There is much dispute among scholars of various theological persuasions as to the exact messianic content of the Old Testament. Some claim persuasively that much of the prophecies of Jesus Christ have been read into the Old Testament rather than out of it; that the prophets who wrote them never intended this interpretation. Others agree, but add that the Holy Spirit intended a second, more spiritual meaning that transcended the awareness of the prophet who first composed the words. I believe that we do not need to probe the minds and intentions of the Hebrew prophets, nor does our interpretation of passages like this one hinge upon our understanding of the inspiration of scripture. The reason is that all of Christianity is predicated in some way or the other on the man Jesus Christ, and whatever we may say about Hebrew prophets or the dynamics of inspiration, one thing remains indisputably clear: Jesus believed that the entire Old Testament pointed to Him, prophesied about Him, and was to be fulfilled by Him. To Jesus, the entire Old Testament was nothing more or less than a personal letter written by His Father and addressed to Him for the benefit of all. Therefore it is valid for Christians to seek enlightenment about Jesus in Old Testament passages like this, because we know that Jesus consciously took these prophecies as the model for His life and ministry.
There should be no difficulty with the fact that the gospels each give a slightly different picture from the others, because they each represent only a part of a more extensive series of events. Christians before the eightieth century entertained few doubts that the gospels were to be read as historically reliable accounts of the life of Jesus (Carson p.50). Furthermore, the writer of each one worked from ...