The prophecies referring to the Messianic lineage are very exciting once we see their historical importance. For
centuries the ancient Jews kept meticulous records of their genealogies. These records existed even during times
of foreign captivity and immense persecution. The records were finally destroyed during the Roman invasion and
destruction of the Jewish temple in 70 A.D. This is important for two reasons:
- The records had to be in existence when the Messiah came in order to prove His lineage. Both Luke and
Matthew were able to give a detailed lineage of Jesus to show He was a descendant of the required
ancestors. Matthew lists the lineage of Joseph while Luke lists the lineage of Mary. - Because the temple and the records were destroyed in 70 A.D., the Messiah must have been born before
this time. We know from historical records Jesus lived was crucified approximately 35-40 years before this
event. This happened at the perfect time- right before these records were destroyed, making it impossible
to verify the claims of any other Messiah claimant.
Skeptic Interjection: The Bible warn its readers against the use of "endless genealogies" in proving Jesus to
be the Messiah. Was Paul speaking against Matthew and Luke for using genealogies as evidence in their Gospels
Answer: These two references are I Timothy 1:3-4 and Titus 3:9. However, this is where critics can get caught
in their own skepticism. Though Christian scholars have dated Matthew and Luke to have been written before
Timothy and Titus, many critics allege the two Gospels were written after Paul's epistles. This begs the question
how Paul would be refuting texts that did not yet exist! Regardless, it is generally believed that Paul was
combating heresies surfacing within Gnostic, apocryphal, and pseudographical texts- not the canonical Gospels.
HE WOULD ULTIMATELY BE THE SON OF GOD
PROPHECY: “I will declare the decree: The Lord has said to Me, ‘You are My Son, today I have begotten You.’”
Psalms 2:7 "I will be His Father, and He will be My Son. I will never take My love away from Him as I took it away
from your predecessor. I will set Him over My house and My kingdom forever. His throne will be established
forever." I Chronicles 17:13-14
FULFILLMENT: “And suddenly a voice came from the heavens saying, This is My beloved Son, in whom I am
well pleased.” Matthew 3:17
Skeptic Interjection: How do we know these prophecies refer to the future Messiah and not just to King David?
Answer: Many of the Messianic prophecies were double references which used historical applications to allude to
the future Messiah. While in the current sense a verse might directly be referring to Moses, King David, or the
Jewish people, it was also known by the Jews of antiquity as a reference to the Messiah. The early church father's
also explain the dualism of history as prophecy. Though critics claim many passages were only considered
prophecies after the fact, this allegation is proved incorrect once we investigate antiquity. The Talmud mentions
specific scriptures as Messianic prophecies, Matthew's Gospel often quotes the known prophecies before posting
the New Testament fulfillment, early apologists cite Scripture known to be considered Messianic prophecy, etc.
From our modern point of view the parallels seem far-fetched but they were well known at the time.
HE WOULD BE BORN FROM THE SEED OF A WOMAN
PROPHECY: “And I will put enmity between you [Satan] and the woman and between your seed and her Seed.
He shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise His heel.” Genesis 3:15
FULFILLMENT: “But when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born
under the law.” Galatians 4:4
This prophecy actually contains three predictions:
- The Messiah would literally be the Son of God who would come to earth in human form.
- After the fall of man in the Garden of Eden, we are told there will be a spiritual conflict between the Seed
of Woman (The Messiah) and His adversary, the serpent (Satan). - Though Satan thought he won a victory over Jesus during the Crucifixion, he only bruises the heel (a
minor part of the body) while Jesus bruises the head (a vital part of the body) by defeating sin and death
upon His resurrection.
HE WOULD BE FROM THE SEED OF ABRAHAM
PROPHECY: “In your [Abraham's] seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed because you have obeyed My
voice.” Genesis 22:18
FULFILLMENT: “The book of genealogy of Jesus Christ, the Son of David, the Son of Abraham.” Matthew 1:1
"The promises were spoken to Abraham and to his seed. The Scripture does not say, 'and to seeds,' meaning
many people, but 'and to your seed,' meaning one person, who is Christ." Galatians 3:16
Skeptic Interjection: How do we know this verse refers to the Messiah and not only to Abraham's descendants
as a whole?
Answer: By stating the Messiah would come from the seed (not seeds) of Abraham, God is telling us the Messiah
would come from the Hebrew race. Furthermore, Galatians clarifies the original prophecy in Genesis by pointing
out the singular form of the word seed as a reference to one particular person.
HE WOULD BE FROM THE SEED OF ISAAC
PROPHECY: “But God said to Abraham… in Isaac your seed shall be called.” Genesis 21:12
FULFILLMENT: “Jesus… the son of Isaac.” Luke 3:23,34
Abraham had two sons: Ishmael and Isaac. By stating the Messiah will come from the line of Isaac, God
eliminates 1/2 of Abraham’s descendants. Again, we see the singular form of the word seed.
HE WOULD BE FROM THE SEED OF JACOB
PROPHECY: “I see Him but not now. I behold Him but not near. A Star will come out of Jacob, A Scepter out of
Israel.” Numbers 24:17
FULFILLMENT: “Jesus… the son of Jacob.” Luke 3:23,34
Isaac had two sons, Esau and Jacob. God is again eliminating 1/2 of the descendants. This prophecy also
mentions the specific wording I see Him- but not now. I behold Him, but not near. The book of Numbers was
transcribed by Moses around 1400 B.C. This verse tells us a great descendant will come from Jacob but will be
born in the distant future. We know from history Jesus was born roughly 1,400 years after this prophecy.
HE WOULD BE FROM THE TRIBE OF JUDAH
PROPHECY: “…though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for Me One who will be ruler
over Israel, whose origins are from old, from ancient times.” Micah 5:2
FULFILLMENT: “Jesus… the son of Judah.” Luke 3:23,34
Jacob had twelve sons from which the twelve tribes of Israel originated. By specifying the Messiah would be from
the tribe of Judah, God eliminated the descendants of the eleven other tribes.
Skeptic Interjection: Jesus was never a ruler over Israel. How did He fulfill this prophecy?
Answer: Like we mention earlier, the seemingly contradictory references to both a humble yet triumphant
Messiah caused much confusion to the Jews of antiquity. When we look at the wording we can see the word will is
used twice: will come for Me One who will be ruler. This is one of the many verses referring to two separate
Messianic appearances.
HE WOULD BE FROM THE LINE OF JESSE
PROPHECY: “There shall come forth a Rod from the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots.”
Isaiah 11:1
FULFILLMENT: “Jesus… the son of Jesse.” Luke 3:23,32
HE WOULD BE FROM THE HOUSE OF DAVID
PROPHECY: “...I will raise up to David a righteous branch. A King shall reign wisely and execute judgment and
righteousness in the land.” Jeremiah 23:5
FULFILLMENT: “Jesus… the son of David…” Luke 3:23,32
Jesse had eight known sons. By specifying the Messiah would come from the Davidian line, God eliminates
Jesse's other sons.
HE WOULD BE BORN OF A VIRGIN
PROPHECY: “The Lord will give you a sign: The virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name
Immanuel.” Isaiah 7:14
FULFILLMENT: “...God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, to a virgin pledged to be married to
a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin’s name was Mary... the angel said to her... ‘You will be
with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give Him the name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the
Son of the Most High.’” Luke 1:26-27, 30-32
Skeptic Interjection: How could this prophecy be related to Jesus? His name was not Immanuel.
Answer: This seems like a contradiction until we are given the meaning of Immanuel in the following passage:
"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. All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: The virgin will be with child and will
give birth to a son, and they will call Him Immanuel which means 'God with us.'" Matthew 1:21-23
Because the angel specifically tells Mary to name her son Jesus, we know Immanuel was a symbolic title instead
of a literal name. Matthew confirms this by explaining the meaning of the name Immanuel as God with us.
Though Jesus was His earthly name, He was also symbolically referred to as Lamb of God, Son of Man, Lion Of
Judah, etc. Though this prophecy literally refers to a virgin birth, it metaphorically refers to the Messiah coming
to earth in human form. Hence, God with us.
Skeptic Interjection: The Old and New Testament verses differ in their use of virgin. One refers to a woman of
marriageable age and the other refers to an actual virgin.
Answer: In the Masoretic text, the prophecy in Isaiah uses the Hebrew word almah (a woman of marriageable
age) whereas the verse in Matthew uses the Greek word parthenos (a pure virgin or woman of marriageable
age). However the translators of the Greek Septuagint (which is older than any existing Hebrew text) used
parthenos in their translation of the verse in Isaiah. The translators understood the verse in Isaiah as referring to
a literal virgin birth. Some critics argue Matthew could have used the Septuagint when writing his Gospel but this
claim, though possible, is based on supposition.
Skeptic Interjection: Wasn't this a specific prophecy meant for King Ahaz? God told Israel He would send an
immediate sign of the child Immanuel so that the Israelites would not be defeated in battle. Wasn't this prophecy
fulfilled by the prophetess' son in Isaiah 8:3-4?
Answer: The Child born in Ahaz's time was named Maher-shalal-hash-baz meaning quick to the plunder, swift to
the spoil. His name did not fulfill the prophecy literally or metaphorically as the child was in no way believed to
be God nor was his name Immanuel. The fulfillment of this prophecy in Ahaz's time was to show the Israelites
that God was with them (Immanuel) by sending the sign of the child Maher-shalal-hash-baz before battle. The
ultimate fulfillment of this prophecy occurred during the lifetime of Jesus. Once again we see the use of historic
applications and double references which were known to the Jews of antiquity.
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