The Gospel according to St. John, like other books in the New Testament, reveals to us how Jesus of Nazareth is the Christ, the Messiah or Savior-king promised to Israel by God through the prophets of the Old Testament.

These prophets tell us that this Messiah was…

The following is a list of some of these major prophecies and their fulfillment in Christ. All biblical quotes are taken from the Septuagint (Greek) version of the Old Testament (unless otherwise stated), since this is what the Orthodox Church accepts.

Concerning the Messiah as a great king like David

1. And there shall come forth a rod out of the root of Jesse [David’s father], and a blossom shall come up from his root: and the Spirit of God shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and strength, the spirit of knowledge and godliness shall fill him; the spirit of the fear of God. He shall not judge according to appearance, nor reprove according to report: but he shall judge the cause of the lowly, and shall reprove the lowly of the earth: and he shall smite the earth with the word of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips shall he destroy the ungodly one. And he shall have his loins girt with righteousness, and his sides clothed with truth. (Isaiah 11:1-5)
2. Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, when I will fulfil the promise I made to the house of Israel and the house of Judah. In those days and at that time I will cause a righteous Branch to spring forth for David; and he shall execute justice and righteousness in the land. In those days Judah will be saved and Jerusalem will dwell securely. And this is the name by which it will be called: "The Lord is our righteousness." (Jeremiah 33:14-16; taken from the Revised Standard Version.)
3. And I will raise up one shepherd over them, and he shall tend them, even my servant David, and he shall be their shepherd; and I the lord will be to them a God, and David a prince in the midst of them, I the Lord have spoken it. … And my servant David shall be a prince in the midst of them: there shall be one shepherd of them all; for they shall walk in mine ordinances, and keep my judgments, and do them. (Ezekiel 34:23-24; 37:24)
4. Drink this first. Act quickly, O land of Zabulon, land of Nephthalim, and the rest inhabiting the sea-coast, and the land beyond Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles. O people walking in darkness, behold a great light: ye that dwell in the region and shadow of death, a light shall shine upon you. … For a child is born to us, and a son is given to us, whose government is upon his shoulder: and his name is called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty One, Potentate, Prince of Peace, Father of the age to come: for I will bring peace upon the princes, and health to him. His government shall be great, and of his peace there is no end: it shall be upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to establish it, and to support it with judgment and with righteousness, from henceforth and for ever. The zeal of the Lord of hosts shall perform this. (Isaiah 9:1-2, 6-7)
5. And thou, Bethlehem, house of Ephratha, art few in number to be reckoned among the thousands of Judah; yet out of thee shall one come forth to me, to be a ruler of Israel; and his goings forth were from the beginning, even from eternity. (Micah 5:2)
6. Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Sion; proclaim it aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem; behold, the King is coming to thee, just, and a Saviour; he is meek and riding on an ass, and a young foal. And he shall destroy the chariots out of Ephraim, and the horse out of Jerusalem, and the bow of war shall be utterly destroyed; and there shall be abundance and peace out of the nations; and he shall rule over the waters as far as the sea, and the rivers to the ends of the earth. (Zechariah 9:9)

Concerning the Messiah as the Suffering Servant

(Looking at the Prophecy of Isaiah concerning the Suffering Servant, there is a bit of ambiguity of reference in the prophet’s vision. Sometimes the Servant is depicted as the entire nation of Israel, sometimes as the righteous remnant of the postexilic era, and sometimes as the Messiah who will bring God’s plan of salvation to its climax. The point is that Israel as a nation, and the faithful remnant were there to lead us to the individual suffering Servant of God, who suffers for the world’s sin and misery.)

• Jacob is my servant, I will help him: Israel is my chosen, my soul has accepted him; I have put my Spirit upon him; he shall bring forth judgment to the Gentiles. He shall not cry, nor lift up his voice, nor shall his voice be heard without. A bruised reed shall he not break, and smoking flax shall he not quench; but he shall bring forth judgment to truth. He shall shine out, and shall not be discouraged, until he have set judgment on the earth: and in his name shall the Gentiles trust. (Isaiah 42:1-4)
• The Lord even God gives me the tongue of instruction, to know when it is fit to speak a word: he has appointed for me early, he has given me an ear to hear: and the instruction of the Lord, even the Lord, opens mine ears, and I do not disobey, nor dispute. I gave my back to scourges, and my cheeks to blows; and I turned not away my face from the shame of spitting: but the lord God became my helper; therefore I was not ashamed, for he that has justified me draws near; who is he that pleads with me? let him draw nigh to me. (Isaiah 50:4-8)
• Behold, my servant shall understand, and be exalted, and glorified exceedingly. As many shall be amazed at thee, so shall thy face be without glory from men, and thy glory shall not be honoured by the sons of men. Thus shall many nations wonder at him; and kings shall keep their mouths shut: for they to whom no report was brought concerning him, shall see; and they who have not heard, shall consider.
  
  O Lord, who has believed our report? And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed? We brought a report as of a child before him; he is as a root in a thirsty land: he has no form nor comeliness; and we saw him, but he had no form nor beauty. But his form was ignoble, and inferior to that of the children of men; he was a man in suffering, and acquainted with the bearing of sickness, for his face is turned from us: he was dishonoured, and not esteemed. He bears our sins, and is pained for us: yet we accounted him to be in trouble, and in suffering, and in affliction. But he was wounded on account of our sins, and was bruised because of our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and by his bruises we were healed. All we as sheep have gone astray; every one has gone astray in his way; and the Lord gave him up for our sins.
  
  And he, because of his affliction, opens not his mouth: he was led as a sheep to the slaughter, and as a lamb before the sheared is dumb, so he opens not his mouth. In his humiliation his judgment was taken away: who shall declare his generation? For his life is taken away from the earth: because of the iniquities of my people he was led to death. And I will give the wicked for his burial, and the rich for his death; for he practiced no iniquity, nor craft with his mouth. The Lord also is pleased to purge him from his stroke. If ye can give an offering for sin, your soul shall see a long-lived seed. The Lord also is pleased to take away from the travail of his soul, to show him light, and to form him with understanding; to justify the just one who serves many well; and he shall bear their sins. Therefore he shall inherit many, and he shall divide the spoils of the mighty; because his soul was delivered to death: and he was numbered among the transgressors; and he bore the sins of many, and was delivered because of their iniquities. (Isaiah 52:13 – 53:12)
• 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 have pierced. Yes they will mourn for Him as one mourns for his only son, and grieve for Him as one grieves for a firstborn. (Zechariah 12:10; taken from the New King James version.)
• O God, my God, attend to me: why hast thou forsaken me? … Stand not aloof from me; for affliction is near; for there is no helper. Many bullocks have compassed me: fat bulls have beset me round. They have opened their mouth against me, as a ravening and roaring lion. I am poured out like water, and all my bones are loosened: my heart in the midst of my belly is become like melting wax. My strength is dried up like a potsherd; and my tongue is glued to my throat; and thou hast brought me down to the dust of death. For many dogs have compassed me: the assembly of the wicked doers has beset me round: they pierced my hands and my feet. They counted all my bones; and they observed and looked upon me. They parted my garments among themselves, and cast lots upon my raiment. (Psalm 21[22]:1, 11-18)

Concerning the Messiah as the presence of God in the world

1. And thou, Bethlehem, house of Ephratha, art few in number to be reckoned among the thousands of Judah; yet out of thee shall one come forth to me, to be a ruler of Israel; and his goings forth were from the beginning, even from eternity. (Micah 5:2)
2. I beheld in the night vision, and, lo, one coming with the clouds of heaven as the Son of man, and he came on to the Ancient of days, and was brought near to him. And to him was given the dominion, and the honour, and the kingdom; and all nations, tribes, and languages, shall serve him: his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom shall not be destroyed. (Daniel 7:13-14)
3. And the Lord again spoke to Achaz, saying, Ask for thyself a sign of the Lord thy God, in the depth or in the height. And Achaz said, I will not ask, neither will I tempt the lord. And he said, Hear ye now, O house of David; is it a little thing for you to contend with men? And how do ye contend against the Lord? Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; behold, a virgin shall conceive in the womb, and shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name Emmanuel. (Isaiah 7:10-14)

Other references to Christ, his life, and his ministry

1. I foresaw the Lord always before my face; for he is on my right hand, that I should not be moved. Therefore my heart rejoiced and my tongue exulted; moreover also my flesh shall rest in hope: because thou wilt not leave my soul in Hades, neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption. (Psalm 15[16]:8-10)
2. In their affliction they will seek me early, saying, Let us go, and return to the Lord our God; for he has torn, and will heal us; he will smite, and bind us up. After two days he will heal us: in the third day we shall arise, and live before him, and shall know him: let us follow on to know the Lord: we shall find him ready as the morning, and he will come to us as the early and latter rain to the earth. (Hosea 6:1-4)
3. The chariots of God are ten thousand fold, thousands of rejoicing ones: the Lord is among them, in Sinai, in the holy place. Thou art gone up (ascended) on high, thou hast led captivity captive, thou has received gifts for man, yea, for they were rebellious, that thou mightest dwell among them. (Psalm 67[68]: 17-18)