Daily Devotional For Monday, April 14, 2025

Good day Southside! We have entered into what is traditionally called in the Christian faith, “Holy Week.” This is the week we remember the last days of Jesus leading up to His arrest, scourging, trial, crucifixion and death. To help us focus on this week, let’s look at eight Old Testament (OT) prophecies that were fulfilled by Jesus. 

“A mathematician and professor, Peter Stoner calculated the odds of just eight specific Messianic prophecies being fulfilled in Jesus as 1 in 100 quadrillion (the factor after trillion). Statistically, that’s a near impossibility, what we would consider miraculous” (Source: The Odds of 8 OT Prophecies Fulfilled By Jesus).

So, let’s list these eight OT prophecies that were fulfilled in Jesus Christ:

1. The prophecy about Jesus’ triumphant entry into Jerusalem on a donkey. Zechariah 9:9 says, “Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout in triumph, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your king is coming to you; He is just and endowed with salvation, Humble, and mounted on a donkey, Even on a colt, the foal of a donkey” (NASB). This prophecy was written 500 years before Jesus was born. Read Matthew 21:1-11 to see this Zechariah 9:9 fulfilled. 
2. The prophecy about Jesus being betrayed by a friend. Look at Psalm 41:9, Even my close friend in whom I trusted, Who ate my bread, Has lifted up his heel against Me” (NASB). We see Judas fulfilling this prophecy in John 13:18-27. The truth is: we can’t be betrayed by enemies, but only by family and friends. Jesus did not try to stop Judas. He let him play out his chosen role in these events. 
3. The prophecy about Jesus being betrayed for 30 pieces of silver. We see this in Zechariah 11:12-13, “I said to them, ‘If it is good in your sight, give me my wages; but if not, never mind!” So they weighed out thirty shekels of silver as my wages. (13) Then the Lord said to me, ‘Throw it to the potter, that magnificent price at which I was valued by them.’ So I took the thirty shekels of silver and threw them to the potter in the house of the Lord” (NASB). We learn the religious leaders paid Judas 30 pieces of silver in Matthew 26:14-16. After Jesus’ arrest, Judas felt great remorse, realizing he “betrayed innocent blood.” He tried to return the money, but the priests refused what they called “blood money.” Judas threw the coins into the temple and left. The priests used it to buy a potter’s field to bury foreigners. 
4. The prophecy that Jesus would be silent before His accusers. We see this in Isaiah 50:6, “I gave My back to those who strike Me, And My cheeks to those who pluck out the beard; I did not cover My face from humiliation and spitting” (NASB). Implied is Jesus’ silent submission, not weakness, but strength in the midst of being mocked. We see this fulfilled in Matthew 27:12-14.
5. The prophecy that Jesus would be pierced. We see this in Psalm 22:16, “For dogs have surrounded me; A band of evildoers has encompassed me; They pierced my hands and my feet” (NASB). We see this prophecy fulfilled in the crucifixion. While no specific New Testament verse states this, Romans crucified by driving huge spikes or nails through the wrists, and ankles. We know that a Roman soldier used a spear to pierce Jesus’ side to confirm He was dead in John 19:34. Here is a picture of a man who was crucified: Man's ankle with nail from crucifixion.
6. The prophecy that none of Jesus’ bones would be broken. We see this prophecy in Psalm 34:20, “He keeps all his bones, Not one of them is broken” (NASB). We see how the Apostle John talked about this fulfillment in John 19:33-36. The Persians invented crucifixion, but the Romans enhanced it so that those crucified would suffer for days, even a week or more. If someone did not die soon enough, Roman soldiers would break the legs so that the one crucified could not push up to inhale and exhale. Thus, they died by suffocation.
7. The prophecy Jesus would be buried in a rich man’s tomb. We see this prophecy in Isaiah 53:9, “His grave was assigned with wicked men, Yet He was with a rich man in His death, Because He had done no violence, Nor was there any deceit in His mouth” (NASB). Matthew 27:57-60 shows the fulfillment of this prophecy. Joseph of Arimathea, a wealthy member of the Jewish Sanhedrin. He came and asked for the body of Jesus and had Jesus buried in his own tomb.
8. The prophecy that Jesus would be resurrected from the grave after 3 days. We see this prophecy in Psalm 16:10, “For You will not abandon my soul to Sheol; Nor will You allow Your Holy One to undergo decay” (NASB). All the Gospels share this story and Luke adds it to his book in Acts 2:31-32.

I am grateful for Christianity.com for this summary to share with you. You can find this at this link: 8 Prophecies Fulfilled By Christ At His Crucifixion, Death & Resurrection.

Assignment: Take time this week to focus on what Jesus went through just so you can have salvation and eternal life. Jesus did not have to do this, but He chose to do it. As you do this, make a list of what you can do for Him out of gratitude. The challenge here is you may be so familiar with this story, it would be easy to gloss over it. If you have the means, watch the movie by Mel Gibson, The Passion of the Christ.

Scripture To Meditate On: Isaiah 53:7, “He was oppressed, and He was afflicted, yet He opened not His mouth; like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent, so He opened not His mouth” (NASB).

Prayer to Pray: “Dear Lord, I really cannot imagine what You went through so that I could have salvation and eternal life. For One Who never sinned, to become sin, I cannot imagine what that was like for You. For a sinner like me, what You did was the greatest demonstration of love and forgiveness. Thank You. I love You Lord. In Jesus’ name, Amen!”

I love you Southside! – Pastor Kelly