There are 191 specific prophecies in the Old Testament about God’s promised Savior who was to come into the world (300+ if you count the symbolic prophecies). Through them, God painted a picture of his promised Savior so that when he came into the world we would recognize him. Here’s just a sampling of these prophecies:
1. God’s promised Savior would be betrayed by a friend.
- Forecast: Psalm 41:9, Even my close friend, someone I trusted, one who shared my bread, has turned against me. Psalm 55:12-14, If an enemy were insulting me, I could endure it; if a foe were rising against me, I could hide. 13 But it is you, a man like myself, my companion, my close friend, 14 with whom I once enjoyed sweet fellowship at the house of God, as we walked about among the worshipers.
- Fulfillment: Matthew 26:46-50, Rise! Let us go! Here comes my betrayer!” 47 While he was still speaking, Judas, one of the Twelve, arrived. With him was a large crowd armed with swords and clubs, sent from the chief priests and the elders of the people. 48 Now the betrayer had arranged a signal with them: “The one I kiss is the man; arrest him.” 49 Going at once to Jesus, Judas said, “Greetings, Rabbi!” and kissed him. 50 Jesus replied, “Do what you came for, friend.” Then the men stepped forward, seized Jesus and arrested him.
2. God’s promised Savior was to be sold for thirty pieces of silver.
- Forecast: Zechariah 11:12, So they paid me thirty pieces of silver.
- Fulfillment: Matthew 26:14-16, Then one of the Twelve—the one called Judas Iscariot—went to the chief priests 15 and asked, “What are you willing to give me if I deliver him over to you?” So they counted out for him thirty pieces of silver. 16 From then on Judas watched for an opportunity to hand him over.
3. In remorse, the one who betrayed God’s promised Savior would return the money.
- Forecast: Zechariah 11:13, And the Lord said to me, “Throw it to the potter”—the handsome price at which they valued me! So I took the thirty pieces of silver and threw them to the potter at the house of the Lord.
- Fulfillment: Matthew 27:3-5, When Judas, who had betrayed him, saw that Jesus was condemned, he was seized with remorse and returned the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and the elders. 4 “I have sinned,” he said, “for I have betrayed innocent blood.” “What is that to us?” they replied. “That’s your responsibility.” 5 So Judas threw the money into the temple and left. Then he went away and hanged himself.
4. God’s promised Savior was to be forsaken by His disciples.
- Forecast: Zechariah 13:7, “…Strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered…”
- Fulfillment: When the large crowd armed with swords and clubs, sent from the chief priests and the elders of the people came to arrest Jesus Matthew 26:56 says, “Then all the disciples deserted him and fled.”
5. God’s promised Savior was to be accused by false witnesses.
- Forecast: Psalm 109:2, “…for people who are wicked and deceitful have opened their mouths against me; they have spoken against me with lying tongues.”
- Fulfillment: Matthew 26:59, “The chief priests and the whole Sanhedrin were looking for false evidence against Jesus so that they could put him to death.”
6. When falsely accused, God’s promised Savior would remain silent.
- Forecast: Isaiah 53:7, He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; he was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before its shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth. Psalm 39:1, I will put a muzzle on my mouth while in the presence of the wicked.
- Fulfillment: Matthew 27:12, When he was accused by the chief priests and the elders, he gave no answer.
7. God’s promised Savior was to be beaten, mocked and spit upon.
- Forecast: Isaiah 50:6, I offered my back to those who beat me, my cheeks to those who pulled out my beard; I did not hide my face from mocking and spitting.
- Fulfillment: Matthew 26:67-68, “Then they spit in his face and struck him with their fists. Others slapped him and [mocking him] said, “Prophesy to us, Messiah. Who hit you?”
8. God’s promised Savior was to be pierced in hands and feet.
- Forecast: Psalm 22:16, Dogs surround me, a pack of villains encircles me; they pierce my hands and my feet.
- Fulfillment: John 20:24-28, Now Thomas…one of the Twelve, was not with the disciples when Jesus came. So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord!” But he said to them, “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.” A week later his disciples were in the house again, and Thomas was with them. Though the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!” Then 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.” Thomas said to him, “My Lord and my God!”
9. God’s promised Savior was to be crucified with thieves.
- Forecast: Isaiah 53:12, “…he poured out his life unto death, and was numbered with the transgressors.”
- Fulfillment: Mark 15:27, “They crucified two rebels with him, one on his right and one on his left.”
10. God’s promised Savior was to pray for those who crucified him.
- Forecast: Isaiah 53:12, “For he bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.”
- Fulfillment: Luke 23:34, Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.”
11. God’s promised Savior was to be ridiculed as he hung on the cross.
- Forecast: Psalm 109:25, “I am an object of scorn to my accusers; when they see me, they shake their heads.”
- Fulfillment: Matthew 27:39, “Those who passed by hurled insults at him, shaking their heads…”
12. The clothes of God’s promised Savior were to be gambled for.
- Forecast: Psalm 22:18, “They divide my clothes among them and cast lots for my garment.”
- Fulfillment: John 19:23-24, When the soldiers crucified Jesus, they took his clothes, dividing them into four shares, one for each of them, with the undergarment remaining. This garment was seamless, woven in one piece from top to bottom. “Let’s not tear it,” they said to one another. “Let’s decide by lot who will get it.”
13. God’s promised Savior was to be forsaken by God.
- Forecast: Psalm 22:1, My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from saving me, so far from my cries of anguish?
- Fulfillment: Matthew 27:46, About three in the afternoon Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” (which means “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”).
14. God’s promised Savior was to agonize with thirst.
- Forecast: Psalm 22:15, “My mouth is dried up like a potsherd, and my tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth; you lay me in the dust of death.”
- Fulfillment: John 19:28-29, “Later, knowing that everything had now been finished, and so that Scripture would be fulfilled, Jesus said, “I am thirsty.” A jar of wine vinegar was there, so they soaked a sponge in it, put the sponge on a stalk of the hyssop plant, and lifted it to Jesus’ lips.
15. God’s promised Savior was to commit Himself (in death) to God
- Forecast: Psalm 31:5, “Into your hands I commit my spirit; deliver me, Lord, my faithful God.”
- Fulfillment: Luke 23:46, Jesus called out with a loud voice, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.” When he had said this, he breathed his last.”
16. The friends of God’s promised Savior would watch his death from a distance.
- Forecast: Psalm 88:8, You have taken from me my closest friends and have made me repulsive to them.
- Fulfillment: Luke 23:49, But all those who knew him, including the women who had followed him from Galilee, stood at a distance, watching these things.
17. None of the bones of God’s promised Savior would be broken.
- Forecast: It was said of the Passover sacrifice in Exodus 12:46, “Do not break any of the bones.”
- Fulfillment: Our Jesus, our Passover Lamb it was written in John 19:32-33, “The soldiers therefore came and broke the legs of the first man who had been crucified with Jesus, and then those of the other. But when they came to Jesus and found that he was already dead, they did not break his legs.”
18. God’s promised Savior was to be pierced.
- Forecast: Zechariah 12:10, “…They will look on me, the one they have pierced…”
- Fulfillment: John 19:34, “ Instead [of breaking Jesus’ legs], one of the soldiers pierced Jesus’ side with a spear, bringing a sudden flow of blood and water.”
19. An unnatural darkness would surround the death of God’s promised Savior.
- Forecast: Amos 8:9, “In that day,” declares the Sovereign Lord, “I will make the sun go down at noon and darken the earth in broad daylight.”
- Fulfillment: Matthew 27:45, “From noon until three in the afternoon darkness came over all the land.”
20. God’s promised Savior was to be buried with the rich.
- An important feature to be noted is that Jesus was buried according to prophecy. The Roman custom in disposing of the corpses of those crucified was to throw them to the wild, roaming dogs. But Jesus did not share the fate of His companions, the two thieves, whose mangled bodies were fed to the hungry dogs.
- Forecast: Isaiah 53:9, “He was assigned a grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death…”
- Fulfillment: Matthew 27:57-60, “As evening approached, there came a rich man from Arimathea, named Joseph, who had himself become a disciple of Jesus. Going to Pilate, he asked for Jesus’ body, and Pilate ordered that it be given to him. Joseph took the body, wrapped it in a clean linen cloth, and placed it in his own new tomb that he had cut out of the rock.”
21. God’s promised Savior was to die a voluntary death.
- Forecast: Isaiah 53:12, “…he poured out his life unto death…”
- Fulfillment: John 10:11 & 18, “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep…No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord.”
22. God’s promised Savior was to die a substitutionary death.
- Forecast: Isaiah 53:5, But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed.
- Fulfillment: Matthew 20:28, “…the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
23. God’s promised Savior would rise from the dead.
- Forecast: Psalm 16:10, “… you will not abandon me to the realm of the dead, nor will you let your faithful one see decay.”
- Fulfillment: Luke 24:6-7, “He is not here; he has risen! Remember how he told you, while he was still with you in Galilee: ‘The Son of Man must be delivered over to the hands of sinners, be crucified and on the third day be raised again.’ ”
To learn more on the subject of Messianic prophecy (that is – prophecies from the Old Testament about God’s promised Savior) check out All the Messianic Prophecies of the Bible by Herbert Lockyer.