"Who is Jesus Anyway?"
Lesson 4The Messiahship of Jesus (Quiz)
"How do we know that Jesus really is the Messiah?"
How can we be sure we have believed in the true Messiah? It is a question that has been asked by many over the years, and it is one worth answering with sound conviction and absolute proof. There is indeed a large body of evidence which points to Jesus as the true Christ, the Messiah, the anointed one; and the study of that evidence is called Apologetics.
While we don’t have the time or resources to do a complete apologetic study of Jesus’ Messiahship, we can look briefly at one of the many pieces of evidence, i.e., biblical prophecy, and in particular at the prophecy which pointed to His birth. For if Jesus did not fulfill the many prophecies about the Messiah, then we should continue looking for the Messiah. But as you will see in this lesson, Jesus exactly fulfilled all of the prophecies pointing to his birth and the start of his earthly ministry.
We know that much evidence exists which points to Jesus as being the Messiah. There is biblical text evidence, there is eyewitness evidence, there is secular evidence, there is evidence within creation, etc.; but for this week, let’s focus our attention on all of the prophecy pointing to his birth and discover for ourselves that Jesus did indeed fulfill every piece of prophecy.
For this lesson’s exercise, get a sheet of paper or two and down the left side, list the prophetic Old Testament scripture references below. Next to each of these, briefly list what is foretold; and then match the prophecy with the associated New Testament reference (found in the second table below) which indicates to us that this prophecy was fulfilled.
- Genesis 3:15
- Genesis 12:3
- Genesis 17:19
- Numbers 24:17
- Genesis 49:10
- Isaiah 9:7
- Micah 5:2
- Daniel 9:25
- Isaiah 7:14
- Jeremiah 31:15
- Hosea 11:1
Example: Old Testament Reference a. Prophecy b. New Testament Reference
Per the instructions above, match the following New Testament References which indicate that a prophecy was fulfilled with the Old Testament Prophecy above. There is one New Testament Reference for each Old Testament Reference.
- Matthew 2:14
- Matthew 2:16
- Luke 1:26-27,30-31
- Luke 2:1-2
- Luke 2:4-5,7
- Luke 1:32-33
- Luke 3:33
- Matthew 1:2
- Luke 3:34
- Matthew 1:1
- Galatians 4:4
From the exercise above, I pray that you have come to see and know for a certainty that Jesus is the promised Messiah. He is the Anointed One, the Christ, and only through Him can we enter into a relationship with God and be assured of our eternal salvation. Praise God that he loved us so much that he sent his only son to live and die for us; and that he was raised again on the third day.
If God so completely fulfilled the prophecy surrounding the birth of his son, then it is equally true that all of the unfulfilled prophecy around Christ’s Second Coming will also literally be fulfilled. Let’s continue to live and work in the Kingdom, waiting and watching for the day when the Lord himself returns for us.
May God richly bless you as you continue to study His Holy Word.
In Christ,
Wes
[2018]