Let's start with the Prophets of the Old Testament. Isaiah had quite a lot to say about the Christ, who He is, what He would do. Isaiah 7:14 says, "Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel." Isaiah said that He would be called Immanuel, literally meaning God with us. Proclaiming Him to be God come down to earth to live among men as a man. Isaiah also called Him Redeemer in 59:20 saying that the Redeemer will come to Zion.

"In that day the Root of Jesse will stand as a banner for the peoples; the nations will rally to him, and his place of rest will be glorious." Isaiah 11:10 This verse proclaims that Christ is descended from David, therefore the rightful heir to the throne of Israel. And as rightful heir to the throne of David then He would reign as King of Israel. So He is declared in the inscription that Pilate had written on a sign on the cross, "This is Jesus, King of the Jews". Of course the Pharisees didn't want Him proclaimed as King of the Jews. I believe mostly because if the people believed this, they wouldn't listen to the pharisees anymore.

"The days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will raise up to David a righteous Branch, a King who will reign wisely and do what is just and right in the land." Jeremiah 23:5 He will be descended from David. A king who will prosper. His name will be Jehovah Tsidkenu, the Lord is our Righteousness. II Corinthians 5:21 says, "For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him." So through the gift that God gave us we are able to stand righteous before the Most Holy God. If you read the Old Testament, this theme runs all through it. That He will be the Lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world.

"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...He will stand and shepherd his flock in the strength of the Lord, in the majesty of the name of the Lord his God. And they will live securely, for then his greatness will reach to the ends of the earth. And he will be their peace." Micah 5:2,4-5 Here Micah says that He will be the Ruler of Israel, but also says that He shall stand and feed His flock, referring to Him as a shepherd. Why would He be called a shepherd? Shepherds had to provide everything for their sheep. The sheep didn’t go out hunting for a place to eat. They were easily preyed upon by predators. They were easily spooked and would flee, scattering themselves. So the shepherd had to find them food, provide protection for them and find them a quiet place to rest. Christ provides all that we need. Philippians 4:19 says, "my God shall supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus." Christ referred to Himself as the Good Shepherd in John 10. He said that He was the Good Shepherd because He gave His life for the sheep. He gave His psuche in the Greek, or His will, ambitions and desires.

So the Old Testament prophets said that He was the rightful king of the Jews. That He would be a shepherd who would protect and provide for His flock. That He would pay the price required to redeem man back to God once again. If we desire the Garden of Eden, we need only to look to Christ. He is our Garden of Eden. In Him, we have all we would ever need. Audio Adrenaline did a song called What You Need. The chorus went like this:
It's not who you are, it's who you know It's not where you've been it's where you'll go It's not how you look, it's how you see It's not what you want, it's what you need

What we need is Jesus. He is the way the truth and the life.

Next time we will examine what Jesus' contemporaries thought of Him. Who they believed Him to be.

Part 3 - What Jesus' Comtemporaries Said