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As you read through the Gospel of Luke, choose one section that intrigued you intellectually and/or personally. Tell us about your experience in the forums.

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As you read through the Gospel of Luke, choose one section that intrigued you intellectually and/or personally. Tell us about your experience in the forums.

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Have you ever seen a mosaic? A mosaic is a piece of art that is formed together by fragments of materials such as glass, shards of colored pottery clay, and even jewels. These pieces are fused together by some sort of bonding element like cement or glue so that when you look at them from far away, they look like they are one thing. This bonding element is the key to mosaic art because without it the pieces would remain broken apart and hopelessly disconnected by even the easiest of breezes.

The reason this type of art is called a “mosaic” is because it has its roots in the Jewish law of the Old Testament, which was brought to them by, you guessed it, Moses. Hence you hear Moses’ name in the word mosaic because the art form itself is incomplete, just like the Jewish law of the Old Testament. Sure, we still follow the Ten Commandments and we read from the Old Testament at every Mass, but if that’s all we did, our religion would be unfulfilled, disconnected, and in need of that final bonding element that is Jesus Christ.

That’s why the Gospels are the most important books in the Bible. Many people believe that Jesus came to change the law or completely destroy it, but that is far from the truth. He came to fulfill it. He is the bonding element that unites the Old Covenant, which was meant to save God’s chosen people, the Jews, with the New Covenant, which extended the promise of salvation to all  people, including Jews and gentiles.

Interestingly enough, the Old Testament prophecies the coming of Christ on hundreds of occasions. The books that compose the Old Testament canon tell of Jesus’ birth, ministry, death, resurrection, and His Church. Let’s take a look at some of these Old Testament prophecies and see how they were fulfilled in the words of the Gospels.

Jesus’ Birth

A virgin will give birth, and he will be called Immanuel (God with us)

Prophecy: “Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel” (Isaiah 7:14).

Fulfillment: “The angel answered, ‘The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God’” (Luke 1:35)

The Christ will be born in Bethlehem

Prophecy: “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:

“When he had called together all the people’s chief priests and teachers of the law, he asked them where the Messiah was to be born. ‘In Bethlehem in Judea,’ they replied, ‘for this is what the prophet has written:

“‘But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,
are by no means least among the rulers of Judah;
for out of you will come a ruler
who will shepherd my people Israel.'” (Matthew 2:4–6)

The Messiah will end up in Egypt

Prophecy: “When Israel was a child, I loved him, and out of Egypt I called my son” (Hosea 11:1).

Fulfillment: “So he [Joseph] got up, took the child and his mother during the night and left for Egypt, where he stayed until the death of Herod. And so was fulfilled what the Lord had said through the prophet: ‘Out of Egypt I called my son'” (Matthew 2:14–15).

Jesus would preach righteousness to Israel

Prophecy: “I proclaim your saving acts in the great assembly;
I do not seal my lips, Lord,
as you know” (Psalm 40:9).

Fulfillment: “From that time on Jesus began to preach, ‘Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near'” (Matthew 4:17).

Jesus’ Ministry

Jesus would teach in parables

Prophecy: “My people, hear my teaching;
listen to the words of my mouth.
I will open my mouth with a parable;
I will utter hidden things, things from of old” (Psalm 78:1–2)

Fulfillment: “Jesus spoke all these things to the crowd in parables; he did not say anything to them without using a parable. So was fulfilled what was spoken through the prophet: ‘I will open my mouth in parables, I will utter things hidden since the creation of the world'” (Matthew 13:34–35).

Jesus would have a miraculous ministry

Prophecy: “Then will the eyes of the blind be opened
and the ears of the deaf unstopped.
Then will the lame leap like a deer,
and the mute tongue shout for joy.
Water will gush forth in the wilderness
and streams in the desert” (Isaiah 35:5–6).

Fulfillment: “When John, who was in prison, heard about the deeds of the Messiah, he sent his disciples to ask him, ‘Are you the one who is to come, or should we expect someone else?’ “Jesus replied, ‘Go back and report to John what you hear and see: The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is proclaimed to the poor. Blessed is anyone who does not stumble on account of me'” (Matthew 11:2–6).

Jesus’ Passion, Death, and Resurrection

Jesus would be despised and rejected

Prophecy:

“He was despised and rejected by mankind,
a man of suffering, and familiar with pain.
Like one from whom people hide their faces
he was despised, and we held him in low esteem” (Isaiah 53:3).

Fulfillment: “All the people in the synagogue were furious when they heard this. They got up, drove him out of the town, and took him to the brow of the hill on which the town was built, in order to throw him off the cliff” (Luke 4:28–29).

Jesus will be lifted up, and everyone who looks on Him will live

Prophecy: “So Moses made a bronze snake and put it up on a pole. Then when anyone was bitten by a snake and looked at the bronze snake, they lived” (Numbers 21:9).

Fulfillment:

“‘Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, that everyone who believes may have eternal life in him.’ “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son” (John 3:14–18).

Christ’s resurrection prophesied

Prophecy: “Oh, that my words were recorded,
that they were written on a scroll,
that they were inscribed with an iron tool on lead,
or engraved in rock forever!
I know that my redeemer lives,
and that in the end he will stand on the earth.
And after my skin has been destroyed,
yet in my flesh I will see God;
I myself will see him
with my own eyes—I, and not another.
How my heart yearns within me!” (Job 19:23–27)

Fulfillment: ”Do not be amazed at this, for a time is coming when all who are in their graves will hear his voice and come out—those who have done what is good will rise to live, and those who have done what is evil will rise to be condemned” (John 5:24–29).

They would pierce Christ’s hands and feet

Prophecy: “Dogs surround me,
a pack of villains encircles me;
they pierce my hands and my feet” (Psalm 22:16).

Fulfillment: “These things happened so that the scripture would be fulfilled: ‘Not one of his bones will be broken,’ and, as another scripture says, ‘They will look on the one they have pierced'” (John 19:36–37).

The Messiah’s resurrection predicted

Prophecy: “I will not die but live,
and will proclaim what the Lord has done.
The Lord has chastened me severely,
but he has not given me over to death” (Psalm 118:17–18).

Fulfillment: “In their fright the women bowed down with their faces to the ground, but the men said to them, ‘Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here; he has risen! Remember how he told you, while he was still with you in Galilee: “The Son of Man must be delivered over to the hands of sinners, be crucified and on the third day be raised again”‘” (Luke 24:5–7).

Jesus’ Church

The Messiah will usher in a new covenant

Prophecy: “‘The days are coming,’ declares the Lord,
‘when I will make a new covenant
with the people of Israel
and with the people of Judah'” (Jeremiah 31:31).

Fulfillment: “This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins” (Matthew 26:28).

Jesus would draw the Gentiles to Himself

Prophecy: “In that day the Root of Jesse will stand as a banner for the peoples; the nations will rally to him, and his resting place will be glorious” (Isaiah 11:10).

Fulfillment: “Many people, because they had heard that he had performed this sign, went out to meet him. So the Pharisees said to one another, ‘See, this is getting us nowhere. Look how the whole world has gone after him!’ “Now there were some Greeks among those who went up to worship at the festival. They came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, with a request. ‘Sir,’ they said, ‘we would like to see Jesus'” (John 12:18–21).

As you can see, the Old Testament blends perfectly into the personhood of Jesus Christ. Those were just a few examples of Christ’s Messianic role being fulfilled as foretold by the prophets of the Old Testament. There are still hundreds more that coincide with the rest of the books in the New Testament. On top of those, through the use of allegory, typology, and logic, the Bible threads the story of salvation into a perfectly seamed whole that not only includes the Old Testament and the New, but also you.

For more than 3,000 years, the world has been preparing itself for the fulfillment of God’s promise to His chosen people- namely our salvation. God has given you the grace to receive this gift as unworthy as you are to receive it. In God’s mercy, we are all humbled, at His power, we are all saved, in His love, we are given eternal life. The Old Testament prophets foretold this, and the Gospel put the exclamation point by making them a reality. Now, after Christ has taken His place at the right hand of the Father, He calls us to take up our crosses and continue fulfilling the missionary needs of the Gospel by proclaiming it in our words, through our actions, and most of all through our love.

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This is the final module for this course. Feel free to visit the forum to ask any questions you still might have.