Martin Luther said, Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ was promised and prefigured in the entire Old Testament. He is the center of Scripture, the fulfillment of God's eternal covenant. Last week we began this series on the promised Messiah. And last week as we began our study, we were introduced to some titles about Jesus. Now Jesus is the most titled God-man in all of history. And some of those titles that we looked at were Son of God, Emmanuel, The Word, Alpha and Omega, Lord, I Am, King of Kings and Lord of Lords, Son of David, Prince of Peace, Lion of the Tribe of Judah, Savior, Redeemer, Lamb of God, Mediator, Advocate, Son of Man, the Carpenter, Friend of Sinners, the Good Shepherd, the Bread of Life, the light of the world, the way, the truth, and the life, the true vine, the resurrection and the life, the firstborn from the dead, the conqueror, the branch, the stones the builders rejected, faithful and true, and Messiah. And last week we also looked at the Messiah being promised in Genesis. And I wanna begin right there again this morning. So if you will take your Bible and turn to Genesis chapter three, Genesis chapter three. And we find in Genesis 3.15, this is after Adam and Eve, fell in their disobedience to the Lord when he said, of any tree of the garden you may freely eat, but of the tree that is in the midst of the garden, the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, you shall not eat of it, for in the day that you eat of it, you shall surely die. And then, of course, we see Eve being tempted by the serpent, who in essence was Satan, and she fell to the temptation. The Bible says in Romans 5 that she was deceived when she ate. But we also hear that she gave this fruit to her husband Adam who was with her. At some point he comes up and she hands him the forbidden fruit and he takes it and eats. And then the Bible describes in Romans 5 that he ate it in disobedience. He knew what he was doing. After that point, God calls them in the garden. They used to have this sweet fellowship, but when they heard the Lord God walking in the garden this time, they hid themselves. This was something that they had never done before. They had never experienced fear. And on top of that, they had never experienced the host of other things that they were experiencing now, like guilt and conviction based upon what they had done. And as God is pronouncing punishment for what has taken place, he starts with the serpent. And the serpent is now told that he will crawl on his belly and eat dust for the rest of his days. And every time you see a snake, you are reminded of the curse that was put on all serpents, all snakes. And it reminds you of the fall. and how God used one of the most crafty animals to carry out his plan. Satan had used the serpent to deceive Eve and he was successful in doing this. And now God says, verse 15, And I will put enmity between you and the woman, between your seed and her seed. He shall bruise you on the head, and you shall bruise him on the heel. And I'm not going to take the time to go into the detail of this again, but I just want to point out to you that when we start talking about the promise of the Messiah, the first place we see the promise is in the book of Genesis. Specifically here in Genesis 3.15 and this is called the first gospel or the Proto-Evangelion. Now as we progress a little further I want to take us more into the Old Testament and today we're going to look at the promise in the Old Testament. When Jesus lived on the earth, he said in Hebrews 10 verse 7, at least it's recorded by the writer of Hebrews, but it comes from Psalm 40 and verse 7, in the volume of the book, it is written of me. Well, since that's true, it's incumbent upon us to find out what was written about him before he came among men. And we can start right here in Genesis 3.15. Because in Genesis 3.15 we see by a phrase that's used in verse 15 when talking about this hostility that would be between you and the woman and between your seed, and here's the word, and her seed. Seed does not reside in the woman. Seed resides in the man. And so this verse right here, by saying her seed, is giving us the promise of a Redeemer. Because what has just happened? They have just sinned against Almighty God. And before He even passes judgment on what they had done, He gives the promise of a Redeemer. It's her seed. And it also tells us that he would be born of a virgin. That's also implied in that statement. Galatians 4.4 says that Jesus was born of a woman. And so that is one of the first things that we see as the Old Testament opens before us. and tells us about the Messiah who is to come at this time. Many of these things that we will read were prophecies that were written some 800 to 1,000 years before his birth, and he fulfilled them completely. I pointed out last week that there are 333 prophecies written in the Bible about the Messiah, and the first time The Messiah came. And when he came, he fulfilled 109 of those prophecies. Now that's significant. And it's significant that he came when he did because in 70 AD, with the destruction of the temple, also came the destruction of all genealogical records. And with the destruction of all of those records, it would be very difficult from that point on for anyone to claim to be the Messiah and to be able to prove it by genealogical records. But not so with Jesus. And that's some of the things we're going to be looking at. 333 prophecies. Well, we're not going to look at all 333 prophecies, but we are going to look at a number of them, because I want you to see in the Old Testament our Savior. Now, in the Old Testament, He is not called Jesus. That's the name that we read just a moment ago in Matthew 1, that the angel gave to Joseph and told him to name Him Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins. So we start in Genesis 3 and we see that he was born of a woman. Let's move forward to chapter 12. In chapter 12 we have God speaking to Abraham and God says this to Abraham, and I will bless those who bless you and the one who curses you I will curse. And notice this phrase, and in you all the families of the earth will be blessed. That is a reference to the Messiah. It also tells us that the Messiah would be a descendant of Abraham. Going even further than that, we go to Genesis 49. In Genesis 49, before Jacob dies, he has all of his sons right there for him. And he's doing what a patriarch father would do. He would give out blessings on one hand and he would give out cursings on the other hand. And that's exactly what we see. But one of the blessings that would fall on one of his children would be Judah. Even though it says in verse 9, Judah's a lion's whelp. From the prey, my son, you have gone up. He couches, he lies down as a lion, and as a lion, who dares rouse him up? The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor the ruler's staff from between his feet until Shiloh comes. And to him shall be the obedience of the peoples." Again, another prophecy about the Messiah. The scepter shall not depart from Judah." And now we see, not only is he born of a woman and a descendant of Abraham, but he would also come from the line of Judah. We move forward to Deuteronomy. In Deuteronomy chapter 18, remember the people had asked for a king, and God was going to give them a king, a prophet. Unlike Saul, unlike David, this would be the Messiah. And he says in verse 15, the Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your countrymen, you shall listen to him. Then verse 18, I will raise up a prophet from among their countrymen like you and I will put my words in his mouth and he shall speak to them all that I command him. This prophet is Jesus. Now as I read these and I make just general statements about these prophecies we're going to come back through these prophecies and I'm going to give you the fulfillment of each one of them as it's seen in the New Testament. But for now let me tell you what the prophecies are. So the Messiah would be a prophet like Moses We also know not only would he be a descendant of Abraham and a descendant from the line of Judah, but he would also be a descendant of David. In 2 Samuel chapter 7, it says in verse 12, when your days are complete and you lie down with your fathers, and this is God talking to David, I will raise up your descendant after you who will come forth from you and I will establish his kingdom. Now that's talking about Solomon. He shall build a house for my name." Now the last part of verse 13 is talking about the Messiah. And I will establish the throne of His kingdom forever. Of course we know after Rehoboam we have the dividing of Israel into a southern and northern kingdom. But the throne of the Messiah would be established forever. the throne of David. And then, of course, in Micah, Micah chapter 5 and verse 2, we are told where the Messiah would be born. And that's why when you get into Matthew chapter 2 and all the city is saying, where is he who has been born King of the Jews? And they just kept saying this over and over. And the religious leaders were upset. And King Herod, who was a jealous king, was upset over this, too, and he wanted to inquire when this would take place and where it would take place. It says in Micah 5, 2, But as for you, Bethlehem, Epaphrathah, too little to be among the clans of Judah. From you one will go forth for me to be ruler in Israel. His going forth are from long ago, from the days of eternity. Now just by some of the terminology that we hear right there that this has to be the Messiah. And not only would he be born in Bethlehem, but there would be a messenger who would prepare his way. Isaiah 40 and verse 3, we even hear John the Baptist quote this verse later. A voice is calling, clear the way for the Lord in the wilderness. Make smooth in the desert a highway for our God. He came to prepare the way. Malachi 3.1, Behold, I am going to send my messenger, and he will clear the way before me. So there would be a messenger who would prepare the way for the Messiah. Again, that was John the Baptist. We even find later during Jesus's ministry we find in Zechariah 9 and verse 9 where it tells us that the king would come riding into Jerusalem on a donkey. And it says in Zechariah 9 and verse 9, Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion. Shout in triumph, O daughter of Jerusalem. Behold, your king is coming to you. He is just and endowed with salvation, humble and mounted on a donkey, even on a colt, the foal of a donkey. It doesn't stop there. Other prophecies talk about His people rejecting Him. Isaiah 53 and verse 3, He was despised and forsaken of men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief, and like one from whom men hide their face, He was despised and we did not esteem Him. And this was probably one aspect of the prophecy that the people had a hard time with. Because they believed when the Messiah would come that he would come and establish his kingdom right there in Israel. He would overthrow the Romans. And he would set up his kingdom and rule right there. Well, when he came, he did come as a king. But he said, my kingdom is not of this world. And you remember, he even said that to Pilate. If my kingdom were of this world, my people would fight. But he suffered immensely. And that began with a betrayal by a close friend whom we know later to be Judas. Isaiah 41 9. You whom I have taken from the ends of the earth and called from its remotest parts and said to you you are my servant. I have chosen you and not rejected you. But this friend did and he would betray Jesus. For 30 pieces of silver, Zechariah 11 and verses 12 and 13 says, And I said to them, It is good in your sight. Give me my wages. But if not, never mind. So they weighed out 30 shekels of silver as my wages. Then the Lord said to me, Throw it to the potter, that magnificent price at which I was valued by them. So I took the 30 shekels of silver and threw them to the potter in the house of the Lord. See, like I said last week, just the probability of Jesus fulfilling one prophecy is immense. But there were 333 and fulfilling 109 when he came. Scripture also prophesied about the Messiah's death by crucifixion. Psalm 22 verse 1, Jesus cried out on the cross with these very words, My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? In Psalm 22, also verse 13 and following, They open wide their mouth at me as a ravening and roaring lion. I'm poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint. My heart is like wax. It is melted within me. My strength is dried up like a pot sherd, and my tongue cleaves to my jaws, and you lay me in the dust of death. For dogs have surrounded me. A band of evildoers have encompassed me. They pierce my hands and my feet. I can count all my bones. They look. They stare at me. They divide my garments among them. And for my clothing they cast lots. But you, O Lord, be not far off. O you, my help, hasten to my assistance." And that prophecy in Zachariah, I'm sorry, in Psalm would tell us that his death would be by crucifixion. And then, of course, Isaiah 53, 12 would tell us that he would be crucified with criminals. It says that he was numbered with the transgressors, yet he himself bore the sin of many and interceded for the transgressors. The very ones that he was there hanging with, he bore their sin. Crucified with criminals. Psalm 22, 16 said his hands and his feet would be pierced. Psalm 22, 16, they pierced my hands and my feet. Psalm 34, 20 said that none of his bones would be broken. It says he keeps all of his bones. Not one of them is broken. Zechariah 12, 10 says that they will look on me in whom they have pierced. You remember when they pierced his side to see if he was dead? Psalm 22, 18 says that soldiers would cast lots for his garments. It says they divide my garments among them and for my clothing they cast lots. But after his death, he would be resurrected. That too was prophesied in the Old Testament. Psalm 1610, For you will not abandon my soul to Sheol, nor will you allow your Holy One to undergo decay. And then of course he would be ascended back to heaven. Psalm 6818, You have ascended on high. These are promises of Messiah. These are promises in the Old Testament of a coming redeemer, a coming king, a coming ruler. Now, as I said, there is no one in all of history that could fit these prophecies other than Jesus. Israel is looking for a Messiah. The Messiah they're looking for is not divine, is not God incarnate. They're looking for all the wrong reasons. They need a Messiah that will forgive them of all their sin. that would pay the price of sin. And we know the Lord Jesus did that. Last week, I shared with you one of the titles of the Lord Jesus, and we find it in a statement that Peter made. after being asked, Who do you say that I am? And Peter said, You are the Christ, the Son of the living God. You're the Christ. You're the Messiah. Christ is Christos in Greek, means anointed one. In Hebrew, it reflects Mashiach, which is Messiah. And His identity is He is the Son of God. And that's why in John 3.16 you have, For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life." God's Son, the Son of God. Mark begins his gospel in Mark 1.1, he says, The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. Now I have to tell you, this was a statement that The people of Israel had a hard time digesting. But we find when you go into John's gospel. We see the reality of this when he tells us in the beginning was the word and the word was with God and the word was God and then in verse 14. He tells us, And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth. So John describes Him as the Word. He is the living Word. We have the written Word right here. And during their time, they had the Old Testament, which was the written Word. But we have all of it. We have the Old and the New Testament. But Jesus, as the written word, was also the living word. He was the embodiment of truth. In Colossians 2 and verse 9, it says, In him all the fullness of deity dwells in bodily form. He was God in flesh. He dwelt in a body, a body that God prepared for him, a body that would receive those spikes in his hands and in his feet, that would experience the whipping of the cat of nine tails on his back, his brow that would bear the crown of thorns, his side which would be pierced by a spear, When Jesus went to the cross, we can even say before he even went to the cross, when he came as that baby in a manger, he left all of heaven's glory and in humiliation he came to earth. And he came as the humble servant and we're told in Philippians 2 that we're to have the same attitude that Jesus had. In verse 5 of chapter 2 it says, have this attitude in yourself which was also in Christ Jesus who although he existed in the form of God did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped. but emptied himself, taking the form of a bondservant, and being made in the likeness of men, being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross." And for this reason also God highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name which is above every name so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father. He came and when he came scripture says he took on flesh. Over in John chapter 4, as he's in this conversation with this woman from Sychar, this woman at the well, he asked her for a drink of water and that began a dialogue between them. In that dialogue, the woman says in verse 25, I know that Messiah is coming who is called Christ. When that one comes, he will declare all things to us. And Jesus said to her, I who speak to you am. He was claiming to be the Messiah to her. The woman left her water pot, verse 28, went into the city and said, Come see a man who told me all the things that I have done. Is this not the Christ or the Messiah? And they went out of the city and they were coming to him. And when they came to him, Jesus said to his disciples, Look out among you at the harvest. He said, lift up your eyes, look on the fields that they are white for harvest. This group of people, they believed in him. Verse 39, because of the word of the woman who testified it, he told me all things that I have done. And then of course he stayed with him for two days and many more believe because of his word. And then they said it's no longer because of what you have said that we believe for we have heard for ourselves and know that this one is indeed the savior of the world. Two days with him. And they come to the same conclusion the woman came to. And then we hear these words in Acts 4.12, that there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved than the name of Jesus, right? And Jesus said, I am the way, the truth, and the life, and no one comes to the Father but through me. And so we see in the New Testament that Jesus is identified as the Son of God, as God in flesh, as the Messiah, as the way, the truth, and the life. And so all of these promises that are in the Old Testament about the Messiah, they're affirmed in Jesus. Think with me for just a moment. Luke 19.10 says, The Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost. John 3.17, For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him. Jesus is the Savior of the world. And not only is he the savior of the world but then we hear these words from John the Baptist who said, Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. Peter wrote about this later when he said in 1 Peter 1 18, Knowing that you were not redeemed with perishable things like silver or gold from your futile way of life inherited from your forefathers. but with precious blood, as of a lamb unblemished and spotless, the blood of Christ. For he was foreknown before the foundation of the world, but has appeared in these last times for the sake of you, who through him are believers in God, who raised him from the dead and gave him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God. This was always God's plan. What happened in the garden wasn't a surprise to God. It wasn't Satan interfering with that plan, even though Satan is obviously trying to thwart God's plan for many ages. But just that verse alone that he was foreknown before the foundation of the world tells us that God had always had this plan. This plan did spring up after Adam and Eve fell in the garden that day. Jesus's role is the Savior, the Lamb of God, and also the mediator. There is one God and one mediator also between God and man, the man Christ Jesus. First Timothy 2.5. He is mediator. Hebrews 8.6, but now he has obtained a more excellent ministry by as much as he is also the mediator of a better covenant, which he has enacted on better promises. Jesus's role is mediator, but not only that, also high priest. Hebrews 4.14, Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. But we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who has been tempted in all things as we are yet without sin. So again, we look at these promises in the Old Testament and we can see that They are affirmed in Jesus. He is the Son of God. He is God in flesh. He is Messiah. He is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. He is the Savior of the world. He is the Lamb of God. He is the Mediator. He is the High Priest. And what did He do when He came? He raised the dead. He healed the sick. Gave sight to the blind. He made the lame walk. When he stood there at the tomb of Lazarus and he said, Lazarus come forth, what happened? Lazarus came forth. In Mark chapter 6, when he fed the roughly 25,000, It says that He just kept giving the food to the disciples and the disciples gave it to the people. He kept creating food. He did miracle upon miracle. Even Matthew 14, 25 records Him walking on the sea. And I believe that those miracles were to affirm who he was. They were also to attest to the faith of the disciples. But he was a miracle worker. Many believe that during the time that Jesus was here on the earth, that all illnesses and diseases were banished from Palestine. Those who came to him, he healed. Not only was he a miracle worker, but he was a teacher. He taught the people. Matthew 5, 6, and 7 is one sermon that he taught to the people. In John 13, 34, he said this to his disciples, A new commandment I give to you that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this, all men will know that you are my disciples. if you have love for one another. He was their teacher. He was their rabbi. And he taught them the ways of God. And even as you examine his life, and as I said, not any other human could fulfill the shoes of Messiah. He has to be divine. Because we hear things like this, 1 Peter 2.22, speaking of Jesus who committed no sin nor was any deceit found in his mouth. Or 2 Corinthians 5.21, he made him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf so that we might become the righteousness of God in him. Or Hebrews 4.15, We do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin. Now we can't say any of that about anybody else. We can only say that about Jesus. And of course, you begin to look at His crucifixion and His resurrection. Of course, we read from Isaiah. The verses that we didn't read are verses four and five, which says, Surely our griefs he himself bore and our sorrows he carried, yet we ourselves esteemed him stricken, smitten of God and afflicted. But he was pierced through for our transgressions. He was crushed for our iniquities. The chastening for our well-being fell upon him, and by his scourging we are healed. And Romans 5.8 says, but God demonstrates his own love toward us, and that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. He died for us. Matthew 27.35, and when they crucified him, they crucified him. But praise God, that it did not end there. Paul says, as he writes to the Corinthians in 1 Corinthians 15 verse 3, For I deliver to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures, and that he was buried, and here it is, and that he was raised on the third day according to the scriptures. And he appeared to Cephas and to the twelve, and he appeared to more than five hundred brethren at one time, And he appeared to James and to all the apostles and last of all as to one untimely of born he appeared to me. Eyewitnesses of his resurrection. And then we of course read in Acts chapter one as he is there with his disciples. says he was lifted up while they were looking on and a cloud received him out of their sight. And as they were gazing intently into the sky while he was going, behold, two men in white clothing stood beside them. They also said, Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into the sky? This Jesus who has been taken up from you into heaven will come in just the same way as you have watched him go into heaven. He ascended back to the Father. He came and did exactly what the Father sent Him to do. He came as a fulfillment of prophecy. All of those Old Testament prophecies, He fulfilled, as I said, 109 of them when He came the first time. Now, the Bible says He's coming back, as we just heard in Acts 111. that He will come in just the same way as you have watched Him go into heaven. He's going to come in the clouds. He's going to return. Matthew 24, 30, And then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky with power and with great glory. And he will send forth his angels with a great trumpet and they will gather together his elect from the four winds from one end of the sky to the other. See as we talk about Advent which is just a fancy term for coming. As we talk about his first coming we have to keep in mind his second coming. See, the picture that the world has of Jesus is him as a little baby in a manger. And that's not the last picture. God wants the world to have. See, a lot of people, I was watching a YouTube video yesterday and the gentleman was walking around, he was just randomly asking people, do you believe in Jesus? Do you believe in Jesus? Just random people off the street. There were more people who said no than yes. And my thoughts are, if anything, the world knows about his nativity. The world knows about his advent. Some in the world don't know anything about his crucifixion and resurrection. And certainly don't believe in a second coming, that he's coming back. Some believe when they die, everything ends right there at the grave. There is no afterlife. But then there are others who say there is an afterlife, and even though they don't believe in Jesus, they believe they're going to heaven, and I don't think I've ever, ever been to any funeral where I heard the minister say that this person right here is not in heaven. He is in hell. What is it for you? Do you believe the promises of the prophets? Do you believe the promises of the scripture of a promised Messiah? Do you see that Jesus is the only one who could affirm these promises? There were those who affirmed these things. Matthew, for example, when he wrote his gospel, how does he begin? Matthew 1.1, the record of the genealogy of Jesus, the Messiah, the son of David, the son of Abraham. What's he say in Matthew 1.22 and 23? Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel, which translated means God with us." That's the fulfillment of Isaiah 7.14. We already heard the confession of Peter. You are the Christ, the Son of the living God. Matthew records that. What about Andrew? What did he say? Andrew tells Peter, we have found the Messiah. What about the Samaritan woman? We read about her. And Jesus reveals to her, I who speak to you am. I am He. I am the Messiah. What about Martha? Martha said in John 11, 27, You are the Christ, the Son of God. Peter said again in Acts 2, 36, God made this Jesus both Lord and Messiah. Paul said, Romans 1, 2 through 4, that Jesus is the promised Son of God, declared the Son of God through the resurrection. The writer of Hebrews says Jesus is the eternal King when he says, Your throne, O God, is forever and ever, and the righteous scepter is the scepter of His kingdom. That's our Messiah. As I said last week, the entire Bible is about Jesus. Old Testament, New Testament, all about Jesus. And as we celebrate his first coming, as we celebrate the advent of Christmas, we need to tell our neighbors and our friends and our loved ones that this season that you're celebrating about the first coming of Messiah, that Messiah, that baby is Jesus. And call on them to believe. Call on them to repent. Tell them that in Him there is forgiveness of sin. And only in him and only in him you can be saved. There is no other name given by which you can be saved. It's only in Jesus. And if you're here today and you have never put your trust in the promised Messiah, the Lord Jesus Christ, I urge you, I call you today to trust in him. Trust in him for the forgiveness of your sin. That he bore your sin in his body on the cross and he resurrected on the third day. Heavenly Father, we thank you so much for this day and for this opportunity for us to share in these prophecies and to see that they were affirmed in the Lord Jesus. Thank you. We pray as we leave today that we take the things that we've learned and that we spread them everywhere. Talking about our Savior. For the world needs a Savior and you have come. Thank you Lord Jesus. And we pray all this in Jesus name.