There are more than 300 Messianic prophecies in the Old Testament; all of which Jesus fulfilled perfectly. Moses wrote the first of these in the 15th century B.C. About five centuries later, David penned his psalms, where we see more prophecies of Jesus—some containing details about things that had not yet been invented. We also see Jesus in the prophetic writings of Isaiah, Daniel, and Micah. Here are just a few Old Testament prophecies that point to the irrefutable fact that Jesus Christ is the promised Messiah.
- “And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her Seed; He shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise His heel” (Genesis 3:15).
This verse speaks of Jesus’ Virgin Birth and His crucifixion. It says, “her Seed,” because seed is normally a reference to a man’s descendants, not a woman’s. It points to the crucifixion when it says, “He (Jesus) shall bruise your head (Satan), and you (Satan) shall bruise His (Jesus) heel.” Jesus would deal a devastating blow to Satan when He defeated sin and death by dying on the cross and rising again on the third day. Satan would deal a temporary blow in bruising His heel – a physical wound that occurs during crucifixion while pushing up against the cross to try and take a breath. - Psalm 22
Though written about 300 years before crucifixion was invented, this psalm mirrors the Roman style of crucifixion used to kill Jesus that we read about in the Gospels. Psalm 22 perfectly describes what Jesus endured a thousand years before it happened. - “But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed” (Isaiah 53:5).
The Hebrew word used here for “wounded” means pierced through. The stripes describe the marks made by the beatings He endured. - “But you, Bethlehem, Ephrathah, though you are little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of you shall come forth to Me the One to be Ruler in Israel, whose goings forth are from old, from everlasting” (Micah 5:2). This verse points to the specific town where Jesus would be born, and to His eternality.
