God is obvious but he’s not intrusive. We’ve covered the first two arrows in the quiver of those who witness for Christ; physical proofs of God and Bible proofs of God. Now we come to the third and final sure sign from God that all men have access to. The final arrow in the quiver of those who witness for Christ is the proof of Jesus. In God’s word, our Holy Bible, God gave us his testimony about the coming of his son, Jesus Christ, to die on the cross for the sins of fallen man. According to Bible scholars the Bible contains over 60 prophecies about the coming of Jesus Christ. I personally can’t find that many prophecies about Jesus but I did make a list of the 37 prophecies about Jesus I think are most important. During his life Jesus Christ fulfilled every one of those 37 prophecies by his birth, ministry, death and resurrection. The odds of any one person fulfilling all of the prophecies about the Messiah and not being God in the flesh is zero.
Isaiah 43:26 – Put Me in remembrance; let us contend together; state your case, that you may be acquitted.
On my Jesus proofs I have a list of 37 Old Testament prophecies about the coming of the Messiah followed by the New Testament fulfillment of those Old Testament prophecies. Fulfillment of all the messianic prophecies in the Bible is documented by Roman and Jewish historical records and by numerous eyewitness testimonies of that time in history, which was how truth was established in ancient times. After the death of Jesus written accounts of his life were made by those who were there to witness it. The story of Jesus Christ is the story of the greatest event in human history. God in heaven came off his throne and lived a human life in order to save fallen man from their sins. By his actions God has proven his great love for us.
JESUS PROOFS:
1. That he would be born of a virgin.
Prophecy – Isaiah 7:14 – Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will be with child and give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel (God with us).
Fulfillment – Matthew 1:20-21 – An angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and told him to take Mary as his wife because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.
2. That he would be given the throne of David.
Prophecy – 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 increase 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. The zeal of the Lord Almighty will accomplish this.
Fulfillment – Luke 1:31-33 – You (Mary) will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name 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 the house of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end.
3. That his throne would be an eternal throne.
Prophecy – Psalm 132:11-12 – The Lord swore an oath to David, a sure oath that he will not revoke: “One of your own descendants I will place on your throne – if your sons keep my covenant and the statutes I teach them, then their sons will sit on your throne forever and ever.”
Fulfillment – Luke 1:33 (above)
4. That he would be called Immanuel (God with us).
Prophecy – Isaiah 7:14 (above)
Fulfillment – Matthew 1:23 (above)
5. That he would have a forerunner.
Prophecy – Isaiah 40:3 – The voice of one crying in the wilderness: “Prepare the way of the Lord; make straight in the desert a highway for our God.
Fulfillment – Matthew 3:1-3 – In those days John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness of Judea, and saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of God is at hand!” For this is he who was spoken of by the prophet Isaiah.
6. That he would be born in Bethlehem.
Prophecy – Micah 5:2 – But you Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from old, from ancient times.
Fulfillment – Matthew 2:1-2 – After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem and asked, “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews?” We saw his star in the east and came to worship him.”
7. That he would be worshipped by wise men and presented with gifts.
Prophecy – Psalm 72:10 – The kings of Tarshish and of distant shores will bring tribute to him; the kings of Sheba and Seba will present him gifts.
Fulfillment – Matthew 2:11 – On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshipped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold and of incense and of myrrh.
8. That he would be in Egypt for a season.
Prophecy – Hosea 11:1 – When Israel was a child I loved him, and out of Egypt I called My Son.
Fulfillment – Matthew 2:14-15 – So he (Joseph) got up, took the child and his mother and escaped to Egypt, where he stayed until the death of Herod. And so was fulfilled what the Lord had said through the prophet: “Out of Egypt I called My Son.”
9. That his birthplace would suffer a massacre of infants.
Prophecy – Jeremiah 31:15 – This is what the Lord says: “A voice is heard in Ramah, mourning and great weeping, Rachel weeping for her children and refusing to be comforted, because her children are no more.”
Fulfillment – Matthew 2:16 – When Herod realized that he had been outwitted by the Magi, he was furious, and he gave orders to kill all the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity who were two years old and under, in accordance with the time he had learned from the Magi.
10. That he would be called a Nazarene.
Prophecy – Isaiah 11:1 – There shall come forth a Rod from the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots.
Fulfillment – Matthew 2:22-23 – But when he (Joseph) heard that Archelaus was reigning in Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there. Having been warned in a dream, he withdrew to the district of Galilee, and went and lived in a town called Nazareth. So was fulfilled what was said through the prophets: “He will be called a Nazarene.”
11. That he would be zealous for the Father.
Prophecy – Psalm 119:139 – My zeal has consumed me, because my enemies have forgotten Your words.
Fulfillment – John 2:16 – (Jesus speaking) – Take these things away! Do not make My Father’s house a house of merchandise!
12. That he would be filled with God’s Spirit.
Prophecy – Isaiah 11:2 – The Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon Him, the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord.
Fulfillment – Luke 4:18-19 – (Jesus speaking) – The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me to preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed; to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord.
13. That he would heal many.
Prophecy – Isaiah 53:4 – Surely He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed Him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted.
Fulfillment – Matthew 8:16-17 – When evening had come, they brought to Him many who were demon-possessed and He cast out the spirits with a word, and healed all who were sick, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet, saying: “He Himself took our infirmities and bore our sicknesses.”
14. That he would deal gently with the Gentiles.
Prophecy – Isaiah 9:2 – The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who dwelt in the land of the shadow of death, upon them a light has shined.
Fulfillment – Matthew 4:13-16 – And leaving Nazareth, He (Jesus) came and dwelt in Capernaum, which is by the sea, in the regions of Zebulun and Napthali, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet, saying: “The land of Zebulun and the land of Napthali, by the way of the sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles: The people who sat in darkness have seen a great light, and upon those who sat in the region and shadow of death Light has dawned.”
15. That he would speak in parables.
Prophecy – Isaiah 6:10 – Make the heart of this people dull, and their ears heavy and shut their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and return and be healed.
Fulfillment – Matthew 13:10-11, 13 – And the disciples came and said to Him (Jesus), “Why do You speak to them in parables?” He (Jesus) answered and said to them, “Because it has been given to you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given.” “Therefore I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand.”
16. That he would be rejected by his own.
Prophecy – Isaiah 53:3 – He is despised and rejected by men, a Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. And we hid, as it were, our faces from Him; He was despised, and we did not esteem Him.
Fulfillment – John 1:11 – He (Jesus) came to that which was His own, but His own did not receive Him.