17th power silver dollars and lay them on the face of Texas. They will cover all of the state two feet deep. Now mark one of these silver dollars and stir the whole mass thoroughly, all over the state. Blindfold a man and tell him that he can travel as far as he wishes, but he must pick up one silver dollar and say that this is the right one. What chance would he have of getting the right one? Just the same chance that the prophets would have had of writing these eight prophecies and having them all come true in any one man, from their day to the present time, providing they wrote them in their own wisdom.

"Now these prophecies were either given by inspiration of God or the prophets just wrote them as they thought they should be. In such a case the prophets had just one chance in 10 to the 17th power of having them come true in any man, but they all came true in Christ.

"This means that the fulfillment of these eight prophecies alone proves that God inspired the writing of those prophecies to a definiteness which lacks only one chance in 10 to the 17th power of being absolute" (Josh McDowell, "MORE THAN A CARPENTER", pp. 107, 108.)

After examining all this evidence while in college himself, as an unbeliever trying to disprove Jesus was the Messiah, and seeing it was true and Jesus was the Messiah, an argument arose in Josh McDowell's mind. Let him explain.

"At that time, though, I had quite a problem. My mind told me all this was true but my will was pulling me in another direction. I discovered that becoming a Christian was rather ego-shattering. Jesus Christ made a direct challenge to my will to trust him. Let me paraphrase him. "Look! I have been standing at the door and I am constantly knocking. If anyone hears me calling him and opens the door, I will come in" (Revelation 3:20). I didn't care if he did walk on water or turn water into wine. I didn't want any party pooper around. I couldn't think of a faster way to ruin a good time. So here was my mind telling me Christianity was true and my will was somewhere else.

"Every time I was around those enthusiastic Christians, the conflict would begin. If you've ever been around happy people when you're miserable, you understand how they can bug you. They would be so happy and I would be so miserable that I'd literally get up and run right out of the student union. It came to the point where I'd go to bed at ten at night and I wouldn't get to sleep until four in the morning. I knew I had to get it off my mind before I went out of my mind! I was always open-minded, but not so open-minded that my brains would fall out.

"But since I was open-minded, on December 19, 1959, at 8:30 P.M. during my second year at the university, I became a Christian.

"Somebody asked me, "How do you know?" I said, "Look, I was there. It's changed my life." That night I prayed. I prayed four things to establish a relationship with the resurrected, living Christ which has since transformed my life.

"First, I said, "Lord Jesus, thank you for dying on the cross for me." Second, I said, "I confess those things in my life that aren't pleasing to you and ask you to forgive me and cleanse me." (The Bible says, "Though your sins be as scarlet they shall be as white as snow.") Third, I said, "Right now, in the best way I know how, I open the door of my heart and life and trust you as my Savior and Lord. Take over the control of my life. Change me from the inside out. Make me the type person you created me to be." The last thing I prayed was "Thank you for coming into my life by faith." It was a faith based not upon ignorance but upon evidence and the facts of history and God's Word.

"I'm sure you've heard various religious people talking about their "bolt of lightning." Well, after I prayed, nothing happened. I mean nothing. And I still haven't sprouted wings. In fact, after I made that decision, I felt worse. I literally felt I was going to vomit. I felt sick deep down. "Oh no, what'd you get sucked into now?" I wondered. I really felt I'd gone off the deep end (and I'm sure some people think I did!).

"I can tell you one thing: in six months to a year-and-a-half I found out that I hadn't gone off the deep end. My life was changed. I was in a debate with the head of the history department at a midwestern university and I said my life had been changed, and he interrupted me with "McDowell, are you trying to tell us that God really changed your life in the twentieth century? What areas?" After forty-five minutes he said, "Okay, that's enough." (ibid. p.123, 124, 125.)

To read about some of those changes in Josh McDowell's life be sure to order a copy of his book "MORE THAN A CARPENTER". They're listed on pages 125-128. But you'll want to read his whole book as well. A final word from Mr. McDowell:

"You can laugh at Christianity, you can mock and ridicule it. But it works. It changes lives. If you trust Christ, start watching your attitudes and actions, because Jesus Christ is in the business of changing lives.

"But Christianity is not something you shove down somebody's throat or force on someone. You've got your life to live and I've got mine. All I can do is tell you what I've learned. After that, it's your decision.

"Perhaps the prayer I prayed will help you: "Lord Jesus, I need you. Thank you for dying on the cross for me. Forgive me and cleanse me. Right this moment I trust you as Savior and Lord. Make me the type of person you created me to be. In Christ's name, Amen." (ibid. p. 128)
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This study has been a crude attempt to piece together some of the prophecies and their fulfillment's that Jesus must have given in his conversation with these two men, one his uncle Cleopas. For further reading on this subject be sure to order Josh McDowell's "MORE THAN A CARPENTER" ($3.99), a few quotes of which you've already read here. And also be sure to order John McArthur's "God in the Manger: The Miraculous Birth of Christ" ($9.99). Both are available online from http://www.christianbook.com or http://www.amazon.com . For the very scholarly, further study on this subject is available by ordering "What the Bible Teaches About the Promised Messiah" by Dr. James Smith (ISBN 0-8407-4239-8). It is available on http://www.amazon.com under that title for $24.95.

If you are still pondering what it really means to have a relationship with Jesus Christ, log onto http://www.UNITYINCHRIST.COM/faith/whatis.htm for an excellent in-depth treatment of this subject by Dr. Charles Stanley. If you have already just made a commitment to Jesus Christ you will be wondering at this point, "Where should I go to church?" or "Should I go to a church?", and "How do I go about choosing a church?" "There are so many different ones out there--which one is best for me?" If those questions are going through your head you will be interested in how this church thing got started in the first place, and also in the subject of how to chose a church that is spiritually right and beneficial to you. Both subjects are covered in the section of this website that covers Early Church History. Log onto http://www.UNITYINCHRIST.COM/history2/index4.htm This link covers the start of the early Christian church. From there you will also see the link leading to the article "Choosing a Church".