Jesus Foretold: Gentiles Believe (MP 97)

Jesus the Messiah came to His own,
His people, to whom He had been foretold,
As their precious and special cornerstone,
But they spurned Him and the gospel He told!
He had His disciples preach to the Gentiles,
Who heard the words of life with great delight,
Turned from the evil one and all his wiles,
Believed in Jesus, and helped spread the light!
The stone, upon which Israel had stumbled,
Became the capstone on which the Church stood,
Bringing fruit to God, before Him humbled;
Though attacked by Satan, the Church withstood!
What Israel rejected, the world received,
Which was in the Plan God preconceived!

Prophecy Made: Isaiah 8:14, 49:6, written in the 7th century B.C.

Prophecy Fulfilled: Matthew 21:42-44; 1 Peter 2:4-9, written in the 1st century A.D.

“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have everlasting life.” (John 3:16)

“That if you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord’, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” (Romans 10:9)

Jesus Foretold: Teaches In Parables (MP 96)

The apostles asked Jesus why He taught
The people in parables, and He told them so,
“Knowledge of the secrets I have brought
Of heaven’s kingdom’s not yet theirs to know!
Messiah said, ‘Seeing, they do not perceive;
Their hearts are calloused, their ears closed, and
eyes’;
Those who know little, less will they receive;
Those who know much, so much more God
supplies!”
It was not time for Israel to believe;
On His Second Coming they will accept,
And tell the world Jesus Christ to receive;
God’s promises to Israel will be kept!
They will be a nation of Christian priests,
With seats of honor at all heaven’s feasts!

Prophecy Made: Psalm 78:2, written in the 10th century B.C.

Supporting Scripture: Isaiah 6:9-10, written in the 7th century B.C.

Prophecy Fulfilled: Matthew 13:11-17, 34; also, Mark 4:33; John 16:25, all written in the 1st century A.D.

“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son that whoever believes in him will not perish but have everlasting life.” (John 3:16)

“That if you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord’, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” (Romans 10:9)

Jesus Foretold: Temple Must Be Standing (MP 95)

In both the New Testament and the Old,
As Messiah in the Old, Jesus in the New,
Prophesied first, then in history told,
The temple was standing, for Christ to view!
It has not stood since seventy A.D.,
When the Romans of Titus invaded,
Nor had it stood in five hundred B.C.,
Since it Babylon annihilated!
This is one more proof of Jesus foretold
As Messiah the Christ, Jesus by name,
For the times He spoke there were manifold,
As the prophets said He would, when He came!
The Jews today pretend Him to expect;
With no temple, their hope must be suspect!

Prophecy Made: Psalm 118:26, written in the 10th century B.C.; Haggai 2:9, written in the 4th century B.C.; Zechariah 11:13, written in the 4th century B.C.; Malachi 3:1, written in the 4th century B.C.

Prophecy Fulfilled: Matthew 21:12, written in the 1st century A.D.; etc. Mark, Luke, John

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his one and only Son that whoever believes in him will not perish but have everlasting life.” (John 3:16)

“That if you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord’, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” (Romans 10:9)

Jesus Foretold: Vinegar To Drink (MP 94)

In His last living words, Jesus said, “I thirst”,
And He drank the vinegar they supplied,
Thus showing His care from the very first
That all prophecies be met ere He died!
You wonder how I know the Bible’s true?
In its pages hundreds are prophesied
About Jesus, and the things He would do,
And by later writers all verified!
One fourth of the Bible is prophetic;
A large portion of that now is fulfilled;
None has yet failed, nor brought God discredit,
And I know that none of it ever will!
God’s Word is the truth, in this world of lies,
A safe haven for your faith to reside!

Prophecy Made: Psalm 69:21 (Written in the 10th century B.C.)

Prophecy Fulfilled: Matthew 27:34, 48; Mark 15:36: Luke 23:36; John 19:28-30 (Written in the 1st century A.D.)

“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him will not die, but have everlasting life.” (John 3:16)

“That if you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord’, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” (Romans 10:9)

Jesus Foretold: Pierced For Us (MP 93)

A rusty nail driven deep into wood,
Pierced each hand and foot, where such ought
not be;
What fiend is this, that humanity could
Hang Him thus, inflicting such agony?
Why, He’s no fiend, but their own Savior dear,
Come to redeem them from death and the grave;
The only reason Jesus came down here
To a condemned world was lost souls to save!
This is His thanks, for offering to men
A new life, when they’d thrown the first away?
To receive pardon for their guilt of sin,
Only to believe Christ was slain that day?
It was cruel, no doubt, to slay Christ, the Son,
But divine justice required it be done!

Prophecy Made: Psalm 22:16 (Written in the 10th century B.C.)

Prophecy Fulfilled: Matthew 35; Luke 23:11, 35, 39 (Written in the 1st century A.D.)

“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have everlasting life.” (John 3:16)

“That if you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord’, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” (Romans 10:9)

Jesus Foretold: God With Us (MP 92)

Before Jesus came, all were walking dead,
Condemned for sins, Adam’s, as well their own;
Fates were fixed, and no excuse could be pled,
But God preplanned that death be overthrown!
By Himself dying for all the world’s sin,
Now any who will, may live, by believing—
God was this Jesus, living as the man—
Those choosing, their verdicts relieving!
“Immanuel” means “God with us”; He was
Jesus of Nazareth, a man, as we;
Not like us, for He sinned not as Man does,
But showed us how righteous we all should be!
God made us; we failed Him, and would have
died;
He died in our place, that death be denied!

Prophecy Made: Isaiah 7:14 and Isaiah 9:6-7 (Written in the 1st century B.C.)

Prophecy Fulfilled: John 14:9-11 (Written in about 95 A.D.)

“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him will not die, but have everlasting life.” (John 3:16)

“That if you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord’, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” (Romans 10:9)

Jesus Foretold: Everlasting Covenant (MP 91)

Jesus Foretold: Everlasting Covenant (MP 91)

God made with men an unbreakable pact—
That all who in Jesus truly believe,
He will their sins forgive, their deaths subtract,
And everlasting life with Him receive!
Unlike Law, which required men to obey,
This new covenant conveys God’s free grace,
Adding His pow’r each man’s lack to belay*;
God’s Holy Spirit guiding in life’s race!
There is no god so wonderful as He;
He provides life when death to all was due,
Suffering death Himself to set men free—
Nailed to the cross in place of me and you!
This grace covenant He planned from the start,
For God foreknew man’s untrustworthy heart!
*belay = to stop; in this usage, to fill

Prophecy Made: Jeremiah 31:31-34 (Written 6th century B.C.)

Prophecy Fulfilled: Hebrews 8:6-13 (Written 1st century A.D.)

“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish, but have everlasting life.” (John 3:16)

“That if you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord’, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” (Romans 10:9)

Jesus Foretold: Born In Bethlehem (MP 90)

Shame be unto you, Levi, priestly tribe,
That you failed to search out facts, easy found,
Of Jesus’ life, long known to ev’ry scribe,
Which proved Him heir to King David’s crown!
Hearsay named Him “Nazarene”, which He bore,
When “Bethlehem” was His true place of birth,
As Micah wrote four hundred years before;
Not one of you sought this truth to unearth!
Other truths could so easily appear,
Convicting Israel Jesus was God’s Son,
Promised to them for so many a year,
They might not have killed Him, as they had done!
Even Magi in the far-away East
Knew His advent better than Israel’s priests!

Prophecy Made: Micah 5:2—“ ‘But you, Bethlehem Ephrahthah, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler of Israel, whose origins are from old, from ancient times.’ “ (Written in the 6th century, B.C.)

Prophecy Fulfilled: Matthew 2:5-6 (Written in the 1st century, A.D.)

“For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have everlasting life.” (John 3:16)

“That if you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord’, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” (Romans 10:9)

Jesus Foretold: John The Baptist (MP 89)

John Baptist was promised by God to send,
Ahead of Jesus, to prepare the way;
John came, asking Israel their sins to end,
“Repent, O Israel; be baptized today!
A great stir ensued; many went to hear;
The Pharisees asked John, “Are you the One?”
“No,” replied John, “but He is standing near;”
And He was—among them then stood the Son!
Jesus came down, asking to be baptized;
“Not You, Lord; I’m not fit to tie your shoe!”
“Let it be now, that all be realized,
As a sign, of what the righteous should do!”
And the Savior under the Jordan slipped,
Teaching believers, they, too, ought be dipped!

Prophecy Made: Isaiah 40:3—“A voice of one calling: ‘In the desert prepare the way for the Lord; make straight in the wilderness a highway for our God.’ “ (Written in the 7th century B.C.)

Prophecy Fulfilled: Matthew 3:1-3 (Written in the 1st century A.D,)

“For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have everlasting life.” (John 3:16)

“That if you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord’, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” (Romans 10:9)

Jesus Foretold: Thirty Silver Pieces (MP 87)

“It is better for Israel that One die,”
Said the high priest, “than for the whole nation!”
Speaking of Jesus, whose fame was so high,
After Lazarus’ life restoration!
Though He preached to great crowds ev’ry day,
Their fear of riot kept Him safe from arrest;
A paid informer, who’d show them the way,
Was needed, to lead them where He took rest!
Judas asked them, what amount would they pay,
And he was told thirty silver pieces;
He agreed; that night he did Jesus betray,
Having them arrest the One he kisses!
So one of the Twelve sold Him with a kiss;
Nothing done to God could be worse than this!

Prophecy Made: Zechariah 11:12-13 (5th century B.C.)

Prophecy Fulfilled: Matthew 26:15 with 27:3-10 (1st century A.D.)

“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have everlasting life.” (John 3:16)

“That if you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord’, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” (Romans 10:9)

“By my Spirit, not by power or might,”*
God said His Son would win the souls of men;
Jesus entered Zion**, bringing gospel light,
Riding a donkey, meekly, souls to win!
The common people welcomed Him in joy,
Waving fronds and shouting hosannas high;
Not the leaders, who plotted Him destroy,
Zealous in hatred, wanting Him to die!
The donkey and acclaim enraged them more,
Reminding all of David, their great name;
He, too, rode a donkey, to people’s roar—
To royalty, Jesus was laying claim!
No one entered Jerusalem mounted;
That honor only for Messiah counted!
*Zechariah 4:6; **Zion = Jerusalem

Prophecy Made: Zechariah 9:9 (5th century B.C.)

Prophecy Fulfilled: Matthew 21:1-11 (1st century A.D.)

“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have everlasting life.” (John 3:16)

“That if you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord’, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” (Romans 10:9)

Jesus Foretold: Specific Date Of Coming (MP 85)

Angels in heaven did not know the date
That Jesus the Messiah was to come,
But Daniel knew how long Israel would wait—
God sent Gabriel with a conundrum!
He said, “In three score and nine weeks of
years,
The Anointed One will have lived and died!”
Jews should have known just when Jesus
appears,
And had no excuse for casting Him aside!
When you consider the prophecies made
Of the life of Jesus before He came,
You must marvel how Israel could evade
Instant belief in His redeeming name!
Reading the Bible, Gentiles do wonder
How Israel could make such a great blunder!

Prophecy Made: Daniel 9:21-27 (Written in the 6th century B.C.)

Prophecy Fulfilled: Both Biblical and secular histories confirm the life of Jesus of Nazareth that occurred 483 (sixty-nine “weeks” of) years after king Cyrus of Babylon issued the decree mentioned in Daniel 9: 2 B.C. to 32 A.D.

“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have everlasting life.” (John 3:16)

“That if you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord’, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” (Romans 10:9)

Jesus Foretold: Believers' Intercessor (MP 84)

Jesus returned to heaven receiver
Of all power in the heavens and earth,
Sole intercessor for the believer,
His brother and co-heir to His great worth!
For two thousand years He’s ruled from God’s throne,
And will continue till He comes again;
Safely kept in His hand are all His own;
He pleads to God their ev’ry plea and pain!
Satan accuses believers of sin,
Both day and night, before the throne of God;
But Christ’s the advocate for righteous men,
Loaning His righteousness their way to trod!
The devil’s cases tossed out, ev’ry one,
Because of the sacrifice by God’s Son!

Scripture Quoted (NIV) [Brackets added]
Prophecy Made: Isaiah 59:16—“He [Jesus Christ] saw that there was no one, he was appalled that there was no one to intervene [to intercede for the righteous]; so his own arm worked salvation for him, and his own righteousness sustained him.” (Written in the 7th century B.C.)

Prophecy Fulfilled: 1 Timothy 2:5—“For there is one God and one mediator [intercessor] between God and man, the man Christ Jesus,” (Written in the 1st century A.D.)

Prophecy Fulfilled: Hebrews 9:16—“For this reason Christ is the mediator of a new covenant, that those who are called [believers in Jesus Christ] may receive the promised eternal inheritance—now that he has died a ransom to set them free from the sins committed under the first covenant.” (Written in the 1st century A.D.)

Commentary On: “Jesus Foretold: “Believers’ Intercessor”
We must keep in mind that God planned all this before creation; knowing that helps us to appreciate the magnitude of His love for us. Because of sin, ours and Adam’s, the whole human race was sentenced to eternity in hell, and as Isaiah writes in the quotation above, He saw that there was no one to intercede and save any person, even the righteous, so He gave Himself to die, paying the debt we owed for our sins; not only that, He covered our impurity with His own righteousness. Thus, He became intercessor for us in the form of Jesus Christ of Nazareth.

What is this same Jesus doing today, 2000 years after His ascension back to heaven? When the resurrected Christ re-entered heaven, He received a welcome like none other in history. He was immediately ushered into the throne room and given back the authority of all power in the universe, the glory He had relinquished for the interlude He spent in the flesh of Jesus. He is King and ruler of the world, managing all the affairs of men; and He is the intercessor for those who believe in Him, taking care that His own brothers receive all the promises made to the righteous in the Bible. If you read the 10 verses in Chapter 3 of Zechariah, you will see how Jesus Christ intervenes for the believer in life’s trials, as well as in his judgment after death. There is a vision of Israel’s high priest Joshua by Zechariah; Joshua is appearing before God in heaven in soiled garments. There Joshua is accused by Satan (who is constantly accusing all Christians of their misdeeds to God, hoping to have them condemned to hell) of wearing stained and messy clothing in God’s presence; Jesus intervenes and orders His angels to put clean and pure clothing (symbolic of how He imputes His righteousness to believers). When Joshua is dressed properly, Christ rebukes Satan saying (paraphrased), “What’s wrong with Joshua now? Isn’t he a brand snatched from the coals (meaning, a sinner snatched from the fires of hell)?” It is important for us to understand that Joshua, as well as all men and all women, cannot make himself pure and righteous; Jesus Christ imparts His sinless nature to cover our sinful natures, just as He did for Joshua.

In the doctrine of our Christian brothers, Roman Catholics, is the belief that Mary, the mother of Jesus, whose soul presumably is already in heaven, can intercede for Christians who address her in prayer; also, they believe that persons they have beatified as saints, will do the same. However, the Bible says there is only one mediator, and He is Christ.

“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish, but have everlasting life.” (John 3:16)

“That if you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord’, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” (Romans 10:9)

Jesus Foretold: Crucified With Thieves (MP 83)

How ironic, the three dark silhouettes,
Hanging grotesquely between earth and sky—
Ladened crosses dance macarbe pirouettes,
On which the veiled sun refuses to spy!
Suspended betwixt a thief and a thief,
The innocent Maker of men, pierced by men,
Whose calloused hearts, void of love or belief.
Hope in vain His death will His gospel end!
Call Golgotha the “Revenge Of The Clay”;
Men, being shaped like God, made to be pots!
Pity the Potter, who formed men that way—
The “whats” that He made want to be “whatnots”!
Earth groaned for Jesus in His agony,
That men numbered Him in such company!

Scripture Quoted (NIV) [Brackets added]
Prophecy Made: Isaiah 53:12b—“…because he [Jesus of Nazareth] poured out his life unto death, and was numbered with the transgressors.” (Written in the 7th century B.C.)

Prophecy Fulfilled: Luke 23:32-33—“Twp other men, both criminals, were also led out with him [Jesus of Nazareth] to be executed. When they came to the place called the Skull [Golgotha], there they crucified him, along with the criminals—one on his right side and the other on his left.” (Written in the 1st century A.D.)

Matthew 27:45, 51—“From the sixth hour [noon] until the ninth hour [3 p.m.] darkness came over all the land. … At that moment [when Jesus died] the curtain in the temple was torn from top to bottom. The earth shook and the rocks split.”

Commentary On: “Jesus Foretold: Crucified With Thieves”
It is not incredible to read that Jesus was crucified with thieves—after all, though falsely convicted, He was found guilty of heresy. Claiming to be the Messiah and the Son of God sent to Israel as prophesied in their Bible, they claimed He was making Himself equal with God; He was telling the truth, and I believe that most of the Sanhedrin had decided that He really was telling the truth, but they could not afford to let their inner feelings be known, lest their cushy jobs in the temple be done away with. When Pilate authorized His crucifixion, it is not surprising that other criminals were crucified with Him. What is incredible is that the prophet Isaiah prophesied 700 years before His birth that He would be “numbered among transgressors “ in His death. In the years before the birth of Jesus the promised Messiah was regarded with highest respect and anticipation, being regarded as a prophet like Moses, their greatest hero, and Israel’s deliverer. Isaiah’s prophesy that Israel’s Savior would be counted as a criminal is certain to have raised skepticism.

Being hung between two admitted thieves did not bother Jesus a bit. In fact He spent most of His ministry in the company of tax collectors, prostitutes, and what the Pharisees considered to be the “dregs” of society. Jesus was roundly criticized for it, too, for no Pharisee or religious leader would dare let his robe touch one of these “sinners”, lest it make him “unclean”. But Jesus answered the accusation that He fraternized with sinners by replying He did not come into the world to seek those that did not need a “physician” but those enslaved in sin. It was not a handicap to be crucified between two thieves but an opportunity. One of the robbers hurled insults at Jesus, saying if He was the Christ, He should save Himself and them with His supernatural power. The other defended Jesus, replying to his fellow criminal that the two of them deserved their punishment, but that Jesus was being punished unjustly. The most wonderful thing happened next. He turned to Jesus and asked to be remembered when Jesus came into His kingdom. Jesus answered,”This day you will be with me in Paradise.”

The fact that this convicted thief called for Jesus to remember him and was granted salvation should be enough to put an end to all those claims that a person must do some :good works” for the Lord—like baptism, church attendance, tithing, etc.—to be saved. A lost person is not required to “do” anything at all to be saved; he or she only has to believe in Jesus. Calling upon Jesus to save you, like the thief did, is enough for God in His mercy and grace to give you salvation. Since Jesus doesn’t walk around the earth today for you to ask Him personally, all you have to do is to ask Him in prayer from wherever you are; you can ask Him to save you mentally and mean it, and you will be saved.

Notice that nature responded to the humiliation and injustice those Jewish religious despots poured out on Jesus by various natural calamities in protest—the sun refused to shine for three hours, from 12:00 noon to 3 p.m.; and there was an earthquake that shook the earth, opened tombs of saved persons and restored them to life, and tore the huge and heavy curtain that hung in the temple guarding the Holiest Place from entry by any one but the chief priest (from top to bottom, signifying that God tore it from above, and that now anyone had access to God). How could the Sanhedrin not recognize the huge insult they hurled at their Creator?

“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in his name shall not perish but have everlasting life.” (John 3:16)

“That if you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord’, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” (Roman 10:9)

Jesus Foretold: Ascended Into Heaven (MP 82)

The risen Jesus remained forty days,
With and near His followers on the earth,
Preparing them for the kingdom’s new phase—
Teaching the whole world the gospel’s true worth!
From the Mount of Olives He ascended,
Rising, rising, rising into the air,
His first sojourn among men well-ended;
For His next coming, we all must prepare!
Now, from Gentiles, more Chosen must be drawn;
He rules ev’rything from the throne of God;
Israel’s acceptance of Jesus will dawn,
When He returns, Jerusalem to trod!
Jews and Gentiles both are Abraham’s seed—
Who believe in Jesus and are agreed!

Scripture Quoted (NIV) [Brackets added]
Prophecy Made: Psalm 68:18—“When you [the risen Jesus] ascended on high, you led captives in your train; you received gifts from men, even from the rebellious—that you O Lord God might dwell there.”

Prophecy Fulfilled: Acts 1:9-12—“After he [the risen Jesus] said this, he was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight. They were looking intently up into the sky as he was going, when suddenly two men dressed in white [angels] stood beside them. ‘Men of Galilee,’ they said, ‘why do you stand here looking up into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven.’ “ (Written in the 1st century A.D.)

Commentary On: “Jesus Foretold: Ascended To Heaven”
God came to earth the First time as a man, Jesus of Nazareth, born normally (but of a virgin mother) as a baby. He was the oldest son of a Jewish family. Though born in Bethlehem, He was raised as Jewish boys of that time in the small town of Nazareth, becoming a carpenter like His foster father Joseph. He began His public ministry in Galilee at the age of 30 and was crucified at 33. He arose and stayed with His disciples 40 days in His spiritual body, like the body each of us, saved and unsaved, will receive when we are resurrected as He was. On the fortieth day after His resurrection He ascended back to heaven; He lives today, nearly 2000 years later, and will continue to live forever, as we will, He sits on the throne of God today, ruling all the affairs of the universe and of mankind. He will return to earth at an unknown future date; the next time He will come in power, destroying the enemies of Israel, and will reign on earth for 1000 years.

He accomplished the two conflicting goals of His First sojourn on earth, that of successfully planting the seeds of Christianity and of being sacrificed for the sins of men. He was resurrected back to life on the third day. His ascension to heaven marked the end of one phase of God’s Master Plan and the beginning of the next. Though God has not completed His plan for Israel, their rejection of Jesus as Messiah ended God’s initial work for them to lead the world into His kingdom of God, and they have been set aside temporarily while He calls out a nation of believers from among the Gentiles, which He has been doing since His ascension to heaven. God’s Second Coming will include His pouring out of grace on Jews in the land of Israel and scattered throughout the world, and corporate Israel will repent and accept Jesus as the Messiah, and then they will begin to follow His original Plan for them to be a light to the world. Israel will become evangelists to all the world, which was God’s intent when He first called Abraham 4000 years ago.

God is much larger and had bigger Plans than His chosen nation Israel ever imagined. He is God of both Jews and Gentiles, which includes every man, woman and child that was ever conceived in the wombs of the world. When God called Abram and told him that his seed would be more numerous than the stars, He was not limiting his descendants to those offspring that carried only Abram’s blood—God was including Gentiles, or non-Jews, who believe in Jesus Christ. Every Christian who ever lived is a “seed” of Abram exactly as every Jew or Arab descendant of him (However, the descendants of Ishmael, the son of Abram born by Hagar, the maid, are not included in God’s promise, nor those of Esau.). God actually meant every “spiritual” descendant; He was not including Jews who died physically in non-belief of Jesus Christ as “seed” who would be “blessings to the world”.

“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him will not die, but have everlasting life.” (John 3:16)

“That if you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord’, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” (Romans 10:9)

Jesus Foretold: Buried With The Rich

When Jesus died, the Sabbath day was near;
He needed a tomb, and needed it fast;
Most apostles had run, because of fear;
Mourners were few, their grief too fresh and vast!
A certain rich man loaned the Son his cave,
Joseph, who boldly revealed he believed,
Voting “not guilty”, Jesus’ life to save,
Asked Pilate let him the problem relieve!
Others believed, too, but unknown they kept,
In fear of losing their posts and power;
But not this Joseph, who publicly wept
O’er His dead body in man’s saddest hour!
Joseph glorified the Christ on that day,
Risking public scorn honor to God pay!

Scripture Quoted (NIV) [Brackets added]
Prophecy Made: Isaiah 53:9—“He [Jesus Christ] 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.” (Written in the 7th century B.C.)

Prophecy Fulfilled: Mark 15:42-46—“It was Preparation Day (that is, the day before the Sabbath). So as evening approached, Joseph of Arimathea, a prominent member of the Council [the Sanhedrin], who was himself waiting for the kingdom of God [a believer in Jesus Christ], went boldly to Pilate and asked for Jesus’ body, … he gave the body to Joseph. So Joseph bought some linen cloth, took down the body [from the cross], wrapped it in the linen and placed it in a tomb cut out of rock. Then he rolled a stone against the entrance of the tomb. Mary Magdalene and Mary, the mother of Jesus, saw where he was laid.”
(Written in the 1st century A.D.)

Commentary On: “Jesus Foretold: Buried With The Rich”
Jesus died on the cross at about three o’clock on Friday afternoon. This was a problem for Mary, His mother, Mary Magdalene, and John the apostle, who were among the very few mourners at the foot of the cross, for Friday was the sixth day of the Jewish week; the Sabbath day began at six o’clock p.m. No work of any sort could be done after six on Friday, for work was prohibited on the Sabbath. Jesus had to be buried quickly; the Roman soldiers had no responsibility to care for His body; besides, any Jew who touched a dead body became “unclean” and had to go through a purification ritual or he or she could not enter the temple area; furthermore, that Friday evening was to be the Passover meal for all Jews, and unclean persons could not partake. What were the pitifully few mourners to do?

Joseph of Arimathea, a rich and prominent member of the Sanhedrin Council, who was a believer in Jesus Christ and had voted “not guilty” when the verdict of His trial was taken, stepped up and proved His love for the Lord. He boldly went straight to Roman governor Pilate and asked permission to take charge of the precious body of the Savior, which he received. He bought the finest linen cloth in which Jesus was to be completely wrapped; went to Golgotha, took the body down from the cross, and laid Him in his own expensive tomb, a cave cut into the solid rock of the same small mountain. In doing all these things he exposed himself to public ridicule, persecution, possible loss of his prominent positions of leadership, and even the loss of his wealth. It took great courage for Joseph to do these great deeds for Christ, and it is a good example for all Christians to follow.

Others among leading Jews also believed, but most of them did not reveal their belief for fear of the punitive consequences that might follow. Nicodemus, a very rich Pharisee and Council member, helped Joseph bury the body of Jesus. Tradition (not the Bible) reports that he lost everything at the vicious hands of Judaistic leadership. After Jesus’ resurrection and the coming of the Holy Spirit, the disciples, who were all Jewish to begin with, began to preach the gospel and Christianity began to grow rapidly, strict prohibitions were pressed against any Jew who accepted Christ; the synagogues expelled those known to believe in His name. The Church began as a movement within Judaism, like Pharisees, but it was quickly expelled from Judaism and severely forbidden. Instead of quenching belief in Jesus of Nazareth as the Messiah, though, the persecution only succeeded in accelerating its growth.

The expression “waiting for the kingdom of God” has the spiritual meaning of a person who accepts Jesus Christ and is waiting for His Second Coming to the earth.

“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him will not die, but have everlasting life.” (John 3:16)

“That if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord”, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” (Romans 10:9)

Jesus Foretold: Silent, In Defense (MP 80)

The words of Jesus were chosen with care;
Two conflicting goals were His to achieve:
That the gospel spread to men ev’rywhere,
And that Israel’s leadership not believe!
Earth’s people He could not from death redeem,
Unless, though sinless, for all sin He died;
He was mute, when words might His life achieve,
Thus defeating the mission for which He plied!
Both goals He won—planting good gospel seed,
And dying in the atonement of sin;
Only God could accomplish such a deed,
His wisdom and love served the battle win!
One careless word or menial misdeed,
And He might live, but men die as decreed!

Scripture Quoted (NIV) [Brackets added]

Prophecy Made: Isaiah 53:7—“He [Jesus of Nazareth] was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; he was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and like a sheep before her shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth.” (Written in the 7th century B.C.)

Prophecy Fulfilled: Matthew 26:59-63a—“The chief priest and the whole Sanhedrin were looking for false evidence against Jesus so that they could put him to death. But they did not find any, though many false witnesses came forward. Finally two came forward that declared, ‘This fellow said, I am able to destroy the temple of God and rebuild it in three days.’ Then the chief priest stood up and said to Jesus, ‘Are you not going to answer? What is this testimony that these men are bringing against you?’ But Jesus remained silent.” (Written in the 1st century A.D.)

Commentary On: “Jesus Foretold: Silent, In Defense”
Here is found a larger proof within a smaller that Jesus of Nazareth was Israel’s promised Messiah: No mere man possessed the wisdom and love to remain silent in the face of obviously false testimony against him when on trial for his life. That He could remain silent, letting a spurious charge stand, when a few words from Him would have left the Sanhedrin nothing to present to the Roman governor substantiating the charge of sedition, proves that Jesus was determined to let Himself be sacrificed for the sins of mankind. If He were not God but just a man, surely He would have voiced the explanation that by “the temple of God” He was not referring to the magnificent structure in Jerusalem that was the heartthrob of Jewish life, but His own body, for it was commonly understood among His followers that a believer’s physical body is meant by the spiritual language “temple of God”. When Jesus said those words, He meant, “This body of mine can be killed, and in three days will be resurrected back to life.”

The Isaiah prophecy refers to the fact that when the Messiah is tried for His life by the Jewish court, He would remain silent like a lamb before slaughter, or a sheep before the shearer, He wrote those words 700 years before Jesus was born; how else could Isaiah have known it unless God revealed it to him?

The double goals facing the Messiah (Jesus Christ) during His lifetime, neither of which He could afford to let fail, were (1) to die after living a sinless life (which no other man or woman ever could do), so that His death would be a propitiation for the sins of the entire world; and (2) that He teach the gospel of salvation for any man or woman who believed in Him in such a propitious way that it would catch hold and grow to be preached in every part of the whole world; that it would not die out. Can you imagine the depth of wisdom that it required of Him and realize that no human being could claim such ability? Every move He made; every word He spoke, had to be chosen so as to be sure the leaders of the Jews hated Him and would crucify Him, yet the common Jews would believe in Him with enough faith to spread the gospel with zeal and perseverance, so that all people on earth would hear of Him and have a chance to be saved. Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John wrote biographies of His life, each describing the same, yet different, parts of His life without contradiction, Mankind’s most brilliant scholars cannot find evidence of sin, contradiction of a single Old Testament prophecy about Jesus, and must attest His ingenuity and skill in achieving the contradicting goals of His mission.

“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him will not die, but have everlasting life.” (John 3:16)

“That if you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord’. and believe in your heart that God raised him from the grave, you will be saved.” (Romans 10:9)

Jesus Foretold: Unbelieved (MP 79)

Many Jews did not believe the words He spoke,
Despite His miracles before their eyes;
Jesus’ words could have removed Satan’s yoke,
But most loved darkness more than the Sonrise!
People are no different now than then,
But think themselves advanced compared to them;
They sneer at Christians who try souls to win,
As if they’re foolish for believing Him!
Don’t tell me that Jesus was not our God,
When prophets who lived centuries before
Knew so much detail of the life He trod—
They might well have lived behind the same door!
Of His life God showed each future event,
And it proves Jesus was the One He sent!

Scripture Quoted (NIV) [Brackets added]
Prophecy Made: Isaiah 53:1—“Who has believed our message and to whom is the arm of the Lord revealed?” (Written in the 7th century B.C.)

Prophecy Fulfilled: John 12:37-41—“Even after Jesus had done all these miraculous signs in their presence, they [the Jews in the temple] still would not believe in him. This was to fulfill the words of Isaiah the prophet: (See Isaiah 53:1 quoted above for this scripture). For this reason they could not believe, because , as Isaiah says elsewhere: (See Isaiah 6:9-10 for this scripture). Isaiah said this because he saw Jesus’ glory [700 years before Jesus was born] and spoke about him.” (Written in the 1st century A.D.)

Commentary On: “Jesus Foretold: Unbelieved”
Jesus was believed and accepted by many of the poor Jews, and even some of the priests and Pharisees among the leaders; however the latter remained secret believers, because they were fearful of being put out of their synagogues by the power structure. Israel as a corporate group refused to accept Jesus of Nazareth as the promised Messiah (or Christ). Afraid that a majority of the Jewish people would become followers of Jesus, who was teaching His disciples to obey the “Spirit” of the Law rather than the “letter”, which was how the leaders had perverted the Mosaic Law, the power structure rejected Jesus and His message.

Israel was chosen by God to be special, a nation of priests to the other nations of the world. God gave them the Law and promised that the Messiah, the Christ who was to come into the world as Jesus, would be born in the tribe of Judah and bring the good news of salvation first to Israel. The nation of Israel was deeply flawed, however, and God grew weary of their repeated disobedience, forays into idolatry, and failure to keep their pledged duties of the covenant between them. In the time of Isaiah, the prophet, which was 700 years before the birth of Jesus, God put a judgment on them which almost guaranteed their rejection of Jesus (See Isaiah 6:9-10, requoted in John 12:40). He calloused their spiritual insight, so that as a race of people they could not translate truths expressed in spiritual terminology into their literal meanings. Almost everything Jesus Christ spoke was in spiritual language, purposely, and they understood very little. Gentiles, men and women that are non-Jewish, were able to perceive the true meanings of the gospel more easily; hence, though Jesus spoke almost entirely to Jews, His disciples turned to the Gentiles to proclaim salvation by belief in Jesus. Today, most Christians are Gentiles, although a small percentage of the world’s Jews do believe Jesus of Nazareth was the Messiah, and are Christians. When Jesus Christ returns to earth the Second time, the Bible prophesies (Zechariah 12:10ff) the remaining Jews will accept Him en masse, because He will pour out a cleansing flow of “grace”. Grace is a spiritual term itself, which means the “unmerited favor” of God. It is not a visible substance but enables the recipient to please God. In the case of Israel at the Second Coming, it will remove the callousness of their hearts and enable them to understand the spiritual enigma that leads a person to accept Jesus By rejecting Jesus, the religious leaders of Israel committed the greatest sin that can be committed. So it is today; anyone who turns his or her back and refuses to accept Jesus as Lord will be condemned at the final Judgment Day; however, it is not final until physical death.

“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have everlasting life.” (John 3:16)

“That if you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord’, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” (Romans 10:9)

Jesus Foretold: Suffers Indignities (MP 76)

Would Allah, or any god contrived by man, Submit to such indignities as those Jesus Christ endured to redeem the clan From condemnation Adam did impose? Before Jesus, the world had never seen Great love like His, that while He was hated so, He laid down His life, haters to redeem, That to death His own killers might not go! I can’t decide for you; neither will He; Jesus died for you and me, in our place; I love and choose the One who died for me, Not him who beheads those who will not give! My God planned to die, ere Time began; For me, and indignities to withstand! Scripture Quoted (NIV) [Brackets added] Prophecy Made: Isaiah 50:6—“I [Jesus] offered my back to those [Roman soldiers] who beat me, my cheeks to those who pulled out my beard; I did not hide my face from mocking and spitting.” (Written in the 7th century B.C.) Prophecy Fulfilled: Matthew 27:27-31—“Then the governor’s [Pontius Pilate] soldiers took Jesus into the Praetorium and gathered the whole company of soldiers around him. They stripped him and put a scarlet robe on him, and then twisted together a crown of thorns and put 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. They spit on him and took the staff and struck him on the head again and again. After hey had mocked him, they took off the robe and put his own clothing on him. Then they led him away to crucify him.” (Written in the 1st century A.D.) Commentary On: “Jesus Foretold: Suffers Indignities” Pilate, the Roman governor of Judea, had questioned Jesus and had decided He was not guilty of any crime worthy of the death penalty. He had already had him beaten, in a vain attempt to mollify the Pharisees and leading priests; he offered them Barabbas, a known killer, to be crucified, hoping they would choose Jesus to release. None of his attempts to release the Messiah was accepted by the cruel mob, and so Pilate gave in to their demands rather than to have a bad report sent to his superiors about his administration of Judea. He, too, was guilty of killing the innocent Savior, because he did not have the fortitude to judge according to truth. It is difficult to explain, much less excuse, the Roman soldiers for their behind-the-scenes treatment of Jesus. They must have known how their own governor felt; it seems they should have treated Him nicely, simply because Pilate thought it unjust to crucify him. But no, the beast that lurks within the breasts of all men had its way with the soldiers, also. This is a prophecy about the coming Messiah that should have been easier for the Jews to understand, because it has nothing about the Second Coming of Jesus within it. There were many Jews who did apply these prophecies to Jesus of Nazareth and believed Him to be the promised One sent from God, even some Pharisees; however, the higher the position in religious circles, the least likely the believer was to make his belief known, because to do so would bring the animosity of the Sanhedrin upon him. Much is made over the suffering Jesus went through in His day of cruelty and crucifixion. Preachers of Christianity describe His treatment in graphic detail, so that non-believers will feel more inclined to “come down the aisle” in acceptance; every such effort is justified, for it would be impossible for words to adequately portray the tortures inflicted upon Jesus, who, after all, was innocent of wrongdoing and voluntarily enduring the mistreatment to save His enemies from the fires of hell. Nevertheless, the physical and mental torment the Lamb of God underwent was “small potatoes” in comparison to the psychological price He paid in subjecting Himself to indignities undeserved and so far unbefitting to the Creator of the world with the very individuals He created adding insult to indignity on top of physical abuse. Any god created by Man would have refused to undergo what Jesus endured even though that god may have been guilty of gross mischief upon them. More than anything else that could be said in behalf of Jehovah as the one God of mankind, His uncomplaining unresisting voluntary compliance in the travesty of justice imposed upon Him by the most despicable dregs of humanity implicated in His crucifixion prove Him to be Lord of lords and God of gods! “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him will not die, but have everlasting life.” (John 3:16) “That if you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord’, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the grave, you will be saved.” (Romans 10:9)

Jesus Foretold: Born Of A Virgin (MP 73)

There was in Israel a one-time wonder, A baby was born of a virgin maid; But, wonder of wonders, all fall under— That Babe was God who in the manger laid! The decree of death on the human race, Caused by Adam, needed to be undone; God, or Jesus, came to earth through His grace, And died for sins, though sinless was the Son! In his time Man has had gods unnumbered; None but Jehovah has loved Man so much, His Son giv’n, that Man be unencumbered, And His righteousness, Man’s eternal crutch! To a world dark with sin, God gave it light; He gave up His Son to get rid of night! Scripture Quoted (NIV) [Brackets added] Prophecy Made: Isaiah 7:13-14—“Then Isaiah said, ‘Hear now you house of Israel! Is it not enough to try the patience of men? Will you try the patience of my God, also? Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel [“God with us”].’ “ (Written in the 7th century B.C.) Prophecy Fulfilled: Matthew 1:18-25—“This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about. His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together [that is, before sexual intercourse], she was found to be with child [pregnant] through the Holy Spirit[God]. Because Joseph her husband [betrothed] was a righteous man and did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly. But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, ‘Joseph son of David [descendant of king David], do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is contained 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.’ ,,, When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord commanded him and took Mary home as his wife. But he had no union with her until she gave him a son. And he gave him the name Jesus.” (Written in the 1st century A.D.) (Also, Luke 1:16-35) Commentary On: Jesus Foretold: Born Of A Virgin Jewish religious and cultural practices concerning marriage in the time of Jesus were very strict and vastly different from the U. S. in 2011 A.D. Mary was a 13 or 14 year-old virgin, which had to be verified by the priest. A couple who wished to marry were betrothed a year before the actual marriage, but betrothal was considerably closer to being married than is an engaged couple of today. To be separated required a divorce. If the bride does not retain her virginity for her husband-to-be, he can divorce her publicly, and the girl can, and usually was, stoned to death for adultery. Every Jewish girl in that time and many years before dreamed of being the mother of the Messiah promised by God to be born of Israel who would come and save them. There was a problem with their interpretation of “saving” Israel, however. It was a part of God’s Master Plan to come to earth as a man (Jesus) and save men and women from condemnation that had fallen upon them by the first man’s (Adam’s) sin, as well as the sins committed by each and every person that ever lived. That is, the Messiah was to be a Savior of people from their sins. The citizens of Israel, however, understood their “saving” or “salvation” differently: They thought the Messiah would be a conqueror, one who would overthrow the Roman rule, or whatever empire controlled them at the time He came. Nevertheless, I suppose Jewish girls always thought that the Messiah would have an ordinary man for a father; they probably didn’t consider that God’s Plan was that the girl would be a virgin and unmarried—that she would be impregnated by God Himself, so that the Son would not be guilty of Adam’s sin, as all other babies were. It had to be that way, or the Son would not be sinless, thus He would be ineligible to take upon Himself the sins of Mankind. When Mary was approached by the angel Gabriel, the enormity of the pressure brought upon the publicly unmarried mother of Messiah flooded upon her. He asked her if she would be willing to bear such a Son; she quickly agreed, and the world, all of us, owe her a huge debt of gratitude; without her willing cooperation, there would be no release from condemnation. Don’t forget Joseph; had he been unwilling to keep Mary as his wife while she had God’s own Son, she probably would have been stoned to death, together with her unborn Baby. There’s a technicality unresolved in the theology regarding the sinlessness of the baby Jesus. If we accept that His Father was God, the Holy Spirit, not Joseph the husband, that means that His half of Jesus’ blood was innocent of Adam’s sin; what about Mary’s half of Jesus’ blood? Wasn’t Mary guilty of Adam’s sin? We must answer, Yes. That is, unless Mary’s parents, Joachin and Ann, were also conceived outside of Adam’s bloodstream. It’s not in the Bible, I believe, but the Roman Catholic Church has a belief that Mary’s parents were miraculously declared sinless at the instant of Mary’s conception by God. That is just one of quite a few things we’re going to have to ask God about when we see Him. “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him will not die, but have everlasting life.” (John 3:16) “That if you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord’, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” (Romans 10:9)