The Messianic Hope.

Many prophecies about the coming of the Messiah or Christ are found in the Old

Testament. Sometimes the prophecies are dim, but understandable to us when we view them

through the New Testament records as glasses, as in Gen. 3:15, where it is merely stated that

the Seed of the woman would bruise the head of the serpent while the serpent would merely

bruise the heel of the promised Seed; but in many of them the promise is clear and assuring.

A great many of the prophecies promise a glorious kingdom presided over by a God-sent

King who would deliver His people from their enemies and reign in righteousness; and

repeatedly it was foretold that this king would be of the lineage of David (Ps. 89:3-4; Isa.

11:1-10; Jer. 23:5-6). The Jews of the Intertestamental Period, suffering from misrule and

oppression of the Greeks and the Romans, found comfort and inspiration in anticipation of

the promised King and His Kingdom; and many of the scribes gave themselves to a careful

study of those prophecies. As a result of that study some of the scribes had outlined a program

of the messianic age. From Matthew 16:14 and John 1:21, it is evident that their

program included the appearance of an Old Testament prophet, the reappearance of Elijah,

and the appearance of the Messiah.

Before the time of Jesus false messiahs had arisen (Acts 5:36-37), who, while enticing

multitudes of followers, came to disastrous ends. The scribes could readily inform Herod that

the Christ would be born at Bethlehem (Matt. 2:5-6), and without hesitation they answered

Jesus that the Christ would be a descendant of David (Matt. 22:42). At the time of the ministry

of John the Baptist the people were in expectation (Luke 3:15), which was shared even by

the Samaritans (John 4:25). There were many pious ones who were waiting for the redemption

of God’s people; notably Zacharias, father of John the Baptist, Simeon and Anna (Luke

2:25-38), and Joseph of Arimathaea (Luke 23:50-52).

Besides those prophecies which promised a royal Messiah, there are others (Ps. 22:1-

21; Isa. 53, and others) which portray a suffering One, who would bear the sins of the people.

Christians confidently identify that One as the Christ, who was promised to be both King and

Savior. It is noteworthy also that Ps. 22:22-31, Ps. 110:2-3, and Isa. 53:10 suggest a spiritual

Kingdom, in contrast with the glorious visible Kingdom pictured in the other prophecies. But

the self-righteous Pharisees and the politically-minded Sadducees did not recognize Jesus as

the fulfillment of their cherished messianic prophecies. Accordingly, they condemned Him to

death, and thus they unknowingly fulfilled prophecies about the Messiah. But Christians

recognized Jesus of Nazareth to be the fulfillment of all messianic prophecies — they trusted

Him as Savior, they acknowledged Him as spiritual Lord and King in their lives.