More Messianic Prophecies
Fulfilled by Jesus Christ

BEATEN WITH A ROD

Micah 5:1 Marshal your troops, O city of troops, for a siege is laid against us. They will strike Israel's ruler on the cheek with a rod.  700 B.C.

Mark 15:19 Again and again they struck him on the head with a staff and spit on him. Falling on their knees, they paid homage to him.

GIVEN VINEGAR AND GALL TO DRINK

Psalm 69:21 They put gall in my food and gave me vinegar for my thirst.  1000 B.C.

Matthew 27:34 There they offered Jesus wine to drink, mixed with gall; but after tasting it, he refused to drink it.

Matthew 27:48  Immediately one of them ran and got a sponge. He filled it with wine vinegar, put it on a stick, and offered it to Jesus to drink.

HANDS AND FEET NAILED

Psalm 22:16 Dogs have surrounded me; a band of evil men has encircled me, they have pierced my hands and my feet.  1000 B.C.

John 20:25 So the other disciples told him, "We have seen the Lord!"  But he said to them, "Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe it."

CRUSHED FOR OUR INIQUITIES

Isaiah 53:5-6 [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.  700 B.C.

Romans 4: 25  He was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification.

1 Corinthians 15:3 (NAB*) I handed on to you first of all what I myself received, that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures
*NAB=New American Bible (not NASB=New American Standard Bible)

SUFFERED FOR THE SINS OF OTHERS

Psalm 69:4 Those who hate me without reason outnumber the hairs of my head; many are my enemies without cause, those who seek to destroy me. I am forced to restore what I did not steal.  1000 B.C.

Isaiah 53:5-6 [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.  700 B.C.

Romans 4: 25  He was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification.

1 Corinthians 15:3 (NAB) I handed on to you first of all what I myself received, that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures

PIERCED FOR OUR TRANSGRESSIONS

Isaiah 53:5 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.  700 B.C.

Zechariah 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.  500 B.C.

John 19:33-34; 36-37  [33] But when they came to Jesus and found that he was already dead, they did not break his legs.  [34] Instead, one of the soldiers pierced Jesus' side with a spear, bringing a sudden flow of blood and water. [36] These things happened so that the scripture would be fulfilled: "Not one of his bones will be broken," [37] and, as another scripture says, "They will look on the one they have pierced."

NO BONES BROKEN

Psalm 22:17 I can count all my bones; people stare and gloat over me.  1000 B.C.
 
Psalm 34:20 he protects all his bones, not one of them will be broken.  1000 B.C.

John 19:33; 36a [33] But when they came to Jesus and found that he was already dead, they did not break his legs. [36a] These things happened so that the scripture would be fulfilled: "Not one of his bones will be broken,"

It is important to realize that crucifixion victims' legs normally were broken.  And yet, a thousand years before the Crucifixion of Jesus, King David foretold that the Messiah would die in an unusual way.  See Forensic Pathology Report on Jesus.

SOLDIERS GAMBLE FOR HIS CLOTHES

Psalm 22:18 They divide my garments among them and cast lots for my clothing.  1000 B.C.

Matthew 27:35 When they had crucified him, they divided up his clothes by casting lots.

BRUTALLY KILLED

Isaiah 53:8 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.  700 B.C.

See all four Gospels.

ASSIGNED A GRAVE WITH THE WICKED

Isaiah 53:9 He was assigned a grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death  700 B.C.

Crucifixion was normally reserved for criminals and people the Romans wanted to "make an example of".  As a crucifixion victim, Jesus would have been assigned a grave (if any) with such people.

BURIED IN A RICH MAN'S TOMB

Isaiah 53:9 He was assigned a grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death ...  700 B.C.

Matthew 27:57,59-60 [57] As evening approached, there came a rich man from Arimathea, named Joseph, who had himself become a disciple of Jesus. [59] Joseph took the body, wrapped it in a clean linen cloth, [60] and 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.

THE MESSIAH WOULD RETURN FROM THE DEAD

Isaiah 53:8, 11 [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. [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.  700 B.C.

Matthew 28:2, 5-7, 9 [2] There was a violent earthquake, for an angel of the Lord came down from heaven and, going to the tomb, rolled back the stone and sat on it. [5] The angel said to the women, "Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. [6] He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay. [7] Then go quickly and tell his disciples: `He has risen from the dead and is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him.' Now I have told you." [9] Suddenly Jesus met them. "Greetings," he said. They came to him, clasped his feet and worshiped him.

FAMILIAR WITH SUFFERING

Isaiah 53:3 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.  700 B.C.

The Crucifixion of Jesus was not an anomoly in how people treated Him:

• He was "run out of town" at several places.

  Mark 5:14-17 [14] Those tending the pigs ran off and reported this in the town and countryside, and the people went out to see what had happened. [15] When they came to Jesus, they saw the man who had been possessed by the legion of demons, sitting there, dressed and in his right mind; and they were afraid. [16] Those who had seen it told the people what had happened to the demon- possessed man--and told about the pigs as well. [17] Then the people began to plead with Jesus to leave their region.

• People tried to stone Him.

  John 10:31-33  [31] Again the Jews picked up stones to stone him, [32] but Jesus said to them, "I have shown you many great miracles from the Father. For which of these do you stone me?"   [33] "We are not stoning you for any of these," replied the Jews, "but for blasphemy, because you, a mere man, claim to be God."

• Some Jewish leaders conspired to kill Him.

  John 7:1 After this, Jesus went around in Galilee, purposely staying away from Judea because the Jews there were waiting to take his life.

  Matthew 12:14 But the Pharisees went out and plotted how they might kill Jesus.

• His own family thought He was crazy.

  Mark 3:20-21 [20] Then Jesus entered a house, and again a crowd gathered, so that he and his disciples were not even able to eat. [21] When his family heard about this, they went to take charge of him, for they said, "He is out of his mind."

• His brothers told Him to go to a festival, expecting He would be killed.

  John 7:1-3, 5 [1] After this, Jesus went around in Galilee, purposely staying away from Judea because the Jews there were waiting to take his life. [2] But when the Jewish Feast of Tabernacles was near, [3] Jesus' brothers said to him, "You ought to leave here and go to Judea, so that your disciples may see the miracles you do." [5] For even his own brothers did not believe in him.

•  His disciples abandoned Him.

• He was crucified.
  

"You are taking a bunch of things out of context -- two sentences here, half a sentence there ..."

It is true that taking a few sentences here and part of a sentence there would not prove anything. But there are OVER FOUR HUNDRED AND TWENTY-FIVE references that are considered Messianic prophesies.  Taken as a group it becomes obvious they aren't just coincidences.

Also, some of the references, particularly Isaiah 11 and Isaiah 53 clearly are referring to the (at that time) coming Messiah.

Furthermore, in a number of instances, the New Testament authors expressly state "This was to fulfill the prophecy '<whatever>'."
 

"Aren't these really mainly self-fulfilling prophecies?"
 
Unless He was operating under the authoirty of God, how could Jesus arrange to fulfill any of the following Messianic prophecies?

• Born in Bethlehem
• Be from Nazareth
• Come out of Egypt (as a young child)
• Descended from Judah
• Descended from Jesse
• Descended from David
• No bones broken
• Betrayed by a friend
• Betrayed for exactly 30 pieces of silver
• 30 pieces of silver returned
• 30 pieces used to buy the potter's field
• Born of a virgin
• Perform miracles
• R E S U R R E C T I O N ! ! !
   

"Christians have been taught that Jesus is the Messiah.  After they believe that, they just go through the Old Testament twisting things to support their pre-determined view."

Obviously, sometimes this does happen.  (The same thing sometimes happens with other types of authorities such as putting a "spin" on the writings of Plato, Socrates, Aristotle, Thomas Jefferson, etc.) For this reason, it is important to know how passages alleged to be Messianic prophecies were interpreted before the birth of Christ.  The Talmud and the Targums greatly help in doing this.

Also, many people who were not Christians became Christians because they saw there were so many statements that all of the statements couldn't just be coincidences.  This is particularly common with Jews who converted to Messianic Judaism (especially after comparing Isaiah Chapter 53 with the Gospels.)  See People Who Became Christians
 

"A lot of things Christians claim to be Old Testament prophecies about the Messiah or about recent or future events actually were describing events at the time the 'prophet' spoke."

This is true.  However, prophecy scholars have come to realize that many prophetic passages in the Bible have a dual significance: (1) a literal fulfillment, usually within a few decades after the prophecy, and (2) a spiritual fulfillment, often hundreds or even thousands of years later. For instance, the Book of Revelation has a dual message: (1) "Hang on, Rome will soon be judged and fall," which it did, and (2) the final defeat of evil by Jesus.
 

Also see 100 Truths About Jesus at http://www.carm.org/100truth.htm