It is the oldest question in the New Testament: "Art thou he that should come, or do we look for another?" (Matthew 11:3). The Hebrew Scriptures painted a detailed portrait of the coming Messiah centuries in advance. Here is the cumulative case that Jesus fits that portrait — together with the honest objections, so you can weigh it yourself.
The portrait, point by point
| The Messiah would be… | Prophecy | Fulfilled in Jesus |
|---|---|---|
| Born in Bethlehem | Micah 5:2 | Matthew 2:1–6 |
| Born of a virgin — "God with us" | Isaiah 7:14 | Matthew 1:22–23 |
| Of the line of David | 2 Samuel 7:12–13; Isaiah 11:1 | Matthew 1:1; Luke 3 |
| Preceded by a forerunner | Malachi 3:1; Isaiah 40:3 | Matthew 3:1–3 (John the Baptist) |
| Entering Jerusalem on a donkey | Zechariah 9:9 | Matthew 21:1–9 |
| Betrayed for thirty pieces of silver | Zechariah 11:12–13 | Matthew 26:15; 27:9–10 |
| The suffering servant, bearing our sins | Isaiah 52:13–53:12 | 1 Peter 2:24; Acts 8:32–35 |
| Pierced hands and feet; lots for garments | Psalm 22:16–18 | John 19:23–24, 37 |
| Coming before the Second Temple fell — on schedule | Daniel 9:24–27 | c. AD 30–33, before AD 70 |
| Raised from the dead | Psalm 16:10 | Acts 2:24–32 |
Were these written before Jesus?
Yes — and we can prove it. The Dead Sea Scrolls, copied between roughly 250 BC and AD 68, include Isaiah, the Psalms, the Minor Prophets, and Daniel. The Great Isaiah Scroll alone predates Jesus by more than a century and contains Isaiah 7:14 and Isaiah 53 essentially as we read them today. The portrait was on parchment long before the One it describes was born.
The honest objections
Traditional Judaism raises real challenges: the Messiah was to bring world peace, regather exiled Israel, and rebuild the Temple — none of which Jesus did politically. Some passages (such as the servant of Isaiah 53) can be read of the nation Israel. And individual words, like almah in Isaiah 7:14, are disputed. These objections are ancient and serious, and an honest case must face them rather than hide them.
The Christian response: two advents
The historic Christian answer is that Scripture foretells the Messiah coming twice — first in humility to suffer and save (Isaiah 53; Zechariah 9:9), and again in glory to reign and bring the promised peace (Zechariah 14; Revelation 19). On this reading the national promises are not abandoned but await the second coming. The suffering and the reigning are two acts of one story.
Who the Messiah is — the Apostolic reading
The prophets point not merely to a great man but to God with us: "his name shall be called… The mighty God, The everlasting Father" (Isaiah 9:6); "goings forth… from everlasting" (Micah 5:2). The Apostolic (Oneness) Pentecostal reading confesses that the one true God was revealed in the man Christ Jesus — God manifest in flesh (1 Timothy 3:16; Colossians 2:9).
What it asks of you
If Jesus is the Messiah, the question becomes personal. The apostles' own answer to "what shall we do?" was direct: repent, be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and receive the gift of the Holy Ghost (Acts 2:38).