Did Jesus Foretell Samson’s Birth?

Let’s begin in Judges 13, when a mysterious “Angel of the Lord” announces Samson’s birth to a bewildered couple.

At first glance, you might think it’s just another angel. But the more you dig into the text, the more you see God-like authority shining through.

This messenger identifies himself with the divine “I AM” (Judges 13:11). 

Rather than an archangel like Gabriel deflecting praise, this figure calmly receives reverential awe. Couple that with Old Testament patterns of the Angel of the Lord’s behavior (He often speaks in the first person for God), and you’ve got a compelling argument for a direct, pre-incarnate appearance of Christ.

This Angel (aka: Jesus) tells this couple that they will have a son and that he will be a liberator for God’s people. 

But as Samson grows up, he’s hardly the hero anyone would expect.

Samson breaks vows, burns villages, and beds women without remorse. 

He’s a brash, beast of a man. 

But his story brims with parallels to Jesus. 

For starters, Samson’s very name means “sunlight,” pointing to the way Jesus would later be called the “light of the world” (John 8:12).

Samson’s father, Manoah (“peace and rest”), hails from the tribe of Dan (“the judge”), in a place called Zorah (“the painful sting”). It’s as if Scripture is winking at us: Jesus would embody peace and rest, yet ultimately judge the world and bear the painful sting of death on our behalf.

Samson’s mother was barren, but the Lord visited her and gave her a son. This motif is repeated throughout scripture, ultimately leading to the virgin birth of Jesus. 

From the start, Samson’s mission was to deliver Israel from the Philistines. Jesus, likewise, came to deliver humanity from the grip of sin.

But more than Samson’s birth and life, it was Samson's death that gives us the real glimpse into God's heart.

Towards the end of Samson’s story in Judges 16, he’s been blinded and bound by the Philistines. It’s at this point in the story where we think, “Samson kind of deserves this.”

He’s been a self-indulgent jerk who has no respect for his calling.

But, in these last moments, blinded and broken, Samson has a moment of clarity.

He prays to God, his strength returns, and he pushes the pillars of the Philistine temple. The ceiling crumbles and the Philistines perish. Samson is buried with them.

Here’s the truth: It was Samson’s death that liberated Israel.

Mark 10:45 says, “For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

Because of Christ’s death, we can live.

When Samson finally decides to die to himself, he became the hero God called him to be.

In the same way, we can only fulfill our calling when we die to ourselves— our pride, selfishness, and will.

As Jesus said in Matthew 16:24, “If any man will come after Me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow Me.”