What the Prophets wrote about a Saviour

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

11 ‘My city, enemies attacked you,

like a strong storm.

Nobody was there to help you.

Look! Now I will use beautiful jewels to build you again.

I will build your foundation with blue sapphires.

12 I will build your strong towers with rubies.

I will build your gates with valuable jewels,

and I will build your walls with beautiful stones.

54:12God continues to speak to his special city, Zion (Jerusalem). One day there will be a new city called Jerusalem. That will be a very beautiful place, where God himself lives with his people. See Revelation 21:10-27.

13 I, the Lord, will teach your children,

and peace will fill their lives.

14 You will have a strong foundation of righteousness.

Your cruel enemies will be far away.

You will have nothing to be afraid of.

No trouble will come near to frighten you.

15 If anyone comes to attack you,

I will not have sent them.

You will win against anyone who tries to attack you.

Isaiah 54:11-15 EasyEnglish Bible (EASY)

3 He will judge between the people of many nations

When they argue together, he will decide who is right.

He will cause strong nations everywhere to stop fighting each other.

They fight with swords and spears.

4:3A spear is a long piece of wood or metal with a sharp point at the end. Soldiers used spears to fight.

But at that time, they will make their swords into ploughs.

They will make their spears into knives to cut their vines.

Nations will no longer need weapons to fight each other.

They will never prepare to fight wars again.

Micah 4:3 EasyEnglish Bible (EASY)

The Messiah would be a king

The prophets spoke about the birth of a king in Bethlehem, (Micah 5:2).

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

Some prophecies also spoke about the Lord‘s servant who would suffer, Isaiah 42:13-53:12. He would be a man who would be very sad.

How to understand the prophecies

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

How could the Messiah be all this?
How could one man be a powerful king and also a servant who is sad?
How could he be a strict judge and also bring peace for ever?

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.

5 Look! I will send my prophet Elijah to you. He will come before that great day of the Lord arrives. That will be a day that makes people afraid. 6 He will speak my message, so that fathers and their children return together to me. Then I will not have to come and bring punishment on the land.’

4:5Elijah was a prophet who spoke God's message to the people. See 1 Kings 17:1. Here, God promises that another ‘Elijah’ will come before the day of the Lord. About 460 years after Malachi wrote his book, John the Baptist was born. People thought that he was like Elijah. He prepared the way for Jesus to come.

4:6return together to me or return to each other as friends.

Malachi 4:5-6 EasyEnglish Bible (EASY)

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, section.

[Note also Deuteronomy 18:15-18; Daniel 7:27.]