Nepaug Bible Church - http://www.nepaugchurch.org - Pastor's Adult Sunday School Notes - http://www.nepaugchurch.org/bb/bb19950618.htm

THE DOCTRINE OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST
Part III: God The Son In Old Testament Prophecy
  1. Introduction
    1. A major criticism of Liberal Theology is that the New Testament Jesus is not a truly historical figure, but a myth constructed by Early Church theologians, c f. Walvoord, Jesus Christ Our Lord, p. 15-16 (on Bultmannism). This view holds that " . . . the facts presented in the Bible were filtered through the mind . . . of the church, and probably Jesus did not do the things . . . (N.T.) Scripture ascribes to Him." (Ibid.)
    2. However, there is a way to check on the validity of the Gospel record. If we can find the birth, earthly life, death, resurrection, ascension and enthronement of Christ predicted in the preMaccabean Old Testament, we can compare that prediction with the Gospel record to see if the record is indeed accurate !
    3. We study Old Testament prophecy on God the Son to that end as follows:
  2. God The Son In Old Testament Prophecy
    1. We know scientifically from Qumran's Dead Sea Scrolls that all Old Testament writings are at least preMaccabean, before B.C. 168. Thus, any match between the events in Christ's life in the Gospels with Old Testament prophecy is evidence for the historical accuracy in the New Testament.
    2. The Birth Of The Christ In Old Testament Prophecy And The Gospels
      1. Messiah was to be born in Bethlehem of Judah according to Micah 5:2. Matthew 2:1-11 shows that the New Testament record accurately presents this event about Christ.
      2. Messiah was to arrive at His temple (fulfilled in the Triumphal Entry, Zech. 9:9 with Mtt. 21:1-11) 483 Jewish calendar years after the command by Artaxerxes Longimanus in B.C. 445 to rebuild the post exilic Jewish temple, Ryrie Study Bible, KJV, ftn. to Dan. 9:25. That date of Messiah's temple arrival is March 30, 33 A.D., Hoehner, Th. D., Dallas Seminary and Ph. D., Cambridge U., Chron. Aspects of the Life of Christ, p. 139. Thus, Messiah had to be born approximately 20 to 40 years before then, and Jesus was born approximately the winter of B.C. 5-4 according to the Lukan account, Ibid., p. 27. The New Testament accurately presents the time of Christ's birth according to Old Testament prophecy.
      3. Matthew records at least four additional Old Testament fulfillments of Christ's birth narrative in Matthew 1-2: they deal with his virgin birth (1:22-23), his sojourn in Egypt (2:15), Bethlehem's grief of infant loss near His birth (2: 17f) and His association with outcast Nazareth (2:23).
    3. The Life Of Christ In Old Testament Prophecy And The Gospels
      1. The arrival of the forerunner in John the Baptist was predicted in Malachi 3:1 and Isa. 40:3.
      2. An extensive treatment of Christ's rejection by The Scribes, Pharisees and Priests in a single day is made in Zechariah 11:8-11. That day is recorded in Matthew 12:14-53 and fulfills Zechariah 11:11 that only the poor of Israel's floc k, the 12 disciples, would recognize what had happened!
      3. Messiah's performance of specific miracles to signify His identity is given in Isaiah 35:5 and 61:1. Jesus quotes these passages as proof to John's disciples that He is indeed the promised Messiah!
      4. Many passages present Messiah in His offices of Prophet (Dt. 18:15-18), Priest (1 Sam. 2:35; Ps.110:4) and King (Num. 24:17) and other less significant offices. Accordingly, numerous New Testament texts show Christ as that Prophet (Acts 3:22-26), that Priest (He. 5:6) and King (Lk. 1:31-33).
    4. The Post-Earthly Life Prophecies Of Christ In Old Testament Prophecy And The Gospels
      1. Thirty-four Old Testament prophecies about Messiah's death were fulfilled by Jesus in the Gospels, Ryrie Study Bible, KJV, p. 1882. Psalm 22 contains ten of them, and Isaiah 52-53 eight of them.
      2. Messiah's burial is predicted as being with the wealthy in Isaiah 53:9 and is fulfilled in Mtt. 27:57-61.
      3. His resurrection is predicted in Isaiah 53:10b and fulfilled in the Gospel records.
      4. Messiah's ascension and enthronement is predicted in Dan. 7:13f and fulfilled in A. 1:9 (Eph. 1:20-22).
Lesson: Old Testament prophecies concerning the Incarnate Son of God were accurately fulfilled in the Jesus presented in the New Testament Gospel records. Accordingly, Liberalism's Bultmannism which says that the Gospel records of Christ's life ar e mythological has been shown to be erroneous! As Josh McDowell puts it, 270 prophetic ramifications of Old Testament Messianic predictions were fulfilled in the Jesus of the Gospels, making Him historically authentic, McDowell, A Ready Defense, p. 210. We can trust the authenticity of the Gospel records as to how they present our Lord!