Well, that depends on one’s frame of reference. As is discussed in the section Why Did the Jews Reject Jesus? it was shown that over the centuries following the Babylonian captivity, the Scribes and Teachers (Sopherim and Tannaim) had canonized man-made regulations and interpretations of the Old Testament. This resulted in the Pharisees of Jesus’ day to expect a man-made-Messiah rather than the One promised by God in His Word. The Pharisees concluded that the Messiah would be a Pharisee, a mere man, who would be in complete subjection to the Mishnah and complete the work of finalizing the Mishnah. But these series of errors caused the Pharisees, and the majority of Jews in the first century, to miss their long awaited Messiah. Tragically, the errors of the Pharisees still cause the majority of Jews living today to miss Jesus.
However, when a biblical frame of reference is utilized, the expectation of the Messiah is vivid and without a doubt points directly to Jesus of Nazareth. It was this biblical frame of reference utilized by the 12 Apostles, all the disciples, and all of the Jewish believers of the first century Church that opened their eyes to the truth of Jesus’ Messianic claims.
Given that distinction, let’s use the biblical expectation of the Messiah by looking at those prophecies that narrow the identity of the Messiah to the only person qualified to fulfill their promise: e.g., Jesus the Messiah.
The Law, the Prophets, and the Psalms (Writings)
In Luke 24:1-35 Jesus was eating with two discouraged disciples who had assumed that their hope in the Messianic Kingdom was dead since Jesus had been crucified and buried three days earlier. But Jesus instructed them on the biblical expectation of the Messiah, saying,
O fools, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken: Ought not Christ to have suffered these things, and to enter into His glory? (Lk.24:25-26)
Then Jesus gave the two men a Bible study through the entire Old Testament regarding the biblical expectation of the Messiah, according to Luke 24:27,
And beginning at Moses and all the Prophets, He expounded unto them all in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself.
Once Jesus revealed Himself to them, the two men immediately returned to Jerusalem to tell the Apostles that Jesus is risen from the dead. While they telling the Apostle the things Jesus taught them from the Old Testament, Jesus appeared to them all. After some initial shock and confusion by the Apostles, Jesus said,
These are the words which I spoke unto you, while I was yet with you, that all these things must be fulfilled, which were written in the Law of Moses, and in the Prophets, and in the Psalms, concerning Me. (Lk.24:44)
Jesus reiterated the same point to two different groups of believers immediately following His resurrection: namely, He completely fulfilled the biblical expectation of the Messiah and that expectation can be known by studying the Old Testament prophecies about Jesus.
Given that introduction, let’s look through the Old Testament, in the three divisions cited by Jesus (i.e., the Law, the Prophets, and the Psalms (Writings) to see for ourselves that Jesus indeed satisfied the Messianic hope found in the Bible. Keeping in mind that these passages are the same evidence the Apostles, the Disciples, and the first century Church had at their disposal which led them to faith in Messiah Jesus.
One other thing must be pointed out. Everything we now know about the Messiah came to Mankind progressively over centuries. Not everything that is known was revealed entirely from the beginning of God’s revelation to Mankind. As a result the picture of the Messiah starts out vague but as time passes, the focus sharpens so that by the first century AD, Jesus is clearly seen. So as we look at these passages, there will be a necessity to compile the variables each passage adds to the overall picture of the Messiah.
Navigate the Old Testament prophecies using the list below:
THE LAW: Genesis 3:15; Genesis 12:3 with 22:18; Genesis 49:10
THE PROPHETS:
THE PSALMS (WRITINGS):
The Law: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy
Genesis 3:15 Messiah would be a Man, born of a virgin, who would crush Satan’s head
“…and I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed: he shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.”
In the earlier part of Gen.3, the tragic events of the Fall of Mankind are depicted. There, Adam and Eve fall to the temptations of Satan, resulting in cataclysmic changes to the global environment and the inherent nature of Mankind. As a result of these events, God responds by detailing the consequences to all the parties involved in the great rebellion. In Gen.3:14-15, God tells the Serpent the consequences of his actions followed by a prophecy of his future demise at the hands of the Seed of the Woman in v.15.
There are two ‘seeds’ mentioned: the seed of the Serpent (Satan) and the seed of the woman. God says to the Serpent, “And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.” The seed of the Serpent (Satan) will be the future Antichrist, who comes on the world stage at the beginning of the seven-year Tribulation period following the Rapture of the Church. The Seed of the Woman is a euphemism for the coming Messiah, that history knows as Jesus of Nazareth.
Referring to this promised conquerer as the seed of the woman is unusual because women don’t have seed, they have eggs. The term seed usual refers to what the male brings to reproduction. The term seed can also refer to descendants. But even this usage would be unusual since family lineage in the Bible is reckoned by the male descendants, not those of the female. The unusual usage of this term implies a supernatural conception. The future Messiah would have no human father. This fact is corroborated centuries later in Isa.7:14, “Therefore, the Lord Himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel (i.e., God is with us).”
The verse goes on to tell of Jesus’ (i.e., the Seed of the Woman) future relative to Satan: the Seed of the Woman will “bruise (crush) thy (Satan’s) head” and Satan shall “bruise his (Jesus’) heel.” When Jesus died on the cross for the atonement for Mankind’s sins, Satan bruised the heel of Jesus. Jesus’ heel was literally bruised by the process of crucifixion and He was figuratively bruised in that Jesus’ physical death was not final, since Jesus rose from the dead on the third day. Ironically, by His crucifixion, Jesus simultaneously defeated Satan’s power over death (Heb. 2:14-18). But Romans 16:20 says that some time after Jesus’ crucifixion, “the God of peace shall bruise (i.e., crush completely) Satan under your feet shortly.” Satan’s ultimate and complete crushing or utter defeat occurs when Satan is thrown into the Lake of Fire for eternity following the thousand year Messianic Kingdom (Rev.20:10).
So, it’s rather fitting that in the chapter that begins depicting the Fall of Mankind, ends with the prophecy of the promised Messiah, who would be born of a woman but without a human father, indicating His supernatural birth, and His ultimate purpose will be to rectify the consequences of the Fall and completely crush the Serpent who initiated it.
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Genesis 12:3; 22:18 Messiah would be Abraham’s descendant and a blessing to the world
“…and in thee shall all the families of the earth be blessed.” (Gen.12:3)
“And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed.” (Gen.22:18)
These two passages bookend those in the book of Genesis regarding theAbrahamic Covenant (Gen.12:1-3, 7; 13:14-17; 15:1-21; 17:1-21; 22:15-18). Taken together, they begin the narrow the identity of the promised Messiah. In the previous passage (Gen.3:15) we learned that the Messiah would be a male born of a virgin. Here we are told the Messiah would be a descendant (or seed) of Abraham. The phrase “the seed of Abraham” is used four different ways in the Bible: (1) it refers to the physical descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, that is Jews (Gen.21:12; Ex.32:13; 33:1); (2) it refers to the Believing Remnant from among the Jews (Rom.2:28-29; 9:6; Jn8:30-59); (3) it refers to the spiritual descendants or seed of Abraham; namely Gentile Christians (Gal.3:29); (4) it refers to Jesus the Messiah, the pre-eminent or most important descendant or “Seed of Abraham” (Ga.3:16). In these uses, “seed” can be a collective singular where it refers to the nation of Israel, the physical descendants of Abraham. Or “seed” can be used as an absolute singular where it refers to Jesus the Messiah, the Seed of Abraham.
Notice the narrowing of the identity of the Messiah from the first to the second passage. In the first passage (Gen.12:3) the promise says that in Abraham (“in thee”) shall all the families of the earth will be blessed, then in the second passage (Gen.22:18) the promises says that the world would be blessed through Abraham’s seed (“in thy seed”). We are told by the Apostle Paul the way the entire world would be blessed through Abraham’s seed is by the Messiahship of Jesus. Though other uses of the phrase “seed of Abraham” refers to more than one person, regarding the blessing coming to the entire earth, the Seed of Abraham refers to one person, namely, Jesus. For Paul says, “Now to Abraham were the promises spoken, and to his seed. He says not, ‘And to seeds,’ as of many; but as of one, ‘And to thy seed,’ which is Christ.” (Gal.3:19). And that spiritual blessing is salvation by faith not works, offered to Jew and Gentile alike in the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
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Genesis 49:10 Messiah would be a King from the Tribe of Judah arriving before a specific time
“The scepter will not depart from Judah, nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet, until he to whom it belongs shall come and the obedience of the nations shall be his.” (NIV)
“The sceptre 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.” (KJV)
You will immediately notice a difference in the translations from the original Hebrew of this verse from the New International Version (NIV) to the King James Version (KJV). This difference is helpful because it highlights two aspects of this prophecy that are accurate and true. The NIV translation is more accurate since the word in question is a possessive pronoun, not a proper name for the Messiah. But the KJV translation conveys the rabbinic understanding of the verse which they ascribe to the Messiah.[ref] Riggans states, referring back to the two Targum quotes earlier in this chapter in his book, “If you look again at the two passages quoted from the Targum in the previous section of this discussion, you will see that they seem to combine a perception that this (e.g., Gen.49:10) is a Messianic prophecy with the understanding that this word Shiloh also conveys the idea of possession: ‘whose it is’.” (Walter Riggans, Yeshua ben David, Why the Jewish People Reject Jesus as Their Messiah, p.327).[/ref]
Critics of Christianity assert that Christians interpret Old Testament passages incorrectly to intentionally mislead people into believing Jesus actually fulfilled them by His life. But ancient rabbis interpreted Genesis 49:10 as Messianic. The Jewish Targum reads,
The rulership abides with the tribe of Judah until the arrival of Shiloh, that is, the Messiah.[ref] From Genesis Rabbah 98:9, 13; 99:8 as cited in Walter Riggans’ Yeshua ben David: Why the Jewish People Reject Jesus as Their Messiah, p.322.[/ref]
The Jewish Talmud reads,
What is the name of the Messiah? They of the school of Rav Shila said, ‘His name is Shiloh, as it is said, “Until Shiloh comes”. (Citing the phrase in Gen.49:10)[ref] From Sanhedrin 98b as cited in Walter Riggans’ Yeshua ben David: Why the Jewish People Reject Jesus as Their Messiah, p.322.[/ref]
Walter Riggans adds in a footnote regarding the Talmud passage above that, “A ninth-century CE midrash on the Book of Proverbs also gives Shiloh as one of the seven names of the Messiah, as does Rashi in his commentary on the verse.”[ref] Walter Riggans’ Yeshua ben David: Why the Jewish People Reject Jesus as Their Messiah, endnote #322, p.322.[/ref] Citing Rashi (one of the “big three” rabbis; i.e., Maimonides, Nachmonides, and Rashi) is significant since he is among the most respected rabbis throughout Judaism. But even in a recent translation of the Jewish Targums, Bernard Grossfeld, says,
The identification of ‘Shiloh’ with the Messiah in the Targum…as well as in the Midrash and the Talmud, would appear to have been universally accepted during the Talmudic age.[ref] Walter Riggans, Yeshua ben David: Why the Jewish People Reject Jesus as Their Messiah, p.322 citing The Targum Onkelos to Genesis: Translated, with a Critical Introduction, Apparatus, and Notes, by Bernard Grossfeld (Michael Glazier, Inc, Wilmington, Delaware, 1988, p.163).[/ref]
The context of this prophecy is the Patriarch Jacob in his old age calling his twelve sons to his bedside to give them blessings which included some prophecies about the future of their descendants, since the twelve sons of Jacob grew into the Twelve Tribes of Israel. This verse is where Jacob gives his blessing/prophecy concerning his son Judah, who was the father of the Tribe of Judah. This is significant to our study since the Messiah would come from the tribe of Judah (Rev.5:5). But also because the tribe of Judah occupied the area of southern Israel known as Judaea, where Jerusalem, the Temple, and all the Jewish religious authority presided. Now let’s begin to look at some of the details, then we’ll put them together to unfold the meaning of this verse.
First let’s look at the “scepter” or “ruler’s staff.” These were symbols of royal authority. Authority which included giving the Jewish ruler the power to issue the death sentence to anyone guilty of a capital offense according to the Mosaic Law.
Second, this authority for Judah (i.e., Judaea) “would not depart…until” something happened. This indicates that at some point in the history of Judah (Judaea) they lost their ability to enforce capital punishment. When did this occur? One son of Herod the Great, Archelaus, was made ruler over Judaea by the Romans, but in the 10th year of his reign he was banished.[ref] See Josephus’ Antiquities of the Jews, Book 17; Chapter 13; paragraphs 1-2.[/ref] Replacing him also meant that Judah’s authority to enforce capital punishment was taken from them by the Romans and given to Archelaus’ replacement, Coponius. Josephus, the first century AD Jewish historian writes concerning this event,
And now Archelaus’s part of Judaea was reduced into a province, and Coponius, one of the equestrian order among the Romans, was sent as a procurator, having the power of (life and) death put into his hands by Caesar.[ref] See Josephus’ Wars of the Jews, Book 2, chapter 8, paragraph 1.[/ref]
Since Herod the Great died in 4 BC and his successor, Archelaus, was banished in the 10th year of his reign, and Caesar gave his replacement, Coponius, “the power of life and death,” this would mean somewhere about 6 AD the sceptre had departed from Judah. But now there’s a problem. The Messiah apparently failed to arrive before Judaea lost its authority to issue capital punishment. Had God’s Word failed?
No, God’s Word did not fail. But the rabbis overlooked Jesus’ birth accounting for the arrival of their Messiah, and by 70 AD there was no way of tracking one’s lineage by tribe since the Temple was destroyed by the Romans. All the lineage records were kept in the Temple, when it was destroyed, so was any capability of proving who belonged to which tribe. Therefore, anyone claiming Messiahship after 70 AD was by default an illegitimate candidate. They could not prove they were from the tribe of Judah, nor from the house of David.
But Gen.49:10 was fulfilled since the something preceding the loss of Judah’s power over capital punishment was the arrival of a Someone, namely, the Messiah, when a little boy was born in Bethlehem about 12 to 13 years earlier. The birth of Jesus did not occur in 1 AD. Due to some errors by the one who established our current calendar, the birth of Jesus likely occurred somewhere around 6-7 BC. Again, since Herod the Great died in 4 BC, Jesus’ birth had to precede it by a few years. Herod arrived in the city where he died about a year before his death; he issued an edict to murder all Jewish babies two years old and younger at the news of the birth of Jesus (Matt.2:1-23). Therefore, Jesus had to born about 6-7 BC to account for the known events prior to Herod the Great’s death. And since Jesus’ birth preceded the removal of Judah’s ability to carry out capital punishment, Gen.49:10 was fulfilled despite the Roman’s edict.
Although Judah lost the ability to carry out an aspect of its royal authority, they never lost the right of royal authority once the Messiah Jesus arrived on the world stage. What do you mean? This word until “…[expresses] the idea of building up to a climax, not an arrival at a cut-off point.” [ref] See footnote #310 citing Gen.26:13; 41:49; 2 Chron.26:15; Riggans, Yeshua ben David, Why the Jewish People Reject Jesus as Their Messiah, p.316.[/ref]
The word until…does not necessarily imply termination…it does not mean Judah will lose its right to rule once the Messiah comes. What it means is that Judah will exercise royal power finally, to the end when the Messiah comes to rule the world. Royal power will be passed from generation to generation in Judah in succession until He comes whose right it is. Once it is given to the Messiah, royal power remains forever with Him; this is ultimately a reference to the Second Coming when the Messiah comes to rule the world.[ref] See A. Fruchtenbaum, Genesis Commentary, p.640.[/ref]
The exercise of royal authority departed when the Romans took it away and gave it to Coponius in 6 AD but the right of royal authority continues through the Messiah forever. It was merely transferred from the tribe of Judah and given to the preeminent Person from that tribe, Jesus the Messiah: it passed from a people (the tribe of Judah) to a Person (Messiah Jesus). Once passed from Judah to Jesus, that royal authority remains with Jesus for eternity. Jesus is currently King of kings and Lord of lords but has yet to establish His Kingdom on earth. Upon His first advent, He merely took possession of that right from Judah, and will exercise its full capacity when He rules and reigns over the Messianic Kingdom on earth after the Tribulation period. Thus, the prayer Christians have raised to God all these centuries, ‘Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done, on earth, as it is in heaven’ will finally be realized after Jesus cleans house at the close of the seven year Tribulation.
Fourth, what’s the result of the Messianic Kingdom on earth? “…and the obedience of the nations shall be His.” (NIV) The word nations does not primarily refer to countries but it’s a common Old Testament reference to Gentile people. Thus, when the Messianic Kingdom is on the earth, the Gentiles (nations) of the world will live under the authority of the Messiah’s reign.
To summarize, the content of this prophecy gives four more characteristics that further narrow the identity of the one who qualifies as the Messiah: (1) the Messiah would come before Judah (Judaea) loses the legal authority to enforce the severest penalty under the Mosaic Law: capital punishment; (2) the Messiah would arise from the tribe of Judah; (3) the Messiah would be a King; (4) and the nations of the world will live obediently under His reign.