~ Messiah Would Be
Proceeded By A Messenger ~
“Search
the Scriptures—they testify of Me.”
— Jesus Christ (John 5:39)
The
Scripture
“‘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” (Malachi 3:1).
The Messiah
“In those days John the
Baptist came preaching in the wilderness of Judea, and saying, ‘Repent, for the
kingdom of heaven is at hand!’ For this
is he who was spoken of by the prophet Isaiah, saying:
‘The voice of
one crying in the wilderness: “Prepare the way of the Lord; make His paths straight’’” (Matthew
3:1-3). “As they departed, Jesus began to say to the
multitudes concerning John: ‘What did you go out into the wilderness to
see? A reed shaken by the wind? But what did you go out to see? A man clothed in soft garments? Indeed, those who wear soft clothing are in
kings' houses. But what did you go out
to see? A prophet? Yes, I say to you, and more than a
prophet. For this is he of whom it is
written: ‘Behold, I send My messenger before Your face,
who will
prepare Your way before You’” (Matthew 11:7-10).
“As it is written in the
Prophets: ‘Behold, I send My messenger before Your face,
who will
prepare Your way before You. The voice
of one crying in the wilderness: “Prepare the way of the Lord; make His paths
straight.”’ John came baptizing in the
wilderness and preaching a baptism of repentance for the remission of
sins. Then all the land of Judea, and
those from Jerusalem, went out to him and were all baptized by him in the
Jordan River, confessing their sins” (Mark 1:2-5).
“While Annas and Caiaphas
were high priests, the word of God
came to John the son of Zacharias in the wilderness. And he went into all the region around the
Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the remission of sins, as it is
written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet, saying:
‘The voice of
one crying in the wilderness: “Prepare the way of the Lord; make His paths straight. Every valley shall be filled and every mountain and hill brought low;
the crooked
places shall be made straight and the rough ways smooth; and all flesh shall
see the salvation of God”’” (Luke 3:2-6). “When the messengers of John had departed, He began to speak to the
multitudes concerning John: ‘What did you go out into the wilderness to
see? A reed shaken by the wind? But what did you go out to see? A man clothed in soft garments? Indeed those who are gorgeously appareled and
live in luxury are in kings’ courts. But
what did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I say to you, and more than a
prophet. This is he of whom it is
written: “Behold, I send My messenger before Your face,
who will
prepare Your way before You.” For I say
to you, among those born of women there is not a greater prophet than John the
Baptist; but he who is least in the
kingdom of God is greater than he’” (Luke 7:24-28).
“Now this is the testimony
of John, when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, ‘Who
are you?’ He confessed, and did not
deny, but confessed, ‘I am not the Christ.’ And they asked him, ‘What then?
Are you Elijah?’
He
said, ‘I am not.’
‘Are
you the Prophet?’ And he answered, ‘No.’
Then they said to him,
‘Who are you, that we may give an answer to those who sent us? What do you say about yourself?’ He said: ‘I am “The voice of one crying
in the wilderness: make straight the way of the Lord,”’
as the prophet Isaiah said” (John 1:19-23).
Additional Note: This post has been about the first messenger
(“My messenger”) who was John the Baptist.
Note that there is a second messenger (“the Messenger of the covenant”)
who is none other than the Jesus Christ—but this prophecy will be fulfilled in
the future at His second coming.
~~~ EXPLANATORY
“MESSIAH” NOTES ~~~
(1) Each Saturday ALN posts an example of a
Hebrew Scriptures prophecy (or foreshadowing) related to the coming Messiah which
was fulfilled in the birth, life, death, or resurrection of Jesus Christ.
(2) While extensive it will not be a complete
list—there are hundreds of prophecies of the coming Messiah which have been
fulfilled by one man—Jesus Christ at His First Coming.
(3) It is important that there are many more
prophecies of the Messiah, yet unfulfilled, which Christians believe will be
fulfilled at the time of His Second Coming.
A particularly relevant Scripture verse in this regard is: “Do not
despise prophesies” (1 Thessalonians 5:20).
(4) These posts will typically consist only of
Scripture—which speaks for itself. Sometimes
italicized or bold font will be used by ALN for emphasis.
(5) The numbering of these fulfilled prophecies
of the Messiah is used to differentiate individual posts. It is not
chronological (either by time of the prophecy or by sequence in the life of the
Messiah). The posting sequence will, for
the most part, be in the order that the prophecies appear in Scripture.
(6) Because of the chosen methodology (#5 above)
we will find many specific prophecies repeated multiple times throughout the
Scriptures.
(7) These serial posts are in addition to our
regular Tuesday ALN postings on random topics.
(8) Subscription to ABUNDANT LIFE NOW blog is
simple—just use the link on the left sidebar.
Once subscribed you will not miss future posts.
~ Robert
Lloyd Russell, ABUNDANT LIFE
NOW
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