April 15, 2025 • 19 mins
We'd love to hear from you - Click Here to Text Us a Message.
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
Please share, like, follow, comment and subscribe so that we can spread God's Word further.
Have questions about what it means to follow Jesus?
Whether you’re just starting your faith journey or exploring what the Bible teaches, we’d love to walk with you. God’s invitation is real, personal, and full of grace.
💬 Reach out to Jacqui at info@bible-basics.org
📖 Talk to a trusted Christian in your life
🏠 Or visit a Bible-believing church near you
You are not alone. God’s Word is alive, and He is still drawing people to Himself today. Don’t hesitate to take the next step.
Thank you for tuning in!
Bible Basics is now streaming on Youtube. Please subscribe now!
Feel free to contact us at info@bible-basics.org. We would love to hear from you!
Note: All scripture references are from the NIV translation unless otherwise indicated.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Jacqui (00:12):
Greetings listeners.
Today we're celebratingResurrection Sunday, also known
as Easter, not just byremembering the cross, but by
seeing how the story of Easterwas written into God's plan
centuries before it unfolded.
Long before Good Friday andEaster morning, god had already
(00:38):
written the story From theprophets to the Psalms, to the
strange tale of a man swallowedby a fish.
It was all part of his plan.
Now, fair warning, I'll bereading a lot of scripture today
, but hey, if there's ever a dayfor it, it's this one.
(00:59):
Grab your coffee, open yourBible and let's walk through the
prophecies that pointed to thecross and the empty tomb.
Well, welcome everyone.
I'm your host, Jacqui Adewole,and this is the Bible Basics
Podcast, where, weekly, we breakdown the basics of the Bible
(01:23):
into understandable, bite-sizedchunks.
Today we're not justcelebrating Easter.
We're pulling back the curtainon just how intentional God had
(01:43):
been from the very beginning.
All throughout the OldTestament, we see that God had a
plan, a plan to rescue hispeople from sin, and that plan
pointed forward to a comingSavior.
Even from the earliest chaptersof Genesis, when Adam and Eve
sinned, god promised thatsomeone would come to crush the
(02:06):
serpent's head.
We see that in Genesis 3:15.
That promise unfolds throughoutthe pages of Scripture, through
the sacrificial system found inthe law, the poetry of the
Psalms, through the prophets,all pointing forward to Jesus'
death, burial and resurrection,even before his name was known.
(02:32):
Let's take a look at what theOld Testament actually says.
These aren't just interestingconnections.
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 OldTestament pictures of Easter are
(02:56):
found in the book of Isaiah,written in the 8th century BC,
about 700 years before the timeof Jesus.
Isaiah introduces a figure hecalls the Servant of the Lord.
This servant, who refers to thecoming Messiah, appears
(03:20):
throughout Isaiah's writings,especially in chapters 42, 49,
and 50, and most fully inchapters 52 and 53.
The servant is not described asa conquering king or a military
leader.
Instead, he's someone whosuffers in the place of others,
(03:46):
someone who is rejected, woundedand ultimately sacrificed on
behalf of the people.
One verse that captures this soclearly is Isaiah, chapter 53,
verse 5.
He was pierced for ourtransgressions.
(04:11):
He was crushed for ouriniquities.
The punishment that brought uspeace was on him, and by his
wounds we are healed.
Isaiah isn't describing someonesuffering for his own sins.
He's talking about a substitute, a servant, jesus, who would
(04:32):
take on the sins of others.
And that theme of the servant,suffering, continues throughout
the passage.
His appearance was sodisfigured, beyond that of any
human being.
That's chapter 52, verse 14.
He was despised and rejected.
(04:55):
A man of suffering that'schapter 53, verse 3, and he grew
up like a root out of a dryground.
That's chapter 53, verse 2.
So you see, the servant wasn'timpressive by human standards.
Jesus was rejected andgrief-stricken and through his
(05:20):
suffering he carried the weightof our sins.
It's one of the clearestpictures of what Jesus would
later do on the cross.
He willingly took the place ofsinners, just as Isaiah
described.
Now, isaiah doesn't justdescribe what happened.
(05:43):
He shows us why.
It was the Lord's will to crushhim and cause him to suffer.
And the Lord makes his life anoffering for sin.
That's chapter 53, verse 10.
This was divine love in action.
God chose to deal with our sinby placing it all on the servant
(06:09):
, the Messiah Jesus.
The Lord has laid on him theiniquity of us all.
That's chapter 53, verse 6.
All our wrongs, all our guilt,carried by the servant, so that
(06:32):
we could be forgiven and haveeverlasting life.
Isaiah wasn't the only one whospoke this way.
A thousand years before Jesus,King David also wrote words that
are in the book of Psalms thatpointed forward to the cross.
(06:53):
When you read and hear inMatthew 26, 46, jesus crying out
from the cross my God, my God,why have you forsaken me?
That's a direct quote fromPsalm 22: 1.
As the psalm continues, itdescribes things that sound like
(07:16):
they came straight from theGospels.
Quote, quote they pierce myhands and my feet, they divide
my garments among them and castlots for my clothing.
That's Psalm, chapter 22, verse16 and verse 18.
These are the exact detailsrecorded in Jesus's crucifixion.
(07:40):
The Roman soldiers pierced hishands and feet.
They gambled for his clothes.
That wasn't coincidence.
The Roman soldiers pierced hishands and feet.
They gambled for his clothes.
That wasn't coincidence, it wasfulfillment.
Even the timing of theMessiah's death was foretold.
The prophet Daniel wrote.
That's Daniel, chapter 9, verse26.
(08:11):
Scholars have linked thisprophecy to the time of Jesus'
death in the first century AD,and even the details of how
Jesus died were prophesied.
God gave Israel clearinstructions that none of the
bones of the Passover lamb wereto be broken.
(08:33):
Now this we find all the wayback in the book of Exodus,
chapter 12, 46 and Numbers 9, 12.
Well, david echoes this againin Psalm 34, verse 20.
So, when we arrive at the cross, even amid brutal suffering,
(09:07):
none of Jesus's bones werebroken.
John's gospel tells us.
Tells us these things happenedso that scripture would be
fulfilled.
Not one of his bones will bebroken.
That's John, chapter 19, verse36.
(09:27):
Once again, every detail matchedwhat God had already said After
Jesus had died.
The fulfillment didn't stopthere.
Even the details of his burialwere part of God's plan, spoken
through the prophets and carriedout with precision.
(09:49):
Isaiah writes, quote he wasassigned a grave with the wicked
and with the rich in his death.
That's Isaiah, chapter 53 (09:59):
9.
So Jesus died alongsidecriminals, yes, but instead of
being buried like one, he wasplaced in a rich man's tomb,
that of Joseph of Arimathea, arespected member of the Jewish
council.
That was God's plan.
(10:20):
We see that in Matthew, chapter27, verses 57 through 60.
What looked like a small detailwas actually a direct
fulfillment of prophecy.
And there's another picture ofthe burial of Jesus that comes
from one of the most unexpectedplaces, the story of Jonah,
(10:46):
quote Jonah was in the belly ofthe fish.
Three days and three nights.
That's Jonah, chapter 1, verse17.
Jesus himself pointed to Jonahas a sign, a preview, of his own
burial.
In the book of Matthew, jesusmade the connection quote.
(11:07):
For as Jonah was three days andthree nights in the belly of a
huge fish, so the Son of manwill be there three days and
three nights in the heart of theearth.
That's Matthew, chapter 12,verse 40.
Jesus wasn't just quotingscripture.
He was showing how the story ofJonah had always been pointing
(11:31):
to him.
Because, just like Jonah didn'tstay in the fish, because, just
like Jonah didn't stay in thefish and Jesus didn't stay in
the tomb, the story wasn't over.
If you want to explore thatconnection more deeply, check
out our earlier episode on Jonah.
(11:53):
Now let's turn to thoseprophecies of Jesus'
resurrection.
The Old Testament doesn't stopat the Messiah's death or burial
.
It points clearly to hisresurrection as well.
Jesus' resurrection is thecornerstone on which
Christianity stands.
If there's no resurrection, allour faith is in vain.
(12:13):
In Psalm, chapter 16, verse 10,david writes you will not
abandon me to the realm of thedead, nor will you let your
faithful one see decay.
This verse is one of theclearest prophecies of the
resurrection.
It was quoted by Peter in Acts2 during his sermon at Pentecost
(12:38):
, explaining that David wasn'ttalking about himself but about
the Messiah.
Peter said David was lookingahead to someone who wouldn't
stay dead but would be raised tolife.
Then we move to the book ofIsaiah.
(12:58):
Isaiah also makes it clear thatthe story wouldn't end in death
Quote after he suffered, hewill see the light of life and
be satisfied.
That's Isaiah 53, verse 11.
The servant doesn't remaincrushed, he lives again.
(13:18):
And not only that, he sees theresult 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 standingwith him.
And once again we return toJonah.
(13:42):
Those three days and threenights.
Jesus called them a sign.
We saw where Jesus directlyconnected this to his own burial
, but he also connected it tohis resurrection Quote.
This wasn't just about thenumber of days, it was a preview
(14:16):
of resurrection.
God brings life out of deathand hope out of what looked like
the end.
So what does this all mean?
Jesus did not show up randomly.
The death, burial andresurrection of Jesus, the
(14:36):
Messiah had been prophesied inthe Hebrew scriptures, the Old
Testament, in real places, byreal people in real time, and
they came to pass exactly as Godsaid.
They would.
No wonder that Jesus told thereligious leaders of his day,
quote you study the scripturesdiligently because you think
(15:00):
that in them you have eternallife.
Diligently because you thinkthat in them you have eternal
life.
These are the very scripturesthat testify about me.
That's John, chapter 5, verse39.
And after he rose, when hewalked along the road to Emmaus
with two of his followers, heexplains it even more clearly,
(15:23):
beginning with Moses and all theprophets.
He explained to them what hesaid in all the scriptures
concerning himself.
That was Luke, chapter 24,verse 27.
And that's exactly what we'vebeen doing today, seeing how the
scriptures, even before theGospels, were already telling
(15:47):
the Easter story.
Because of God's plan to saveus through Jesus, we now live
with real hope, not just forheaven one day, but for life
right now, a hope that says ifwe trust God and believe that
Jesus gave his life for us, thenyour sin is paid for, your past
(16:13):
doesn't have the final word,your future is secure.
All of this is true becauseJesus rose from the dead just as
he said he would.
Quote the son of man must bedelivered over to the hands of
(16:34):
sinners, be crucified and on thethird day, be raised again.
That's Luke, chapter 24, verse7.
And as Paul later wrote, he wasraised on the third day,
according to the scriptures.
So why does this all matter?
Because it shows us threethings.
(16:56):
First, God keeps his promises.
What he said would happen didhappen.
Second, jesus is the trueMessiah.
No one else could fulfill whatwas written.
And third, Easter is more thanjust a one-time event.
It's the center of the storyGod's been telling all along.
(17:18):
We're not just invited into thestory, we're the reason for it.
Jesus came, suffered, died, wasburied and rose again.
With us in mind, and as we bringthis episode to a close, we see
that Jesus' death, burial andresurrection were not just
(17:42):
random events.
Jesus's death, burial andresurrection were not just
random events.
They were foretold in thescriptures, through the law, the
prophets and the Psalms,hundreds of years before they
took place.
Each detail happened accordingto God's plan, and each prophecy
was fulfilled with precision.
Fulfilled with precision.
(18:08):
This confirms that Jesus is thepromised Messiah and that the
Bible is a trustworthy record ofGod's plan to save his people.
So Easter, then, isn't just aholiday.
It marks the fulfillment ofwhat God had promised from the
very beginning that through hisson, sin would be dealt with,
death would be defeated and newlife would be possible.
(18:31):
Next week we'll pick back up onour journey through the
prophets, but for now, soak inthe joy of Resurrection Sunday.
Soak in the joy of ResurrectionSunday.
Until then, keep reading, keepseeking and keep growing in your
faith so that we spread God'sWord further.
(18:54):
Please share, like, follow,comment and subscribe.
Greetings listeners.
Today we're celebratingResurrection Sunday, also known
as Easter, not just byremembering the cross, but by
seeing how the story of Easterwas written into God's plan
centuries before it unfolded.
Long before Good Friday andEaster morning, god had already
(00:38):
written the story From theprophets to the Psalms, to the
strange tale of a man swallowedby a fish.
It was all part of his plan.
Now, fair warning, I'll bereading a lot of scripture today
, but hey, if there's ever a dayfor it, it's this one.
(00:59):
Grab your coffee, open yourBible and let's walk through the
prophecies that pointed to thecross and the empty tomb.
Well, welcome everyone.
I'm your host, Jacqui Adewole,and this is the Bible Basics
Podcast, where, weekly, we breakdown the basics of the Bible
(01:23):
into understandable, bite-sizedchunks.
Today we're not justcelebrating Easter.
We're pulling back the curtainon just how intentional God had
(01:43):
been from the very beginning.
All throughout the OldTestament, we see that God had a
plan, a plan to rescue hispeople from sin, and that plan
pointed forward to a comingSavior.
Even from the earliest chaptersof Genesis, when Adam and Eve
sinned, god promised thatsomeone would come to crush the
(02:06):
serpent's head.
We see that in Genesis 3:15.
That promise unfolds throughoutthe pages of Scripture, through
the sacrificial system found inthe law, the poetry of the
Psalms, through the prophets,all pointing forward to Jesus'
death, burial and resurrection,even before his name was known.
(02:32):
Let's take a look at what theOld Testament actually says.
These aren't just interestingconnections.
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 OldTestament pictures of Easter are
(02:56):
found in the book of Isaiah,written in the 8th century BC,
about 700 years before the timeof Jesus.
Isaiah introduces a figure hecalls the Servant of the Lord.
This servant, who refers to thecoming Messiah, appears
(03:20):
throughout Isaiah's writings,especially in chapters 42, 49,
and 50, and most fully inchapters 52 and 53.
The servant is not described asa conquering king or a military
leader.
Instead, he's someone whosuffers in the place of others,
(03:46):
someone who is rejected, woundedand ultimately sacrificed on
behalf of the people.
One verse that captures this soclearly is Isaiah, chapter 53,
verse 5.
He was pierced for ourtransgressions.
(04:11):
He was crushed for ouriniquities.
The punishment that brought uspeace was on him, and by his
wounds we are healed.
Isaiah isn't describing someonesuffering for his own sins.
He's talking about a substitute, a servant, jesus, who would
(04:32):
take on the sins of others.
And that theme of the servant,suffering, continues throughout
the passage.
His appearance was sodisfigured, beyond that of any
human being.
That's chapter 52, verse 14.
He was despised and rejected.
(04:55):
A man of suffering that'schapter 53, verse 3, and he grew
up like a root out of a dryground.
That's chapter 53, verse 2.
So you see, the servant wasn'timpressive by human standards.
Jesus was rejected andgrief-stricken and through his
(05:20):
suffering he carried the weightof our sins.
It's one of the clearestpictures of what Jesus would
later do on the cross.
He willingly took the place ofsinners, just as Isaiah
described.
Now, isaiah doesn't justdescribe what happened.
(05:43):
He shows us why.
It was the Lord's will to crushhim and cause him to suffer.
And the Lord makes his life anoffering for sin.
That's chapter 53, verse 10.
This was divine love in action.
God chose to deal with our sinby placing it all on the servant
(06:09):
, the Messiah Jesus.
The Lord has laid on him theiniquity of us all.
That's chapter 53, verse 6.
All our wrongs, all our guilt,carried by the servant, so that
(06:32):
we could be forgiven and haveeverlasting life.
Isaiah wasn't the only one whospoke this way.
A thousand years before Jesus,King David also wrote words that
are in the book of Psalms thatpointed forward to the cross.
(06:53):
When you read and hear inMatthew 26, 46, jesus crying out
from the cross my God, my God,why have you forsaken me?
That's a direct quote fromPsalm 22: 1.
As the psalm continues, itdescribes things that sound like
(07:16):
they came straight from theGospels.
Quote, quote they pierce myhands and my feet, they divide
my garments among them and castlots for my clothing.
That's Psalm, chapter 22, verse16 and verse 18.
These are the exact detailsrecorded in Jesus's crucifixion.
(07:40):
The Roman soldiers pierced hishands and feet.
They gambled for his clothes.
That wasn't coincidence.
The Roman soldiers pierced hishands and feet.
They gambled for his clothes.
That wasn't coincidence, it wasfulfillment.
Even the timing of theMessiah's death was foretold.
The prophet Daniel wrote.
That's Daniel, chapter 9, verse26.
(08:11):
Scholars have linked thisprophecy to the time of Jesus'
death in the first century AD,and even the details of how
Jesus died were prophesied.
God gave Israel clearinstructions that none of the
bones of the Passover lamb wereto be broken.
(08:33):
Now this we find all the wayback in the book of Exodus,
chapter 12, 46 and Numbers 9, 12.
Well, david echoes this againin Psalm 34, verse 20.
So, when we arrive at the cross, even amid brutal suffering,
(09:07):
none of Jesus's bones werebroken.
John's gospel tells us.
Tells us these things happenedso that scripture would be
fulfilled.
Not one of his bones will bebroken.
That's John, chapter 19, verse36.
(09:27):
Once again, every detail matchedwhat God had already said After
Jesus had died.
The fulfillment didn't stopthere.
Even the details of his burialwere part of God's plan, spoken
through the prophets and carriedout with precision.
(09:49):
Isaiah writes, quote he wasassigned a grave with the wicked
and with the rich in his death.
That's Isaiah, chapter 53 (09:59):
9.
So Jesus died alongsidecriminals, yes, but instead of
being buried like one, he wasplaced in a rich man's tomb,
that of Joseph of Arimathea, arespected member of the Jewish
council.
That was God's plan.
(10:20):
We see that in Matthew, chapter27, verses 57 through 60.
What looked like a small detailwas actually a direct
fulfillment of prophecy.
And there's another picture ofthe burial of Jesus that comes
from one of the most unexpectedplaces, the story of Jonah,
(10:46):
quote Jonah was in the belly ofthe fish.
Three days and three nights.
That's Jonah, chapter 1, verse17.
Jesus himself pointed to Jonahas a sign, a preview, of his own
burial.
In the book of Matthew, jesusmade the connection quote.
(11:07):
For as Jonah was three days andthree nights in the belly of a
huge fish, so the Son of manwill be there three days and
three nights in the heart of theearth.
That's Matthew, chapter 12,verse 40.
Jesus wasn't just quotingscripture.
He was showing how the story ofJonah had always been pointing
(11:31):
to him.
Because, just like Jonah didn'tstay in the fish, because, just
like Jonah didn't stay in thefish and Jesus didn't stay in
the tomb, the story wasn't over.
If you want to explore thatconnection more deeply, check
out our earlier episode on Jonah.
(11:53):
Now let's turn to thoseprophecies of Jesus'
resurrection.
The Old Testament doesn't stopat the Messiah's death or burial
.
It points clearly to hisresurrection as well.
Jesus' resurrection is thecornerstone on which
Christianity stands.
If there's no resurrection, allour faith is in vain.
(12:13):
In Psalm, chapter 16, verse 10,david writes you will not
abandon me to the realm of thedead, nor will you let your
faithful one see decay.
This verse is one of theclearest prophecies of the
resurrection.
It was quoted by Peter in Acts2 during his sermon at Pentecost
(12:38):
, explaining that David wasn'ttalking about himself but about
the Messiah.
Peter said David was lookingahead to someone who wouldn't
stay dead but would be raised tolife.
Then we move to the book ofIsaiah.
(12:58):
Isaiah also makes it clear thatthe story wouldn't end in death
Quote after he suffered, hewill see the light of life and
be satisfied.
That's Isaiah 53, verse 11.
The servant doesn't remaincrushed, he lives again.
(13:18):
And not only that, he sees theresult 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 standingwith him.
And once again we return toJonah.
(13:42):
Those three days and threenights.
Jesus called them a sign.
We saw where Jesus directlyconnected this to his own burial
, but he also connected it tohis resurrection Quote.
This wasn't just about thenumber of days, it was a preview
(14:16):
of resurrection.
God brings life out of deathand hope out of what looked like
the end.
So what does this all mean?
Jesus did not show up randomly.
The death, burial andresurrection of Jesus, the
(14:36):
Messiah had been prophesied inthe Hebrew scriptures, the Old
Testament, in real places, byreal people in real time, and
they came to pass exactly as Godsaid.
They would.
No wonder that Jesus told thereligious leaders of his day,
quote you study the scripturesdiligently because you think
(15:00):
that in them you have eternallife.
Diligently because you thinkthat in them you have eternal
life.
These are the very scripturesthat testify about me.
That's John, chapter 5, verse39.
And after he rose, when hewalked along the road to Emmaus
with two of his followers, heexplains it even more clearly,
(15:23):
beginning with Moses and all theprophets.
He explained to them what hesaid in all the scriptures
concerning himself.
That was Luke, chapter 24,verse 27.
And that's exactly what we'vebeen doing today, seeing how the
scriptures, even before theGospels, were already telling
(15:47):
the Easter story.
Because of God's plan to saveus through Jesus, we now live
with real hope, not just forheaven one day, but for life
right now, a hope that says ifwe trust God and believe that
Jesus gave his life for us, thenyour sin is paid for, your past
(16:13):
doesn't have the final word,your future is secure.
All of this is true becauseJesus rose from the dead just as
he said he would.
Quote the son of man must bedelivered over to the hands of
(16:34):
sinners, be crucified and on thethird day, be raised again.
That's Luke, chapter 24, verse7.
And as Paul later wrote, he wasraised on the third day,
according to the scriptures.
So why does this all matter?
Because it shows us threethings.
(16:56):
First, God keeps his promises.
What he said would happen didhappen.
Second, jesus is the trueMessiah.
No one else could fulfill whatwas written.
And third, Easter is more thanjust a one-time event.
It's the center of the storyGod's been telling all along.
(17:18):
We're not just invited into thestory, we're the reason for it.
Jesus came, suffered, died, wasburied and rose again.
With us in mind, and as we bringthis episode to a close, we see
that Jesus' death, burial andresurrection were not just
(17:42):
random events.
Jesus's death, burial andresurrection were not just
random events.
They were foretold in thescriptures, through the law, the
prophets and the Psalms,hundreds of years before they
took place.
Each detail happened accordingto God's plan, and each prophecy
was fulfilled with precision.
Fulfilled with precision.
(18:08):
This confirms that Jesus is thepromised Messiah and that the
Bible is a trustworthy record ofGod's plan to save his people.
So Easter, then, isn't just aholiday.
It marks the fulfillment ofwhat God had promised from the
very beginning that through hisson, sin would be dealt with,
death would be defeated and newlife would be possible.
(18:31):
Next week we'll pick back up onour journey through the
prophets, but for now, soak inthe joy of Resurrection Sunday.
Soak in the joy of ResurrectionSunday.
Until then, keep reading, keepseeking and keep growing in your
faith so that we spread God'sWord further.
(18:54):
Please share, like, follow,comment and subscribe.
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
The Joe Rogan Experience
The official podcast of comedian Joe Rogan.
24/7 News: The Latest
The latest news in 4 minutes updated every hour, every day.