During all the years when kings ruled Israel and Judah, God sent prophets to warn the people of God both about judgment for their sins and about God’s great mercy for those who repent of their sin and trust in God. The prophets reminded them of the coming Savior who had been promised to them for so long, the one who would deliver them from their sins.”
One of the greatest prophets, Isaiah, said, “The Savior will be born from a virgin. His name will be called Immanuel, which means ‘God who is living WITH us.’ He will be called the Prince of Peace. His kingdom will never end.1” He also said that the Savior would be like a sacrificial lamb, that he would suffer without defending himself, that he would be mocked, and that he would die a cruel death to pay the price for all of our sins. Prophets also foretold that the Savior would be raised from the dead.2 Prophets foretold many other specific things that would happen to the Savior. For example, the promised Savior would come from Bethlehem3, would have his hands and feet pierced4, would be sold for thirty pieces of silver5, would be betrayed by a friend6, would be crucified with sinners7, and would have lots cast for his cloak8.
Prophets also spoke of the NEW COVENANT which would be fulfilled in the promised Savior. God said through the prophet Jeremiah, “My people have broken my covenant but I will make a new covenant with them. I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people.”9
God also told the prophet Ezekiel something similar, “I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws.” 10
After the return of God’s people to Jerusalem and the rebuilding of the temple, God stopped speaking through the prophets for four hundred years. But in this time of suffering and weakness under the dominion of other countries, some Jews still remembered God’s promises of a Savior who would come, so they waited with eager expectation.
1 Isaiah 7:14
2 Psalm 16:10
3 Micah 5:2
4 Psalm 22:16, Zechariah 12:10
5 Zechariah 11:12-13
6 Psalm 41:19
7 Isaiah 53:12
8 Psalm 22:18
9 Jeremiah 31:31-33
10 Ezekiel 36:26-28