By Rev David Munobwa
One of the greatest events celebrated across the globe is the Easter day! A day masses remember, in joyous celebration, the resurrection of Jesus, the Lord and Savior of the world.
Similar to Christmas when we celebrate His birth, Easter day brings the world to a standstill; even those who do not believe in Him have no choice but to join in the celebration, directly or indirectly.
One would wonder how a generation would be so ecstatic about events that happened over 2000 years ago, when none of them was present.
Where is the proof? Well, the infallibility of scripture, which is the main authority for the accounts of these events, plays a great deal in the assurance that the death and resurrection indeed took place.
The Bible provides numerous accounts of the birth, ministry, death and resurrection of Jesus.
The Old Testament provides prophesies of the same which we see fulfilled in the New Testament.
In this article, we shall look at prophesies/predictions of events that pointed to the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, both in the Old Testament and New Testament.
The passover lamb
Exodus 12:21-27: “Then Moses summoned all the elders of Israel and said to them, ‘Go at once and select the animal for your families and slaughter the Passover Lamb.
“Take a branch of a hyssop, dip it into the blood in the basin and put some of the blood on the top and both sides of the door frame…
“obey these instructions as a lasting ordinance for you and your descendants… and when your Children ask you,
“What does this ceremony mean to you?” then tell them, “It is the Passover Sacrifice to the Lord who passed over our homes when he struck down the Egyptians.”
This was fulfilled in Jesus as Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 5:7: “Get rid of the old yeast, so that you may be a new unleavened batch as you really are. For Christ, our Passover Lamb has been sacrificed.”
It is no surprise that John referred to Him as “…the lamb that takes away the sin of the world” (John 1:29).
No bone broken
Exodus 12:46: “It must be eaten inside the house, take none of the meat outside. Do not break any of the bones.”
This was fulfilled when Jesus, the sacrificial Lamb was hanged on the cross.
Since the Sabbath was approaching, they asked Pilate to have the legs of the hanged men broken and the bodies taken down.
John 19:31-36: “The soldiers therefore came and broke the legs of the first man who had been crucified with Jesus, and then those of the other.
“But when they came to Jesus and found that He was already dead, they did not break His legs.
These things happened so that scripture would be fulfilled. “Not one of his bones will be broken” (Psalms 34:20).
Conquered death
Isaiah, one of the major Prophets who prophesied a lot about Jesus’ life and ministry, predicted that “He will swallow death forever. The sovereign Lord will wipe away the tears from all faces” (Isaiah 25:7-8).
This was fulfilled when Jesus rose from the grave, now clothed in the imperishable body.
In the New Testament, Paul expounded on this when he said: “When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with the immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: ‘Death has been swallowed up in victory” (1 Corinthians 15:54).
Paul’s quote resonates with the message in Isaiah 26:19 and Hosea 13:14.
Christ’s resurrection
In Palms 118:17-18, it is written: “I will not die but live, and will proclaim what the Lord has done.
“The Lord has chastened me severely, but He has not given me over to death.”
The author here is a typology of Jesus, declaring that He will raise again, even when he dies.
And indeed, as we see in Luke 24:5-7, as the Angel asked the women, “why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here, He is risen!”
This was in fulfillment of what Jesus said about Himself that the son of man must be delivered to the hands of the sinners, be crucified and on the third day be raised again.
Further reading: Psalms 68:18 & Ephesians 4:7-16, Psalms 69:21 &Matthew 27:34; Psalms 16:9-11 & Acts 2:31, Psalms 22:18 & John 19:23-24.
