Prophetic Word Confirmed
“We have the prophetic word more fully confirmed, to which you will do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts” (2 Peter 1:19).
We live in an age of skepticism and doubt, and an age when those of faith in Jesus often pursue a superficial path that is founded more on subjective conjecture than historical evidence. But after the resurrection of Jesus, as the new church formed, the apostles knew from Jesus’ teaching that sound doctrine would be challenged and twisted, and that real faith must have a foundation of truth that can be verified. So, they would point to the miracles of Jesus, primarily his resurrection from the dead that was witnessed by many; and they would point back to all the prophecies of the Messiah that Jesus fulfilled. So, if, as Peter instructs in his second letter, we should pay attention to the prophetic word, does it in fact help confirm the truth of what Jesus did?
Way back in Genesis 3, as Satan and sin raise their ugly heads, we find in verse 15 God speaking to Satan and saying: “Because you have done this, cursed are you…I will put enmity between you and the woman, between your offspring and her offspring; and he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.” Satan would bruise the Messiah’s heel (by having him crucified), but Jesus would bruise Satan’s head (a fatal blow) through his death and resurrection. I John 3:8 says, “The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil.”
God promised the Messiah would be a descendant of King David. 2 Samuel 7:12ff has God saying to David, “When your days are fulfilled and you lie down with your fathers (die), I will raise up your offspring after you, who shall come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom. . . I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. I will be his father, and he shall be to me a son.” Matthew 1 records the genealogy of Jesus, and indeed, he is in the line of David.
Isaiah 7:14 tells us, “Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.” Matthew 1 contains these words, “When Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together, she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit.” An angel appeared to Joseph, who naturally was confused, and reassured him, “Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as our wife, that which she has conceived is from the Holy Spirit.”
We are told that the Messiah would have a forerunner, who would pave the way for him. Isaiah 40 says, “A voice cries in the wilderness, ‘Prepare the way of the Lord, make straight a highway for our God.’” We are then told in Matthew 3, “In those days John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness, ‘Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.’ This is who was spoken of by the prophet Isaiah.”
It was prophesied the Messiah would have a ministry of healing. Isaiah again says, “Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf unstopped; then shall the lame man leap like a deer, and the tongue of the mute sing for joy” (35:5, 6). Jesus would later respond to a questioning John, “Go and tell John what you hear and see: the blind receive their sight and the lame walk, lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, and the dead are raised up, the poor have good news preached to them” (Matt. 11).
This Messiah would be rejected by his own people. Isaiah 53, “He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows” and Mark 6 tells us the synagogue leaders said, “What is the wisdom given to him? How are such mighty works done by his hands?... And they took offense at him.”
The list goes on and on. These are a very few examples. He would enter the temple with authority, be rejected by the Jewish leaders, be betrayed by a friend (sold for 30 pieces of silver), be struck on the cheek, spit on, mocked, be executed without a broken bone, beaten, be buried with the rich when dead, and be raised from the dead! All of these were prophesied and then in Jesus came to pass. Pay attention to evidence; the Prophetic word confirmed.
Cross Point: “Surely {Jesus) has borne our griefs, carried our sorrows. He was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was chastisement that brought peace, and with his wounds we are healed. We like sheep have gone astray, turned to our own way, the Lord laid on him all our iniquity” (Isa. 53).
We live in an age of skepticism and doubt, and an age when those of faith in Jesus often pursue a superficial path that is founded more on subjective conjecture than historical evidence. But after the resurrection of Jesus, as the new church formed, the apostles knew from Jesus’ teaching that sound doctrine would be challenged and twisted, and that real faith must have a foundation of truth that can be verified. So, they would point to the miracles of Jesus, primarily his resurrection from the dead that was witnessed by many; and they would point back to all the prophecies of the Messiah that Jesus fulfilled. So, if, as Peter instructs in his second letter, we should pay attention to the prophetic word, does it in fact help confirm the truth of what Jesus did?
Way back in Genesis 3, as Satan and sin raise their ugly heads, we find in verse 15 God speaking to Satan and saying: “Because you have done this, cursed are you…I will put enmity between you and the woman, between your offspring and her offspring; and he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.” Satan would bruise the Messiah’s heel (by having him crucified), but Jesus would bruise Satan’s head (a fatal blow) through his death and resurrection. I John 3:8 says, “The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil.”
God promised the Messiah would be a descendant of King David. 2 Samuel 7:12ff has God saying to David, “When your days are fulfilled and you lie down with your fathers (die), I will raise up your offspring after you, who shall come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom. . . I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. I will be his father, and he shall be to me a son.” Matthew 1 records the genealogy of Jesus, and indeed, he is in the line of David.
Isaiah 7:14 tells us, “Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.” Matthew 1 contains these words, “When Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together, she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit.” An angel appeared to Joseph, who naturally was confused, and reassured him, “Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as our wife, that which she has conceived is from the Holy Spirit.”
We are told that the Messiah would have a forerunner, who would pave the way for him. Isaiah 40 says, “A voice cries in the wilderness, ‘Prepare the way of the Lord, make straight a highway for our God.’” We are then told in Matthew 3, “In those days John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness, ‘Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.’ This is who was spoken of by the prophet Isaiah.”
It was prophesied the Messiah would have a ministry of healing. Isaiah again says, “Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf unstopped; then shall the lame man leap like a deer, and the tongue of the mute sing for joy” (35:5, 6). Jesus would later respond to a questioning John, “Go and tell John what you hear and see: the blind receive their sight and the lame walk, lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, and the dead are raised up, the poor have good news preached to them” (Matt. 11).
This Messiah would be rejected by his own people. Isaiah 53, “He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows” and Mark 6 tells us the synagogue leaders said, “What is the wisdom given to him? How are such mighty works done by his hands?... And they took offense at him.”
The list goes on and on. These are a very few examples. He would enter the temple with authority, be rejected by the Jewish leaders, be betrayed by a friend (sold for 30 pieces of silver), be struck on the cheek, spit on, mocked, be executed without a broken bone, beaten, be buried with the rich when dead, and be raised from the dead! All of these were prophesied and then in Jesus came to pass. Pay attention to evidence; the Prophetic word confirmed.
Cross Point: “Surely {Jesus) has borne our griefs, carried our sorrows. He was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was chastisement that brought peace, and with his wounds we are healed. We like sheep have gone astray, turned to our own way, the Lord laid on him all our iniquity” (Isa. 53).
Posted in Cross Points