Jesus: Fulfilled Prophesies

“…Jesus said…’Do you think I cannot call on my Father, and he will at once put at my disposal more than twelve legions of angels? But how then would the Scriptures be fulfilled that say it must happen in this way?’” –Matthew 26:52-54

Perhaps one of the most amazing aspects in exploring Christ’s validity and divinity is the revelation of the many, extremely specific prophecies that Jesus fulfilled. These were prophesies, or predictions, made hundreds—if not thousands—of years prior to Christ’s birth!

Consider this:

“… by using the modern science of probability in reference to eight prophecies, ‘we find that the chance that any man might have lived down to the present time and fulfilled... eight prophecies is 1 in 10¹⁷."  That would be 1 in 100,000,000,000,000,000.  In order to help us comprehend this staggering probability, Stoner illustrates it by supposing that "we take 10¹⁷silver dollars and lay them on the face of Texas.  They will cover all of the state two feet deep.  Now mark one of these silver dollars and stir the whole mass thoroughly, all over the state.  Blindfold a man and tell him that he can travel as far as he wishes, but he must pick up one silver dollar and say that this is the right one.  What chance would he have of getting the right one?  Just the same chance that the prophets would have had of writing these eight prophecies and having them all come true in any one man."

Stoner considers 48 prophecies and says, "We find the chance that any one man fulfilled all 48 prophecies to be 1 in 10¹⁵⁷, or 1 in 10,00,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000, 000,000,000,000,000, 000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000, 000, 000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000, 000,000,000.” 

(Josh McDowell, Evidence that Demands a Verdict)

Throughout the Old Testament are many references to the promised Messiah. Jesus fulfills all of the prophesies. Some of these prophesies are explored in-depth here if you are interested in reading about them in detail (including some answers to skeptic questioning), however allow me to summarize the main points:

a.       Lineage: Jesus fulfilled many prophesies in regards to his family tree and the declaration of his divinity. He was:  the Son of God, Seed of Woman, descendent of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, from the tribe of Judah, of Jesse, of David, and born to a Virgin.

b.      Geography: Jesus fulfilled many prophesies surrounding his birth and the places he would go.

c.       Ministry: Jesus fulfilled specific prophesies concerning his ministry, including the fact that a Prophet proceeds him,  his healing and parables, riding a donkey, being rejected by Jews and accepted by Gentiles

d.      Betrayal: Jesus fulfilled extremely specific prophesies regarding his betrayal including the facts that he would be betrayed by friend and for 30 pieces of silver.

e.       Suffering: Prophesies outlined that the Messiah would undergo suffering

f.       Death: Prophesies outlined that the Messiah would die a horrific death, that his blood would be spilt. 

g.       Triumph: -Jesus' rising from the dead was foretold. 

h.      Timing: -Jesus’ life and death happened at a very specific, foretold time in history.

All things considered, even to the scientific, mathematical mind, the fact that Jesus fulfilled all of these predictions is astonishing! His life was a statistical impossibility that demanded Divine Intervention! 

Just think about how often you're wrong when you call a coin toss. Your odds there are a reasonable 50/50 and the prediction you make is relatively simple! The prophesies surrounding Jesus are numerous and incredibly specific. Jesus was not some man who "slipped into" the role of Messiah. He was not some guy who gained followers through grandiose self-proclamations. Jesus was proclaimed to be Messiah by many, many people in many ways for many years preceding his death and resurrection. Jesus was foretold and a fulfillment of thousands of years' worth of Divinely inspired predictions. If that doesn't amaze you, I don't know what will!


*This was part 5 of 7 in the "Why Believe?" series