Fulfillment of Prophecies Concerning Christ.
By Ellet Joseph Waggoner
A GREAT number of prophecies had their fulfillment in the scenes connected with the betrayal, trial, crucifixion, and burial of our Lord. One is struck by the number of times that the evangelists say, "That the scripture might be fulfilled," etc., and many times the fulfillment of a prophecy is not noted. Many of these prophecies of the Old Testament would not be recognized in our ordinary reading as referring to Christ, if our attention were not called to them; but when the evangelists record the fact that they were written of Christ, we can have no doubt. The writers of the Gospels were themselves unable to see the application of all these prophecies, until after the resurrection of Christ; but when they wrote, their minds were enlightened by the Holy Spirit, according to the promise of Christ. The exactness with which prophecies are fulfilled is the strongest proof of the inspiration of the Bible; we cannot, therefore, better employ a portion of our time, as we review our past work, than in tracing out some of these prophecies that refer to Christ. We shall not attempt at this time to make an exhaustive review of them. 1. Jesus was betrayed by one of his disciples who had lived with him and shared his confidence. According to John 13:18 this was a fulfillment of Ps. 41:9: "Yea, mine own familiar friend, in whom I trusted, which did eat of my bread, hath lifted up his heel against me." Since our attention has been called to this psalm, we can see other passages which may plainly refer to Christ. How the plotting of the Jews against Christ, and the spies that were placed upon his track, and the false reports which were circulated, are indicated by verses 5–7: "Mine enemies speak evil of me, When shall he die, and his name perish? And if he come to see me, he speaketh vanity; his heart gathereth iniquity to itself; when he goeth abroad, he telleth it. All that hate me whisper together against me; against me do they devise my hurt." John assures us that verse 9 refers to Christ; by verse 4 that David is also speaking of himself. This is an instance where the scripture has an immediate application, and also a reference to future events. This is very common in the Psalms, and also in the prophetic books. 2. When Jesus was taken by the mob, his disciples all forsook him and fled. This was in fulfillment of Zechariah 13:7: "Smite the Shepherd, and the sheep shall be scattered." In this chapter there is unmistakable reference to Christ. See verse 6. Isa. 53:3 was also fulfilled here, in part: "He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief; and we hid, as it were, our faces from him." 3. Christ was insulted, scourged, and spit upon. In this we see Isa. 50:6 fulfilled: "I gave my back to the smiters, and my cheeks to them that plucked off the hair; I hid not my face from shame and spitting." 4. In all Christ's trial, when he was insulted and scourged, and even when crucified, he had no word of reproach for his enemies. Isaiah's description of this is so vivid that we can see it as though with our natural eyes. "He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth; he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth." Isa. 53:7. 5. The crucifixion itself was foretold by David in Ps. 22:16: "For dogs have compassed me; the assembly of the wicked have inclosed me; they pierced my hands and my feet." 6. It was the custom for the soldiers who executed a prisoner, to divide his garments among themselves; these were their perquisites; but Christ had a seamless garment which could not well be divided, and for this the soldiers gambled. John 19:24. This was also foretold by the psalmist: "They part my garments among them, and cast lots upon my vesture." Ps. 22:18. 7. He was crucified between two thieves, just as a common criminal. All the ignominy possible was heaped upon him. This was in fulfillment of Isa. 53:12: "He was numbered with the transgressors." 8. The people reviled Jesus as he hung upon the cross, and the chief priests mocked him, saying, "He saved others; himself he cannot save' If he be the King of Israel, let him now come down from the cross, and we will believe him. He trusted in God; let him deliver him now, if he will have him; for he said, I am the Son of God." Matt. 27:42, 43. To see how clearly this was foreseen, read Ps. 22:7, 8. 9. The legs of the thieves were broken, in order that the shock might hasten their death. Christ was already dead when this was done to them, and his legs were not broken. This was in order that Christ might be an exact antitype of the paschal lamb, none of whose bones were to be broken. Ex. 12:46. David mentioned this fact in Ps. 34:19, 20: "Many are the afflictions of the righteous; but the Lord delivereth him out of them all. He keepeth all his bones; not one of them is broken." See John 19:36. 10. In order to make sure that Christ was dead, a soldier rudely thrust his spear into his side, making a deep and large wound. John 19:37. Thus the fulfillment of Zech. 12:10 was provided for: "And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplication; and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for his first-born." John, in Rev. 1:7, tells us that this will be fulfilled at the second coming of Christ. 11. Christ was taken from the cross and laid in the tomb which Joseph, a wealthy Jew, had prepared for his own use; and thus was fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah, that he should make his grave with the rich. Isa. 53:9. A word of explanation may be needed upon this point. The text reads: "And he made his grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death; because he had done no violence, neither was any deceit in his mouth." It would thus seem to the casual reader, that Christ made his grave both with the wicked and with the rich. Dr. Barnes makes a very critical comment upon these words, and explains it thus: The Hebrew word rendered "he made" means, according to Gesenius, to give, as to give into the hand of any one, to give into prison or into custody, etc. "The notion of giving or giving over, is the essential idea of the word, and not that of making, as our translation would seem to imply; and the sense is that he was given by design to the grave of the wicked, or it was intended that he should occupy such a grave. The meaning then would be: 'And his grave was appointed with the wicked; but he was with a rich man [or with the rich] in his death.' This makes the meaning clear, and brings out the idea that the intention of the Jews was frustrated. They expected that he would receive a dishonorable burial; but their purpose was thwarted, and his burial was that of a king. These are some of the prophecies concerning Christ's death. There are others that show that he was to be put to death by the Roman Government, and that also fix the exact year when it should take place. And yet the prophecies concerning Christ's first advent are not nearly so numerous nor so explicit as those which refer to his second coming. The Jews were rejected because they did not know the time of their visitation; because they did not make the proper application of the Scriptures, in which they were well versed. If such was their fate, what will be our lot, if we do not heed carefully all the prophecies which pertain to the second coming of our Lord?