The Beauty and Truth of the Catholic Church
Vol. IV
B. Herder, St. Louis, MO, 1816
 

Sermon XII: 
Prophecies Concerning the Redeemer

"God at sundry times and in divers manners spoke in times past to the fathers by the prophets."-----HEB. 1, 1

   Beginning with the Fall of man, we may distinctly trace three different means whereby God the Father prepared man for the Redeemer: the first through promises, the second through types and figures, and the third through prophecy. Man had just fallen, tears of contrition still dimmed his eyes, when the promise of a Redeemer brought comfort to him: "Of woman shall be born a Son, Who shall crush the head of the serpent." That was all; the first hint of a dawn, and the one hope of men for two thousand years. But then it became brighter. For a second promise brings to Abraham the assurance that from his posterity the Messias should be born. A third promise, made to Jacob, designates the tribe; and a fourth, made to David, declares that it is his house from which the Savior should go forth.

Remarkable, indeed, is this chain of promises, which go on step by step, and lead from the whole human race to a certain people, from this people to a certain tribe of the same, and from this tribe to a certain family of the tribe. And here God makes pause; the promises are at an end, the first manifestation of the Heavenly Father is finished.

Men knew then for a certainty that a Redeemer should come, and that He should come from the Chosen People, from the tribe of Juda, from the house of David. But of this house there would assuredly be many offspring; which then should be the real Savior beyond all danger of error or doubt? For this a new light was necessary, which should dispel the mist. And so the second manifestation on the part of God the Father begins, whereby He gradually, and with ever increasing clearness discloses to us the coming Redeemer. This took place by means of prototypes. During a period of more than three thousand years, that is from Adam to the prophet Jonas, there appears a long series of great personages all of whom represent the Messias in the special circumstances of His birth, His life, His Passion, His Resurrection and Ascension. Besides this, God caused various phenomena, ordained the most numerous and varied ceremonies and sacrifices, and all of these were merely single strokes, which, when combined, give us a complete portrait of the Desired of the nations such as we have already considered.

But even the types and figures are not sufficient to dispel all doubt about the Person of the coming Redeemer. A mysterious semi-darkness envelopes Him, and so a new light is required to banish all the shadows, to add the last touches to the portrait, to put an end to all uncertainty, a light indeed like the light of dawn which heralds the rising sun. For this reason the third and last manifestation of the coming Savior on the part of the Heavenly Father takes place, wherein He, in the course of centuries, raised up great prophets whom He acquainted with the mysteries of the future, before whose eyes He placed a picture of the coming Savior; to whom He made known the life, Passion and glorification of the Redeemer, and whom He then commissioned to prophesy these things, so that the last doubt and the last uncertainty should vanish.

   I propose therefore today to consider the prophecies concerning the Redeemer, discussing first the nature of prophecy and of the office of prophet; and then the particular prophecies themselves.

   O Jesus, assist us with Thy grace!

   1. What is a prophet, and what do we mean by prophecy? A prophet is an accredited messenger of God, who, having been illumined by God, saw into the future, and with reference to the coming Redeemer, even centuries before the events transpired, foresaw and revealed to men not only His coming, but also the special circumstances of His life and Passion. Only God knows the future, particularly the future in so far as it depends upon the free will and the passions of men. So that this gift of prophecy, whereby man partakes of the omniscience of God, is really more miraculous than the raising of the dead, or the sudden healing of the sick.

   A knowledge of future events is itself so mysterious and extraordinary, that even the most learned men of heathen antiquity denied it to their gods, because it would seem to destroy human freedom. And yet such a knowledge does display itself in the prophets sent and illumined by God, who in clear and thrilling words revealed many and most extraordinary things, that God alone could know, and that He alone could communicate to them. In sending these prophets, God had a twofold object in view. It was their office to comfort and console their contemporaries in their misery, and to increase their yearning for the coming Redeemer,-----and by reason of these prophecies they were to make easy and clear to the contemporaries of Jesus Christ Himself, and to coming generations, the recognition of the Savior already come. For this reason, it was incumbent upon the prophets not only to utter their prophecies orally, but to commit them also to writing in the Old Testament. And how often, dearly beloved, does not Our Divine Savior in His conversations with the Jews appeal to the prophets?

"Search the scriptures, for they give testimony of Me" [John 5, 39]. "And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, He expounded to them in all scriptures, the things that were concerning Him" [Luke 24, 27].

   How often do the Apostles employ the words: "That it might be fulfilled which the Lord spoke by the prophet" [Matt. 2, 15], or "These things were done that the scriptures might be fulfilled" [John 19, 36]. For this reason the Apostle St. Peter says: "For prophecy came not by the will of man at any time: but the holy men of God spoke, inspired by the Holy Ghost" [2 Peter 1, 21].

   Even the Jews always were, and are still convinced that there were such prophets and such prophecies. Of course they would not recognize their fulfillment in the Savior, but the only reason for this was the lowly descent, the humility, the poverty of the life of Christ, all apparently a contradiction of the qualities of greatness, power, universal sovereignty, which were spoken of in the prophecies, and by which they understood earthly power and greatness and sovereignty. It was this that gave birth to their extraordinary hatred against Jesus Christ, that He exhibited Himself as a Savior of an order far different from that which they had expected. Let us admire, my beloved, the disposition of Divine Providence, Who ordained that these prophecies concerning our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ should not be falsified by the Jews after His coming. A copy of the work of each of the prophets had to be preserved in the Temple, and in every synagogue in the land, and even in private houses and schools were copies, so that a falsifying of the text was simply impossible. Furthermore Divine Providence ordained that some three hundred years before the coming of the Redeemer, the Jewish people should not have the sole possession of the Holy Scriptures. In obedience to the command of the heathen king Ptolomy, seventy-two of the most celebrated Biblical scholars made an authentic translation of the Old Testament into the Greek tongue, and this translation, preserved in the royal library at Alexandria, was disseminated by means of the many copies that were made, and that came into the possession of the Christians.

    And even more than this! It is precisely the Jewish people which God uses to attest the antiquity, the inviolable possession, and the fulfillment of the prophecies. The Jews continue to watch for the Messias endowed with all the qualities which we too attribute to Him, and this continued expectation is a most potent argument for the authority and signification of the prophecies. Before their fulfillment in Jesus Christ the Jewish people had the commission to instruct the heathen nations as to the nature and content of the prophecies. And now it has the mission to convince the whole world of the fulfillment of these prophecies. Although convicted in the eyes of the whole world of almost inconceivable obstinacy and of error, this people still carries with it in its aimless wanderings its sacred books, guards them faithfully, clings to them passionately, surrenders life itself in testimony of them. Without temporal or spiritual head, without a country, without altars, without sacrifice, just as the prophets foretold; the one remnant of the ancient world which has survived all vicissitudes; according to the design of Divine Providence it continues to exist for only one reason, to give perpetual testimony of the Messias, and to prove the fulfillment of the prophecies. All men should see clearly the truth of the prophecies, for prophecy is being fulfilled in this people which, like one stricken with blindness, wanders aimlessly amongst us.

    In truth, my beloved, this is a most remarkable circumstance, and it becomes all the more remarkable as nations continue, like persons, to die and pass away. All the great nations of antiquity which were contemporaneous with the Jews lie buried in the dust. This one alone, the most ancient of all, continues its existence everywhere, always and everywhere in a state of decay; and this for only one reason, to give testimony of Jesus Christ. Thereby it is fulfilling the office which Providence has assigned to it, as keeper of the records and of the seal of Christianity. Side by side it exhibits the prophecy and its fulfillment; uniting both in its own person, it illuminates the earth with a torch which permits the light of truth to shine upon others with brilliant radiance, but which leaves itself in utter darkness. "O the depth of the riches of the wisdom and of the knowledge of God! How incomprehensible are His judgments, and how unsearchable His ways!" The more we grow to understand the Providence of God for the salvation of man, so much the more are we filled with admiration and reverence for God, and with love for our sublime Catholic Faith.

   2. So far, my dearly beloved, we have been discussing the nature of prophecies in general; we shall however now consider the various prophecies singly. They have reference partly to the time of the coming of the Redeemer, to His Person, to the circumstances of His birth, His life, His Passion and Death; partly to His Resurrection, Ascension, and the sending of the Holy Ghost; and partly to the destruction of the Jews, the conversion of the heathen nations, and finally to the foundation, diffusion, and duration of His Church. On account of the great number and length of the prophecies it would be impossible to discuss them all, but I will quote the most notable of them, some verbatim, others according to their sense, in order that you may become more acquainted with them.

   As far as the time of the coming of the Redeemer is concerned, the patriarch Jacob on his deathbed indicated it, when he was blessing his son Juda: "The scepter shall not be taken away from Juda, nor a ruler from his thigh, till He come that is to be sent, and He shall be the Desired of the nations" [Gen. 49, 10]. Although Juda was not the first son of Jacob, from the point of view of age, but Ruben, nevertheless, to him is the promise given that his progeny, his tribe, shall be dominant among the people of Israel, and that from him shall descend the Redeemer, the Expectation of the nations. And as a matter of fact it was so. For at a later period the tribe of Juda ruled over the other eleven tribes of the Jewish people; from it came the kings, from it came David, and also the Savior. This preeminence over the other tribes, which took the name "the Jewish people" from it, the tribe of Juda retained until the time of the coming of the Redeemer. But then it became subjected to the dominion of Rome, and Pontius Pilate was the Roman governor of Judea, resident in the capital city of Jerusalem. And it is for this reason that the defiant words of the Jews to Pilate when he exhibited Jesus to them as King of the Jews, become so meaningful: "We have no king but Caesar" [John 19, 15]. They themselves declare that the time for the coming of the Messias according to the prophecy of Jacob was come, and that the prophecy was fulfilled.

   Still more remarkable and more sharply defined is the prophecy of the great prophet Daniel. Whilst Daniel in the Babylonian captivity prayed for the liberation of the people, and the rebuilding of the Temple that had been destroyed, the Archangel Gabriel appeared to him and said: "Seventy weeks are shortened upon thy people and upon thy holy city, that sin may have an end, and iniquity may be abolished, and everlasting justice may be brought, and vision and prophecy may be fulfilled, and the Saint of Saints may be anointed" [Dan. 9, 24]. By the term week is meant, according to the usage of the Jews, a week of years, or a period of seven years. Seventy weeks are therefore four hundred ninety years. And precisely so many years elapsed beginning with this prophecy until the death of the Savior, Who, through the Bloody Sacrifice of the Cross, put an end to sin, abolished iniquity, satisfied eternal justice, and brought it. In Him are, indeed, fulfilled the prototypes and prophecies, and He has been anointed, that is, raised, by the Heavenly Father to be King of Heaven and earth. For this reason Christ was called "the Anointed of the Lord." This same prophet Daniel also foretold that the Savior would be put to death by the Jews, and that Jerusalem would be destroyed.

   Other prophets, too, designate even more closely the time of the coming of the Savior. Aggaeus, for example, consoled the Jews in this manner after their return from the captivity of Babylon.

   Malachias announced similar tidings; indeed announces even the precursor of Christ, John the Baptist:

"Behold I send My Angel, and he shall prepare the way before My face. And presently the Lord Whom you seek, and the angel of the testament, Whom you desire, shall come to His temple" [Mal. 3, 1]. The Desired of the nations Who should bring them peace; the Ruler, Whom the Jews longed for, the Ambassador of God, Who would establish a New Covenant: Who else is it but Jesus Christ the Lord, Who came precisely at the time when the second Temple was finished in greater magnificence than the former one, in which He taught, and which He made glorious by His presence? This Temple was also the last one, for it was destroyed after the death of Christ by the Romans, never to be rebuilt.

   3. But we wish to learn also, my beloved, to know the prophets who foretold the birth of the Savior, and its more minute circumstances. The general outline of the Redemption we learn from the promise of God in paradise, when He said to the serpent: "I will put enmities between thee and the woman, and thy seed and her seed: she shall crush thy head, and thou shalt lie in wait for her heel" [Gen. 3, 15]. Here the coming Savior is expressly called the Son of the woman, namely, of the Blessed Virgin Mary. For this reason the prophet Isaias exclaims with enthusiasm: "Therefore the Lord Himself shall give you a sign. Behold a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and His name shall be called Emmanuel" [Is. 7, 14]. This is, therefore, the miracle of all miracles, which God will give to the Jews as a most illuminating sign. Hence the Apostle and Evangelist Matthew in speaking of the virginal birth of Jesus says: "Now all this was done that it might be fulfilled which the Lord spoke by the prophet, saying: "Behold a virgin shall be with child, and bring forth a son, and they shall call His name Emmanuel, which being interpreted, God with us" [Matt. 1, 22, 23].

    The prophets announce the race from which the Savior is to be born, namely, from the house of David, as God had already promised David himself. And even the place, Bethlehem, where He was to be born, was foretold by Micheas. For this reason the Scribes told Herod in answer to his question as to where Christ should be born: "In Bethlehem of Juda. For so it is written by the prophet, 'and thou Bethlehem the land of Juda, art not the least among the princes of Juda; for out of thee shall come forth the captain that shall rule My people Israel' " [Matt. 2, 5-6]. In like manner the star at the birth of the Savior was foretold by Balaam, when the Jews entered the Promised Land: "I shall see Him, but not now: I shall behold Him, but not near. A STAR SHALL RISE OUT OF JACOB and a scepter shall spring up from Israel" [Num. 24, 17]. For this reason the three Magi said at Jerusalem with such confidence: "We have seen His star in the East, and are come to adore Him" [Matt. 2, 2]. Even the coming of the three Magi was foretold by Isaias [60, 3, 6], and even earlier by David [Ps. 71, 10]. Yes, even the slaughter of the Innocents in Bethlehem was foretold by the prophet Jeremias, and hence the Evangelist St. Matthew says: "Then was fulfilled that which was spoken by Jeremias the prophet" [Matt. 2, 17]. The flight into Egypt, and the subsequent stay at Nazareth, were likewise foretold, as the Evanglist St. Matthew testifies: "That it might be fulfilled which the Lord spoke by the prophet saying, [Osee 11, 1] . . . 'and He shall be called a Nazarene' " [Matt. 2, 15, 23].

   4. But now, how do the prophets describe the public life of the Savior? In truth that He shall come forth as the great Prophet, Who shall not only foretell future events, but will in reality be the true Teacher of the people. Hence the people at the multiplication of the loaves of bread called Jesus the great Prophet: "This is of a truth the prophet, that is to come into the world" [John 6, 14]. And still more plainly the Samaritan woman in her conversation with Jesus expressed it, saying: "I know that the Messias cometh, Who is called the Christ; therefore, when He is come, He will tell us all things" [John 4, 25]. In like manner the disciples of St. John the Baptist asked Him saying: "Art thou the Prophet?" [John 1, 21; 35, 4, 6]. The prophet Isaias described one by one the miracles which our Divine Savior would perform during His public life. And the Savior Himself referred the disciples of John the Baptist to the fulfillment of this prophecy: "Go and relate to John what you have heard and seen. The blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead rise again, the poor have the gospel preached to them" [Matt. 11, 4, 5].

   5. But what do the prophets narrate concerning the suffering of the Redeemer? If the prophecies regarding the birth and life of the Savior are so convincing, then those regarding His sufferings, both in content and language, are so sublime and touching that we are led to believe that the prophets-----who lived one thousand, six hundred, and four hundred years before the Savior-----were living witnesses, and gave free rein to their grief. The prophet Zacharias foretold the triumphal entry of Jesus on Palm Sunday into Jerusalem, and His betrayal for thirty pieces of silver. When Judas in despair cast the thirty pieces of silver into the Temple, and the Scribes and Pharisees used them to buy a potter's field for the burial of strangers, the Apostles St. Matthew and St. Peter pointed to this fact as a fulfillment of prophecy.

   Touching and true is the prophecy of Isaias where he speaks of the suffering Savior: "He was offered because it was His Own will, and He opened not His mouth. He shall be led as a sheep to the slaughter, and shall be dumb as a lamb before His shearer, and He shall not open His mouth . . . and shall be reputed with the wicked; and He hath born the sins of many, and hath prayed for the transgressors" [Isaias 53, 2]. The great prophet Isaias wrote a gospel, a history of the Passion of the Savior, before it was accomplished. And yet he lived five hundred years before Christ. The complaints of David, uttered by him in the twenty-first psalm are just as touching, and almost literally narrate the sufferings of Jesus on the Cross, as the Evangelist St. Matthew testifies [Matt. 27, 34-44].

    The burial of the Savior was foretold by Isaias: "He was allotted a grave with evil doers, but He found His resting place in the tomb of the wealthy." His Resurrection was foretold by David in the fifteenth psalm, and His Ascension into Heaven in the sixty-seventh psalm.

    The prophecy of Malachy beautifully foretells the new sacrifice that was to replace the old one: "I have no pleasure in you saith the Lord of hosts; and I will not receive a gift from your hands. For from the rising of the sun even to the going down, My name is great among the Gentiles, and in every place there is sacrifice, and there is offered to My name a clean oblation: for My name is great among the Gentiles, saith the Lord of hosts" [Mal. 1, 10, 11].

    Since the destruction of Jerusalem, my beloved, and especially since the destruction of the Temple, the Jews have no real sacrifice; all the sects that have fallen away from the Catholic Church, as the Protestants and others, have no sacrifice. Where then is this pure, holy sacrifice, so pleasing to God, which is offered up to Almighty God from one end of the world to the other, where is it now? In the Catholic Church. It is the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, which the Savior instituted at the Last Supper, and the prophet Malachy foretold, and the King and High Priest Melchisedech prefigured when he offered bread and wine.

  6. We have now learned an important part of the prophecies. The first announcement of the Savior was made in paradise. The second extends to Abraham, the father of the Israelites, two thousand years before the birth of Christ. Moses wrote his fifteen hundred years before the birth of Christ, and David one thousand years. Osee and Joel open the series of minor prophets who were raised up by God, about eight hundred years before Christ, and Malachy, as the last, closed the series four hundred fifty years before the Savior appeared. The prophets, therefore, had to precede the Savior hundreds of years, in order that every one might be fully convinced that this was not the work of man, nor of his shrewdness, but that truly the sublime Providence and wisdom of God reigned in it all. Therefore, with the death of the last of the prophets, Malachy, the voice of prophecy ceased in Israel. The third manifestation of the Heavenly Father, whereby He prepared man for the coming of the Redeemer, is completed. The Messias is sufficiently described, the picture is finished.

   A respectful silence reigned now in the world. But it is wonderful to behold, overwhelming for heart and soul, how God, the Heavenly Father, paves the way for the Desired of the nations, the Savior of the world; how He prepares the nations and makes the souls of men susceptible. Admirable, glorious religion, which teaches us to know God and His sublime rule, which is a continual, majestic miracle, and fills all time from the beginning of the world, and is proclaimed in two distinct announcements; in the prophecies, and in the fulfillment of these prophecies. But both-----prophecy and its fulfillment-----have only one great object, the desire and its fulfillment -----Jesus Christ, the Savior and Redeemer. The ruling of God in its promise is not less visible than in the fulfillment of the promise. Jesus Christ is the Lamb of God, Who was slain from the beginning; Jesus Christ is the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End of all things, the Heir of all the ages, and the Father of all future time, Christ yesterday, today, and the same for all eternity.