The word Messiah (Hebrew: Masjiach) means "the Anointed One". The Greek translation of this word is the well-known name Christ. The anointing in Judaism is a sign of the Divine election. The Jewish people believe that the Messiah is a unique person who is yet to come and who will establish a kingdom of peace as a descendant of the house of David. Christians believe that this Messiah has already come, in the person of Jesus Christ (Yeshua). How is this exactly?
A prophecy is a predictive statement about future events. The Bible contains many prophecies, for example, that the Messiah will be born in Bethlehem (Micah 5:2) or that Abraham will have a great posterity (Gen. 12:2). Research1 shows that the Old Testament of the Bible contains 1239 prophecies and the New Testament 578. These 1817 prophecies cover 27% of the Bible. The special thing about it is that in our time 80% of it has already been fulfilled and has come true. This is because the God of the Bible is reliable and does what He promises. Isaiah 46:9-10 says: "I am God, and there is none like me, declaring the end from the beginning and from ancient times things not yet done, saying: My counsel shall stand, and I will accomplish all my purpose."
This website contains 136 (fulfilled) prophecies about the Messiah. Jews and Christians agree on many prophecies that they are about the Messiah. The difference is in the fulfillment: Jews believe that the Messiah is yet to come and Christians believe that these prophecies were fulfilled 2,000 years ago by Jesus Christ. Many prophecies are detailed and provide information about his birth, his family, his life, his betrayal and condemnation, and his death and burial. If you list all the prophecies, you can make a detailed profile, which the real Messiah must meet.
How likely is Jesus of Nazareth to fit the profile of the messianic Old Testament prophecies? There are details that could be faked, but many details such as the place of birth, lineage and method of execution have been determined independently and cannot be fulfilled accidentally or intentionally. In the book Science Speaks, professors Peter Stone and Robert Newman discuss the statistical improbability that one man could fulfill eight Messianic prophecies. The conclusion of their investigation was astonishing. The probability that someone could fulfill only 8 Messianic prophecies was only 1 in 1017th power (or 1 in 100,000,000,000,000,000,000).
These probabilities collectively give a number of 1x1028. Divide this number by an estimate of the number of people who have lived on Earth since the time of the prophecies (88 billion) and the probability of one person accidentally fulfilling these prophecies is 1 in 100 billion (1x1017). Jesus Christ fulfilled not 8 but over 130 prophecies. The odds of one person fulfilling that many prophecies are simply impossible, or rather supernatural. The fulfillment of the messianic prophecies in the life of Jesus (Yeshua) is convincing evidence that He really is the Messiah. It also proves that the Bible is of supernatural origin and that God is trustworthy.
This website has published 136 Messianic prophecies, which are quoted literally in the New Testament or clearly are deduced from the New Testament that they have been fulfilled. Do you want to know more about the Messiah? Read the Bible. The Old Testament prophecies give a clear picture of the Messiah. The Gospels in the New Testament describe His life, death and resurrection. Jesus Himself says in John 5:39, "Search the Scriptures... they bear witness about me".