Prophecies Jesus fulfilled of the crucifixion.

 

One of the best ways to prove the Bible is the inspired word of God is fulfilled prophecy. The Apostle Peter tells us,

 

2 Peter 1: 19 We also have the prophetic message as something completely reliable, and you will do well to pay attention to it, as to a light shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts. 20 Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet’s own interpretation of things. 21 For prophecy never had its origin in the human will, but prophets, though human, spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.

 

We’ve looked at numerous prophecies that have been fulfilled in the past and others that are being fulfilled right before our eyes, but I would like to show you a few prophecies concerning the Messiah that foretold the crucifixion that were fulfilled in Jesus. As you will see, there has been no one else in history that has fulfilled any of these prophecies together much less all of them. Something to be aware of. When all these Old Testament prophecies we see describing crucifixion were made, crucifying someone hadn’t even been invented yet. It was the Romans that came up with crucifixion. Google crucifixion and you will see that these Old Testament Prophecies descriptions, some of which were made 1000 years B.C. are an accurate picture of what medical science reveals occurs with being crucified.

 

Here we will look at just 20 Old Testament Prophecies that foretold what the Messiah would go through before and during the crucifixion. We see from the Gospels that all of these were fulfilled with Jesus. What we are told in the Gospels are eyewitness accounts of all that took place.

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From Old Testament scriptures we see the Messiah would be, despised and rejected, spit on, slapped/struck, severely beaten, hands, feet and side pierced, flogged/whipped, mocked, willingly offer his back to be whipped. None of his bones would be broken. His followers would flee, scattered, leave him alone. From false accusations against him, wouldn’t open his mouth in defense, would remain silent. Would quote the scriptures from the cross. His clothes would be divided and lots cast for them. Would be offered wine vinegar to drink. Would be put to death, would be crucified. Body would be placed in a rich man’s tomb. Would have no descendants. Would be raised from the dead. Would take on our sins, iniquity and transgressions.

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We see from the Gospels that Jesus was taken and whipped(flogged), beaten, spit on. We see from the Old Testament that Isaiah foretold this over 700 years before Jesus’ crucifixion. Read all of these chapters but for now notice these verses.

 

Mt. 26: 67 Then they spit in his face and struck him with their fists. Others slapped him

 

Mt. 27: 30 They spit on him, and took the staff and struck him on the head again and again.

 

Mk. 14: 65 Then some began to spit at him; they blindfolded him, struck him with their fists, and said, “Prophesy!” And the guards took him and beat him.

 

John 19: 1Then Pilate took Jesus and had him flogged. 2 The soldiers twisted together a crown of thorns and put it on his head. They clothed him in a purple robe 3 and went up to him again and again, saying, “Hail, king of the Jews!” And they slapped him in the face.

 

Isaiah 50

 

6 I offered my back to those who beat me,
      my cheeks to those who pulled out my beard;
      I did not hide my face
      from mocking and spitting.

 

Isaiah 52

 

13 See, my servant will act wisely;
      he will be raised and lifted up and highly exalted.

 14 Just as there were many who were appalled at him—
      his appearance was so disfigured beyond that of any man
      and his form marred beyond human likeness—

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Everyone agrees that this is talking about Jesus being severely beaten, nailed to the cross and raised up on the cross, then raised from the dead and now seated at the right hand of God the Father. Verse 14, have you seen the first Rocky movie, how Rocky looked at the end of the fight. He probably looked good compared to how Jesus looked after being beaten. It continues in chapter 53, it foretells of the trial, the beating, the death, burial and resurrection of the Messiah.

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Isaiah 53

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  3 He was despised and rejected by men,
      a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering.
      Like one from whom men hide their faces
      he was despised, and we esteemed him not.

 4 Surely he took up our infirmities
      and carried our sorrows,
      yet we considered him stricken by God,
      smitten by him, and afflicted.

 5 But he was pierced for our transgressions,
      he was crushed for our iniquities;
      the punishment that brought us peace was upon him,
      and by his wounds we are healed.

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Jesus hands and feet were pierced by the nails and his side was pierced by the sword used to make sure he was dead. By his wounds, the stripes on his back we have been healed from the penalty of sin. With verse 6 we see what we are told in the gospels, how all the disciples fled, went into hiding. All except John. We also see how the iniquity of us all was laid on him.

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 6 We all, like sheep, have gone astray,
      each of us has turned to his own way;
      and the LORD has laid on him
      the iniquity of us all.

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Zechariah prophesied, “Strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered,

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Zech. 13: 7 He was oppressed and afflicted,
      yet he did not open his mouth;
      he was led like a lamb to the slaughter,
      and as a sheep before her shearers is silent,
      so he did not open his mouth.

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When Jesus was brought before the Sanhedrin, the religious leaders, when they were bringing all kinds of false accusations against him, he didn’t open his mouth in defense, he remained silent.

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Mathew 27

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12When he was accused by the chief priests and the elders, he gave no answer. 13Then Pilate asked him, "Don't you hear the testimony they are bringing against you?" 14But Jesus made no reply, not even to a single charge—to the great amazement of the governor.

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Mark 14

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60Then the high priest stood up before them and asked Jesus, "Are you not going to answer? What is this testimony that these men are bringing against you?" 61But Jesus remained silent and gave no answer.

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 Zech. 13: 8 By oppression and judgment he was taken away.
      And who can speak of his descendants?
      For he was cut off from the land of the living;
      for the transgression of my people he was stricken.

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9 He was assigned a grave with the wicked,
      and with the rich in his death,
      though he had done no violence,
      nor was any deceit in his mouth.

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Jesus didn’t have any children, unlike a certain book and movie has said. He was cut off from the land of the living, he was put to death. Again, we see for our transgressions. We see from Matthew that verse 9 was fulfilled when Jesus was placed in Joseph’s tomb.

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Mathew 27

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57As evening approached, there came a rich man from Arimathea, named Joseph, who had himself become a disciple of Jesus. 58Going to Pilate, he asked for Jesus' body, and Pilate ordered that it be given to him. 59Joseph took the body, wrapped it in a clean linen cloth, 60and placed it in his own new tomb that he had cut out of the rock. He rolled a big stone in front of the entrance to the tomb and went away.

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Zech. 13: 10 Yet it was the LORD's will to crush him and cause him to suffer,
      and though the LORD makes his life a guilt offering,
      he will see his offspring and prolong his days,
      and the will of the LORD will prosper in his hand.

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Jesus’ offspring are all who have come to believe in him. All will be justified who have come to follow and put their faith and trust in him. By grace through faith, we have been justified by his death and resurrection. With verse 11 we see his resurrection. Again, we see that he bore our iniquities. Jesus’ death is the offering for our guilt of sin. We are told by Paul in Romans chapter 8 verse 34 that ‘Christ Jesus who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us.’

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 11 After the suffering of his soul,
      he will see the light of life and be satisfied;
      by his knowledge my righteous servant will justify many,
      and he will bear their iniquities.

 12 Therefore I will give him a portion among the great,
      and he will divide the spoils with the strong,
      because he poured out his life unto death,
      and was numbered with the transgressors.
      For he bore the sin of many,
      and made intercession for the transgressors.

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We see Jesus’ resurrection foretold in the Psalms. These are referring to the Messiah. Not only is his resurrection mentioned in all 4 gospels, but throughout all the New Testament.

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

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Ps. 30: 3 You, Lord, brought me up from the realm of the dead;
   you spared me from going down to the pit.

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We see that Psalm 22 addresses the crucifixion. We see from the gospels that Jesus quoted Ps. 22 verse 1 and Ps. 31 verse 5 while on the cross.

 

Psalm 22: 1 My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?
   Why are you so far from saving me,
   so far from my cries of anguish?

 

Psalm 31: 5 Into your hands I commit my spirit;
   deliver me, Lord, my faithful God.

 

Mt. 27: 45 From noon until three in the afternoon darkness came over all the land. 46 About three in the afternoon Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” (which means “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”).

 

Lk. 23: 44 It was now about noon, and darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon, 45 for the sun stopped shining. And the curtain of the temple was torn in two. 46 Jesus called out with a loud voice, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.” When he had said this, he breathed his last.

 

It was prophesied that the people would mock him and hurl insult at him. We’re told in the Gospels this happened.

 

Psalm 22:

6But I am a worm and not a man,
   scorned by everyone, despised by the people.
7 All who see me mock me;
   they hurl insults, shaking their heads.
8 “He trusts in the Lord,” they say,
   “let the Lord rescue him.
Let him deliver him,
   since he delights in him.”

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Lk. 22: 63 The men who were guarding Jesus began mocking and beating him. 64 They blindfolded him and demanded, “Prophesy! Who hit you?” 65 And they said many other insulting things to him.

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Lk. 23: 35 The people stood watching, and the rulers even sneered at him. They said, “He saved others; let him save himself if he is God’s Messiah, the Chosen One.”

36 The soldiers also came up and mocked him. They offered him wine vinegar 37 and said, “If you are the king of the Jews, save yourself.” 38 There was a written notice above him, which read: this is the king of the jews.

39 One of the criminals who hung there hurled insults at him: “Aren’t you the Messiah? Save yourself and us!”

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Mt. 27: 27 Then the governor’s soldiers took Jesus into the Praetorium and gathered the whole company of soldiers around him. 28 They stripped him and put a scarlet robe on him, 29 and then twisted together a crown of thorns and set it on his head. They put a staff in his right hand. Then they knelt in front of him and mocked him. “Hail, king of the Jews!” they said. 30 They spit on him, and took the staff and struck him on the head again and again. 31 After they had mocked him, they took off the robe and put his own clothes on him. Then they led him away to crucify him.

 

39 Those who passed by hurled insults at him, shaking their heads 40 and saying, “You who are going to destroy the temple and build it in three days, save yourself! Come down from the cross, if you are the Son of God!” 41 In the same way the chief priests, the teachers of the law and the elders mocked him. 42 “He saved others,” they said, “but he can’t save himself! He’s the king of Israel! Let him come down now from the cross, and we will believe in him. 43 He trusts in God. Let God rescue him now if he wants him, for he said, ‘I am the Son of God.’” 44 In the same way the rebels who were crucified with him also heaped insults on him.

 

Psalm 22 verses 14 thru 17 are a perfect description of being crucified. This was foretold 1000 B.C.

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Psalm 22:

14 I am poured out like water,
   and all my bones are out of joint.
My heart has turned to wax;
   it has melted within me.
15 My mouth is dried up like a potsherd,
   and my tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth;
   you lay me in the dust of death.

16 Dogs surround me,
   a pack of villains encircles me;
   they pierce my hands and my feet.
17 All my bones are on display;
   people stare and gloat over me.

18 They divide my clothes among them
   and cast lots for my garment.

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John 19:

 

The Crucifixion

 

So the soldiers took charge of Jesus. 17Carrying his own cross, he went out to the place of the Skull (which in Aramaic is called Golgotha). 18Here they crucified him, and with him two others—one on each side and Jesus in the middle.

 

19Pilate had a notice prepared and fastened to the cross. It read: JESUS OF NAZARETH, THE KING OF THE JEWS. 20Many of the Jews read this sign, for the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city, and the sign was written in Aramaic, Latin and Greek. 21The chief priests of the Jews protested to Pilate, "Do not write 'The King of the Jews,' but that this man claimed to be king of the Jews." 22Pilate answered, "What I have written, I have written."

 

23When the soldiers crucified Jesus, they took his clothes, dividing them into four shares, one for each of them, with the undergarment remaining. This garment was seamless, woven in one piece from top to bottom.

 

24"Let's not tear it," they said to one another. "Let's decide by lot who will get it."
     This happened that the scripture might be fulfilled which said,
  "They divided my garments among them
     and cast lots for my clothing." So this is what the soldiers did.

 

The Death of Jesus

 

28Later, knowing that all was now completed, and so that the Scripture would be fulfilled, Jesus said, "I am thirsty." 29A jar of wine vinegar was there, so they soaked a sponge in it, put the sponge on a stalk of the hyssop plant, and lifted it to Jesus' lips. 30When he had received the drink, Jesus said, "It is finished." With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.

 

31Now it was the day of Preparation, and the next day was to be a special Sabbath. Because the Jews did not want the bodies left on the crosses during the Sabbath, they asked Pilate to have the legs broken and the bodies taken down. 32The soldiers therefore came and broke the legs of the first man who had been crucified with Jesus, and then those of the other. 33But when they came to Jesus and found that he was already dead, they did not break his legs. 34Instead, one of the soldiers pierced Jesus' side with a spear, bringing a sudden flow of blood and water. 35The man who saw it has given testimony, and his testimony is true. He knows that he tells the truth, and he testifies so that you also may believe.

 

36These things happened so that the scripture would be fulfilled: "Not one of his bones will be broken," 37and, as another scripture says, "They will look on the one they have pierced."

 

Psalm 34: 20 he protects all his bones,
      not one of them will be broken.

 

Zech. 12: 10 "And I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and supplication. They will look on me, the one they have pierced, and they will mourn for him as one mourns for an only child, and grieve bitterly for him as one grieves for a firstborn son.

 

Suspended on a cross, you had to push up with your legs to be able to breath. A victim would eventually die from asphyxiation, exhaustion from pushing up with your legs. It was long, drawn-out, and painful. Because someone could take days to die by crucifixion, the breaking of the legs was to cause them to die quicker. So not being able to push up you would die from asphyxiation quicker. Verse 34, when the solider pierced Jesus’ side, John describes, ‘bringing a sudden flow of blood and water’. Modern medical science says that from being on a cross for so long fluid would build up around the heart. They had no way of knowing this 2000 years ago. John testifies that he saw it.

 

For the complete story see Matthew chapters 26-28, Mark 14-16, Luke 22-24, John 18-21 and Acts chapter 1.

 

1 Timothy 3: 16Beyond all question, the mystery of godliness is great:
  He appeared in a body, was vindicated by the Spirit, was seen by angels,
     was preached among the nations, was believed on in the world,
     was taken up in glory.

 

Again, Jesus is the only one who has fulfilled the prophecies of the Old Testament concerning the Messiah. These were only a few of the scriptures.

 

Concerning Jesus’ resurrection, all 4 of the Gospels records it, but look at what the Apostle Paul tells us, take note of verse 6.

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1 Cor. 15: 1Now, brothers and sisters, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand. 2 By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain.

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3 For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 4 that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, 5 and that he appeared to Cephas, and then to the Twelve. 6 After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers and sisters at the same time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep. 7 Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles, 8 and last of all he appeared to me also, as to one abnormally born.

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Jesus fulfilled all the prophecies of the Messiah as the suffering servant.

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Luke 24: 44 He said to them, “This is what I told you while I was still with you: Everything must be fulfilled that is written about me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms.”

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When Jesus was here the first time, he fulfilled over 100 specific prophecies concerning the coming of the Messiah as the suffering servant. Think about it, the odds of one man fulfilling all of these prophecies are astronomical. If you multiply the odds of just a few of these prophecies being fulfilled, that any one man by chance could fulfill them, well the number for the odds of this happening is just too big that it could happen by chance. That leaves only one explanation, it was by God the Father. Thus, the Bible is the word of God, Jesus is who he said he is. Jesus is Lord. Jesus is God with us.

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