Lamb's used for sacrifice had to be perfect, without spot, and without blemish (see and ). There were two reasons for this: the perfect lambs were the most cherished and the hardest to part with, and sin could only be covered by absolute perfection. God tried to teach us that in order to have our sins forgiven we would have to part with something very valuable to us, and not just part with it, but slaughter it, in a very messy and disgusting way. The sacrificial altars were covered in dried blood and ashes from these perfect animals that were butchered; they were disgusting, just like the sins that were forgiven by them we're disgusting. God wanted us to see our sin for what it was, and then see what perfection it took to have those sins forgiven. But the Jews had lived by the Laws of Moses for nearly 1500 years before their Messiah arrived, and in all that time they hadn't yet learned these simple lessons.

So God made one final sacrifice for all sins. His very own son. But His son had to be perfect, without spot and without blemish - without sin. Jesus achieved this by consistently doing God's will, and in doing so He also fulfilled many prophecies.

Prophecy - "From birth I was cast upon you; from my mother's womb you have been my God." (Psalms 22:10)

Fulfillment - "But the angel said to her, 'Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favor with God. You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end.'" (Luke 1:30-33)

Prophecy - "Listen to me, you islands; hear this, you distant nations: Before I was born the LORD called me; from my birth he has made mention of my name." (Isaiah 49:1)

Fulfillment - "But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, 'Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.'" (Matthew 1:20-21)

Prophecy - "Come near me and listen to this: 'From the first announcement I have not spoken in secret; at the time it happens, I am there.' And now the Sovereign LORD has sent me, with his Spirit." (Isaiah 48:16)

Fulfillment - (Spoken by Jesus) "but I know him because I am from him and he sent me." (John 7:29)

Prophecy - "Then I said, 'Here I am, I have come--it is written about me in the scroll. I desire to do your will, O my God; your law is within my heart.'" (Psalms 40:7-8)

Fulfillment - (Spoken by Jesus) "By myself I can do nothing; I judge only as I hear, and my judgment is just, for I seek not to please myself but him who sent me." (John 5:30)

Prophecy - "Here is my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen one in whom I delight; I will put my Spirit on him and he will bring justice to the nations." (Isaiah 42:1)

Fulfillment - "As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and lighting on him. And a voice from heaven said, 'This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.'" (Matthew 3:16-17)

Prophecies -

• "Listen, O high priest Joshua and your associates seated before you, who are men symbolic of things to come: I am going to bring my servant, the Branch." (Zechariah 3:8)
• "He said to me, 'You are my servant, Israel, in whom I will display my splendor.'" (Isaiah 49:3)

Fulfillment -

• (Spoken by Jesus) "I have brought you glory on earth by completing the work you gave me to do." (John 17:4)
• "Great crowds came to him, bringing the lame, the blind, the crippled, the mute and many others, and laid them at his feet; and he healed them. The people were amazed when they saw the mute speaking, the crippled made well, the lame walking and the blind seeing. And they praised the God of Israel." (Matthew 15:30-31)

Prophecies -

• "I proclaim righteousness in the great assembly; I do not seal my lips, as you know, O LORD. I do not hide your righteousness in my heart; I speak of your faithfulness and salvation. I do not conceal your love and your truth from the great assembly." (Psalms 40:9-10)
• "The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me, because the LORD has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners, to proclaim the year of the LORD's favor and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn" (Isaiah 61:1-2)

Fulfillment - "He went to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, and on the Sabbath day he went into the synagogue, as was his custom. And he stood up to read. The scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. Unrolling it, he found the place where it is written: ?The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor." (Luke 4:16-21)

Prophecy - "The Sovereign LORD has opened my ears, and I have not been rebellious; I have not drawn back." (Isaiah 50:5)

Fulfillment - (Spoken by Jesus) "Now my heart is troubled, and what shall I say? 'Father, save me from this hour'? No, it was for this very reason I came to this hour." (John 12:27)

Prophecy - "Because the Sovereign LORD helps me, I will not be disgraced. Therefore have I set my face like flint, and I know I will not be put to shame." (Isaiah 50:7)

Fulfillment - "As the time approached for him to be taken up to heaven, Jesus resolutely set out for Jerusalem. And he sent messengers on ahead, who went into a Samaritan village to get things ready for him; but the people there did not welcome him, because he was heading for Jerusalem." (Luke 9:51:53)

Prophecy - "Here is my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen one in whom I delight; I will put my Spirit on him and he will bring justice to the nations." (Isaiah 42:1)

Fulfillment - "'My food,' said Jesus, 'is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work.'" (John 4:34)

Prophecy - "And now the LORD says-- he who formed me in the womb to be his servant to bring Jacob back to him and gather Israel to himself, for I am honored in the eyes of the LORD and my God has been my strength" (Isaiah 49:5)

Fulfillment - (Spoken by Jesus) "For I have come down from heaven not to do my will but to do the will of him who sent me." (John 6:38)

Prophecy - "he says: 'It is too small a thing for you to be my servant to restore the tribes of Jacob and bring back those of Israel I have kept. I will also make you a light for the Gentiles, that you may bring my salvation to the ends of the earth.'" (Isaiah 49:6)

Fulfillment - (Spoken by Jesus) "For I did not speak of my own accord, but the Father who sent me commanded me what to say and how to say it." (John 12:49-50)

Prophecy - "See, my servant will act wisely; he will be raised and lifted up and highly exalted." (Isaiah 52:13)

Fulfillment - (Spoken by Jesus) "As long as it is day, we must do the work of him who sent me. Night is coming, when no one can work." (John 9:4)

Prophecy - "After the suffering of his soul, he will see the light of life and be satisfied; by his knowledge my righteous servant will justify many, and he will bear their iniquities." (Isaiah 53:11)

Fulfillment - "Consequently, just as the result of one trespass was condemnation for all men, so also the result of one act of righteousness was justification that brings life for all men." (Romans 5:18-19)

Prophecy - "But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from of old, from ancient times." (Micah 5:2)

Fulfillment - (Spoken by Jesus) "If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my Father's commands and remain in his love." (John 15:10)

Prophecy - "For I endure scorn for your sake, and shame covers my face." (Psalms 69:7)

Fulfillment - "Then the high priest tore his clothes and said, 'He has spoken blasphemy! Why do we need any more witnesses? Look, now you have heard the blasphemy.'

'What do you think?'

'He is worthy of death,' they answered.

Then they spit in his face and struck him with their fists. Others slapped him and said, 'Prophesy to us, Christ. Who hit you?' " (Matthew 26:65-67)

Prophecy - "for zeal for your house consumes me, and the insults of those who insult you fall on me." (Psalms 69:9)

Fulfillment - "For even Christ did not please himself but, as it is written: 'The insults of those who insult you have fallen on me.'" (Romans 15:3)

Prophecy - "We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all." (Isaiah 53:6)

Fulfillment - "This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins." (1^st John 4:10)

Prophecies -

• "Yet it was the LORD's will to crush him and cause him to suffer, and though the LORD makes his life a guilt offering, he will see his offspring and prolong his days, and the will of the LORD will prosper in his hand." (Isaiah 53:10)
• "'Awake, O sword, against my shepherd, against the man who is close to me!' declares the LORD Almighty. 'Strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered, and I will turn my hand against the little ones.'" (Zechariah 13:7)

Fulfillment - "Jesus commanded Peter, 'Put your sword away! Shall I not drink the cup the Father has given me?'" (John 18:11)

Prophecy - "I, the LORD, have called you in righteousness; I will take hold of your hand. I will keep you and will make you to be a covenant for the people and a light for the Gentiles" (Isaiah 42:6)

Fulfillment - "Jesus gave them this answer: 'I tell you the truth, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does. For the Father loves the Son and shows him all he does. Yes, to your amazement he will show him even greater things than these.'" (John 5:19-20)

Prophecy - "The Sovereign LORD has given me an instructed tongue, to know the word that sustains the weary. He wakens me morning by morning, wakens my ear to listen like one being taught." (Isaiah 50:4)

Fulfillment - "For I did not speak of my own accord, but the Father who sent me commanded me what to say and how to say it." (John 12:49)

Prophecy - "Blessed is he who comes in the name of the LORD. From the house of the LORD we bless you." (Psalms 118:26)

Fulfillment - "The crowds that went ahead of him and those that followed shouted, 'Hosanna to the Son of David!'

'Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!'

'Hosanna in the highest!'" (Matthew 21:9)