Messianic Christology Summary

I am studying the excellent book by Dr. Arnold Fruchtenbaum, "Messianic Christology" (1998) published by Ariel Ministries. The purpose of the book is to identify and explain all the passages in the Hebrew Bible that prophesy concerning the first coming of Messiah, i.e., the life of Yeshua or Jesus.

Prophecy pertaining to his second coming, i.e., his final victory and the establishment of God's kingdom on earth, are not dealt with except incidentally. On the other hand, passages establishing that he will be a king, and his royal lineage, are dealt with, as being relevant to his claims and credentials of being Messiah.

Below is a list of all the passages, alongside my own very brief summary. Note that Genesis 4:1 and Genesis 5:29 are not listed separately in "Messianic Christology", but are discussed in relation to Genesis 3:15.

It is appropriate to quote here the story of the "Road to Emmaus" which took place shortly after Yeshua's resurrection:

And behold, two of them were going that very day to a village named Emmaus, which was about seven miles from Jerusalem. And they were talking with each other about all these things which had taken place. While they were talking and discussing, Jesus Himself approached and began traveling with them. But their eyes were prevented from recognizing Him. And He said to them, “What are these words that you are exchanging with one another as you are walking?” And they stood still, looking sad. One of them, named Cleopas, answered and said to Him, “Are You the only one visiting Jerusalem and unaware of the things which have happened here in these days?” And He said to them, “What things?” And they said to Him, “The things about Jesus the Nazarene, who was a prophet mighty in deed and word in the sight of God and all the people, and how the chief priests and our rulers delivered Him to the sentence of death, and crucified Him. But we were hoping that it was He who was going to redeem Israel. Indeed, besides all this, it is the third day since these things happened. But also some women among us amazed us. When they were at the tomb early in the morning, and did not find His body, they came, saying that they had also seen a vision of angels who said that He was alive. Some of those who were with us went to the tomb and found it just exactly as the women also had said; but Him they did not see.” And He said to them, “O foolish men and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken! Was it not necessary for the Christ to suffer these things and to enter into His glory?” Then beginning with Moses and with all the prophets, He explained to them the things concerning Himself in all the Scriptures. — Luke 24:13-27 (NASB 1995)

The Law

• Genesis 3:15: seed of the woman who crushes the serpent
• Genesis 4:1: Eve thinks Cain will be Messiah
• Genesis 5:29: Lamech thinks Noah will be Messiah
• Genesis 22:18: seed of Abraham who blesses all nations
• Genesis 49:10: king from the tribe of Judah
• Numbers 23:17: king who rules during Israel's time of flourishing and domination

The Prophets

• Isaiah 7:1-17: virgin birth
• Isaiah 8:9-10: the house of David is secure until the birth of Immanuel
• Isaiah 9:6-7: son given to be king, with four names of deity
• Isaiah 11:1-2: comes after the house of David is humbled, and has the fullness of the Spirit
• Isaiah 40:3-5: the forerunner of the Messiah, John the Baptist
• Isaiah 42:1-6: establishes justice in the earth
• Isaiah 49:1-13: rejected and a seeming failure, who restores Israel and brings justice to the nations
• Isaiah 50:4-9: trained through humilation
• Isaiah 52:13-53:12: suffers in our place, but is vindicted in his death, burial, and resurrection
• Isaiah 61:1-2: came to preach good news and spiritual deliverance
• Jeremiah 23:5-6: reigns wisely, saves Israel, and is given the name of the LORD
• Micah 5:2: born in Bethlehem, yet existed from eternity past
• Zechariah 9:9-10: triumphal entry on a donkey
• Zechariah 11:1-17: description of first coming historical events
• Zechariah 12:10: initial rejection and final recognition
• Zechariah 13:7: shepherd, equal to God, yet struck, scattering the sheep
• Malachi 3:1: comes to his temple

The Writings

• 1 Chronicles 17:10b-14: son of David rules forever as king
• Psalm 2:7-12: son of God and king of all nations
• Psalm 16:1-11: death and resurrection
• Psalm 22: suffering, death, resurrection, and exaltation
• Psalm 80:17: equal with God, yet man
• Psalm 110:1-7: the ascension; king and priest
• Proverbs 30:4: God has a son
• Daniel 9:24-27: arrives and dies 483 years after the decree to rebuild Jerusalm

Copyright

This work © 2025 by Christopher Howard is licensed under Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International.

Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved.