Bible Prophecy and Inspiration

We are wrapping up today our series on “Did Not The Christ Have To Suffer These Things?”

Psalm 22 and Isaiah 53 are biblical chapters that hit hard in this area.

We will go over a few more verses today.

Zechariah 12:10 – 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.

Here is a third scripture speaking of being pierced.  The other two were Psalm 22:16 and Isaiah 53:5.

Isaiah 50:6 – 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 52:13-14 – 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—

The last two scriptures speak more on Him being beaten so severely He was disfigured.

Psalm 41:9 – ⁹ Even my close friend, whom I trusted, he who shared my bread, has lifted up his heel against me.

Judas Iscariot.

Psalm 118:22 – ²² The stone the builders rejected has become the capstone;

The builders were supposed to be Jews; through the line of David.  Nevertheless rejected He has become the capstone of the Church.

Zechariah 11:12 – ¹² I told them, “If you think it best, give me my pay; but if not, keep it.” So they paid me thirty pieces of silver.

The exact price Judas received for betraying Jesus.

Hosea 6:2 – ² After two days he will revive us; on the third day he will restore us, that we may live in his presence.

A neat scripture because not only did He resurrect on the third day and allow us to be restored, but I feel this may also be stating that the third day is also the beginning of the thousand years soon to come.  In Peter he states with the Lord a day is like a thousand years.

2 Peter 3:8 – Psalm 118:22 – ⁸ But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day.

So two days, two thousand years on the third day restored.

There are many different prophecies on the first coming of Jesus.  I wanted to concentrate on the ones where He was to be rejected and suffer for our sins.

We have been on the subject of the first coming of Jesus and wasn’t he supposed to suffer as a lamb for our sins?

According to himself in scripture He was.  When Jesus met up with those walking outside of Jerusalem who didn’t recognize Him, He said:

Matthew 27:25-27 –  ²⁵ He said to them, “How foolish you are, and how slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! ²⁶ Did not the Christ have to suffer these things and then enter his glory?” ²⁷ And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures
concerning himself.

The fact was that many scriptures referred to a suffering Messiah.  We have been over Isaiah 53 and the first part of Psalm 22.  We will continue on Psalm 22 today.

Psalm 22:12-15- ¹² Many bulls surround me; strong bulls of Bashan encircle me.  ¹³ Roaring lions tearing their prey open their mouths wide against me.  ¹⁴ I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint.  My heart has turned to wax; it has melted away within me.  ¹⁵ My strength is dried up like a potsherd, and my tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth; you lay me in the dust of death.

More accusations and words were to be spoken against the Messiah.   During the crucifixion and the punishment  bones have a tendency to be popped out of joints.  However, not one of his bones was broken during that process (important as this was another prophecy).   People going through crucifixion would become dehydrated also.

Psalm 22:16-18 – ¹⁶ Dogs have surrounded me; a band of evil men has encircled me, they have pierced my hands and my feet.  ¹⁷ I can count all my bones; people stare and gloat over me. ¹⁸ They divide my garments among them and cast lots for my clothing.

Just like we read in Isaiah 53, we see that He is to be pierced.  His hands and His feet were pierced.  This is definitely crucifixion.  Jesus had much of his skin torn away which happened during the scourging and whipping.  As we all know the soldiers cast lots for His clothing.

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

The verse before refers to a righteous man.  Jesus clearly is the only righteous and they only way a man can become that way is through Him.  Not one of Jesus bones was broken.  They normally would break the legs of those still alive before going into a Sabbath as they weren’t allowed to keep the bodies up on the crosses at that time.  However, Christ was already dead and they didn’t have to do so.

Tomorrow I will wrap up this series on, “Didn’t the Christ have to suffer these things?”

This week we have been on a series of didn’t the Christ have to suffer the things?   He did according to prophecy and God’s Word.

I’ve been writing that the Jews missed Him at His first coming and will accept the antichrist because they are not looking for the literal prophesied Messiah (yet).  Who else is missing the boat?  Most so called
Christians!  Most don’t know any of the signs.  They are too busy to care or have the attitude of when it happens it happens.
However, if we study the literal Word, we know it is important to our Lord.  He is even going to reward a crown for those who love His appearing (2Timothy 4:8).

We have been going over Isaiah 53 and today we will go to the other most prevalent chapter in the Bible that the Messiah was going to suffer.

Psalm 22:1-2 –   ¹My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from saving me, so far from the words of my groaning?
 ² O my God, I cry out by day, but you do not answer, by night, and am not silent.

Here below are some familiar words we recognize from Jesus in the New Testament.

Matthew 27:45 – ⁴⁵ From the sixth hour until the ninth hour darkness came over all the land. ⁴⁶ About the ninth hour Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?”—which means, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”

Continuing on in Psalm 22:

Psalm 22:6-8 – ⁶ But I am a worm and not a man, scorned by men and despised by the people.  ⁷ All who see me mock me; they hurl insults, shaking their heads: ⁸ “He trusts in the LORD; let the LORD rescue him. Let him deliver him, since he delights in him.”

During the whole process of the crucifixion, Jesus was mocked.

Matthew 27:27-31 – 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 and 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. ³¹After they had mocked him, they took off the robe and put his own clothes on
him. Then they led him away to crucify him.

Matthew 39-44 – 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 robbers who were crucified with him also heaped insults on him.

You can see above that Matthew 27:43 and Psalm 22:8 run side by side regarding “Let the Lord rescue Him.”

Amazingly, when the Old Testament scriptures are taken literally not only has Jesus fulfilled them, but the odds are astronomical.  We’re not done as there is more to compare and will do so next week.

We are in day three talking about how the Messiah was going to suffer as well as someday become king.
The problem is that the Jews weren’t looking for a Messiah that was going to die for their transgressions.  The Jews today still aren’t looking for a Messiah who is supposed to die for their sins, yet the scriptures make it clear that He was to do just that.

Isaiah 53:7-12 –  ⁷He 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. 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. 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.

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. 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.

In verse seven it talks about how the Messiah wouldn’t say a word when being led to slaughter.

Matthew 27:12-14 – ¹² When he was accused by the chief priests and the elders, he gave no answer. ¹³ Then Pilate asked him, “Don’t you hear the testimony they are bringing against you?” ¹⁴ But Jesus made no reply, not even to a single charge—to the great amazement of the governor.

In verse nine he was assigned to death with both the wicked and the rich.  As we know Jesus was crucified between two thieves and also buried in a rich man’s tomb.

Verses ten through twelve all talk on how he bears our iniquities.  He was crushed by the will of the Lord for us.  He bore the sin of many and interceded on our behalf.

We have just gone through one chapter in Isaiah and all these facts of the Messiah are in there.  He was going to suffer these things.  But that’s not what the people in Israel wanted.  They wanted a king to take them back to the top.  They still want that ruler now so they can have peace, but as I said before they still are not looking for the prophesied Christ.  The one that is suppose to also suffer and take on the sins of the world.

Tomorrow we will continue on with this theme.

Yesterday we read where Jesus came upon two men walking down the road about 7 miles away from Jerusalem.  They were discussing the events that recently happened.  Jesus baited them when He came up to them and asked them what things?  After they basically let Jesus know that He couldn’t even be from the area if they didn’t know the events about what happened to Jesus, Jesus opened up and let them verbally have it.

Luke 24:25-26 – ²⁵ He said to them, “How foolish you are, and how slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! ²⁶ Did not the Christ have to suffer these things and then enter his glory?” 

Today I want to go over a few of those things that the prophets had to say or prophecies that were in the Psalms.

Let’s start with Isaiah 53.  The whole chapter is about a suffering rejected Messiah.

Isaiah 53:1-6 – ¹ Who has believed our message and to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed?
² He grew up before him like a tender shoot, and like a root out of dry ground.  He had no beauty or majesty
to attract us to him, nothing in his appearance that we should desire him.
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.
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.

It starts out that the Messiah wasn’t born into earthly royalty or into a rich family that we should desire Him.  It even prophesies that He would be rejected by men.  The Messiah was going to take up our infirmities, which means help us with our imperfections and sorrows.  Yet He seems to be stricken by God.

Then comes an incredible prophecy in verse 5.  Why is it so incredible?  When it was written crucifixion was not used yet.  It says the Messiah was to be pierced for our transgressions.  That’s exactly what happened and by His wounds we have been healed.  Verse six states He didn’t just die for the Jews, but for us all.

We don’t have crucifixion anymore.  In Daniels 70 weeks of years the Messiah was to be cut off after the 69^th week.  It is figured Jesus rode in on a donkey the very day the Messiah was supposed to.  We’ll touch on that also in the next few days.

There were many literal  prophetic writings of the Messiah’s first coming.  They missed them.  In the last days there are even more than the first coming.  Yet the Bible prophecies that most will miss it again, even though it is literally written.

Tomorrow we will continue on “Did Not The Christ Have To Suffer These Things?”

Luke 24:13-27 – ¹³ Now that same day two of them were going to a village called Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem. ¹⁴ They were talking with each other about everything that had happened. ¹⁵ As they talked and discussed these things with each other, Jesus himself came up and walked along with them; ¹⁶ but they were kept from recognizing him.

¹⁷ He asked them, “What are you discussing together as you walk along?”

They stood still, their faces downcast.  ¹⁸ One of them, named Cleopas, asked him, “Are you only a visitor to
Jerusalem and do not know the things that have happened there in these days?”

¹⁹ “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. ²⁰ The chief priests and our rulers handed him over to be sentenced to death, and they crucified him; ²¹ 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. ²² In addition, some of our women amazed us. They went to the tomb early this morning ²³ but didn’t find his body. They came and told us that they had seen a vision of
angels, who said he was alive. ²⁴ Then some of our companions went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said, but him they did not see.”

²⁵ He said to them, “How foolish you are, and how slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! ²⁶ Did not the Christ have to suffer these things and then enter his glory?” ²⁷ And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself.

The Jews who missed Jesus the first time weren’t looking for the suffering Messiah.  They didn’t listen to the prophets.  The Jews who still don’t believe, especially those who supposedly are into the scriptures are still not listening to the prophets.

Who are they looking for?  Someone other than the prophets was telling them to look for.  That is why they are going to accept the antichrist.  When you want something in your own mind and it isn’t God’s plan, He’ll allow you to give into it.

The next few days we’re going to go over some of those scriptures that the Jews didn’t care to look for concerning the suffering Messiah.