THE RECORD OF THE OLD TESTAMENT

Quoted from the "ISLAM REVEALED"

THE CRUCIFIXION: FACT OR FICTION

THE RECORD OF THE OLD TESTAMENT

Now let us examine what the Scriptures stated as prophecies many centuries before Christ.
Genesis 3:15

"And I will put enmity

Between you and the woman,

And between your seed and her Seed;

He shall bruise your head,

And you shall bruise His heel."

Here at the dawn of man’s history is a promise of the Almighty God concerning the Savior. These words are spoken to Satan, the serpent, after he tempted Adam and Eve to sin against God. for centuries the church has understood this text to point to the Seed of the woman, Jesus Christ. Matthew Poole wrote,

"Her seed" is first and principally the Lord Jesus Christ, who with respect to this text, and promise, is called by way of eminency, the seed, whose work only is to break the serpent's head. . . . The head and the mind is the principal instrument both of the serpent's fury and mischief, and of his defense, and the principal seat of the serpent's life, which therefore men chiefly strike at. . . In the devil, this denotes his power and authority over men, the strength whereof consists in death, which Christ, the blessed seed of the woman, overthrew by taking away the sting of death which is sin, and destroying him that had the power of death, that is the devil.

Psalm 22
In the Psalms of David, the following was predicted a thousand years before the event took place in actual history.

My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?

Why are You so far from helping Me,

And from the words of My groaning?

But I am a worm, and no man;

A reproach of men, and despised of the people.

All those who see Me laugh Me to scorn;

They shoot out the lip, they shake the head, saying,

"He trusted in the Lord, let Him rescue Him;

Let Him deliver Him, since He delights in Him!"

For dogs have surrounded Me;

The assembly of the wicked has enclosed Me.

They pierced My hands and My feet;

I can count all My bones.

Thy look and stare at Me.

They divide My garments among them,

And for My clothing they cast lots (v.v. 1, 6-8, 16-18).

Psalm 22
In the Psalms of David, the following was predicted a thousand years before the event took place in actual history.

"My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?" were the very words Jesus uttered on the cross (Mark 15:34). "They pierced My hands and My feet" accurately describes the wounds Jesus suffered when crucified (John 19:17-18). And finally, "They divide My garments among them, and for My clothing they cast lots" was fulfilled to the letter (Mark 14:24). A thousand years before Christ was born these Scriptures were written!

Isaiah 53
Another historical prophecy made many centuries before the crucifixion is Isaiah 53. This chapter, along with other fascinating passages in this incredible book, have caused biblical scholars to call Isaiah "The Fifth Gospel." Isaiah 53:5 states,

But He was wounded for our transgressions,

He was bruised for our iniquities;

The chastisement for our peace was upon Him,

And by His stripes we are healed.

In verse 7 we read some very remarkable prophetic statements:

He was oppressed and He was afflicted,

Yet He opened not His mouth;

He was led as a lamb to the slaughter,

And as a sheep before its shearers is silent,

So He opened not His mouth.

The fulfillment is seen 1 Peter 2:23-24:

. . . who, when He was reviled, did not revile in return; when He suffered, He did not threaten, but committed Himself to Him who judges righteously; who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness--by whose stripes you were healed.

Isaiah 53:9 reads,

And they made His grave with the wicked--

But with the rich at His death,

Because He had done no violence,

Nor was any deceit in His mouth.

Its fulfillment is recorded in Mark 15:42-47:

Now when evening had come, because it was the Preparation Day, that is, the day before the Sabbath, Joseph of Arimathea, a prominent council member, who was himself waiting for the kingdom of God, coming and taking courage, went in to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. Pilate marveled that He was already dead; and summoning the centurion, he asked him if He had been dead for some time. And when he found out from the centurion, he granted the body to Joseph.

Then he brought fine linen, took Him down, and wrapped Him in the linen. And he laid Him in a tomb which had been hewn out of the rock, and rolled a stone against the door of the tomb. And Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joses observed where He was laid.

Zechariah 11:13-13

Then I said to the, "If it is agreeable to you, give me my wages; and if not, refrain." So they weighed out for my wages thirty pieces of silver.

And the Lord said to me, "Throw it to the potter"--that princely price they set on me. So I took the thirty pieces of silver and threw them into the house of the Lord for the potter.

Its fulfillment is noted in Matthew 26:14-15:

Then one of the twelve, called Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests and said, "What are you willing to give me if I deliver Him to you?" And they counted out to him thirty pieces of silver.

Verse 13 is also fulfilled in Matthew 27:3-8:

Then Judas, His betrayer, seeing that He had been condemned, was remorseful and brought back the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders, saying, "I have sinned by betraying innocent blood." And they said, "What is that to us? You see to it!" Then he threw down the pieces of silver in the temple and departed, and went hanged himself.

But the chief priests took the silver pieces and said, "It is not lawful to put them into the treasury, because they are the price of blood." And they took counsel and bought with them the potter’s field, to bury strangers in. Therefore that field has been called the Field of Blood to this day.

We can see this same "field of blood" in Jerusalem to this very day! It is a well-attested historical site!
Zechariah 12:10 reads,

"And I will pour on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem the Spirit of grace and supplication; then they will look on Me whom they have pierced; they will mourn for Him as one mourns for his only son, and grieve for Him as one grieve for a firstborn."

This passage speaks of both the first and second advents of our Lord. "Then they will look on Me whom they have pierced" indicates Jesus’ first coming. The verse predicted that the Jews at some time will repent of their rejection of their Messiah and "mourn for Him as one mourns for his only son," as they realize He is the Heavenly Father's "only Son." Zechariah thus sees beyond the first coming to the future, when the Jews have been gathered again in the land.

This return to Jerusalem occurred in 1967, when the Jewish government assumed control over the city. Now we wait patiently for the time when Jews will believe in the Lord Jesus Christ as the Messiah. I am convinced beyond any doubt, that the conversion of the Jews will happen in our lifetime.

Micah 5:2

"But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah,

Though you are little among the thousands of Judah,

Yet out of you shall come forth to Me

The One to be ruler in Israel,

Whose goings forth have been from of old,

From everlasting."

Since Micah lived in the time of King Hezekiah, he made this prophecy some eight centuries before Jesus. The fulfillment is recorded in Matthew 2: 1-9, "Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea. . ."

Malachi 3:1

"Behold, I send My messenger,

And he will prepare the way before Me.

And the Lord, whom you seek,

Will suddenly come to His temple,

Even the Messenger of the covenant,

In whom you delight.

Behold, He is coming,"

Says the Lord of hosts.

This is really a double prophecy. The first part deals with John the Baptist, and we note the fulfillment of that in Matthew 11:10-13:

"For this is he of whom it is written: ‘Behold, I send My messenger before Your face, Who will prepare Your way before You.’ Assuredly, I say to you, among those born of women there has not risen one greater than John the Baptist; but he who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and the violent take it by force.

For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John."

The second part of Malachi 3:1 deals with Jesus. In John 1:15, we read, "John bore witness of Him and cried out, saying, ‘This was He of whom I said, "He who comes after me is preferred before me, for He was before me."’"
Numerous other Old Testament passages foretell the events of the crucifixion. Psalm 34:20 says, "He guards all his bones; Not one of them is broken." This was fulfilled according to John 19:32-33:

Then the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first and of the other who was crucified with Him. But when they came to Jesus and saw that He was already dead, they did not break His legs.

Another passage is Psalm 69:21:

They also gave me gall for my food,

And for my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink.

Its fulfillment is in Matthew 27:34 and 48:

. . . they gave Him sour wine mingled with gall to drink. But when He had tasted it, He would not drink. Immediately one of them ran and took a sponge, filled it with sour wine and put it on a reed, and gave it to Him to drink.

Back to: TABLE OF CONTENT