What the Prophets wrote about a Saviour

An online Bible Study course by Barrie Wetherill about the life of Jesus. This book is in EasyEnglish Level B. Use the links below for other online Bible Study books and commentaries that will help you. Or go to the Word List, which explains words with a *star.

It was difficult for people in the time of Christ to understand the *prophets’ words about the *Messiah. There were many *prophets. The meaning of their words was not always easy. Sometimes they did not seem to agree with one another. Many *prophets wrote that the *Messiah would be a great king. He would bring a time of peace. For the Jews there had been hundreds of years of battles, war and death. Enemies had made them prisoners. Enemies had destroyed their land. Of course the people wanted the *Messiah. They wanted the words of the *prophets to come true.

The *Messiah would bring peace

Isaiah 54:11-15: You suffering citizens, storms have hurt you. And no one has comforted you. I will build your city. I will build its strong walls and its gates of precious and beautiful stones. The *Lord will teach all your sons. Your children will live in peace. You will know true goodness. No one will come near you to hurt you. There will be nothing for you to be afraid of. I do not want anyone to attack you. If anyone does attack you, they will give in to you.

Micah 4:3: The *Lord will be the *judge between many nations. He will settle arguments for strong rulers from many countries. They will beat their swords and *spears into farmers’ tools. People from different nations will not fight or prepare to fight each other.

The *Messiah would be a king

He would be from the family of David (2 Samuel 5:2). He would rule everywhere and for ever (2 Samuel 7:13, 16; Isaiah 9:6, 7; Micah 2:2-5). His rule would be good and completely right. It would please God. It would be like God’s first plan for the world, or even better. (The *angel who visited Mary spoke about the *prophecy about a king, Luke 1:32, 33.)

The *Messiah would be a *judge

There were other *prophecies. These said that this king would *judge. He would *judge all that is evil. John the Baptist knew these *prophecies. Many of them are about the ‘Day of the Lord’. This means the time when men will see God’s power. The king will be absolutely right and good. He will be a wise *judge. But men will have great terror because he has these qualities. (See for example, Isaiah 13:6-13). John the Baptist spoke about this.

The *Messiah would suffer

How to understand the *prophecies

This confused the Jews who lived in the time of Jesus. We can see their problems:

But they were sure that the *Messiah would be a king. He would chase away all enemies. And all who had taken their land. He would give them peace, and freedom to rule themselves for ever. They did not understand the *prophecies. So they did not understand what Jesus did. Christ makes all these *prophecies come true, in a wonderful way. He made some *prophecies come true when he came into the world for the first time. He will make other *prophecies come true when he comes back again.

Elijah would come before the *Messiah

We must mention one more *prophecy. The *Lord said that Elijah would come before the *Messiah. Someone would bring the message about him.

Malachi 4:5, 6: See, the great day of the *Lord will come. Before that, I will send the *prophet Elijah to you. He will help fathers to love their children. And he will help children to love their fathers. If not, I will come. I will bring bad things to the land.

The Jews thought that Elijah himself would appear. This was because his death was unusual (2 Kings 2:11). But later Jesus explained this *prophecy. The *prophecy referred to John the Baptist. John came like Elijah, with the power of Elijah. This is the subject for our next section.

What the *Prophets wrote about a *Saviour