Messianic Prophecy #1 Introduction

Messianic Prophecy   •  Sermon  •  Submitted   •  Presented
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INTRODUCTION
Welcome to our new study, Jesus In the Old Testament:Messianic Prophecy.
Our starting point is John 5:46
John 5:46 LSB
“For if you believed Moses, you would believe Me, for he wrote about Me.
Jesus simply affirms that He is in the OT.
If Jesus is in the OT, then it is worth our time to discover Jesus in the OT.
Before we actually dig in to specific Bible texts we need to do a little back ground work.
Back ground work is necessary because of the uniqueness of studying Messianic Prophecy.
As most of you know, I insist that the very best method of Biblical instruction is verse by verse through books of the Bible.
However, when it comes to our understanding of Messianic Prophecy, that is quite impossible in this lifetime.
You see, Messianic Prophecies are scattered all over the OT, and even some are contained in the gospels.
For example, when Isaiah wrote that the Messiah would be crucified in chapter 53, that is Messianic.
Likewise, when Jesus promised or foretold of His resurrection in the gospels, that too would fall under the heading of Messianic Prophecy.
So in order to gain a deeper understanding of Jesus from these OT passages, it is quite impossible to go verse by verse through entire books.
Normally I would resist this type of study, as I am not a big fan of topical studies.
But when the topic is Jesus, well I surrender.
THE NATURE OF MESSIANIC PROPHECY
What is Messianic Prophecy?
The short version is simply this, any text that defines who Messiah is or what He will do is considered Messianic.
These are what we call direct Messianic Prophecies.
So when Isaiah writes, unto a a child is born, and unto us a Son is given, that helps define who He is.
A child that is born, well that speaks to His humanity.
A Son that is given speaks to His divinity.
But then when we come to other Messianic passages, they give definition to what He will do.
Isaiah 53, like a sheep that is led to the slaughter.
That passage helps us to understand that Jesus will go to the cross without any struggle, totally willing.
So a direct Messianic Prophecy teaches us who Messiah is, and what He will do.
Indirect Messianic prophecies would include illustrations and types.
For example, the Tabernacle complex as designed by YHWH, has many many illustrations of Christ.
The Lamp stand is a picture of Jesus and reminds us He is the light of the world.
The Shew Bread is also a picture of Christ.
Every sacrifice was an illustration of Jesus.
All of these and so many more were foreshadows of Jesus.
A “type” is typically a person who in some way is a picture of Jesus.
We call these a “type” of Christ.
One of the best and earliest examples of this is Isaac.
Isaac was the promised son just as Jesus was the promised Son.
Isaac carried the wood for his own sacrifice, just as Jesus carries His own cross.
Isaac willingly got on the altar, just as Jesus willingly laid down His life.
In that manner and others, Isaac was a type of Christ.
Types, gives us a picture of some later work that Jesus will do.
The High Priest is a type, for Jesus is the eternal High Priest.
David as a righteous King was a type.
All of this to say, there are many many Messianic passages in the OT.
There are at least 333 direct prophecies, and that does not count the illustrations and the types.
If you do any real in depth reading on the topic you may run across some that hold to a narrow view of Messiah.
The narrow view recognizes only those Messianic passages that relate to His being King.
The Messiah is the promised King.
And this narrow view is really the view that the Jewish leadership held.
Thus, when Jesus made it clear, He did not come to reign as King at this time, they rejected Him.
But in my view, the Messianic concept is much broader than the narrow view of only kingship.
Messiah is also the Prophet of Deuteronomy 18:15
Deuteronomy 18:15 LSB
“Yahweh your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your brothers; you shall listen to him.
The Jews understood this to be Messianic also.
When you see them referring to the One in Matthew 11:3 this is saying, are you the Prophet, the Messiah.
Matthew 11:3 LSB
and said to Him, “Are You the One who is to come, or shall we look for someone else?”
That concept of “the One” flows out of Deuteronomy 18.
Messiah is also the High Priest.
Psalm 110:4 LSB
Yahweh has sworn and will not change His mind, “You are a priest forever According to the order of Melchizedek.”
This too is Messianic.
So hopefully you get the idea, the Messianic concept is all over the OT, you see that in just a few brief minutes here tonight.
But in reality, the Messianic concept developed very slowly over much time.
DEVELOPMENT OF THE MESSIANIC CONCEPT
The concept of Messiah was slow in developing.
The reason being we do not have any one passage that explicitly says, this is who and what Messiah is.
Those passages come to us in every book of the OT over a period of several hundred years.
The first Messianic glimpse is in Genesis 3, written by Moses, about 1500 years before Christ.
Isaiah a treasure of Messianic passages, written 700 years before Christ.
David wrote of Messiah in the Psalms, 1000 years before Christ.
Zechariah, wrote of Christ less than 500 years before Jesus came, almost 1000 years after Moses.
So you can see why I say the concept was slow in developing.
I like to explain it this way.
Beginning in Genesis 3, YHWH begins to paint the portrait of His Messiah.
Every subsequent Messianic passage is another stroke of His brush.
As more and more passages are revealed, just as when a painter continues to add paint to the canvas, the picture begins to take shape.
Initially the picture is very vague.
But in time the picture becomes clearer and clearer.
The point is this, by the time the OT is completed, the portrait of Jesus the Messiah is also finished, and with amazing detail, Messiah is defined both in His person and His work.
As we move from passage to passage, we shall see how Messiah is unveiled.
The term Messiah comes from the Hebrew word “MASAH”.
Literally it means to anoint or to smear.
Masiah is a verbal noun that flows out of the root word masah.
Grammatically speaking the word Masiah is in the passive voice, which simply means, Masiah is the object of the anointing.
Thus we say, Messiah is the anointed One, or the one who was and is anointed.
This concept finds its origin in the three offices already mentioned.
First, the Kings of Israel were anointed.
So in one sense, every king was an anointed.
1 Samuel 16:13 LSB
Then Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the midst of his brothers; and the Spirit of Yahweh came mightily upon David from that day forward. And Samuel arose and went to Ramah.
That was the day when YHWH chose and had David anointed to be king.
But again, it wasn’t just David.
Remember when David heard that Saul who was the first king had died?
David asked for a report and then got very angry.
An Amalekite claimed to have killed Saul in mercy because Saul was going to die anyway.
Listen to how David responded 2 Sam 1:14
2 Samuel 1:14 LSB
Then David said to him, “How is it you were not afraid to send forth your hand to destroy the anointed of Yahweh?”
David rightly understood that Saul was the Lord’s anointed.
The anointing of the Lord was symbolic in two ways.
First it affirmed the Lord’s choice of the particular man.
So when YHWH instructed Samuel to anoint David, it was to signify that David was God’s man for that time.
Keep that thought in mind, it is a very important principle.
Second, the anointing was symbolic of the coming of the power of the Spirit of God upon that person.
Did you notice, Samuel anointed David, and immediately the Spirit of God came upon David mightily.
The anointing was always a picture of the presence of God’s Spirit upon God’s man.
Likewise, Jesus took his turn to read from the scripture in the synagogue and listen to what He read.
Luke 4:18 LSB
The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, Because He anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor. He has sent Me to proclaim release to the captives, And recovery of sight to the blind, To set free those who are oppressed,
This one statement validates the intent of the anointing.
At the very start of His ministry, Jesus announced I am the anointed of the Lord, and I have the power of the Spirit upon Me to prove it.
Then Jesus went out and did miracle after miracle in the power of the Spirit of God.
So you can see why some hold to a narrow view when it comes to Messianic prophecy, it very definitely applies to the king.
The High Priests were anointed.
Exodus 29:21 is the ordination of Aaron as High Priest.
Exodus 29:21 LSB
“Then you shall take some of the blood that is on the altar and some of the anointing oil, and sprinkle it on Aaron and on his garments and on his sons and on his sons’ garments with him; so he and his garments shall be set apart as holy, as well as his sons and his sons’ garments with him.
Now when Aaron was anointed as High Priest we are introduced to another important concept regarding Messiah, those who are anointed are set apart, they are holy unto the Lord.
This is why David was so angry.
Saul, even though he was a bad king, was set apart as holy unto the Lord.
Saul belonged to the Lord.
But the fact that it specifically separates out the High Priest as holy is important, because it brought separation to the office.
In other words, no other person was permitted to carry out the sacrificial system.
Remember, this got a king in trouble and ultimately cost him the throne.
Do you remember which king?
Saul, yes, Saul performed sacrifices prior to going into battle because he was impatient.
That was a no no.
Prophets were anointed.
1 Kings 19:16 LSB
and Jehu the son of Nimshi you shall anoint king over Israel; and Elisha the son of Shaphat of Abel-meholah you shall anoint as prophet in your place.
Here we see that YHWH instructed the prophet Elijah to anoint not just the next king, but also his own successor.
Then Elijah anointed Elisha to be a prophet in Israel.
So again, as I already mentioned, the concept Messiah had a long and slow development.
It took time, revelation, and much study of the scripture to form the concept.
But it did take shape.
And by the time of Jesus, the Messianic Concept was not only affirmed and accepted, but longed for.
The whole nation longed for the arrival of Messiah.
Listen to Philip’s testimony to Nathanael in John 1:45
John 1:45 LSB
Philip found Nathanael and said to him, “We have found Him of whom Moses in the Law and also the Prophets wrote—Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.”
Listen to what Luke wrote of Simeon, in Luke 2:25
Luke 2:25 LSB
And behold, there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon, and this man was righteous and devout, waiting for the comfort of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him.
Messiah was the one who would bring comfort.
Simeon was looking for and waiting for Messiah because Luke 2:26
Luke 2:26 LSB
And it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Christ.
By the time of Jesus’ arrival the Messianic concept was well developed, though unbalanced, so much so that the disciples kept after Jesus to start the Kingdom.
I mean cmon, if the King has come, then fire up the kingdom.
But as hopefully I have demonstrated, there is much more to Messiah, than simply a conquering King.
Much more.
The OT is very clear and precise, to be anointed is to be chosen by God.
We mustn’t forget this.
Anointing is from the sovereign election of God.
David was not seeking the throne.
Aaron was not seeking the office of high priest, heck the office didn’t even exist until YHWH created it.
Prophets did not come to God and ask for a message to give to the people.
YHWH chose each and every prophet priest and king.
And to interject oneself into that role was tantamount to death.
For example Deut 18:18-20
Deuteronomy 18:18–20 LSB
‘I will raise up a prophet from among their brothers like you, and I will put My words in his mouth, and he shall speak to them all that I command him. ‘And it will be that whoever will not listen to My words which he shall speak in My name, I Myself will require it of him. ‘But the prophet who speaks a word presumptuously in My name which I have not commanded him to speak, or which he speaks in the name of other gods, that prophet shall die.’
To claim to be a prophet, was to claim to speak for God, and if you had not been truly chosen by God, and did so anyway, you were to be put to death.
Why is this so strict?
The answer lies in the fact that once anointed, the individual was set apart unto God.
A specific and special bond was established between the individual and YHWH.
This means that the anointed one was not only set apart to YHWH, but from others, and from other things.
In other words this was no common life.
Let me demonstrate it with the Tabernacle furniture.
That furniture was also set apart by decree of the Lord, so same idea as being anointed.
In being set apart, that furniture could only be used for the intended purposes established by YHWH.
You didn’t take the Bronze altar out and use it as a barbecue.
You didn’t take the lampstand out and use it to light your garden party.
And this is really an important principle with regard to the Messianic Concept.
But also has implications for us as well.
In a general sense, every believer is set apart unto God, and has not a symbolic anointing, but the actual indwelling of the Holy Spirit.
Thus we too are set apart unto special service to God, just as a prophet, priest or King.
In fact, 1 Peter 2:9 states….
1 Peter 2:9 LSB
But you are a chosen family, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession, so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light;
In this one NT statement we see that we are not only royalty, but also a priest, and a prophet.
Thus the believer is a king, and we will reign with Christ.
He is a priest, in that we have direct access to the Father.
And we are prophets, we have been given the task of proclaiming the excellencies of Christ to the world.
This is part of what it means to be restored, to have the image of God being restored in us.
ANOINTED AUTHORITY
A big part of being anointed implied authority.
As one chosen by God, and for God, and unto a specific task, authority was granted.
The King was to rule not by his own authority, but by the authority of YHWH.
The Priest was to administer his office with the authority provided in the word.
The Prophet spoke with authority, and the audience was commanded to listen to and obey they prophets,. but the word came from God.
So authority was a major emphasis of being anointed.
Sadly the kings for the most part did not rule under the authority of YHWH, but instead were wicked and evil and ruled in a like manner.
Hence Saul and others forfeited the monarchy.
The Priests too were corrupt from time to time.
Very early on, Aaron’s sons Nadab and Abihu were put to death by God for discharging their duties in a way that was not prescribed by the law.
And there were alway false prophets who spoke presumptuously, and sadly Israel followed them.
So even though these were types or pictures of Messiah, they were imperfect ones.
And that is true of virtually all the pictures in the OT record.
In fact, in Hebrews 6:1 speaks to this issue.
Hebrews 6:1 LSB
Therefore leaving the elementary teaching about the Christ, let us press on to maturity, not laying again a foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God,
The elementary teaching about the Christ is an important phrase.
It does not mean the elementary doctrines like his death, burial and resurrection.
Part of this book is really addressed to Jews who have not embraced Christ.
This passage being one of them.
The Jews were clinging to the OT truths as they understood them concerning Messiah and had rejected the true Messiah.
Wha the Spirit of God is really saying is let go of the pictures of Christ in the OT, and embrace the real deal.
Now that does not mean that we today should not study the Messianic Passages, I believe we should.
All OT scripture, even Messianic Prophecy was written for our instruction.
Romans 15:4 LSB
For whatever was written in earlier times was written for our instruction, so that through the perseverance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.
As we study the OT scriptures concerning Jesus, it is my hope that we will grow not just in our knowledge, but in our love for Him, and our desire to serve Him.
That is really the goal of all Biblical instruction.
THE INTERDEPENDENCE OF THE ANOINTED
Within the anointed community of the prophets priests and kings, though they were separate, they were also to be in close relationship.
The shepherding work of the king and his relationship to prophet and priest should not be overlooked .
The work of the King had to be motivated by the words of the prophet and the actions of the Priests.
A kings success was measured by his obedience too the divine command as given by the priest and the prophet.
The nation could only flourish as all three offices were executed in the manner prescribed by YHWH.
They each needed one another to carry out their task if the nation was to thrive.
Which again reminds us why the nation floundered.
The leaders floundered, for the most part.
And as go the leader, so goes the nation.
Though they were anointed, they were sinful fleshly vessels who in large degree failed.
True prophets being the exception.
The Lord had some stinging rebukes for those whom He anointed to lead and shepherd His people.
Ezekiel 34:2–6 LSB
“Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel. Prophesy and say to those shepherds, ‘Thus says Lord Yahweh, “Woe, shepherds of Israel who have been shepherding themselves! Should not the shepherds shepherd the flock? “You eat the fat and clothe yourselves with the wool; you sacrifice the fat sheep without shepherding the flock. “Those who are sickly you have not strengthened, and the diseased you have not healed, and the broken you have not bound up, and the scattered you have not brought back, nor have you searched for the lost; but with strength and with severity you have dominated them. “They were scattered for lack of a shepherd, and they became food for every beast of the field and were scattered. “My flock wandered through all the mountains and on every high hill; My flock was scattered over all the surface of the earth, and there was no one to seek or search for them.” ’ ”
I could cite several more that paint the same picture, but this will suffice.
My point is this, and this is important that we understand this, there were many who were anointed by God.
But there is only ONE who is the Anointed, the One.
In Jesus, we see the perfect fulfillment of the Messianic ideal as the Prophet Priest and King all rolled into one, function in perfect harmony.
All others were frail and imperfect.
That does not mean that there is nothing to learn from them for there is, and we will as we explore the many Messianic Passages.
And you might be wondering, what is the point of having so many imperfect anointed ones?
My best answer is that it enables us to truly appreciate the quality of our Savior The Anointed One.
Compare in your mind what we just read of the shepherds of Israel, they were burdensome to the people.
But the Anointed One, our Savior gave this invitation Matt 11:28-29
Matthew 11:28–29 LSB
“Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. “Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.
CONCLUSION
I want to close by addressing the prophetic nature of Messianic Revelation.
Prophecy in its strictest sense simply means revelation.
The Bible is prophetic in the sense that is reveals the person, nature, character and plans of God.
Without it we would be left in the dark.
There is only so much one can know from natural revelation, nature.
The primary intention of the Bible is to make God knowable.
The Bible is the self revelation of God unto us.
Likewise, the purpose of Messianic Prophecy, is the revelation of the second person of the trinity, Jesus the Son of God.
Thus, it is a worthwhile study.
And now that we have a genuine understanding of the Messianic concept, we can begin to look at the individual passages that bring the person of Jesus to life.
It saddens me today that so few in the modern church have a passion for the word of God, and even fewer for the OT.
So I want to put a plug in for the OT as well as this study.
When Jesus ascended, He left a small rag tag bunch of men, mostly fishermen in charge.
They were told, go out into all the world and make disciples.
And what took place over the next 30 plus years is not just amazing, but supernatural, literally.
YHWH equipped these men with knowledge, and the anointing of the Spirit of God, and then turned them loose.
And in those first thirty years, all but one of them was executed.
John alone survived beyond that.
Their ministry was an astounding success.
In those 30 years, over 8 million came to know Jesus Christ and were born again into the kingdom of God.
And those men did so without media, without swift transportation, without really very many resources.
They didn’t even have the NT.
They especially didn’t have the book of John which is the most used evangelistic tool today.
The apostles had three things.
A saving relationship with Jesus Christ.
The empowering and anointing presence of the Holy Spirit.
And, here it, the OT Messianic Scriptures.
Those men turned the Roman world upside down preaching Christ in the power of the Spirit from the OT scriptures.
That more than anything else is a powerful testimony.
You see it is one thing to preach Christ from John.
The skeptics don’t trust John, they think he made it all up.
But when we preach Christ from a text that was written 1000 years before He came, and we can show how He fulfilled every detail, that is powerful.
That is exactly what the Apostle did.
They preached Jesus from the OT, and they changed the world.
This can be a worthy study for personal our relationship with Christ as we grow to know and love Him more.
But it can also equip us to evangelize the lost, in a Biblical manner as they did.
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