The Glory of Christ: 5 Ways Jesus Proved He’s the Messiah
By BGEA Admin • December 24, 2015 • Topics: Christianity, Jesus Christ
“He was foreknown before the foundation of the world but was made manifest in the last times for the sake of you.” —1 Peter 1:20 (ESV)
Christmas truly is the most wonderful time of the year. More than presents, lighted trees and time with loved ones, now is when we celebrate the birth of Christ. It’s a holy season for Christians—a time to bask in God’s glory shown to us through His Son Jesus Christ.
Yet, even with the splendor and joy of Christmas all around, you or someone you know may be convinced Jesus was just another man, possibly a prophet, but certainly not the Messiah.
Jesus is in fact unique. There are numerous things that set Him apart from other religions—with biblical prophecy and proof to back up each of them.
From the very beginning, God had a plan. And through hundreds of prophecies in the Old Testament, God prepared the world for the coming of His Son. Jesus really did live to die for the sins of humanity.
Here are 5 of more than 300 prophecies fulfilled ages later through Christ:
1. Jesus was born in Bethlehem.
Biblical prophecy:
“But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of you shall come forth to Me the One to be Ruler in Israel, whose goings forth are from of old, from everlasting.” —Micah 5:2 (NKJV)
Prophecy fulfilled:
After Christ’s birth, King Herod gathered the chief priests and scribes to ask them where the Messiah would be born. They responded by citing the Old Testament prophecy revealing that Christ would be born in Bethlehem:
They told him, “In Bethlehem of Judea, for so it is written by the prophet:
“‘And you, O Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for from you shall come a ruler who will shepherd my people Israel.’” —Matthew 2:5-6 (NKJV)
Also, John 7:42 (NKJV) says, “Has not the Scripture said that the Christ comes from the seed of David and from the town of Bethlehem, where David was?”
2. Jesus was born of a virgin.
Biblical prophecy:
Isaiah 7:14 (NKJV) says, “Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel.”
Prophecy fulfilled:
“Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,’ which is translated, ‘God with us.’” —Matthew 1:23 (NKJV)
Just as Isaiah said, the virgin Mary did indeed conceive and have a Son who is called Immanuel. Jesus being born of a virgin and the prophecy of this event show God’s infinite power and knowledge. He defied nature to bring His Son to the earth.
You can know Jesus, the Messiah.
3. Jesus was rejected by His people.
In biblical times, building foundations were built from stone, starting with a single stone placed in the corner as a guide for the entire structure. The cornerstone was essential to the structure of the building and ensured each wall would be balanced, straight and solid.
God’s Word tells us Jesus was sent to be the cornerstone for the world but, He would be rejected in the process.
Biblical prophecy:
“The stone which the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone. This was the Lord’s doing; It is marvelous in our eyes.” —Psalm 118:22-23 (NKJV)
Prophecy fulfilled:
Later in the book of Matthew, there’s a conversation in which Jesus uses David’s words from Psalm 118 to remind the religious leaders who He was:
Jesus said to them, “Have you never read in the Scriptures:
‘The stone which the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone. This was the Lord’s doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes’?” —Matthew 21:42-43 (NKJV)
4. Jesus suffered with (and for) sinners
Biblical prophecy:
“Therefore I will divide him a portion with the many, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong, because he poured out his soul to death and was numbered with the transgressors; yet he bore the sin of many, and makes intercession for the transgressors.”
—Isaiah 53:12 (ESV)
Prophecy fulfilled:
“Then two robbers were crucified with Him, one on the right and another on the left.”
—Matthew 27:38 (NKJV)“With Him they also crucified two robbers, one on His right and the other on His left.”
— Mark 15:2 (NKJV)“There were also two others, criminals, led with Him to be put to death. And when they had come to the place called Calvary, there they crucified Him, and the criminals, one on the right hand and the other on the left.”
— Luke 23:32-33 (NKJV)
Isaiah, whose name means “salvation of the Lord,” is known as one of the greatest prophets in the Bible. The coming of Christ is foretold throughout the book of Isaiah, with Isaiah 53 explaining just how much Jesus would suffer during His sacrifice for our sins.
5. Jesus performed miracles.
Biblical prophecy:
Isaiah 35:5-6 (ESV) says, “Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf unstopped; then shall the lame man leap like a deer, and the tongue of the mute sing for joy. For waters break forth in the wilderness, and streams in the desert.”
Prophecy fulfilled:
Some 700 years after Isaiah, this was written in John 11:47 (NKJV):
“Then the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered a council and said, ‘What shall we do? For this Man works many signs.'”
And Luke 7:21 (NKJV): “And that very hour He cured many of infirmities, afflictions, and evil spirits; and to many blind He gave sight.”
There are more than 300 other prophecies Jesus fulfilled with 100 percent accuracy—something no psychic, medium, or other religion can guarantee. God promised He’d send a Savior for the world. And He did.
Believe in the Christ of Christmas Today.
Was the Apostle Paul a Jew?
Paul was a Jew who took great pride in his Jewish heritage. He lays out his Jewish in credentials Philippians 3:6–5: “If someone else thinks they have reasons to put confidence in the flesh, I have more: circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; in regard to the law, a Pharisee.” The fact that he was circumcised on the eighth day means that his parents followed the commandment God gave to Abraham in Genesis 17:2. He was an Israelite from the tribe of Benjamin, one of the two tribes that remained loyal to David’s line after the kingdom divided (see 1 Kings 12). It is also interesting that Israel’s first king, Saul, was of the tribe of Benjamin and Paul’s Hebrew name was Saul. Although Paul was a Roman citizen (Acts 22:28) of the city of Tarsus (Acts 21:39), he was “a Hebrew of Hebrews,” meaning that he was raised according to Hebrew law and culture. He eventually moved to Israel and became a Pharisee (cf. Acts 26:5), which means that he was dedicated to keeping the Law in minute detail.
The gospel was more important to him than his Jewish heritage. Although, as a Christian, he was no longer under obligation to follow the Jewish Law, he would do so if that would give him the opportunity to share the gospel with other Jews. When with the Gentiles, Paul adapted to their practices. “To the Jews I became like a Jew, to win the Jews. To those under the law I became like one under the law (though I myself am not under the law), so as to win those under the law. To those not having the law I became like one not having the law (though I am not free from God’s law but am under Christ’s law), so as to win those not having the law” (1 Corinthians 9:20–21).
Christ called Paul to take the gospel to the Gentiles (Romans 11:13; Galatians 2:8). However, he still hoped and prayed for the salvation of Israel since they had, in large, rejected the righteousness of Christ in favor of their own righteousness. Paul expresses his yearning in Romans 10:1–4: “Brothers and sisters, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for the Israelites is that they may be saved. For I can testify about them that they are zealous for God, but their zeal is not based on knowledge. Since they did not know the righteousness of God and sought to establish their own, they did not submit to God’s righteousness. Christ is the culmination of the law so that there may be righteousness for everyone who believes.”
Although Paul was a Jew who loved his own people, he knew that in Christ Jews and Gentiles had been brought together, as he explains in Ephesians 2:11–22: “Therefore, remember that formerly you who are Gentiles by birth and called ‘uncircumcised’ by those who call themselves ‘the circumcision’ (which is done in the body by human hands)—remember that at that time you were separate from Christ, excluded from citizenship in Israel and foreigners to the covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For he himself is our peace, who has made the two groups one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, by setting aside in his flesh the law with its commands and regulations. His purpose was to create in himself one new humanity out of the two, thus making peace, and in one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility. He came and preached peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were near. For through him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit. Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God’s people and also members of his household, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.” And in Galatians 3:28 Paul explains, “There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.”
Paul was a Jew whom God chose to take the good news of Israel’s Messiah to the Gentiles, so that they, too, could be saved.
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