Prophecies Fulfilled in Jesus Christ at His First Advent
By D. T. Bourdeau
As the prophecies fulfilled in Jesus Christ at the time of his first advent are indispensable to prove that he is the Saviour whom God in his infinite love sent into the world; as they lie at the very foundation of the plan of salvation, and aid us in determining the sense of other prophecies, they bear with them palpable proof that they should be carefully and prayerfully studied, and can certainly be understood. The following are samples of these important prophecies:— 1. Christ was to descend from Abraham. Gen. 12:7: “And the Lord appeared unto Abram, and said, Unto thy seed will I give this land.” Fulfilled, Gal. 3:16: “Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ.” 2. He was to belong to the tribe of Judah. Gen. 49:10: “The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto him shall the gathering of the people be.” Fulfilled, Heb. 6:14, first part: “For it is evident that our Lord sprang out of Judah.” 3. He was to be born of a virgin. Isa. 7:14, last part, marginal reading: “Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and thou, O virgin, shalt call his name Immanuel.” Fulfilled, Matt. 1:18, last part: “Before they [Mary and Joseph] came together, she was found with child of the Holy Ghost.” 4. There was to be a weeping of mothers at that time, because of the loss of their children. Jer. 31:15: “Thus saith the Lord: A voice was heard in Ramah, lamentation, and bitter weeping; Rachel weeping for her children refused to be comforted for her children, because they were not.” Fulfilled, Matt. 2:17, 18: “Then [at the time of the slaying of the infants by Herod] was fulfilled that which was spoken by Jeremy the prophet, saying, In Rama was there a voice heard, lamentation, and weeping, and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children, and would not be comforted, because they are not.” 5. Messiah was to be called out of Egypt. Hosea 11:1: “When Israel was a child, then I loved him, and called my son out of Egypt.” Here is a retrospective as well as typical prophecy, Israel’s call out of Egypt being made typical of the call of Jesus out of the same country. Fulfilled, Matt. 2:15: “And was there [in Egypt] until the death of Herod: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying, Out of Egypt have I called my son.” 6. He was to have a forerunner. Isa. 40:3: “The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make straight in the desert a highway for our God.” Fulfilled, Matt. 3:1-3: “In those days came John the Baptist, preaching in the wilderness of Judea, and saying, Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. For this is he that was spoken of by the prophet Isaias, saying, The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.” 7. He was to be poor. Ps. 69:29: “But I am poor and sorrowful.” Let the story of Christ’s birth in the manger, that of his humble occupation as a laboring man, and his own declaration, “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head” (Luke 9:58), show this prophecy to be true. 8. He was to be plain. Isa. 53:2, last part: “He hath no form nor comeliness, and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him.” The following are among the scriptures proving that this prophecy has had its fulfillment: “Then the soldiers, when they had crucified Jesus, took his garments, and made four parts, to every soldier a part; and also his coat: now the coat was without seam, woven from the top throughout.” John 19:23. “The kingdom of God cometh not with observation [“or, with outward show,” margin].” Luke 17:20, last part. 9. He was to be despised. Isa. 53:3: “He is despised and rejected of men; . . . and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not.” Fulfilled, Matt. 13:55-57: “Is not this the carpenter’s son? is not his mother called Mary? and his brethren, James, and Joses, and Simon, and Judas? And his sisters, are they not all with us? Whence then hath this man all these things? And they were offended at him.” Other texts could be advanced showing that this prophecy was fulfilled in our blessed Lord. 10. He was to be “a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief.” Isa. 53:3. Fulfilled, Luke 19:41; Matt. 26:38: “And when he was come near, he beheld the city, and wept over it.” “My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death.” 11. He was to have the Spirit of the Lord. Isa. 61:1, first part: “The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me; because the Lord hath anointed me to preach,” etc. Fulfilled, Matt. 3:16; John 3:34: “And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water; and, lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he [John] saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him.” “For he whom God hath sent speaketh the words of God: for God giveth not the Spirit by measure unto him.” 12. He was “to preach good tidings unto the meek; . . . to bind up the broken-hearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound; to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord.” Isa. 61:1, 2. Fulfilled, Luke 4:17-21: “And there was delivered unto him the book of the prophet Esaias. And when he had opened the book, he found the place where it was written, The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the broken-hearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, to preach the acceptable year of the Lord. . . . And he began to say unto them, This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears.” 13. His testimony was not to be generally believed. Isa. 53:1: “Who hath believed our report? and to whom is the arm of the Lord revealed?” Fulfilled, John 12:37, 38: “But though he had done so many miracles before them, yet they believed not on him: that the saying of Esaias the prophet might be fulfilled, which he spake, Lord, who hath believed our report? and to whom hath the arm of the Lord been revealed?” 14. He was to be zealous for the Lord’s house. Ps. 69:9: “For the zeal of thine house hath eaten me up.” Fulfilled, John 2:13-17: “And the Jews’ passover was at hand, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem, and found in the temple those that sold oxen and sheep and doves, and the changers of money sitting: and when he had made a scourge of small cords, he drove them all out of the temple, and the sheep, and the oxen; and poured out the changers’ money, and overthrew the tables; and said unto them that sold doves, Take these things hence, make not my Father’s house an house of merchandise. And his disciples remembered that it was written, The zeal of thine house hath eaten me up.” 15. His own brethren were to regard him as a stranger and an alien; in other words, they were not to be congenial with him and give him their support in his work. Ps. 69:8: “I am become a stranger unto my brethren, and an alien unto my mother’s children.” Fulfilled, John 7:3-5: “His brethren therefore said unto him, Depart hence, and go into Judea, that thy disciples also may see the works that thou doest. For there is no man that doeth anything in secret, and he himself seeketh to be known openly. If thou do these things, show thyself to the world. For neither did his brethren believe in him.” 16. He was to bear the griefs and sorrows of others, or relieve them of their sufferings and pains. Isa. 53:4: “Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows.” The French translation by Segond reads: “Howbeit, he hath borne our sufferings, and loaded himself with our pains.” Fulfilled, Matt. 8:16, 17: “When the even was come, they brought unto him many that were possessed with devils: and he cast out the spirits with his word, and healed all that were sick: that it might be fulfilled which was9spoken by Esaias the prophet, saying, Himself took our infirmities, and bare our sicknesses.” 17. His familiar friend was to turn against him. 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.” Fulfilled, John 13:18: “I speak not of you all [he was referring to Judas]: I know whom I have chosen: but that the scripture may be fulfilled, He that eateth bread with me hath lifted up his heel against me.” 18. He was to be prized at thirty pieces of silver. Zech. 11:11, 12: “And I said unto them, If ye think good, give me my price [Judas negotiating with the priests and selling his Lord]; and if not, forbear. So they weighed for my price thirty pieces of silver. And the Lord said unto me, Cast it unto the potter: a goodly price that I was prized at of them. And I took the thirty pieces of silver, and cast them to the potter in the house of the Lord.” Fulfilled, Matt. 27:9, 10: “Then [when Judas had sold Jesus for thirty pieces of silver, repented, returned the money, cast it into the temple, and the priests had bought with the money a potter’s field] was fulfilled that which was spoken by Jeremy [rather Zechariah, there being an error of the copyist] the prophet, saying, And they took the thirty pieces of silver, the price of him that was valued, whom they of the children of Israel did value; and gave them for the potter’s field as the Lord appointed me.”