More Prophecies Foretelling of His Suffering

Sunday

Later after Jesus was resurrected and walked with the disciples in Emmaus. They offered Him to Abide with them as it was toward evening. And He went to stay with them. When they recognized them Him, He vanished from their sight.  Later He met with His disciples Sunday evening. He said to them: 

"When I was with you before, I told you that everything written about Me in the law of Moses and the Prophets and in the Psalms must be fulfilled.   

Then He opened their minds to understand the Scriptures...

And He said, 'Yes, it was written long ago that the Messiah would suffer and die 

and rise from the dead on the third day..." Luke 24:44-48 NLT

Have you ever wondered what scriptures Jesus told His disciples as they walked along to Emmaus and later to His Apostles in the evening? The Law of Moses, the Psalms and the Prophets who were foretelling His life, His suffering, death and resurrection? I have wondered and offer what I could find. They are so poignant.  I am in awe as I type them and pray these verses will bless you, as you realize the truth of God's Word from beginning to end. In the previous blog, you'll find the stories of Adam and Eve, as well as Abraham.

In summary here; In the beginning Adam and Eves sinned, and the sacrifice for forgiveness is found in the previous post. It starts with scriptures foretelling right from the beginning that Adam and Eve sinned and that an animal had to be sacrificed and die. God made tunics of skin, and clothed them. A  fig leaf was not enough to cover their sin and nakedness. From that point on all humanity needed a sacrifice to cover for their sins.

Continuing in summary to Abraham and the sacrifice of his son. He was willing to do whatever God asked him to do. When they came to the place which God had told him, he built an altar... Then the Angel of the LORD called to him from heaven and said, "Abraham, Abraham! Here I am."... God provided the sacrifice of a ram, so Isaac was saved. Genesis 22:1-19

"And then He opened their minds to understand the scriptures".   Lord I pray that You will open our minds, me and this dear reader, to understand the scriptures, the Old Testament verses that foretell of Your suffering, death and resurrection. Help us to see You Lord in all of our reading of Your Word. 

Continuing from the previous post, here are more verses prophesying about the suffering, death and resurrection of Jesus the Messiah.

That evening Jesus reminded His disciples of the time He spoke about Himself from the book of Psalms written by David. Psalm 22 is often referred to as the Psalm of the Cross. Read and listen to your heart in what it says. Can you "hear" the mocking and suffering He experienced? Then it even describes crucifixion, though this Psalm was written a thousand years before crucifixion was used by the Romans.

"My God, My God, why have you forsaken (abandoned) Me?... 

Everyone who sees me mocks me. They sneer and shake their heads, saying, 

'Is this the one who relies on the Lord? Then let the Lord save him! 

If the Lord loves him so much, let the Lord rescue him!... 

They have pierced my hands and feet...  

They divide my garments among themselves and throw dice for my clothing."  

Psalm 22:1, 7, 8, 16, 18 NKJ and NLT

 There is more in Psalm 22. The whole Psalm 22 is worth reading. How could this Psalm be so accurate 1,000 years later? And why was He crucified?

Looking back in the gospels during Jesus' last week and leading up to His crucifixion. Why did this happen? Various reasons... 1. He came from Nazareth, a comely appearance. 2. He wasn't impressive to the High Archy of the Pharisees and Chief Priests. 3. He had the Authority to teach from the Words of the Father and Holy Spirit abiding in Him. 4. He had the authority to heal the sick, blind, deaf, dumb, lepers, and paralytics and even to raise the dead. 5. He rose Lazarus from the dead. 6. In the end He rose from the dead. 

While the Pharisee's over the centuries became hypocrites. And they could not perform the amazing miracles that Jesus performed.  They were Jealous. He was authentic. He was the Son of God, the Son of Man spoken of in Daniel: "...And behold, One like the Son of Man, coming in the clouds of Heaven!"Daniel 7:13,14.  Jesus proclaimed this when He healed a paralytic right in front of the Pharisee's. " This really upset them when He proclaimed this:

"Son, be of good cheer; your sins are forgiven"... the scribes were reasoning  in their hearts. Why does this man speak blasphemies like this? who can forgive sins but God alone?"This Man blasphemes!" But Jesus, knowing their thoughts, said, "Why do you think evil in your hearts? For which is easier to say, 'Your sins are forgiven you,' or to say, 'Arise and walk'". But that you may know that the Son of Man has power on earth to forgive sins --- then He said to the paralytic, "Arise, take up your bed and go to your house." Mark 2:1-12

 All the beautiful miracles He performed. Yet there was not yet any Pharisee's that could do this. Why did they not recognize His deity? Look again at what He did and said in the previous verses. This is in other gospels as well.  Matthew 9:1-8, Luke 5:17-26, He also healed another man at the Pool of Bethesda in John 5:1-15, The Jews said to the man that it was unlawful to carry his bed on the Sabbath. 

Sadly, the Jews searched the scriptures and longed for their Messiah. Yet there He was standing right beside Him. These Pharisee's were very learned and studied the Torah, the Kings, the Psalms, Proverbs, the major prophets and  minor prophets consistently... searching for Messiah, and they did not recognize Him in these words from God over thousands of years. They knew He would come down the line of David... He did!!! And out of arrogance and greed they missed Him and were afraid. They commanded that if anyone knew where Jesus was, he should report it, that they might seize Him. John 11:57

 In spite of all the miracles, He had to go. 

"Then the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered a council and said, 'What shall we do?' For this man works many signs. If we let Him alone like this, everyone will believe in Him, and the Romans will come and take away both our place and nation. Caiaphas, the high priest... said, 'You know nothing at all, nor do you consider that it is expedient for us that one man should die for the people, and not that the whole nation should perish. 'He did not say on his own authority; but being high priest that year he prophesied that Jesus would die for the nation... from that day on, they plotted to put Him to death." John 11:47-53

When they finally got their way to put Him to death by crucifixion:

 "... When they had come to the place called Calvary, there they crucified Him, along (with two other criminals). Then Jesus said, "Father forgive them for they know not what they do,.." Luke 23:33, 34

THIS IS JESUS THE KING OF THE JEWS.

Luke 23:35-37

"Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, "Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani: that is, "My God, My God, why have you forsaken Me?" Matthew 27:46

 "And the people stood looking on. But even the rulers with them sneered saying, "He saved others; let Him save Himself if He is the Christ, for chosen of God." The soldiers mocked Him... and saying "If you are the King of the Jews, save Yourself." Luke 23:35

(Luke 23:35, Matthew 27:35, 36) Very sobering. How can we ever thank Him enough?

Jesus also told His disciples that night what the prophets wrote about Him. So here is a passage Isaiah foretold of His suffering:

"He was despised and rejected... a man of sorrows, acquainted with deepest grief. 

We turned our backs on him and looked the other way.  

He was despised, and we did not care. 

Yet it was our weaknesses He carried; it was our sorrows that weighed him down.  

And we thought his troubles were a punishment from God, a punishment for his own sins! 

But he was pierced for our rebellion, crushed for our sins. He was beaten so we could be whole. 

He was whipped so we could be healed. 

All of us like sheep, have strayed away. We have left God's path to follow our own. 

Yet the Lord laid on Him the sins of us all." 

(Isaiah 53: 3-6, NLT) "

He poured out His soul unto death."  

(Isaiah 53:12, NKJ)

These verses describe not only His physical suffering but the emotional grief He felt from our  rejection of Him. Though we rejected Him, He suffered for us! Yes we were not there, but as part of the human race, we shared in His torment. He carried our weaknesses, He bore our sorrows, He was punished for our wrong doing! Powerful! Poignant! Heart rending! Also read many of these verses in the NKJ Bible.

David also prophecies the resurrection:

"My body rests in safety. 

For you will not leave my soul among the dead 

or allow your holy one to rot in the grave." 

Psalm 16:9, 10 NLT

Zechariah prophecies:

"And I will pour on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem 

the Spirit of grace and supplication; they will look on Me whom they pierced. 

Yes, they will mourn for Him as one mourns for his only Son, 

and grieve for Him as one grieves for a firstborn." 

Zechariah 12: 10 NKJ, John 19:37

The day will come when God will pour out His Spirit on the Jews. It may already be beginning, as many in Israel are quietly coming to Jesus Christ, their Machiach, Messiah. When they realize who He is and what their people did to Him, they will mourn for Him as their only Son, the time when God sent His Only Son to them.

I hear in this passage the grief in the heart of God.  We see in Abraham what He planned to do and spoke to Abraham, "Take now your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love... and offer him..." Genesis 22:2 NKJ When God saw that Abraham did not withhold his beloved son, an angel stopped him. He said "... for now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your only son, from Me." 22:12 NKJ God provided the sacrifice for Isaac, a ram caught in a thicket. Most importantly God did not withhold His Son, His only Son whom he loved. He provided the sacrifice for us all, all of humanity, the Lamb of God, crowned with thorns, Jesus Christ.

Jesus, like Isaac was the Son of the Promise of God, the first born, beloved Son of God. He was also the Son of David, the coming King that would reign forever and ever. (2Samuel 7:12-16, Luke 1:32, 33) Jesus, the promised Son of David came to the nation of Israel and they rejected Him. He wept over the city of Jerusalem, because He knew what they would suffer, because "they did not know the time of their visitation" of their Messiah, of their King. (Luke 19:41-44) Look at that passage above from Zechariah again. God will pour out His Spirit on the house of David, the inhabitants of Jerusalem. Then they will see and understand who they pierced and mourn for Him, their only Son of David.

It is by His Spirit that we "see",  "hear" and understand God's grace through His Word. That first evening Jesus was with His disciples after His resurrection, "He breathed on them and said... 'Receive the Holy Spirit'". John 20:22 NKJ He opened their minds to understand the scriptures. Luke 24:45


Through His Spirit, we have the mind of Christ, as Paul spoke of in I Corinthians 2:7-16:

"... we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, 

the hidden wisdom which God ordained before the ages for our glory, 

which none of the rulers of this age knew; 

for had they known, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. 

But as it is written 

'Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man; 

the things which God has prepared for those who love Him.' 

(Isaiah 64:4, 65:17)

But God has revealed them to us through His Spirit. For the Spirit searches... the deep things of God... no one knows the things of God except the Spirit of God... Now we have received, not the spirit from the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God... But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned..." 

1 Corinthians 2:7-14  NKJ

"'Who can know the Lord's thoughts? Who knows enough to teach Him?' 

(Isaiah Isaiah 40:13) 

But we understand these things, for we have the mind of Christ."  

1 Corinthians 2:16

Thank you God for Your mysterious hidden plan, the grace and mercy through all the ages toward those who truly believe and open themselves to Your transforming love through Your Spirit. Open our "eyes", open our "ears", our hearts and minds to understand Your Spirit, Your Mind  and the scriptures in the age we live in today.