Luke 1:67-76 And his father Zacharias was filled with the Holy Ghost, and prophesied, saying,
Blessed be the Lord God of ISRAEL; for he hath visited and redeemed his people,
And hath raised up an horn of SALVATION FOR US in the house of his servant David;
As he spake by the mouth of his holy prophets, which have been since the world began:
That we should be SAVED FROM OUR ENEMIES, and from the hand of all that hate us; ...

(The "enemies" as Luke 2:1 shows us in this case are the Romans)

To perform the the mercy promised to our fathers, and to remember his holy covenant;
The oath which he sware to our father Abraham,
That he would grant unto us, that we being delivered out of the hand of our enemies might serve him without fear.

These words spake Zachariah, the father of John the Baptist, referring to the coming of Yahshua. He, as well as the entire nation of Israel, was looking for the Messiah who would bring back the enslaved ten tribes, and restore the kingdom of Israel. Here is one of the many prophecies that they were awaiting, and is yet to be fulfilled.

Psalms 2:1-9 Why do the heathen rage, and the people imagine a vain thing?
The kings of the earth themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the Lord, and against his anointed, saying, Let us break THEIR bands asunder, and cast away their cords from us.
He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh: the Lord shall have them in derision.
Then shall he speak unto them in his wrath, and vex them in his sore displeasure.
Yet have I set my king upon my holy hill of Zion.
I will declare the decree: the Lord hath said unto me, Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee.
Ask of me, and I shall give the heathen for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession.
Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron; thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel.

This was one of the many prophecies that all of Israel was awaiting to be fulfilled. The destruction of the "powers that be," and the reign of the King of Kings and Lord of Lords.

When Yahshua appeared to his cousin John, this is what John called him.

John 1:29 The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.

Is it any wonder why Yahshua said in

Luke 7:28 For I say unto you, Among those that are born of women there is not a greater prophet than John the Baptist...

Understand this... here was a brother that went around dressed in camel's hair and a leather girdle, eating the basest of clean foods, telling everyone to
"REPENT!!
For the kingdom of Yah is at hand!!
He even railed against the rulers, the Edomites, for their adultery and was killed because of it. And again, being "the prophet of the Highest," he prophesied that Yahshua was not only to be the one who would dash the nations to pieces but he would also be the one who would "take away the sins of the world" by becoming the Lamb of God.

Now if the prophets had not prophesied concerning the coming of one who would die for "the sins of the people," then all of Israel then as well as today, would be justified in not accepting the Lamb of God, but the fact is Yahshau, the Lamb of God DID come in the flesh as was prophecied, so therefore NO ONE has an excuse not to have their sins taken away. And again, NO ONE has an excuse for not walking upright thereafter in the Lord, because REPENTENCE is the first step to receiving the Gospel, and partaking of the promises and the covenants that Yahweh gave to Israel.

Let's look at some of the prophecies concerning the Messiah: the Lamb of God.

Isaiah 53 Who hath believed our report? and to whom is the arm of the LORD revealed?
For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground: he hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him.
He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not.
Surely he hath BORNE OUR GRIEFS, and CARRIED OUR SORROWS: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.
But he was WOUNDED FOR OUR TRANSGRESSIONS, HE WAS BRUISED FOR OUR INIQUITIES: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.
All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.
He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth.
He was taken from prison and from judgment: and who shall declare his generation? for he was cut off out of the land of the living: FOR THE TRANSGRESSION OF MY PEOPLE WAS HE STRICKEN.
And he made his grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death; because he had done no violence, neither was any deceit in his mouth.
Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: WHEN THOU SHALT 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.
He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied: BY HIS KNOWLEDGE SHALL MY RIGHTEOUS SERVANT JUSTIFY MANY; FOR HE SHALL BEAR THEIR INIQUITIES.
Therefore will I divide him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong; because he hath poured out his soul unto death: and he was numbered with the transgressors; AND HE BARE THE SIN OF MANY, AND MADE INTERCESSION FOR THE TRANSGRESSORS.

WOW!!

Did Isaiah lay it out or did he lay it out?!

Many people who claim that they believe only in the Old Testament missed this prophecy...COMPLETELY... Well...at any rate...

Why did it please the Lord to bruise him? It pleased the Father because he saw how a being that was exactly like HIM, would actually humble himself and put on the form of a man for the express purpose of becoming a sacrifice.

Philippians 2:5-11 Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus:
Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God:
But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men:
And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.

Also, our "schoolmaster" taught us that the ONLY payment for sin IS the shedding of blood. Whether it was the sinner's blood, or an animals blood, it HAD to be shed. God shed animals blood to furnish the skins that Adam and Eve wore after they sinned.

Matthew 27, and Acts 8 lets us know that this prophecy was about Yahshua. Let's look at another prophecy.

In Matthew 2 the Edomite king Herod inquired of the wise men where the TRUE King of Israel would be born. They quoted him only a portion of:

Micah 5:1-4 ...and they shall smite the JUDGE of Israel with a rod upon the cheek.
But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be RULER IN ISRAEL; WHOSE GOINGS FORTH HAVE BEEN FROM OF OLD, FROM EVERLASTING.

Sounds to me like this ruler that came out of Bethlehem has been around forever...What do you think? Let's see what this Ruler shall do now, noting also that Herod might have even been relieved had the wise men quoted him THIS part of the prophecy...

Therefore will he give them up, UNTIL the time that SHE WHICH TRAVAILETH hath brought forth:

Herod and his Idumean kinsmen's sole purpose was to take over the Israelites heritage. This prophecied king (Yahshua) was a thorn in Edom's plans, so Herod decided to KILL ALL the CHILDREN that were in Bethlehem, and in all the coasts thereof, from two years old and under. Maybe Herod would have been a bit less hasty by considering that this prophecied king was not going to bring Israel back as a nation at the time he had came but was going to give them up. Unfortunately, according to the Bible, the wise men didn't read that part of the prophecy to him. You can also read about "she which travaileth" in Revelation 12, Isaiah 26:16-21, Isaiah 66:5-24.

then the remnant of his brethren shall return unto the children of Israel.
And he shall stand and feed in the strength of the Lord, in the majesty of the NAME OF THE LORD HIS GOD; and they shall abide: for NOW shall he be great unto the ends of the earth.

Now we see that not only was Yahshua was SUPPOSED to die, but he also had to GIVE ISRAEL UP until the time appointed. Now let's see another prophecy concerning the Messiah. These prophecies are VERY important for understanding EXACTLY what Yahshuah came to do when he came in the flesh.

Daniel 9:24-27 Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people and upon his holy city, to finish the transgression, to make an end of sins, AND TO MAKE RECONCILIATION FOR INIQUITY, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most Holy.
Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto Messiah the Prince shall be SEVEN weeks, and THREESCORE AND TWO WEEKS:

This commandment to go forth and rebuild Jerusalem came in around 457 B.C. and you can read about this in the books of EZRA and NEHEMIAH.
1 week = 7 years, therefore 7 weeks = 49 years. It took 49 years to rebuild Jerusalem.

the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublous times.

This 49 years of rebuilding Jerusalem is your 7 weeks.

And after THREESCORE AND TWO WEEKS shall MESSIAH BE CUT OFF, BUT NOT FOR HIMSELF:

This is 62 weeks or 434 years AFTER Jerusalem and the temple is rebuilt.

and the people of the prince that shall come shall DESTROY THE CITY AND THE SANCTUARY: and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war DESOLATIONS ARE DETERMINED.

After Yahshua was cut off, Jerusalem and the temple would be, and WAS, destroyed, and ALL the desolations that was prophesied to befall Israel FELL ON THEM. Read Jeremiah 15 to see what these desolations would be.

And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week:...

This is the covenant that had been prophesied about in Jeremiah 31.

...and in the MIDST of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease.

This is a two-fold prophecy. Yahshua "confirming the covenant to Israel" was his ministry which was a seven year ministry, but he was cut off in the midst of the week. He completed the first three and a half years of the ministry. When he was cut off in the midst of the week, the sacrifices and the oblations (THIS LAW) ceased. Also he was cut off literally in the midst of a week. A Wednesday evening. And he was in the heart of the earth (Matthew 12:39-40) for three days and three nights.

and for the overspreading of abominations HE shall make it desolate...

Yahshua prophesied concerning the Romans coming and destroying Jerusalem and the temple, and bringing about the desolations of Israel.

Luke 21:5-6, 20, 23-24 And as some spake of the temple, how it was adorned with goodly stones and gifts, he said,
As for these things which ye behold, the days will come, in the which there shall not be left one stone upon another which shall not be thrown down...
...And when ye shall see Jerusalem compassed with armies, then know that the desolations thereof is nigh...
...for there shall be great distress in the land, and wrath upon THIS people. And they shall fall by the edge of the SWORD, and shall be led away captive into ALL NATIONS: and Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled.

The Romans fulfilled this in 70 AD

You can read how Yahshua had to flee from those who would make him a king, (John 6:14-15), and how even the disciples didn't understand that it was not time for the kingdom of God to come, but instead, it was time for the Messiah to die for the people. (Matthew 16:20-23, Acts 1:6)

We hope and pray that many of you have been blessed and edified by this chapter. This is all about the Gospel of Yahshua and how through his death/sacrifice according to the prophecies of the Old Testament, we will be able to be glorified with him when he reigns from the throne of his father David as we shall read about in the next chapter.

Grace & Peace in the name of Yahshua.