In the following prophecies of the Messiah, we find specific references to predictions made by the prophets of the Messiah’s death and His resurrection. You will notice from the scripture references that at first glance they may not appear as clear references to His death. This is where scholarship is required. Many of these Messianic Prophecies can only be correctly understood by the Hebrew text and fully explained by an english translation.
I have spent the past 45 years studying, teaching, lecturing, and publishing the Hebrew and Greek texts of the Messianic Prophecies. In this master page for the links which describe Messiah’s death and resurrection, you can click on each individual link and find a detailed explanation for each scholarly commentary on these prophecies.
Please do not make the mistake of merely reading the scripture reference here on this page without clicking on the scripture link to see the commentary for why this is a prophecy of Messiah’s death and resurrection. Most people will not be able to understand from the scriptures alone, what the prophecy is actually saying.
Prophecies Of Messiah’s Death
The following is a list of 50 prophecies from the Old Testament that specifically speak of the death of the Messiah for the sins of all people.
Prophecy 1
A promise made that the Messiah will be bruised only in His heel (שׁוּף šûp̱) an a Hebrew idiom for killed but not permanently dead. While Messiah will permanently bruise the head of the serpent, destroy him forever.
Also a prophecy of a future women who will carry the Seed, a Hebrew allusion to a virgin birth, and bring Messiah into the world without the aide of human father. Women do not carry the Seed, but this woman will carry the seed within her.
Genesis 3:15a “And I will put enmity Between you and the woman, And between your seed and her Seed; He shall bruise your head, And you shall bruise His heel.”
Prophecy 12
The illustration of Abraham offering his only son Isaac on Mount Moriah, as a prequel for God’s offering of His only Son, the Messiah, for the sins of the world on Mount Moriah.
Genesis 22:1-2 Now it came to pass after these things that God tested Abraham, and said to him, “Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.” Then He said, “Take now your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you.
Prophecy 22
The “Blood” of the Messiah shall be the sign of God’s covenant to “pass-over” the sins of the believer.
Exodus 12:13 “Now the blood shall be a sign for you on the houses where you are. And when I see the blood, I will pass over you; and the plague shall not be on you to destroy you when I strike the land of Egypt.”
Prophecy 23
The Messiah shall be the Passover Lamb.
Exodus 12:21-23 “Then Moses called for all the elders of Israel and said to them, “Pick out and take lambs for yourselves according to your families, and kill the Passover lamb. And you shall take a bunch of hyssop, dip it in the blood that is in the basin, and strike the lintel and the two doorposts with the blood that is in the basin. And none of you shall go out of the door of his house until morning. For the LORD will pass through to strike the Egyptians; and when He sees the blood on the lintel and on the two doorposts, the LORD will pass over the door and not allow the destroyer to come into your houses to strike you.”
Prophecy 31
The blood of the Messiah’s sacrifice for sins, shall be sprinkled on the Mercy Seat.
Leviticus 16:15-17 Then he shall kill the goat of the sin offering, which is for the people, bring its blood inside the veil, do with that blood as he did with the blood of the bull, and sprinkle it on the mercy seat and before the mercy seat. So he shall make atonement for the Holy Place, because of the uncleanness of the children of Israel, and because of their transgressions, for all their sins; and so he shall do for the tabernacle of meeting which remains among them in the midst of their uncleanness. There shall be no man in the tabernacle of meeting when he goes in to make atonement in the Holy Place, until he comes out, that he may make atonement for himself, for his household, and for all the assembly of Israel.
Prophecy 32
The Messiah’s sacrifice for the sin offering shall be killed outside of the camp.
Leviticus 16:27 The bull for the sin offering and the goat for the sin offering, whose blood was brought in to make atonement in the Holy Place, shall be carried outside the camp. And they shall burn in the fire their skins, their flesh, and their offal.
Prophecy 34
The shed Blood of the Messiah shall make atonement for the sins of the world.
Leviticus 17:11b “For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it to you upon the altar to make atonement for your souls; for it is the blood that makes atonement for the soul.”
Prophecy 46
The Messiah will take our curse upon himself.
Deuteronomy 21:23 “…his body shall not remain overnight on the tree, but you shall surely bury him that day, so that you do not defile the land which the LORD your God is giving you as an inheritance; for he who is hanged is accursed of God.”
Prophecy 58
The promise of resurrection as Job sees his “Redeemer”, the Messiah standing on the earth in his resurrected body, in the last days.
Job 19:25-27 “For I know that my Redeemer lives, And He shall stand at last on the earth; And after my skin is destroyed, this I know, That in my flesh I shall see God, Whom I shall see for myself, And my eyes shall behold, and not another. How my heart yearns within me!”
Prophecy 64
The Messiah will be killed and Resurrected.
Psalms 2:7-8 “I will declare the decree: The LORD has said to Me, ‘You are My Son, Today I have begotten You. Ask of Me, and I will give You The nations for Your inheritance, And the ends of the earth for Your possession.”
Prophecy 71
The Messiah will be forsaken by God because He will take the world’s sin upon Himself.
Psalms 22:1 “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me? Why are You so far from helping Me, And from the words of My groaning?”
Prophecy 72
The Messiah will “cry out” to God during His suffering.
Psalms 22:2 “O My God, I cry in the daytime, but You do not hear; And in the night season, and am not silent…”
Prophecy 73
The Messiah will be despised, rejected, abused and thought of as “a worm”, even less than a man.
Psalms 22:6 “But I am a worm, and no man; A reproach of men, and despised by the people.”
Prophecy 76
The Messiah was born for the express purpose of being the Savior of the world.
Psalms 22:9-10 “But You are He who took Me out of the womb; You made Me trust while on My mother’s breasts. I was cast upon You from birth. From My mother’s womb You have been My God.”
Prophecy 77
The Messiah will be crucified, and die from a ruptured heart.
Psalms 22:14 “They gape at Me with their mouths, Like a raging and roaring lion. I am poured out like water, And all My bones are out of joint; My heart is like wax; It has melted within Me.
Prophecy 78
The Messiah will thirst while on the cross.
Psalms 22:15 “They gape at Me with their mouths, Like a raging and roaring lion. I am poured out like water, And all My bones are out of joint; My heart is like wax; It has melted within Me. My strength is dried up like a potsherd, And My tongue clings to My jaws; You have brought Me to the dust of death. For dogs have surrounded Me; The congregation of the wicked has enclosed Me. They pierced My hands and My feet; I can count all My bones.”
Prophecy 79
Those who see the Messiah being crucified will hate Him and mock Him.
Psalms 22:16a “For dogs have surrounded Me; The congregation of the wicked has enclosed Me.”
Prophecy 80
The hands and feet of the Messiah will be pierced.
Psalm 22:16b “They pierced My hands and My feet…”
Prophecy 81
The Messiah will be stripped of His clothing and be naked before the world.
Psalms 22:17 “I can count all My bones. They look and stare at Me. They divide My garments among them, And for My clothing they cast lots.”
Prophecy 82
The garments of the Messiah will be divided and gambled for by those who watch him die.
Psalms 22:18 “They divide My garments among them, And for My clothing they cast lots.”
Prophecy 83
Despite all of God’s wrath being poured out on the Messiah, He commits himself to God, and trust in Him to exonerate Him after He makes His life a sacrifice.
Psalms 22:19 “But You, O LORD, do not be far from Me; O My Strength, hasten to help Me! Deliver Me from the sword, My precious life from the power of the dog. Save Me from the lion’s mouth And from the horns of the wild oxen! You have answered Me.”
Prophecy 84
The devil will seek to kill the Messiah at the cross and end His plan for the salvation of men.
Psalms 22:20-21 “Deliver Me from the sword, My precious life from the power of the dog. Save Me from the lion’s mouth And from the horns of the wild oxen! You have answered Me.”
Prophecy 85
It is by the death and resurrection of the Messiah that the whole world will learn of the Grace and Love of God.
Psalms 22:22 “I will declare Your name to My brethren; In the midst of the assembly I will praise You.”
Prophecy 86
Because of the Messiah’s victory at the cross, he shall be given dominion and rulership over all the nations of the world.
Psalms 22:27-29 “All the ends of the world Shall remember and turn to the LORD, And all the families of the nations Shall worship before You. For the kingdom is the LORD’S, And He rules over the nations. All the prosperous of the earth Shall eat and worship; All those who go down to the dust Shall bow before Him, Even he who cannot keep himself alive.”
Prophecy 87
The Messiah will have eye witnesses who will testify of his life, death, and resurrection. Those who read their testimony will take the Gospel to the whole world.
Psalms 22:30-31 “A posterity shall serve Him. It will be recounted of the Lord to the next generation, They will come and declare His righteousness to a people who will be born, That He has done this.”
Prophecy 91
The Messiah will not be left in the grave, He will be resurrected to life.
Psalms 30:3 “O LORD, You brought my soul up from the grave; You have kept me alive, that I should not go down to the pit.”
Prophecy 92
The exact words that the Messiah will speak upon his death, as He commits his Spirit to God.
Psalms 31:5 “Into Your hand I commit my spirit…”
Prophecy 94
Plans will be made to put the Messiah to death.
Psalms 31:13 “For I hear the slander of many; Fear is on every side; While they take counsel together against me, They scheme to take away my life.”
Prophecy 96
Not one of the Messiah’s bones will be broken.
Psalms 34:20 “He guards all his bones; Not one of them is broken.”
Prophecy 100
Although the Messiah will go into the lower parts of the earth at His death, He will be raised to life again with great joy over all those who will know Him after His resurrection.
Psalms 40:2-3 “He also brought me up out of a horrible pit, Out of the miry clay, And set my feet upon a rock, And established my steps. He has put a new song in my mouth—Praise to our God; Many will see it and fear, And will trust in the LORD.
Prophecy 117
The intense anguish that the Messiah felt before His crucifixion.
Psalms 69:14-15 “Deliver me out of the mire, And let me not sink; Let me be delivered from those who hate me, And out of the deep waters. Let not the floodwater overflow me, Nor let the deep swallow me up; And let not the pit shut its mouth on me.”
Prophecy 120
The Persecution of the Messiah Predicted.
Psalms 69:26 “For they persecute the ones You have struck, And talk of the grief of those You have wounded.”
Prophecy 136
The suffering of the Messiah described in vivid detail.
Psalms 102:1-11 Hear my prayer, O LORD, And let my cry come to You. Do not hide Your face from me in the day of my trouble; Incline Your ear to me; In the day that I call, answer me speedily. For my days are consumed like smoke, And my bones are burned like a hearth. My heart is stricken and withered like grass, So that I forget to eat my bread. Because of the sound of my groaning My bones cling to my skin. I am like a pelican of the wilderness; I am like an owl of the desert. I lie awake, And am like a sparrow alone on the housetop. My enemies reproach me all day long; Those who deride me swear an oath against me. For I have eaten ashes like bread, And mingled my drink with weeping, Because of Your indignation and Your wrath; For You have lifted me up and cast me away. My days are like a shadow that lengthens, And I wither away like grass.
Prophecy 147
The Messiah shall be resurrected from the dead.
Psalms 118:17-18 I shall not die, but live, And declare the works of the LORD. The LORD has chastened me severely, But He has not given me over to death.
Prophecy 189
The Messiah will “swallow up” death. Literally, He will taste death for everyone and remove it forever.
Isaiah 25:8 He will swallow up death forever, And the Lord GOD will wipe away tears from all faces; The rebuke of His people He will take away from all the earth; For the LORD has spoken.
Prophecy 241
The purpose of the Messiah’s sacrifice was to carry the sorrow for our sins.
Isaiah 53:4b Surely He has …carried our sorrows….
Prophecy 243
The purpose of the Messiah’s sacrifice will be to pay the penalty for all mankind’s sins.
Isaiah 53:5a But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities…
Prophecy 246
The purpose of the Messiah’s sacrifice was to bear the sins of the whole world who were lost and separated from God.
Isaiah 53:6a All we like sheep have gone astray; We have turned, every one, to his own way…
Prophecy 250
The Messiah will be the Lamb that takes way the sins of the whole world.
Isaiah 53:7c He was led as a lamb to the slaughter, And as a sheep before its shearers is silent, So He opened not His mouth.
Prophecy 253
The Messiah to be “cut off” (killed) at the hands of evil men.
Isaiah 53:8c For He was cut off from the land of the living; For the transgressions of My people He was stricken.
Prophecy 254
The ultimate purpose of the Messiah’s death was to remove the transgressions of all people.
Isaiah 53:8d …For the transgressions of My people He was stricken.
Prophecy 258
It pleased the Lord to punish the Messiah for the sins of the world.
Isaiah 53:10a Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise Him; He has put Him to grief. When You make His soul an offering for sin…
Prophecy 265
The Messiah shall become the bearer of all sin’s, for all people, for all time.
Isaiah 53:11d … For He shall bear their iniquities (sins).
Prophecy 267
The Messiah will “pour out His soul unto death”, He will give all that He has for those He is redeeming.
Isaiah 53:12b …Because He poured out His soul unto death, And He was numbered with the transgressors, And He bore the sin of many, And made intercession for the transgressors.
Prophecy 269
The purpose of the Messiah is to “bear the sins of many”.
Isaiah 53:12d … And He bore the sin of many, And made intercession for the transgressors.
Prophecy 310
The Messiah will be “cut off”, or killed, in the midst of His ministry.
Daniel 9:26a “And after the sixty-two weeks Messiah shall be cut off…
Prophecy 311
The Messiah will not be put to death for His own sins, but for the sins of the whole world.
Daniel 9:26b “And after the sixty-two weeks Messiah shall be cut off, but not for Himself…
Prophecy 316
The Messiah shall defeat death by His resurrection from the dead.
Hosea 13:14 “I will ransom them from the power of the grave; I will redeem them from death. O Death, I will be your plagues! O Grave, I will be your destruction! Pity is hidden from My eyes.”
Prophecy 354
The nation of Israel and the Jews will finally “look upon” the one that they pierced, and understand that He is their Messiah.
Zechariah 12:10c “And I will pour on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem the Spirit of grace and supplication; then they will look on Me whom they pierced. Yes, they will mourn for Him as one mourns for his only son, and grieve for Him as one grieves for a firstborn.
Prophecy 356
The wounds of the Messiah will be due to the sins of His “friends” that He dies for.
Zechariah 13:6 And one will say to him, What are these wounds between your arms? Then he will answer, Those with which I was wounded in the house of my friends.
Prophecies Of Messiah’s Resurrection
The Old Testament predicts Twelve times that the Messiah will be raised from the dead.
Prophecy 64
The Messiah will be killed and Resurrected.
Psalm 2 is widely accepted by all credible scholars as Messianic. In the original Hebrews language that Psalm 2 was written, it is implied in the language structure of verse 7 that the Son who is Begotten will be killed and then resurrected from the dead in order to receive the kingdom which is promised to Him.
Psalms 2:7-8 I will declare the decree: The Lord has said to Me, You are My Son, today I have begotten You. Ask of Me, and I will give You the nations for Your inheritance, and the ends of the earth for Your possession.
Prophecy 69
The Messiah, though He will be killed, His body will be Resurrected.
Here in Psalm 16:9-11, the Messiah is promised resurrection after death, without any decay of His body. The designation: “Holy One,” makes the identity of the Messiah a certainty. Paul confirms that Psalm 16:9-11 was written for Jesus as the Messiah by using the same language that David used (Holy One)–as he confirms that Jesus resurrection was a fulfillment of this Old Testament prediction. Acts 13:33 … As it is also written in the second Psalm: …Therefore He also says in another Psalm: “You will not allow Your Holy One to see corruption.’
Psalms 16:9-11 Therefore my heart is glad, and my glory rejoices; My flesh also will rest in hope. For You will not leave my soul in Sheol, nor will You allow Your Holy One to see corruption. You will show me the path of life; in Your presence is fullness of joy; at Your right hand are pleasures forevermore.
Prophecy 85
It is by the death and resurrection of the Messiah that the whole world will learn of the Grace and Love of God.
David describes the Messiah—declared in the midst of the assembly. This would only be possible if He were raised from the dead. By His resurrection, the Messiah would display tangible proof of God’s love for all mankind.
Psalms 22:22 I will declare Your name to My brethren; in the midst of the assembly I will praise You.
Prophecy 91
The Messiah will not be left in the grave; He will be resurrected to life.
David wrote in Psalm 30:3 that the soul of the Messiah would not be left in the grave—He will be kept alive by resurrection. Jesus understood that His death would bring His resurrection. The sacrifice that Jesus made on the cross to pay for the sins of all people would be meaningless if there was no promise of a resurrected Messiah afterwards.
Psalms 30:3 O Lord, You brought my soul up from the grave; You have kept me alive, that I should not go down to the pit.
Prophecy 100
Although the Messiah will go into the lower parts of the earth at His death, He will be raised to life again with great joy over all those who will receive Him after His resurrection.
The debate as to whether Prophecy 100 from Psalms 40:2-3 is applicable to the Messiah is proven by Prophecy 101 that follows—which is clearly Messianic. We know this for certain because Paul quotes from Prophecy 101 in the Book of Hebrews 10:5-9.
Psalms 40:2-3 He also brought me up out of a horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and established my steps. He has put a new song in my mouth— Praise to our God; many will see it and fear, and will trust in the Lord.
Prophecy 109
The Promise of Resurrection given to the Messiah.
The fact of the Messiah’s resurrection is well documented throughout the Old Testament. David, in writing this 19th prophecy from Psalm 49:15, describes a risen Savior—who has power over the grave. “But God will redeem my soul from the power of the grave, For He shall receive me.” Peter later confirms David’s prophetic depiction of a risen Messiah, in Acts chapter 2.
Acts 2:25,27 “For David says concerning Him (Messiah): ‘…For You will not leave my soul in Hades, Nor will You allow Your Holy One to see corruption.’ ”
Incredibly, Peter quotes the precise words which David penned in Psalm 16, nearly one thousand years before Jesus would fulfill this prophecy.
Psalms 16:10 For You will not leave my soul in Sheol, Nor will You allow Your Holy One to see corruption.
Since David uses similar language to describe power over the grave in both Psalm 49:15 and Psalm 16:10, it is certain that he is speaking of the same person.
Psalms 49:15 But God will redeem my soul from the power of the grave,
For He shall receive me.
Prophecy 147
The Messiah shall be resurrected from the dead.
The certainty of Psalm 118 as Messianic, is a settled matter. One of the most famous portions of these prophetic scriptures is found in verses 22-26. Verses 17-18 describe the Messiah, having power over death, though the Lord will chasten Him severely. This leaves no doubt that this 147th prophecy is describing the resurrection of the Messiah, who will come on one specific day: This is the day the Lord has made, to offer His life for the sins of the world (Prophecy 149).
Psalms 118 verses 17-18 describe a personal statement: Although I shall be severely chastened: as in Jesus’ suffering and crucifixion for the worlds’s sin, He states that He shall live again
Psalms 118:17-18 I shall not die, but live, and declare the works of the Lord. The Lord has chastened me severely, but He has not given me over to death.
Prophecy 190
The Messiah’s Rapture and the Resurrection of those who believe in Him, predicted.
Both Isaiah 26:17-20 and John 16:10-21 speak of a woman who is in labor, in context with the return of the Lord during the last days. As a woman nears the hour of her child’s birth, her contractions grow closer and closer together. Suddenly, the baby is born and a new life has come into the world. In the last days, the labor and distress of the world will grow steadily more severe like the birth pains of a woman ready to give birth until suddenly, Jesus will remove His church from the earth, as described in 1 Thessalonians Chapter 4.
… the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, …the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air…
In order for Jesus to return to earth for His church, He must be resurrected Himself from the dead, after He is crucified.
Isaiah describes the Messiah saying “Your dead shall live together with my dead body…”
This 190th Old Testament Prophecy from Isaiah 26:17-20 describes first, the Messiah’s Rapture of His church; the dead shall live. Second, the condition of the world just before the Rapture; a woman with child in pain, ready to give birth. Then Isaiah speaks an Old Testament allusion to the Rapture: Come, my people, enter your chambers, And shut your doors behind you; Hide yourself, as it were, for a little moment, Until the indignation is past.
Isaiah 26:17-20 As a woman with child Is in pain and cries out in her pangs,
When she draws near the time of her delivery, so have we been in Your sight, O Lord. We have been with child, we have been in pain; we have, as it were, brought forth wind; we have not accomplished any deliverance in the earth, nor have the inhabitants of the world fallen. Your dead shall live; together with my dead body they shall arise.mAwake and sing, you who dwell in dust; for your dew is like the dew of herbs, and the earth shall cast out the dead. Take Refuge from the Coming Judgment come, my people, enter your chambers (heaven), and shut your doors behind you; hide yourself, as it were, for a little moment, until the indignation (Tribulation) is past.
Prophecy 260
The Messiah will look forward and see those whom He shall redeem by His sacrifice.
When Jesus was contemplating the cost of the Cross and the depth of sin that He would partake of, He also looked ahead and saw all those who would believe in Him and commit their lives to Him. It was this joy—ahead that Jesus looked to, not only as He moved towards the Cross, but even before He spoke the universe into existence.
Hebrews 12:2 looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
Isaiah 53:10c Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise Him; He has put Him to grief. When You make His soul an offering for sin, He shall see His seed, He shall prolong His days, And the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in His hand.
Prophecy 272
The Messiah is given the promise of resurrection by God, called “The sure mercies of David.”
As Luke records the words that Paul spoke to the leaders of the Synagogue of Antioch, he uses the same term in Acts 13:34 above: the sure mercies of David, to describe the resurrection of Jesus Christ—which Isaiah also uses in this 272nd prophecy, to describe the Messiah. By this example, we have confirmation that both Paul and Luke believed that Jesus is the object of Isaiah’s prophecy of the Messiah.
Paul, in speaking to these men, testified that Jesus is the fulfillment of all the Old Testament prophecies that concern the Messiah.
Isaiah 53:3 Incline your ear, and come to Me. Hear, and your soul shall live; And I will make an everlasting covenant with you—The sure mercies of David.
Prophecy 293
The Messiah shall be born as a descendant of David. He will be raised up (literally, raised from the dead) and be Israel’s King in the future.
There is a subtle nuance that may be missed in Jeremiah’s prophecy, where he states: whom I will raise up for them. In the literal Hebrew language, the idea here is “Raised up by Resurrection.” This sheds new light on the meaning of Jeremiah’s prophecy. The One to rule over Israel will not only be a “King” from the Line of David, but He will also be one who is resurrected from the dead. This defines Jesus Christ and His resurrection three days after He was crucified, as the clear object of Jeremiah’s prophecy. Jeremiah is predicting the Messiah’s resurrection almost 600 years before Jesus is born.
Jeremiah 30:9 For my people will serve the Lord their God and their king descended from David—the king I will raise up for them. (NLT)
Prophecy 319
The Messiah will raise from the dead after three days.
Jesus quoted this prophecy from the prophet Jonah in confirmation that as the Messiah, He will be dead three days before being raised to life again.
What this reveals to us is that Jesus has a depth of knowledge of the Old Testament scriptures that no one else in the history of the world possesses. It also validates for us the story of Jonah as being an actual event that took place, and not a myth or allegory. If we believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God and our Savior, then we should have no problem believing that the story of Jonah in the belly of the whale actually happened because Jesus said that it did.
Old Testament Prediction:
Jonah 1:17 Now the LORD had prepared a great fish to swallow Jonah. And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.
New Testament Fulfillment:
Matthew 12:40 (Jesus speaking) For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.
Luke 11:30 For as Jonah became a sign to the Ninevites, so also the Son of Man will be to this generation.
Robert Clifton Robinson 