Jesus Fulfilled It All: The Prophetic Story of Easter

The death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus were foretold centuries before they happened through prophetic scriptures found throughout the Old Testament. 

• The prophet Isaiah described a suffering servant who would be pierced for our transgressions 700 years before Jesus
• King David wrote Psalm 22 which details crucifixion specifics like pierced hands and feet and divided garments
• Jesus' burial in a rich man's tomb fulfilled Isaiah 53:9 exactly as prophesied
• Jonah's three days in the fish was a prophetic sign of Jesus' time in the tomb
• Psalm 16:10 and Isaiah 53:11 both point to the resurrection, showing death wouldn't be the end
• These fulfilled prophecies confirm Jesus is the promised Messiah and the Bible is trustworthy
• Easter isn't just a holiday but the fulfillment of God's plan from the beginning

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Note: All scripture references are from the NIV translation unless otherwise indicated.

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Easter's Ancient Blueprint

Jacqui 0:12

Greetings listeners . Today we're celebrating Resurrection Sunday , also known as Easter , not just by remembering the cross , but by seeing how the story of Easter was written into God's plan centuries before it unfolded . Long before Good Friday and Easter morning , god had already written the story From the prophets to the Psalms , to the strange tale of a man swallowed by a fish . It was all part of his plan . Now , fair warning , I'll be reading a lot of scripture today , but hey , if there's ever a day for it , it's this one . Grab your coffee , open your Bible and let's walk through the prophecies that pointed to the cross and the empty tomb . Well , welcome everyone . I'm your host , Jacqui Adewole , and this is the Bible Basics Podcast , where , weekly , we break down the basics of the Bible into understandable , bite-sized chunks . Today we're not just celebrating Easter . We're pulling back the curtain on just how intentional God had been from the very beginning . All throughout the Old Testament , we see that God had a plan , a plan to rescue his people from sin , and that plan pointed forward to a coming Savior . Even from the earliest chapters of Genesis , when Adam and Eve sinned , god promised that someone would come to crush the serpent's head . We see that in Genesis 3:15 . That promise unfolds throughout the pages of Scripture , through the sacrificial system found in the law , the poetry of the Psalms , through the prophets , all pointing forward to Jesus' death , burial and resurrection , even before his name

Isaiah's Suffering Servant

Jacqui 2:32

was known . Let's take a look at what the Old Testament actually says . These aren't just interesting connections . They show that Jesus' death , burial and resurrection were part of God's plan all along . We'll start with his death . Some of the clearest Old Testament pictures of Easter are found in the book of Isaiah , written in the 8th century BC , about 700 years before the time of Jesus . Isaiah introduces a figure he calls the Servant of the Lord . This servant , who refers to the coming Messiah , appears throughout Isaiah's writings , especially in chapters 42 , 49 , and 50 , and most fully in chapters 52 and 53 . The servant is not described as a conquering king or a military leader . Instead , he's someone who suffers in the place of others , someone who is rejected , wounded and ultimately sacrificed on behalf of the people . One verse that captures this so clearly is Isaiah , chapter 53 , verse 5 . He was pierced for our transgressions . He was crushed for our iniquities . The punishment that brought us peace was on him , and by his wounds we are healed . Isaiah isn't describing someone suffering for his own sins . He's talking about a substitute , a servant , jesus , who would take on the sins of others . And that theme of the servant , suffering , continues throughout the passage . His appearance was so disfigured , beyond that of any human being . That's chapter 52 , verse 14 . He was despised and rejected . A man of suffering that's chapter 53 , verse 3 , and he grew up like a root out of a dry ground . That's chapter 53 , verse 2 . So you see , the servant wasn't impressive by human standards . Jesus was rejected and grief-stricken and through his suffering he carried the weight of our sins . It's one of the clearest pictures of what Jesus would later do on the cross . He willingly took the place of sinners , just as Isaiah described .

Jacqui 5:40

Now , isaiah doesn't just describe what happened . He shows us

David's Prophetic Psalms

Jacqui 5:45

why . It was the Lord's will to crush him and cause him to suffer . And the Lord makes his life an offering for sin . That's chapter 53 , verse 10 . This was divine love in action . God chose to deal with our sin by placing it all on the servant , the Messiah Jesus . The Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all . That's chapter 53 , verse 6 . All our wrongs , all our guilt , carried by the servant , so that we could be forgiven and have everlasting life .

Jacqui 6:40

Isaiah wasn't the only one who spoke this way . A thousand years before Jesus , King David also wrote words that are in the book of Psalms that pointed forward to the cross . When you read and hear in Matthew 26 , 46 , jesus crying out from the cross my God , my God , why have you forsaken me ? That's a direct quote from Psalm 22: 1 . As the psalm continues , it describes things that sound like they came straight from the Gospels . Quote , quote they pierce my hands and my feet , they divide my garments among them and cast lots for my clothing . That's Psalm , chapter 22 , verse 16 and verse 18 .

Jacqui 7:35

These are the exact details recorded in Jesus's crucifixion . The Roman soldiers pierced his hands and feet . They gambled for his clothes . That wasn't coincidence . The Roman soldiers pierced his hands and feet . They gambled for his clothes . That wasn't coincidence , it was fulfillment . Even the timing of the Messiah's death was foretold . The prophet Daniel wrote . That's Daniel , chapter 9 , verse 26 .

Jacqui 8:11

Scholars have linked this prophecy to the time of Jesus' death in the first century AD , and even the details of how Jesus died were prophesied . God

Burial & Jonah's Connection

Jacqui 8:26

gave Israel clear instructions that none of the bones of the Passover lamb were to be broken . Now this we find all the way back in the book of Exodus , chapter 12 , 46 and Numbers 9 , 12 . Well , david echoes this again in Psalm 34 , verse 20 . So , when we arrive at the cross , even amid brutal suffering , none of Jesus's bones were broken . John's gospel tells us . Tells us these things happened so that scripture would be fulfilled . Not one of his bones will be broken . That's John , chapter 19 , verse 36 .

Jacqui 9:27

Once again , every detail matched what God had already said After Jesus had died . The fulfillment didn't stop there . Even the details of his burial were part of God's plan , spoken through the prophets and carried out with precision . Isaiah writes , quote he was assigned a grave with the wicked and with the rich in his death . That's Isaiah , chapter 53: 9 . So Jesus died alongside criminals , yes , but instead of being buried like one , he was placed in a rich man's tomb , that of Joseph of Arimathea , a respected member of the Jewish council . That was God's plan . We see that in Matthew , chapter 27 , verses 57 through 60 . What looked like a small detail was actually a direct fulfillment of prophecy .

Jacqui 10:36

And there's another picture of the burial of Jesus that comes from one of the most unexpected places , the story of Jonah , quote Jonah was in the belly of the fish . Three days and three nights . That's Jonah , chapter 1 , verse 17 . Jesus himself pointed to Jonah as a sign , a preview , of his own burial . In the book of Matthew , jesus made the connection quote . For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of a huge fish , so the Son of man will be there three days and three nights in the heart of the earth . That's Matthew , chapter 12 , verse 40 . Jesus wasn't just quoting scripture . He was showing how the story of Jonah had always been pointing to him . Because , just like Jonah didn't stay in the fish , because , just like Jonah didn't stay in the fish and Jesus didn't stay in the tomb , the story wasn't over . If you want

Resurrection Prophecies Fulfilled

Jacqui 11:49

to explore that connection more deeply , check out our earlier episode on Jonah .

Jacqui 11:53

Now let's turn to those prophecies of Jesus' resurrection . The Old Testament doesn't stop at the Messiah's death or burial . It points clearly to his resurrection as well . Jesus' resurrection is the cornerstone on which Christianity stands . If there's no resurrection , all our faith is in vain . In Psalm , chapter 16 , verse 10 , david writes you will not abandon me to the realm of the dead , nor will you let your faithful one see decay . This verse is one of the clearest prophecies of the resurrection . It was quoted by Peter in Acts 2 during his sermon at Pentecost , explaining that David wasn't talking about himself but about the Messiah . Peter said David was looking ahead to someone who wouldn't stay dead but would be raised to life .

Jacqui 12:56

Then we move to the book of Isaiah . Isaiah also makes it clear that the story wouldn't end in death Quote after he suffered , he will see the light of life and be satisfied . That's Isaiah 53 , verse 11 . The servant doesn't remain crushed , he lives again . And not only that , he sees the result of his suffering and is satisfied . That result is us . Through this one sacrifice , god's plan was fulfilled and many were put in right standing with him . And once again we return to Jonah . Those three days and three nights . Jesus called them a sign . We saw where Jesus directly connected this to his own burial , but he also connected it to his resurrection Quote . This wasn't just about the number of days , it was a preview of resurrection . God brings life out of death and hope out of what looked like the end . So what does this all mean ?

Jacqui 14:28

Jesus did not show up randomly . The death , burial and resurrection of Jesus , the Messiah had been prophesied in the Hebrew scriptures , the Old Testament , in real places , by real people in real time , and they came to pass exactly as God said . They would . No wonder that Jesus told the religious leaders of his day , quote you study the scriptures diligently because you think that in them you have eternal life . Diligently because you think that in them you have eternal life . These are the very scriptures that testify about me . That's John , chapter 5 , verse 39 .

Jacqui 15:13

And after he rose , when he walked along the road to Emmaus with two of his followers , he explains it even more clearly , beginning with Moses and all the prophets . He explained to them what he said in all the scriptures concerning himself . That was Luke , chapter 24 , verse 27 . And that's exactly what we've been doing today , seeing how the scriptures , even before the Gospels , were already telling the Easter story . Because of God's plan to save us through Jesus , we now live with real hope , not just for heaven one day , but for life right now , a hope that says if we trust God and believe that Jesus gave his life for us , then your sin is paid for , your past doesn't have the final word , your future is secure . All of this is true because Jesus rose from the dead just as he said he

Why Easter Matters Today

Jacqui 16:29

would . Quote the son of man must be delivered over to the hands of sinners , be crucified and on the third day , be raised again . That's Luke , chapter 24 , verse 7 . And as Paul later wrote , he was raised on the third day , according to the scriptures .

Jacqui 16:51

So why does this all matter ? Because it shows us three things . First , God keeps his promises . What he said would happen did happen . Second , jesus is the true Messiah . No one else could fulfill what was written . And third , Easter is more than just a one-time event . It's the center of the story God's been telling all along . We're not just invited into the story , we're the reason for it . Jesus came , suffered , died , was buried and rose again .

Jacqui 17:31

With us in mind , and as we bring this episode to a close , we see that Jesus' death , burial and resurrection were not just random events . Jesus's death , burial and resurrection were not just random events . They were foretold in the scriptures , through the law , the prophets and the Psalms , hundreds of years before they took place . Each detail happened according to God's plan , and each prophecy was fulfilled with precision . Fulfilled with precision . This confirms that Jesus is the promised Messiah and that the Bible is a trustworthy record of God's plan to save his people . So Easter , then , isn't just a holiday . It marks the fulfillment of what God had promised from the very beginning that through his son , sin would be dealt with , death would be defeated and new life would be possible . Next week we'll pick back up on our journey through the prophets , but for now , soak in the joy of Resurrection Sunday . Soak in the joy of Resurrection Sunday . Until then , keep reading , keep seeking and keep growing in your faith so that we spread God's Word further . Please share , like , follow , comment and subscribe .