6. A messenger would prepare the way for the coming Messiah.
Old Testament Scripture: Isaiah 40:3
'Listen! It’s the voice of someone shouting, “Clear the way through the wilderness for the Lord! Make a straight highway through the wasteland for our God!'
New Testament Scripture: Luke 3:3-6
'Then John went from place to place on both sides of the Jordan River, preaching that people should be baptized to show that they had repented of their sins and turned to God to be forgiven. '
Explanation:
To begin with, it is important to understand WHO the messenger of God is making a way for. The messenger of God whois to come, is not making a way for any ordinary person but instead, he is making a way for God himself to walk earth. GOT questions highlights the fact “Malachi 3:1 is of great importance in understanding the nature of the Son of God. In the verse, Yahweh God is speaking, and He says that the messenger would prepare the way “before me.” So, it is the LORD God Himself who was coming. Then, God says it is “the Lord” who will come, “the messenger of the covenant.” So, Yahweh is equated with the Lord who was to come, and as we know, the prophecy was fulfilled by Jesus. Therefore, “Yahweh” and “the Lord” are equated with Jesus”. This is one of the many critical verses that equates God to the Messiah and his future coming to earth.
Isaiah 40:3-5 speaks about a messenger coming and shouting “Clear the way through the wilderness for the Lord! Make a straight highway through the wasteland for our God”. The verse as it is, shows that a way will be made for God himself to walk through the wilderness. Then we see in Malachi 3:1 (which I mentioned previously) receive a word from God that says “Look! I am sending my messenger, and he will prepare the way before me. Then the Lord you are seeking will suddenly come to his Temple. The messenger of the covenant, whom you look for so eagerly, is surely coming,” Again, this verse alludes to the fact that someone will precede the Messiah God, in preparing and making a way for him before he begins his ministry. In Malachi 4:5, prophet Elijah is mentioned as the prophet which will be making the way for God himself - the prophet Elijah was used by name as he was a supreme example of a prophet of God who preached repentance just as John the Baptist (who was in fact the messenger Isaiah and Malachi was talking about) did. When Angel Gabriel announced the birth of John the Baptist to Zechariah, he said that John would “Go on before the Lord, in the spirit and power of Elijah'' (Luke 1:17). Also, In Matthew11:14, Jesus himself says “And if you are willing to accept what I say, he is Elijah, the one the prophets said would come” regarding John the Baptist. John’s association with Elijah was based on similar power and message; Malachi had predicted a metaphorical Elijah, not the literal one.
As we see in the NT, we see the message that John preached - a message of repentance and preparing the way for someone “greater than he is”. He literally makes a way for Jesus in the wilderness (Mark 1:4) and the verses 2 and 3 confirm that Isaiah 40:3 and Malachi 3:1 was about John the Baptist himself. On top of the fact, Zechariah, John the Baptist’s father, prophesied over John by the power of the Holy Spirit at his naming ceremony saying, “And you, my little son, will be called the prophet of the Most High, because you will prepare the way for the Lord.'” (Luke 1:76) - again just as the OT said it would be.
7. A massacre would happen at the Messiah's birthplace
Old Testament Scripture: Jeremiah 31:15
'This is what the Lord says: “A cry is heard in Ramah— deep anguish and bitter weeping. Rachel weeps for her children, refusing to be comforted— for her children are gone.”'
New Testament Scripture: Matthew 2:16
'Herod was furious when he realized that the wise men had outwitted him. He sent soldiers to kill all the boys in and around Bethlehem who were two years old and under, based on the wise men’s report of the star’s first appearance. '
Explanation:
Another symbolic verse pointing towards the coming of the Messiah. The verse in Jeremiah 31:15 talks about a great wave or anguish and weeping as a result of Rachel’s children being “gone”, insinuating their murder and deaths. In this case the name Rachel represents the mothers residing in Bethlehem. Rachel was Jacob’s favourite wife, and the mother of Joseph and Benjamin. Joseph was the father of the tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh in the northern kingdom whilst Benjamin was the father of the tribes of the southern kingdoms. These were known to be (according to the time the NT was written) around the area of present-day Bethlehem. Therefore Rachel, in this verse, represented the mothers of all children who were killed in the massacre of the young boys during King Herod’s reign. As we see in the story in Matthew 2:13-18, the order for all young boys under two years to be killed in desperation to kill Jesus at his young age.
The massacre of the young boys was Herod’s attempt to throw off God’s plan and stop a biblical prophecy from being fulfilled. However, in his plan to thwart God’s plan, he fulfilled another prophecy and confirmed God’s own words - “'The kings of the earth prepare for battle; the rulers plot together against the Lord and against his anointed one.' (Psalm 2:2).
8. The Messiah will be called Immanuel
Old Testament Scripture: Isaiah 7:14
'All right then, 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’).
New Testament Scripture: Matthew 1:21
'And she will have a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.”'
Explanation:
Isaiah 7:14 has a very heavy prophetic message. In this bit we are going to focus on the aspect of which the Messiah is called “Immanuel”. The Hebrew name "Immanuel" translates to “God with us/ God is with us” in English. In the NT verse in Matthew 1:23, the name Jesus is given to the new-born baby. Jesus meaning “The Lord saves”. Although Jesus was not literally named “Immanuel”, this name was used to signify the reality of the matter - that God was amongst his people. Therefore, reinforcing that Jesus was indeed God and, in his nature, he was truly with us.
“Isaiah told us to watch for Immanuel, the virgin-born Son of God. He will save us; He will reconcile people to God and restore creation to its original beauty. We know Him as Jesus, but we can also call Him “God with us,” because that’s exactly who He is.” (GOT questions). Matthew himself recognises this, establishing that Jesus was in fact the “living expression of the incarnation”, making home amongst us so he could truly reveal God to us.
9. The Messiah will be born in Bethlehem
Old Testament Scripture: Micah 5:2
'But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah, are only a small village among all the people of Judah. Yet a ruler of Israel, whose origins are in the distant past, will come from you on my behalf.'
New Testament Scripture: Luke 2:4-6
'And because Joseph was a descendant of King David, he had to go to Bethlehem in Judea, David’s ancient home. He traveled there from the village of Nazareth in Galilee. He took with him Mary, to whom he was engaged, who was now expecting a child. And while they were there, the time came for her baby to be born. '
Explanation:
Micah 5:2 speaks about a significant ruler being born in Bethlehem Ephrathah. It is important to note the distinction though because during the time of writing, there were two Bethlehem’s. However, this verse specifies Bethlehem Ephrathah, the portion of Palestine where Jerusalem was located. Although Bethlehem was considered “small” or “insignificant” to others, it would serve as the birthplace of a future ruler - the Messiah.
This is further consolidated that this was the known birthplace of the coming Messiah because in Matthew 2, we read about the wise men arriving at King Herod’s palace to tell him about the birth of the “New King of the Jews” and alert him that they had spotted a star. In deep disturbance, we see King Herod call a meeting and ask for confirmation whether the Messiah was meant to be born in Bethlehem of Judea which was confirmed by the scripture - Micah 5:2. When this was confirmed, he was eager to find a way to get rid of the Messiah to ensure he would not become the King he was meant to be.
I find the story of Jesus’ birth in Bethlehem fascinating. Typically, because Luke 2 describes that the only reason Mary and Joseph travelled to Bethlehem was because of the census the Roman emperor, Augustus, had declared over the Roman empire - they were ordered to register for a census at their ancestral town. Neither Mary or Joseph were from Bethlehem, and in fact that is why Jesus was called the Nazarene, because his earthly father was in fact from Nazareth. This story shows that God will change the customs of the whole world to allow His Will to be done - Jesus was prophesied to be born in Bethlehem, and even though Joseph and Mary were from Nazareth, Jesus was still born in Bethlehem.
10. The Messiah will be born from a virgin
Old Testament Scripture: Isaiah 7:14
'All right then, 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’).
New Testament Scripture: Luke 1:35
'The angel replied, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the baby to be born will be holy, and he will be called the Son of God. '
Explanation:
Now for the final prophecy we will be focusing on - Jesus being born of a virgin. As mentioned in one of our previous posts, we see that Isaiah 7:14 carries a heavy prophecy - one being that Jesus will be “God with us” and the other being Jesus being born of a virgin. This is a pretty significant statement as it highlights the supernatural way that Jesus came to be. We see that the birth of Jesus was completely by the work of God, it wasn’t by any human effort or contribution. Who could hear of a virgin birth, and think it wasn’t by the power of the Most High?
Mary was simply a vessel in this story. It was not by her own might and neither by Joseph’s that she was able to conceive Jesus. Even Mary, understandably, was shocked at Angel Gabriel’s statement of her pregnancy and went further on to ask how it was possible when she herself was a virgin. The angel explains, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So, the baby to be born will be holy, and he will be called the Son of God.” (Luke 1:35). In reading this, we come to understand that the conception of Jesus was by the power of God only. This is not to say that the conception of the Saviour was done in the way humans know it to be, but in fact highlights that this conception was supernatural and out of humans’ ability to fathom.The term “overshadow” indicates the Holy Spirit exerting creative energy upon the womb of Mary and initiating Jesus’ conception. Typically, the term “overshadows” in the Bible, points towards the immediate presence and power of God. Leon Morris provides a clear explanation that “This delicate expression rules out crude ideas if a “mating” of the Holy Spirit with Mary”.
And that’s how Jesus came to fulfil the prophecy of a virgin birth.
Hope this blog post was insightful in seeing the prophetic links of Christ. The bible from early) points towards the coming Messiah. When you come to see the connections between the Old and New Testament you realise that the coming of Jesus was long planned and purposeful.
Remain blessed,
The Word: UNCUT x
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