5 Important Old Testament Prophecies Fulfilled By Jesus

Here are five important Old Testament prophecies that Jesus fulfilled during His earthly ministry.

Born of a Virgin

The Messiah was prophesied to be born of a virgin some 800 years before He was even born! Isaiah writes, “Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel” (Isaiah 7:14). This was fulfilled in Matthew 2:1 and Luke 2:4-6. By the way, Immanuel means “God with us.” He was with the disciples, and He is with us today if He is our Lord and Savior.

Rejected by His Own

Sadly, this prophecy came true, and it was the fact that He was rejected by His own people, as Isaiah writes, “He was despised and rejected by men … he was despised, and we esteemed him not” (Isaiah 53:3). We see this fulfilled in John 1:11, as “He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him.”

He Would Be Betrayed

Psalm 41:9 prophesied, “Even my close friend in whom I trusted, who ate my bread, has lifted his heel against me.” This was fulfilled when Jesus said, “… Judas, would you betray the Son of Man with a kiss” (Luke 22:48)? This was also foretold by Zechariah (Zech. 11:12-13) and Matthew (Matt. 26:14-16).

His Hands and Feet Would Be Pierced

Psalm 22 is a psalm about the crucifixion, and it was said, “… they pierce my hands and my feet” (Psalm 22:16). Thomas doubted and said, “Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe” (John 20:25), and when Jesus appeared, He said to Thomas, “‘Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe” (John 20:27).

He Would Be Buried With the Rich

Isaiah prophesied that the Messiah would make “… his grave with the wicked and with a rich man in his death …” (Isaiah 53:9), and sure enough, “… there came a rich man from Arimathea, named Joseph, who also was a disciple of Jesus. He went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. Then Pilate ordered it to be given to him. And Joseph took the body and wrapped it in a clean linen shroud 60 and laid it in his own new tomb, which he had cut in the rock” (Matt. 27:57-60a).

Conclusion

There are nearly 100 prophecies about Jesus in the Old Testament that were fulfilled in Jesus’ life. This is concrete evidence that Jesus was the long-prophesied Messiah, Who “… was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities” (Isaiah 53:5a), which is why John wrote, “This is the disciple who is bearing witness about these things, and who has written these things, and we know that his testimony is true” (John 21:24).