The concept of the Messiah in the Hebrew Bible refers to a future leader sent by God who will restore the kingdom of Israel and inaugurate universal peace. However, there are hints throughout the Old Testament that this Messiah would have a dual role – he would suffer and die as part of his saving mission. This has led many Christians to see Jesus as the fulfillment of these Old Testament prophecies about the suffering servant Messiah. They argue that the Bible points to two comings of the Messiah – first as the suffering servant to die for sins, and second as the conquering king to restore God’s kingdom on earth.
Here are some of the main biblical evidence that Christians cite for two comings of the Messiah:
1. The prophet Isaiah’s references to the suffering servant
In Isaiah 52:13-53:12, the prophet describes the “Suffering Servant” who would be “despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief” (Isaiah 53:3). This Servant was “wounded for our transgressions” and “crushed for our iniquities” (Isaiah 53:5). He would be killed and “make many to be accounted righteous” (Isaiah 53:11-12). Although Isaiah does not specifically mention the Messiah here, many Christians see this as a prophecy about Jesus’ first coming to die on the cross for sins.
2. Hints of suffering before glory in prophetic books
Several Old Testament prophetic books contain passages suggesting the Messiah would suffer before being exalted in glory:
- Daniel 9:26 – “After the sixty-two ‘sevens,’ the Anointed One will be put to death and will have nothing.”
- Zechariah 9:9 – “See, your king comes to you, righteous and victorious, lowly and riding on a donkey.” This contrasts the humble arrival on a donkey with the prophecy in Zechariah 14 where the Lord will return in power and great glory.
- Zechariah 12:10 – “They will look on me, the one they have pierced, and they will mourn for him as one mourns for an only child.”
Christians interpret these verses to refer to two comings – one suffering, riding humbly on a donkey and being pierced (Jesus’ crucifixion). And a second victorious coming in glory to defeat enemies.
3. Psalms about exaltation after suffering
Several Psalms depict God’s Anointed One suffering before being exalted to rule and bless the nations:
- Psalm 22 – This prophetic Psalm opens with “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” which Jesus quotes on the cross. It depicts graphic suffering, but concludes in verses 27-31 with the Anointed One praising God before the whole world.
- Psalm 69 – Similar prophetic pattern moving from affliction to restoration and glory for Zion.
- Psalm 110 – Sitting at God’s right hand waiting for future victory and judgment against enemies: “The Lord says to my lord: ‘Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet.'”
Christians see Jesus’ resurrection and ascension as the fulfillment of these Psalms about exaltation after suffering.
4. The Son of Man prophecy in Daniel 7
In Daniel 7, Daniel has a vision of four beasts representing kingdoms that oppress God’s people. Then one “like a son of man” comes with the clouds of heaven and is given authority and an eternal kingdom by the Ancient of Days (God). Many scholars see this as an archetype of the Messiah. And notably, this exaltation of the Son of Man comes only after the oppression symbolized by the beasts. So this can suggest suffering preceding glory.
5. Jesus combined Messianic prophecies about affliction and triumph
When Jesus began teaching his disciples about his coming death and resurrection, he drew together Messianic prophecies about suffering and those about future glory:
- Mark 8:31 – “He then began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and after three days rise again.”
- Mark 9:12 – “But I tell you, Elijah has come, and they have done to him everything they wished, just as it is written about him.” Here Jesus alludes to the suffering of the prophet Elijah while also applying the Elijah prophecy about preparing the way for the Lord’s coming from Malachi 4:5-6.
- Luke 24:25-27 – “He said to them, ‘How foolish you are, and how slow to believe all that the prophets have spoken! Did not the Messiah have to suffer these things and then enter his glory?’ And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself.”
This combining of suffering servant prophecies with prophecies of the Messiah’s glorious reign is a key element of Jesus’ teaching to his disciples after his resurrection about how the Christ must suffer and die before being glorified as King and Judge.
6. Old Testament expectation of resurrection and restoration
The Old Testament contains scattered prophecies about national and individual resurrection and restoration that anticipate God reversing the suffering and death of his people:
- Isaiah 26:19 – “But your dead will live, Lord; their bodies will rise– let those who dwell in the dust wake up and shout for joy–your dew is like the dew of the morning; the earth will give birth to her dead.”
- Ezekiel 37 – The vision of the valley of dry bones resurrected into a vast army.
- Daniel 12:2 – “Multitudes who sleep in the dust of the earth will awake: some to everlasting life, others to shame and everlasting contempt.”
- Job 19:25-27 – “I know that my redeemer lives, and that in the end he will stand on the earth. And after my skin has been destroyed, yet in my flesh I will see God; I myself will see him with my own eyes–I, and not another.”
These Old Testament promises of resurrection and restoration after suffering form the foundation for the New Testament teaching about Jesus’ resurrection as the “firstfruits” of the future resurrection (1 Corinthians 15:20-23). The Messiah’s rising from the dead would lead the way for God’s reversal of death, mortality and suffering for his people.
7. New Testament explanation of two-stage Messianic prophecy
Once Jesus rose from the dead, the New Testament authors reflected back on the Old Testament prophecies to explain how they foretold both aspects of the Messiah’s mission – suffering and glory:
- 1 Peter 1:10-11 – “Concerning this salvation, the prophets, who spoke of the grace that was to come to you, searched intently and with the greatest care, trying to find out the time and circumstances to which the Spirit of Christ in them was pointing when he predicted the sufferings of the Messiah and the glories that would follow.”
- Romans 15:12 – “And again, Isaiah says, ‘The Root of Jesse will spring up, one who will arise to rule over the nations; in him the Gentiles will hope.'” This quotes the Messianic prophecy in Isaiah 11:10, and applies the hope of the Gentiles to Jesus, the risen and glorified Messiah.
- Luke 24:44-47 – “He said to them, ‘This is what I told you while I was still with you: Everything must be fulfilled that is written about me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms.’ Then he opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures. He told them, ‘This is what is written: The Messiah will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, and repentance for the forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.'”
This interpretive lens continued through the New Testament letters where the authors regularly combined Messianic prophecies about suffering and glory in referring to Jesus (e.g. Philippians 2:5-11). The two comings of Jesus as suffering servant and conquering king were explained as two stages in the fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy about the Messiah.
8. Jesus’ own teaching about his future return in glory
In his teachings in the Gospels, Jesus himself made frequent reference to a future return in power and glory:
- Matthew 24:30 – “‘Then will appear the sign of the Son of Man in heaven. And then all the peoples of the earth will mourn when they see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven, with power and great glory.'”
- Matthew 26:64 – “‘But I say to all of you: From now on you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Mighty One and coming on the clouds of heaven.'”
- Mark 14:62 – “‘I am,’ said Jesus. ‘And you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Mighty One and coming on the clouds of heaven.'”
- John 14:3 – “‘And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.'”
For those who believe Jesus is the Messiah, these teachings give a clear expectation of a future second coming in glory beyond his time of humility and suffering on earth.
Conclusion
In summary, while the concept of a suffering servant Messiah is more subtle in the Old Testament, a combination of prophecies point to a righteous deliverer who would suffer and die prior to fulfilling all the triumphant Messianic prophecies. Jesus and the New Testament authors explained his first coming to suffer on the cross and his future second coming in power as two stages in the fulfillment of these Messianic prophecies. Rather than contradictory, they saw Jesus’ life, death and resurrection as the connecting link that made sense of the Hebrew Bible’s hints of a suffering servant Savior preceding the Messiah’s ultimate victory and reign.
For Christians, Jesus fulfills the prophecies about the Messiah in a profound way at his first coming that was not initially anticipated. And he will fulfill the remainder at his promised return in glory. This two-stage fulfillment of prophecies about affliction and glorification provide significant biblical evidence for Jesus as the Messiah who was promised throughout the Old Testament.