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Objective

In this lesson, we’ll see that Jesus was the Messiah promised by the Old Testament prophets through specific prophecies that were perfectly fulfilled in His life, death, and resurrection.

Key Verse

Luke 24:27: And beginning at Moses and all the Prophets, He expounded to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself.

Introduction

Jesus turned to His disciples one day and asked them a very important question: “Who do men say that I am?” But then Jesus asked an even more important question—a personal question: “Who do you say that I am?” (Mark 8:27-29).

This is the main question before us as we begin to study the doctrine of Christ. We should be careful to give an answer from our heart, not our head. We confess that Jesus Christ is Lord not because we have figured this out. We make this confession because the Holy Spirit has revealed Christ to us in our hearts. We should pray that the Holy Spirit continues to reveal Christ to us as we study together.

Peter confessed that Jesus was the Christ (Mark 8:29). Remember how God revealed this truth to Mary, the mother of Jesus. The angel told her that her son would be great and would be called the Son of the Most High (Luke 1:31-32). Luke also tells us how the Holy Spirit revealed this truth to Simeon and Anna (Luke 2:25-38). These faithful believers had been waiting for the promised Messiah.

God also revealed this to John the Baptist. John was the messenger sent by God to announce the Messiah. When John saw Jesus coming toward him, he said, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29).

One of the first disciples, Philip, also recognized the truth that Jesus is the one prophesied in the Old Testament. He told Nathanael, “We have found the one Moses wrote about in the Law, and about whom the prophets also wrote—Jesus of Nazareth” (John 1:45).

Jesus Himself taught that He was the Messiah. In the synagogue in Nazareth, He read from Isaiah and declared, “Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing” (Luke 4:21). He told the religious leaders, “You study the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life. These are the very Scriptures that speak about me” (John 5:39).

Jesus taught that His life was a completion of the Old Testament prophecies. Jesus always started with the Old Testament prophets when He spoke about Himself. This is where we should begin as well.

In this lesson, we’ll look at nine important prophecies that looked ahead to Christ:

• Genesis 3:15 – The First Promise of a Savior
• Genesis 12:1-3 – A Blessing to All People
• Deuteronomy 18:18 – A Prophet Like Moses
• 2 Samuel 7:16 – Son of David, Eternal King
• Psalm 118:22 – The Rejected Stone
• Isaiah 9:6-7 – The Child Who Is God
• Isaiah 53 – The Suffering Servant
• Malachi 4:2 – The Sun of Righteousness
• Psalm 16:10 – The Resurrection Promise

Genesis 3:15

This is the first prophecy of the Messiah in the Old Testament. Sin had entered the world. God’s judgment on sin was pronounced. But God also gives the first promise of hope.

Genesis 3:15: And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel.

What do we learn about Christ from this first promise? He will be born of a woman, and He will defeat Satan. This prophecy found its perfect fulfillment at the cross. When Jesus died, it looked like Satan had won. The serpent had struck the heel of the promised One. But through His death and resurrection, Jesus crushed Satan’s power forever.

Galatians 4:4: But when the set time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law.

Colossians 2:15: And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.

From the very beginning, God had a plan to save us. Even before Adam and Eve left the garden, God was already promising to send a Redeemer.

Genesis 12:1-3

When God called Abraham, He gave him a promise. This promise would be repeated again several times during Abraham’s life.

Genesis 12:1-3: The Lord had said to Abram, “Go from your country, your people and your father’s household to the land I will show you. I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.”

What do we learn about Christ? He will come through Abraham’s family, and He will be a blessing to all people. The promise of the Messiah was not just for Abraham’s descendants. It was for all people of all times. We enter into that blessing through faith.

Luke 2:32: A light for revelation to the Gentiles, and the glory of your people Israel.

Galatians 3:29: If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.

(Notebook Moment: How does it encourage you to know that God’s plan of salvation was always meant to include people from every nation and culture, not just one group?)

Deuteronomy 18:18

Moses was the greatest prophet in Israel’s history, but he knew that an even greater Prophet would come after him. God promised to raise up a Prophet who would speak God’s words with perfect authority.

Deuteronomy 18:18: I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their fellow Israelites, and I will put my words in his mouth. He will tell them everything I command him.

A prophet is someone sent from God with a message, and this is exactly what Jesus was. He came from the Father with the perfect message of salvation. Jesus Himself confirmed that He spoke only what the Father gave Him to say.

John 12:49: For I did not speak on my own, but the Father who sent me commanded me to say all that I have spoken.

Jesus was like Moses in many remarkable ways. Moses delivered Israel from slavery to Pharaoh; Jesus delivers us from slavery to sin. Moses gave the law on Mount Sinai; Jesus explained the true meaning of the law in His Sermon on the Mount. Moses instituted the Passover; Jesus is our Passover Lamb. Moses led Israel through the wilderness; Jesus leads us through this world to our promised land in heaven.

Acts 3:22-23: For Moses said, ‘The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your own people; you must listen to everything he tells you. Anyone who does not listen to him will be completely cut off from their people.’

Peter preached this message after healing a lame man at the temple. He wanted everyone to understand that Jesus was the Prophet Moses had promised, and that rejecting Jesus meant rejecting God’s ultimate messenger.

2 Samuel 7:16

We should always remember to think of these prophecies as promises. God gave a promise to Adam and Eve, to Abraham, to Moses. And God also gave a promise to David.

2 Samuel 7:16: Your house and your kingdom will endure forever before me; your throne will be established forever.

What does this prophecy tell us about Christ? He will be born of David’s family, and He will reign forever. This promise had a partial fulfillment in Solomon, who built the first temple. But Solomon’s kingdom didn’t last forever. The complete fulfillment of this promise had to wait for Jesus, the true Son of David whose kingdom will never end.

Romans 1:3: Regarding his Son, who as to his earthly life was a descendant of David.

Luke 1:32-33: He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom will never end.

Throughout the Gospels, people called Jesus “Son of David,” recognizing Him as the promised King. When the crowds shouted “Hosanna to the Son of David!” on Palm Sunday, they were declaring Jesus to be the promised eternal King.

Psalm 118:22

Psalms is quoted in the New Testament more than any other Old Testament book. Many of the Psalms contain prophecies about Christ. Psalm 118:22 is quoted more often in the New Testament than any other Old Testament prophecy. Jesus even quoted this verse when He told a parable about Himself.

Psalm 118:22: The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone.

What does this prophecy tell us about Christ? He will be rejected, but He will become the foundation of God’s work. The religious leaders of Jesus’ day rejected Him, but God made Him the cornerstone of salvation.

Acts 4:10-11: Then know this, you and all the people of Israel: It is by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified but whom God raised from the dead, that this man stands before you healed. Jesus is ‘the stone you builders rejected, which has become the cornerstone.’

Ephesians 2:20: Built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone.

Isaiah 9:6-7

Isaiah records more prophecies about Christ than any other book except for Psalms. Isaiah prophesies that the Messiah will be a light among the nations.

Isaiah 9:6-7: For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the greatness of his government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David’s throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever.

What do we learn about Christ? He will come as a child, He will be the Son of God, and He will reign forever. This prophecy tells us that the Messiah would be both fully human (a child) and fully God (Mighty God, Everlasting Father).

Luke 1:31-33: You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom will never end.

(Notebook Moment: How does it help your faith to realize that Jesus has always been both fully God and fully man, making Him the perfect bridge between heaven and earth?)

Isaiah 53

Isaiah records the greatest prophecy about the Messiah. In Isaiah 53, we learn much about the life, death, burial, and even resurrection of Christ.

Isaiah 53:3-6: He was despised and rejected by mankind, a man of suffering, and familiar with pain. Like one from whom people hide their faces he was despised, and we held him in low esteem. Surely he took up our pain and bore our suffering, yet we considered him punished by God, stricken by him, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed. We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to our own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.

This prophecy reveals the heart of the gospel message. Jesus didn’t die for His own sins—He had none. He died for our sins. He was pierced for our transgressions. He was crushed for our iniquities. The punishment we deserved fell on Him.

Acts 8:32-35: This is the passage of Scripture the eunuch was reading: “He was led like a sheep to the slaughter, and as a lamb before its shearer is silent, so he did not open his mouth. In his humiliation he was deprived of justice. Who can speak of his descendants? For his life was taken from the earth.” The eunuch asked Philip, “Tell me, please, who is the prophet talking about, himself or someone else?” Then Philip began with that very passage of Scripture and told him the good news about Jesus.

Philip clearly identifies Christ as the one that Isaiah was talking about in this passage. This prophecy helps us understand that the cross wasn’t a tragedy or a mistake—it was God’s perfect plan.

Malachi 4:2

As the Old Testament comes to a close, the promise of a Messiah is renewed. He is described as the Sun of Righteousness.

Malachi 4:2: But for you who revere my name, the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its rays. And you will go out and frolic like well-fed calves.

What do we learn of Christ? He will bring healing to our lives, and He is our righteousness. Just as the sun brings light and warmth to the earth, Jesus brings spiritual light and healing to our souls.

Matthew 11:5: The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is proclaimed to the poor.

2 Corinthians 5:21: God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

(Notebook Moment: Think about areas of your life that need God’s healing touch. How does it encourage you to know that Jesus came as the “Sun of Righteousness” to bring healing and wholeness?)

Psalm 16:10

David wrote prophetically about the Messiah’s resurrection, declaring that God would not leave His Holy One in the grave.

Psalm 16:10: Because you will not abandon me to the realm of the dead, nor will you let your faithful one see decay.

This prophecy couldn’t be about David himself, because David died and his body did decay in the tomb. Peter explained this clearly on the day of Pentecost, showing that David was speaking about the Christ who would rise from the dead.

Acts 2:29-31: Fellow Israelites, I can tell you confidently that the patriarch David died and was buried, and his tomb is here to this day. But he was a prophet and knew that God had promised him on oath that he would place one of his descendants on his throne. Seeing what was to come, he spoke of the resurrection of the Messiah, that he was not abandoned to the realm of the dead, nor did his body see decay.

Paul also used this same prophecy to prove Jesus’ resurrection when he preached in Antioch.

Acts 13:34-37: God raised him from the dead so that he will never be subject to decay. As God has said, ‘I will give you the holy and sure blessings promised to David.’ So it is also stated elsewhere: ‘You will not let your holy one see decay.’ Now when David had served God’s purpose in his own generation, he fell asleep; he was buried with his ancestors and his body decayed. But the one whom God raised from the dead did not see decay.

The resurrection proves that Jesus is who He claimed to be. It validates every promise He made and every claim He spoke. Because He rose from the dead, we know that our faith is not in vain and that we too will rise to eternal life.

Conclusion

The revelation about Christ becomes clearer as we go from Genesis to Malachi. This is how God has revealed His truth to us. He didn’t reveal everything all at once in Genesis 3:15.

Proverbs 4:18: The path of the righteous is like the morning sun, shining ever brighter till the full light of day.

We have studied only nine of the Old Testament prophecies about Christ. But these are some of the most important ones we need to know. Christ fulfilled hundreds of prophecies in His life, death, and ministry. The Old Testament also predicts the Messiah would be born in Bethlehem (Micah 5:2), that He would enter Jerusalem on a donkey (Zechariah 9:9), and that He would be betrayed for thirty pieces of silver (Zechariah 11:12-13).

There are also prophecies that will be fulfilled in the future when Christ returns to judge and rule the earth. How do we know Christ will return someday? We know this because God has already been faithful to fulfill every prophecy concerning Jesus Christ.

We have studied only a few of the Old Testament prophecies about Christ, but these show us God’s amazing plan that was revealed over many centuries. From Genesis to Malachi, the Scriptures prepare us for the coming of our Savior. The promises, the prophecies, the pictures, and the patterns all find their fulfillment in Him.

This should transform how we read the Old Testament. We shouldn’t read it as ancient history disconnected from our faith. Instead, we should read it as the first part of God’s great story of redemption—a story that climaxes with Jesus Christ. Every sacrifice points to His sacrifice. Every prophet points to the ultimate Prophet. Every king points to the King of kings.

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