We know that in the details of his life and ministry, Yeshua fulfilled many, many OT prophecies, written hundreds of years before his appearing.
Among these are the prophecy of the nature of the Messiah’s ministry as described in Isaiah 61:1-2a which Jesus said was fulfilled when he arose to read from the scroll in the synagogue of Nazareth in Luke 4:18-23. I emphasise (a) above, because Jesus left out ‘the day of vengeance of our God’.
Another fulfilled scripture was revealed to the disciples of John the Baptist, after John sent them to establish Jesus’ Messianic credentials in Luke 7:19-23. Rather than directly answering John’s questions as posed in verse 19, Jesus, in a Hebraic style describes what he has just been doing before these disciples’ eyes, referring them back to Isaiah 35:5-6.
Even the timing for the coming into the world of the Jewish Messiah is given in the ‘70 weeks’ prophecy’ of the book of Daniel, chapter 9:23-27; definitely placing it before the destruction of the Second Temple, an event which occurred in AD 70. This can be calculated by taking the time from the call to rebuild Jerusalem, given by King Artaxerxes in 457-458 BC, described in Ezra chapter 7, counting 69x 7= 483 years, this then leads to Jesus beginning his 3+ years’ ministry in 26-27 AD and being crucified in AD 30.
Another very important fulfilled scripture occurred on what the Western Church calls Palm Sunday, when Yeshua rode into Jerusalem on a donkey (Luke 19:35-44), thereby fulfilling Zechariah 9:9:
‘Rejoice O daughter of Zion……..behold your King cometh….
This day was the day given by God for the reception of the Passover Lamb in Exodus 12. Though looking at it, it should have been a triumph as in verse 37 it says that Jesus’ disciples:
‘began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works that they had seen’,
scripture records instead that Yeshua wept over the city and predicted the destruction which came 40 years later in AD 70 under the Roman general Titus. Jesus gave the reason why, as verse 44 states: ‘
….because thou knewest not the time of thy visitation’.
The Orthodox Jewish Bible terms this day the ‘Yom Pekuddah’. It was as if this was ‘examination day’ and unfortunately the people, led by the ruling religious class had flunked the test. A few days later Yeshua/Jesus celebrated what we call the Last Supper and scripture records Jesus’ words saying:
‘This is my blood of the New Testament (Covenant) which is shed for many’ (Mark 14:24).
This 40 year intervening period is very significant, in that during this time, between Jesus’ atoning sacrifice and the destruction of the temple and the siege of Jerusalem, God gave 4 clear signs to the priestly class that due to the institution of the New Covenant in Jesus’ blood, He was no longer accepting those temple sacrifices which had existed up to Yeshua’s death. The reasons for this rejection of these now obsolete Temple Sacrifices are given in great detail in the book of Hebrews chapters 7-10, succinctly summed up in Hebrews 8:13 which says:
‘In that he saith, A New Covenant, he hath made the first old. . Now that which decayeth and waxeth old is ready to vanish away’.
However, to emphasise the point and to confirm that rejection to the ruling religious class, God gave 4 signs as proof.
1st Sign:
In chapter 16 of the book of Leviticus, the rituals and sacrifices enacted by the High Priest on Yom Kippur are described. Among these there were 2 goats taken from the people, and lots were cast over them. One of the goats was referred to as ‘the goat for the Lord’ and the other as ‘the goat for Azazel’ (Azazel was one of the fallen angels described in Genesis 6 and is mentioned in the extra-canonical book of Enoch; chapter 13:1-3).
The High Priest would place his hand in a container containing 2 objects……one ‘for the Lord’ and the other ‘for Azazel’. The goat on whom the lot fell for the Lord was sacrificed as a sin offering. The other goat became the scapegoat, and the High Priest, having placed his hands on its head and having confessed the sins of Israel over it, then released it into the wilderness.
It was considered a good omen if the object used as a lot and chosen ‘For the Lord’ was taken out with the right hand. However it is recorded that during the 40 year ‘window’ after Jesus’ death, that lot never presented in the right hand, a supernatural sign as the probability of it happening by chance are greater than 1 in 5 billion.
2nd Sign:
Before the scapegoat was released, a crimson strap was divided into two and half of it was placed around his head. The other half was placed in the Temple. Isaiah 1:18 states:
‘Come now let us reason together, saith the Lord, though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool’.
If the crimson strap left in the Temple turned white, it was taken as a sign that God had accepted the sacrifice that year. If the strap remained red, it was a sign that God did not accept the sacrifice.
The Talmud is the authoritative book of Jewish and rabbinical history and tradition, and Talmud Mas Rosh ha Shana 31b states:
‘For 40 years before the destruction of the Temple, the thread of scarlet never turned white, but remained red’.
3rd Sign:
There was a candelabra inside the Holy Place in the temple, and the most western lamp in that menorah was always lighting.
Talmud Shabbath 22b:6-8 states: ……’but it is a testimony to mankind that the Divine Presence rests in Israel. What is the testimony? Said Rab that the western branch (of the candelabrum) in which the same quantity of oil was poured as into the rest, and yet he kindled (the others) from it and ended therewith’.
So, even though they had all received the same amount of oil, this particular lamp never went out. The Talmud records that this light would not stay alight, despite all attempts to keep it lit.
4th Sign:
The Temple was divided into 3 parts: the Temple Court; the Holy Place and the Holy of Holies. There were 2 huge doors separating the outer court from the Holy Place and according to Josephus, these doors were about 50 feet tall and nearly 25 wide. These doors would have taken several men to open them, and they were there to keep those who were not priests outside the Holy Place.
In Mas Yoma 39b:4-6 the Talmud reads……’Our Rabbis taught during the last 40 years before the destruction of the temple, the lot for the Lord did not come up in the RIGHT HAND; nor did the CRIMSON-COLOURED STRAP become white; nor did the WESTERNMOST LIGHT shine; and the doors of the Hekal (the temple/sanctuary) would open by themselves.
This must mean that something extremely significant must have occurred 40 years before 70AD, and we therefore conclude that Jesus’ death must have occurred in the year 30.
Luke 23:44-45 shows at the time of Yeshua’s death, the veil of the temple (between the Holy Place and the Holy of Holies) was torn from top to bottom. Now, in addition, the outer doors are thrown open, allowing access to ALL into even the Holy of Holies.
One is also reminded of the words of Jesus in Luke 13:34-35 where he lamented over Jerusalem, saying that its ‘house’ was left desolate and that they would not see him again until they cried out:
‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord’. (Psalm 118:26).
Colossians 2:14 again makes it clear that Jesus took all the old Mosaic ordinances and they were nailed to the cross with him.
The leading Jewish authority of that time, Yohanan ben Zakkai, declared that this was a sign of impending doom, that the Temple itself would be destroyed.
Yeshua is the final sacrifice. The temple sacrifices that were only a shadow of Jesus’ perfect sacrifice were now supplanted by his ‘once-and-for-all’ atonement.
Isaiah 6:9-10 shows the hardened state of the nation when Isaiah was given the call to go and preach:
‘And he (God) said: ‘Go, and tell this people, hear ye indeed but understand not; and see ye indeed but perceived not. Make the heart of this people fat,
and make their ears heavy, and shut their eyes; lest they see with their eyes and hear with their ears and understanding with their heart and convert, and be healed’,
Jesus is coming soon, which means one thing for those who believe and quite another for those who do not!
When Jesus came the first time, the Jewish nation was given 40 years of grace before the terrible destruction of AD 70. We have had 2,000 (400 x 5) years approximately since the ‘sign of Jonah’, Yeshua/Jesus’ resurrection, which he referred to in Matthew 12:39.
When you consider the terrible fate which awaited the inhabitants of Jerusalem which Jesus foretold, even on his way to the cross…..weep not for me, but for your children…it makes us realise that those who reject Jesus face a much worse fate. It should inspire us to prayer and evangelism.