The Jewish faith has long held to the belief of a coming King Messiah (Hebrew – Melekh Mashiach), which is a savior of their people, and an “anointed one” referring to the tradition in ancient Israel of pouring oil over the head of the priest (a mediator or one who intercedes between man and God) and over the head of the king of the people.  The belief is that the coming Messiah would be both king and priest of the people and that he would save the Jews, and lead them into a time of great peace and prosperity amongst other things.  The Jewish people have looked for this coming Mashiach or Messiah ever since he was first prophesied about in the book of Genesis, largely believed to have been written in the 15th century B.C, though the promise of a Messiah dates back to the first man and first woman ever created, Adam and Eve.  When Adam and Even disobey God and are tempted to sin by Satan, or the serpent, God promises that the offspring of the woman would bruise or crush the head of Satan, and that Satan would bruise his heal. Whether Adam and Eve knew it at the time or not, this was a promise of a coming one who would destroy sin and Satan forever and save all people.

What else does the bible have to say about the Messiah, and did any of it come true?  Has the Messiah already come, or is he still yet to come?  What is he supposed to be like?  The primary source I will use to answer these questions will be the Bible, both the old and new testament accounts – yes that’s right I said BOTH old and new testaments.  Many have never heard that the old testament is actually all about Jesus.  Jesus himself in John 5:39 says to the Pharisees –

“You search the Scriptures because you think they give you eternal life. But the Scriptures point to me!”  

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=john+5%3A39&version=NLT

First, what does the Bible say about the coming Messiah?  There are several promises and prophecies of this coming one, though this is not an exhaustive list, it has many of the most explicitly stated.

1. He will come from Bethlehem.  Micah 5:2
2.  A virgin will give birth to a child called Emmanuel (God with us). Isaiah 7:14
3. He will be a descendant of King David – Jeremiah 23:5
4. He’ll heal the blind, deaf and lame – Isaiah 35:5-6
5. He will speak to them in parables – Psalm 78:2
6. He will come riding on a donkey – Zechariah 9:9
7. He will be betrayed by a friend – Psalm 41:9
8. He will be despised and rejected – Isaiah 53:3
9. He will be killed – appearing to have accomplished nothing. Daniel 9:26
10. He will be pierced, beaten, whipped, like a lamb to the slaughter – Isaiah 53:5-7
11. Though he will die, his bones will not be broken – Psalm 34:20
12. He will pay for the sins of rebels – Isaiah 53:12

We must keep in mind that these writings are dated to 500 years or more before Jesus lived. That would be the equivalent of Christopher Columbus specifically detailing intimate facts about Barack Obama. Try it for yourself – try to write down intimate details about the most significant world leader 500 years from now – it is impossible and therefore silly to imagine that if these prophecies actually came true, that they could be anything other than true predictions about the coming savior from some kind of God who dwells outside of the constraints of the physical property we call time (see spacetime continuum) .

If you know your Bible, or the story of Jesus at all, you can read the 12 bullet points above and instantly see that these are detailing the life of Jesus. In order, here is the fulfillment of those 12 bullet points:

1. Jesus was born in Bethlehem during the reign of Herod. Matthew 2:1
2. Jesus’ mother Mary became pregnant when a virgin by the power of the Holy Spirit. Matthew 1:18
3. Jesus was a descendant of David. Matthew 1:1-16
4. Jesus healed the deaf, blind and lame in the presence of many witnesses. Matthew 12:22, Mark 7:31-37, Mark 8:22-26, Mark 10:46-52
5. Jesus spoke to the people in parables. Matthew 13:10
6. Jesus reveals himself to the people, riding on a donkey. Matthew 21:1-11
7. Jesus was betrayed by his disciple Judas. Matthew 26:14-16
8. Jesus was spit on, slapped and rejected. Matthew 26:67
9. Jesus was killed and his followers didn’t understand. Luke 24:17-21
10. Jesus was killed on a cross and his side was pierced by a soldier. John 19:34
11. Jesus bones were not broken, even though those who died next to him had theirs broken. John 19:32-33
12. Jesus came to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many. Matthew 20:28

After reviewing all that Jesus accomplished of what was written hundreds of years before his birth, one has to ask themselves the same question that the very people who observed his life asked:

Many among the crowds at the Temple believed in him. “After all,” they said, “would you expect the Messiah to do more miraculous signs than this man has done?”

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=John+7%3A31&version=NLT