Episode 2218 - Lesson 8 - Tuesday Nov. 19 - Old Testament Prophecies of Jesus - part 1

In a discussion with the religious leaders about His identity, Jesus affirmed the authority of Scripture. At first glance, it would seem unnecessary for Him to do that because the religious leaders believed in Scripture. Nevertheless, even with them, Jesus would emphasize the authority of the Scriptures, and He did so in order to show them who He was—no matter how hard their hearts were, and no matter how much they tried to fight conviction. Meanwhile, John records many direct quotations from and allusions to the Old Testament that point to Jesus as the fulfillment of the Old Testament promise of a Messiah. How are the following New Testament and Old Testament passages linked? That is, how does the New Testament use these texts to bear witness to Jesus? John 1:23, Isa. 40:3 John 2:16, 17; Ps. 69:9 John 7:38, Jer. 2:13 John 19:36, Num. 9:12 Not just John, but Peter, Paul, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and all the New Testament writers, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, time and again stress how Jesus of Nazareth’s life, death, resurrection, and ascension to the throne of God are all fulfillments of the Old Testament prophecies. And although Jesus was continually pointing the disciples to the Scriptures, which foretold His ministry—when did the disciples finally understand that the Scriptures pointed to His death and resurrection? It was only after He died and was resurrected and appeared to them that they, finally, got it. “Therefore, when He had risen from the dead, His disciples remembered that He had said this to them; and they believed the Scripture and the word which Jesus had said” (John 2:22, NKJV; see also John 20:9).