365 Prophecies: Prophecy 335

The Messiah will bring Justice.

Old Testament Prediction:

Zechariah 9:9c Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your King is coming to you; He is just and having salvation, Lowly and riding on a donkey, A colt, the foal of a donkey.

New Testament Fulfillment:

John 5:30 I can of Myself do nothing. As I hear, I judge; and My judgment is righteous, because I do not seek My own will but the will of the Father who sent Me.

Matthew 12:10-21 And behold, there was a man who had a withered hand. And they asked Him, saying, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?”—that they might accuse Him. Then He said to them, “What man is there among you who has one sheep, and if it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will not lay hold of it and lift it out? Of how much more value then is a man than a sheep? Therefore it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath.” Then He said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” And he stretched it out, and it was restored as whole as the other. Then the Pharisees went out and plotted against Him, how they might destroy Him. But when Jesus knew it, He withdrew from there. And great multitudes followed Him, and He healed them all. Yet He warned them not to make Him known, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet, saying: “Behold! My Servant whom I have chosen, My Beloved in whom My soul is well pleased! I will put My Spirit upon Him, And He will declare justice to the Gentiles. He will not quarrel nor cry out, Nor will anyone hear His voice in the streets. A bruised reed He will not break, And smoking flax He will not quench, Till He sends forth justice to victory; And in His name Gentiles will trust.”

Application:

The purpose of Prophecy 335 is to demonstrate that the Messiah will make salvation available to all people. God will first offer the forgiveness of sins and eternal life to the Jews. Upon Israel’s refusal to accept Jesus as their Messiah, the Lord will fulfill His promise to also offer salvation to the Gentile nations.

Prophecy 102:
The Messiah would first offer Salvation to the Nation of Israel.

Prophecy 115:
The Messiah will come to His own people—the Jews, but they will not receive Him.

Prophecy 185:
The Messiah will be sought and found by the Gentiles.

Prophecy 205:
The Messiah will bring light (Salvation) to the Gentiles as well as Israel.

Prophecy 207:
Israel, as the “servant of the LORD,” will be blind to her Messiah when He comes.

Prophecy 216:
The Messiah shall bring Salvation to Israel as well as a light and salvation to the Gentiles.

Prophecy 217:
The Salvation that the Messiah will bring to the Gentiles will be carried by them to “the ends of the earth.”

Prophecy 233:
Even among the Messiah’s own people, the Jews—they would not believe that He was the promised One.

Prophecy 254:
The ultimate purpose in the death of the Messiah is to remove the transgressions of all people.

Prophecy 259:
The Eternal promise of God was that the Soul of the Messiah would redeem all men.

Prophecy 260:
The Messiah shall look forward and see those to whom He shall redeem by His sacrifice.

Prophecy 261:
The Messiah’s plan for the salvation of all men will prosper and be successful.

Prophecy 262:
The Messiah shall see in advance what the work of His Salvation shall accomplish, and He will be satisfied.

Prophecy 269:
The purpose of the Messiah is to “bear the sins of many.”

Prophecy 271:
The Messiah will offer salvation to everyone without cost.

Prophecy 277:
The Messiah will announce His arrival at, to Zion (Jerusalem).

Prophecy 280:
The Messiah will come with the “Good News” (Gospel) that God is ready to forgive all sin and grant eternal life to all who will receive it.

Prophecy 282:
The Messiah shall proclaim an acceptable time of grace when salvation shall be available from the Lord.

Prophecy 283:
As a result of the Messiah coming out of Israel, bringing salvation to all the nations, the Gentiles will see the Lord’s glory and call those who follow the Messiah by a new name: Christian.

Prophecy 287:
The Messiah will offer salvation to the Gentile nations upon Israel’s rejection of her Messiah.

Prophecy 318:
The purpose of the Messiah is to offer Salvation to the whole world.

Prophecy 336:
The Messiah will bring Salvation.

Prophecy 346:
The Messiah will take the Kingdom from those who reject Him and offer it to others. Those who have rejected Him will find their “House a desolation.” Those who are left in Jerusalem will starve and eat their dead in order to survive.

Prophecy 350:
The Messiah will be rejected by Israel.

A Just Basis for the Removal of Sin

In this 335th prophecy of Zechariah 9:9c, the prophet describes the Messiah as bringing justice to the earth. When we hear the word justice, we think of the proper administration of the law. The intended meaning here in this Old Testament prophecy is that God is going to offer a legal basis for the removal our sins.

According to the Bible, justice is carried out when the penalty for a crime is exacted against the offending party. A crime has been committed; therefore, a penalty is due. There can be no justice if the guilty are not punished. If a person has committed a terrible crime and he appears before a judge for sentencing, and that judge should inform the guilty man that his crime would simply be forgotten, we would say that this judge was unjust. In the same way, God has pronounced a penalty against the sinner: “The soul who sins will die.”

Ezekiel 18:4 “Behold, all souls are Mine; The soul of the father As well as the soul of the son is Mine; The soul who sins shall die.”

In order for God to be seen as just, He must carry out the sentence that He has predetermined. If God did not judge the guilty, then we could never trust Him to do anything that He has promised. The Lord cannot simply ignore our sins and act as if they didn’t happen, nor can He remove our sins without a just basis. Sins have been committed; therefore, a penalty must be exacted.

Our God is both loving and just, therefore, He must do what His law requires and punish the sinner. There is, however, a provision in the law of God for a substitutionary party to stand in the place of the guilty.

Leviticus 1:10 If his offering is of the flocks—of the sheep or of the goats—as a burnt sacrifice, he shall bring a male without blemish.

Leviticus 4:20 And he shall do with the bull as he did with the bull as a sin offering; thus he shall do with it. So the priest shall make atonement for them, and it shall be forgiven them.

This included sins committed on purpose, with forethought, as well as those that we commit unintentionally. Whether sins are committed by accident or on purpose, a penalty is due. We can choose to pay for our own sins, or we can follow the law of God and offer the life of an innocent substitute to cover the penalty that is required. In the Old Testament, by the sacrifice of an animal—his death did not permanently remove the sin of the guilty. The covering provided by the Old Testament sacrifices acted only as a temporary covering until the Messiah would come and offer His life, which would permanently remove all sins forever.

Hebrews 10:4-5 For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and goats could take away sins (Old Testament). 5 Therefore, when He (the Messiah) came into the world, He said: “Sacrifice and offering You did not desire, But a body You have prepared for Me.”

Hebrews 10:9-10 then He (the Messiah) said, “Behold, I have come to do Your will, O God.” He takes away the first (Old Testament sacrifices) that He may establish the second (His life, death, resurrection). 10 By that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.

Hebrews 10:14 For by one offering (the death of the Messiah) He has perfected forever those who are being sanctified…

Unintentional Sins

We might think that sins which we commit without a knowledge of wrongdoing, would be less serious than those which are committed with forethought. We would be wrong. God holds us all accountable for every thought, word, and action of our life, whether they be intentional or by accident.

Matthew 12:36 But I say to you that for every idle word men may speak, they will give account of it in the day of judgment.

Leviticus 4:13-14 Now if the whole congregation of Israel sins unintentionally, and the thing is hidden from the eyes of the assembly, and they have done something against any of the commandments of the LORD in anything which should not be done, and are guilty; when the sin which they have committed becomes known, then the assembly shall offer a young bull for the sin, and bring it before the tabernacle of meeting.

The person who has committed the sin would bring a Bull to the priest and tell him that they have become aware of a sin that was committed. The priest would take the hand of the guilty and lay it upon the head of the innocent, transferring the guilt of the sinner to the innocent animal. The bull was then killed before the Lord.

Leviticus 4:15 And the elders of the congregation shall lay their hands on the head of the bull before the LORD. Then the bull shall be killed before the LORD.

If a sacrifice is offered in faith by the sinner based on the death of the substitutionary sacrifice, God will forgive the sins of the guilty.

Leviticus 4:20 And he shall do with the bull as he did with the bull as a sin offering; thus he shall do with it. So the priest shall make atonement for them, and it shall be forgiven them.

Intentional Sins

In most cases, we are completely aware of our wrongful actions. Sin does not begin at the moment the deed is done, or the words are spoken. Wrongdoing begins in the heart where the flaw originates. It is our nature to sin, it is what we do best. Our very nature is to say and do those things that flow out from our very life. Jesus said that from the treasury of our heart—comes our actions.

Matthew 15:18-19 But the words you speak come from the heart—that’s what defiles you. 19 For from the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, all sexual immorality, theft, lying, and slander. (NLT)

The Old Testament provision for dealing with our sins, comes from the book of Leviticus, chapter 1

Leviticus 1:1-5 Now the LORD called to Moses, and spoke to him from the tabernacle of meeting, saying, “Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them: ‘When any one of you brings an offering to the LORD, you shall bring your offering of the livestock—of the herd and of the flock.’ If his offering is a burnt sacrifice of the herd, let him offer a male without blemish; he shall offer it of his own free will at the door of the tabernacle of meeting before the LORD. Then he shall put his hand on the head of the burnt offering, and it will be accepted on his behalf to make atonement for him. He shall kill the bull before the LORD; and the priests, Aaron’s sons, shall bring the blood and sprinkle the blood all around on the altar that is by the door of the tabernacle of meeting.”

The important components of the law:

• The sacrifice must be “a male.”
• The sacrifice must be “without blemish.”
• The sacrifice must be offered “of his own free will.”
• The guilty shall “lay his hand on the head” of the sacrifice.
• The sacrifice “will be accepted on his behalf.”
• The sacrifice “will make atonement for him.”
• He shall kill the sacrifice “before the Lord.”

When we arrive at the New Testament, we see Paul writing about these sacrifices that were made by the sinner under the old covenant. Paul writes that the Old Testament law of the sacrifice was only a shadow of the good things to come. These sacrifices were an example of how God was going to forgive the sins of all people, after the Messiah came and offered His one sacrifice for all sins, for all time.

Hebrews 10:1-10 For the law, having a shadow of the good things to come, and not the very image of the things, can never with these same sacrifices, which they offer continually year by year, make those who approach perfect. For then would they not have ceased to be offered? For the worshipers, once purified, would have had no more consciousness of sins. But in those sacrifices there is a reminder of sins every year. For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and goats could take away sins. Therefore, when He came into the world, He said: “Sacrifice and offering You did not desire, But a body You have prepared for Me. In burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin You had no pleasure.” Then I said, “Behold, I have come—In the volume of the book it is written of Me—To do Your will, O God.” Previously saying, “Sacrifice and offering, burnt offerings, and offerings for sin You did not desire, nor had pleasure in them” (which are offered according to the law), then He said, “Behold, I have come to do Your will, O God.” He takes away the first that He may establish the second. By that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.

The sacrifices of the Old Testament were a temporary covering for sin, not a permanent removal of them. When Jesus came as the Messiah and offered His perfect life as God dwelling in human flesh, this one sacrifice was sufficient to remove forever—the sins of every person. The only requirement is that each person must come to God individually through the sacrifice of the Messiah and believe that His death has atoned for their sins.

The sacrifice of Jesus Christ was the just basis that God required to pay for the sins of all people.

When God chose to punish His Son instead of the sinner, He was able to righteously carry out the sentence of death for the wrongs committed, without punishing the person who committed the acts directly. Jesus bore the full penalty for the sins of all people, for all time. In this way—God can be both Just and Merciful. The opportunity for a full pardon exists today for every person because Jesus was willing to die for us.

When the Old Testament speaks of the Messiah bringing “Justice,” it means that He is coming to make a way for all of us to be seen as just in the sight of God, because the Messiah has removed all of our sins.