The Coming One
“Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel, because he has come to his people and redeemed them. He has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David as he said through his holy prophets of long ago.” Luke 1:68-70
Even if we look only at the words of the minor prophets, we can get a complete picture of the life of Christ as He fulfilled the Messianic prophecies in His first coming.*
He will come from Bethlehem. “But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from of old, from ancient times” (Micah 5:2). Fulfillment: Matthew 2:1-6.
God will call His Son out of Egypt. “When Israel was a child, I loved him, and out of Egypt I called my son” (Hosea 11:1). Fulfillment: Matthew 2:13-15.
He will love the unfaithful and will buy us back from slavery to sin. “The LORD said to me, ‘Go, show your love to your wife again, though she is loved by another man and is an adulteress. Love her as the LORD loves the Israelites, though they turn to other gods’” (Hosea 3:1). Fulfillment: Luke 15:1-2
He will be the messenger of a new covenant. “’I will send my messenger, who will prepare the way before me. Then suddenly the Lord you are seeking will come to his temple; the messenger of the covenant, whom you desire, will come,’ says the LORD Almighty” (Malachi 3:1). Fulfillment: Matthew 11:10-11, Luke 22:19-20.
Christ’s body would not see decay during three days in a tomb. “Now the LORD provided a huge fish to swallow Jonah, and Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights” (Jonah 1:17). Fulfillment: Matthew 12:40.
He would reach out to include Gentiles. “When God saw what [the Ninevites] did and how they turned from their evil ways, he relented and did not bring on them the destruction he had threatened” (Jonah 3:5-10). Fulfillment: Matthew 28:18-20.
In His death and resurrection, we too will receive resurrection life. “After two days he will revive us; on the third day he will restore us, that we may live in his presence” (Hosea 6:2). Fulfillment: John 11:25.
We live by faith in God’s promises, not our own good actions. “The righteous person will live by his faith” (Habakkuk 2:4). Fulfillment: Luke 18:9-14.
Knowing how faithfully God fulfilled these prophecies, can you anticipate the glorious fulfillment of the minor prophets’ prophecies as to Christ’s second coming? Rejoice today, fully confident that we serve a God who keeps His promises.
DIG DEEPER:
Other prophets told of salvation being extended to the Gentiles (Amos 9:12, Zechariah 2:11). How is this an answer to the promise made to Abraham in Genesis 12:3, 13:16, 22:17?
Like Hosea, who bought his wife back from slavery, how have we been bought back according to 1 Peter 1:18-19 and 1 Corinthians 15:55-57? How does that encourage you?
For additional fulfilled prophecies, see Zechariah.
What about the other prophecies of the Minor Prophets? The prophets saw both Jesus Christ’s first and second comings and did not distinguish between the two—both events future to them.
Nancy J. Baker
*ESV Study Bible, “History of Salvation in the OT,” Wheaton: Crossway Bibles, 2008, 2659-2661. Helpful outline and notes.