Prophecies of a Triumphant Messiah — Fulfilled in Jesus : Redemption Through the Messianic Seed

Throughout the Old Testament, references are found to a messianic “seed” that is associated with God’s plan of redemption. It is enlightening to see how aspects of this theme find their fulfillment in the nature and work of Jesus.

The beginning of the Old Testament describes the first human rebellion against God: the serpent persuades Adam and Eve to eat the forbidden fruit, and as a result they are evicted from the Garden of Eden and denied access to the Tree of Life. God places a curse upon humanity and the earth, and He speaks of the resulting conflict between His people and the followers of His adversary:

“I will put enmity between you [the serpent] and the woman [Eve], and between your seed and hers” (Gen 3:15a).

However, this verse also contains what is known as the “proto-evangelium” — the first glimmer of the “good news” (Greek: euangélion) — when God informs the serpent that the seed of Eve will ultimately triumph:

“He will bruise/crush your head, and you will bruise/crush his heel” (Gen 3:15b).

Rabbis have taught that the “seed” of Eve in Genesis refers to the promised Messiah.[1] As the Old Testament progresses, this messianic seed is narrowed down to more precise categories:

· A descendant of Abraham: “Through your seed shall all nations on earth be blessed” (Gen 12:3).

· From the tribe of Judah: “The scepter will not depart from Judah, nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet, until he to whom it belongs shall come and the obedience of the nations shall be his” (Gen 49:10–11). “How beauteous is the King, the Meshiha who will arise from the house of Jehuda.”[2]

· In the line of David (Jer 23:5–6; Isa 11:1–4; Hos 3:4–5).

In Targum Jonathan (an Aramaic translation/interpretation of the Hebrew Scripture), Genesis 3 contains these additional words from God to the serpent, promising a final resolution to the ancient conflict:

“For them there shall be a medicine, but for you there will be no medicine; and they shall make a remedy for the heel in the days of the King Messiah.”[3]

A modern Jewish website therefore provides this important commentary on Genesis 3:15:

“This is the first Messianic prophecy in the Bible. From it we understand that the enemy would attempt to strike at the heel of the Messiah; instead however, our Messiah would crush the enemy’s head and destroy the works of the devil.”[4]

The prophet Isaiah echoed the imagery in Genesis 3:15 when he spoke of a messianic figure whose suffering would bring redemption:

“He was crushed for our iniquities, and the punishment that made us whole was upon him, and by his bruises we are healed” (Isa 53:5 ISV).

This ultimate triumph over evil is described in Psalm 110, which Jewish commentators have interpreted as messianic:[5]at the end times, the Messiah will destroy God’s enemies and judge all nations in order to redeem creation.

The theme of the messianic seed continues into the New Testament. Jesus linked himself to the prophecy in Genesis 3:15 when he called his opponents the offspring of serpents or the devil (Matt 23:33; John 8:44), and he described himself as a seed that must die to defeat evil:

“Unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it bears much fruit . . . Now the prince of this world will be driven out” (John 12:24–31).

It is interesting that in the Babylonian Talmud, the metaphor of a dying and fruitful wheat seed is linked to the general end-time resurrection.[6] Jesus’s death and resurrection fulfilled Isaiah’s prediction of vicarious suffering that would lead to healing and redemption.

Jesus also claimed to be the ultimate judge (Matt 16:27; John 5:27; Acts 10:42), and his followers believed he was the messianic descendant of David (Rom 1:3; Luke 1:32–33; Acts 13:23) who fulfilled ancient prophecy by defeating Satan and death:

· “Christ redeemed us . . . in order that the blessing given to Abraham might come to the Gentiles” (Gal 3:13–14) —that “all nations on earth be blessed” (Gen 12:3).

· “You have been born again [through Jesus], not of perishable seed, but of imperishable” (1 Pet 1:18–23).

· “And the God of peace [Jesus] will quickly crush Satan under your feet” (Rom 16:20).

· “Everyone who commits sin is a child of the devil; for the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The Son of God was revealed for this purpose, to destroy the works of the devil” (1 John 3:8).

· “Through death he might bring to nothing him who had the power of death, that is, the devil, and might deliver all of them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage” (Heb 2:14–15).

In the last book of the Bible, John described his vision of the end times in which “the old serpent, he who is called the devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world” (Rev 12:9) makes war on the woman’s seed, which are those who keep God’s commandments and testify to Jesus (Rev 12:17). But the serpent and death itself are finally defeated through the return of Jesus — the Lion of Judah and the seed of David (Rev 5:5; 22:16) — the curse on creation is lifted, and humanity is once again allowed access to the Tree of Life (Rev 21–22).

A coherent theme therefore runs from Genesis through to Revelation, teaching about the rebellion of humankind and their promised redemption through the work of a messianic “seed” in the line of David. According to the New Testament, Jesus is this seed, and his work and return will finally heal creation and restore humanity’s relationship with God.

[1]. After giving birth to Seth, Eve said, “God has provided me another seed” (Gen 4:25). In his commentary on this verse, Rabbi Huna concluded: “The seed will come from another place, and who is this? This is the King Messiah” (Ruth Rabbah 8). https://www.sefaria.org/Ruth_Rabbah.8.1?lang=bi Rabbi Tanhuma also taught: “That seed which would arise from another source, that is the King Messiah” (Genesis Rabbah 23.5). https://archive.org/details/RabbaGenesis/page/n243/mode/2up [2]. Targum Jonathan on Gen 49:10–11. https://archive.org/details/targumsonkelosa00ethegoog/page/n342/mode/2up [3]. https://www.sefaria.org/Targum_Jonathan_on_Genesis.3.16?ven=The_Targum_of_Jonathan_ben_Uzziel,_trans._J._W._Etheridge,_London,_1862&lang=bi [4]. https://free.messianicbible.com/parasha/parasha-eikev-because-the-heel-of-the-messiah/ [5]. “That is the Messiah, as it is said . . . ‘The rod of Thy strength YHWH will send out of Zion’ [quoting Ps 110:2]” (Bereshit Rabbah 85.9). https://www.sefaria.org/Bereishit_Rabbah.85.9?lang=bi “It says, ‘The Eternal has sworn and will not change His mind: you will be a priest forever [quoting Ps 110:4]. From this verse we know that the messianic king is even more beloved than a rightful priest’” (Avot D’Rabbi Nathan 34). https://www.sefaria.org/Avot_D'Rabbi_Natan.34.4?lang=bi&with=all&lang2=en [6]. Rabbi Meir was asked if the dead will rise with or without their clothes. The rabbi responded: “If wheat, which is buried naked, meaning that the kernel is sown without the chaff, emerges with several garments of chaff, all the more so will the righteous, who are buried with their garments, arise with their garments” (Sanhedrin 90b).