This document discusses how Jesus fulfilled prophecies about the Messiah. It provides examples from the Old Testament prophecies and their fulfillment in the New Testament. It argues that the probability of one person fulfilling just 8 of the prophecies is extremely low, making it unlikely due to chance. The document suggests God sovereignly orchestrated historical events and empires like Greece and Rome to set the stage for Jesus at the right time. It addresses some objections but ultimately argues Jesus is the fulfillment of God's plan for salvation.
2. Introduction
Jesus is not just the reason for the season. Jesus is the
only reason…period.
Everything points to Jesus including:
1. Mathematics
2. Science
3. History
3. Who is Jesus?
15 The
Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over
all creation. 16 For in him all things were created: things in
heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or
powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created
through him and for him. 17 He is before all things, and in him
all things hold together. 18 And he is the head of the body, the
church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the
dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy. 19 For
God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, 20 and
through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things
on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his
blood, shed on the cross.
Colossians 1:15-20
4. 8 Out of Over 300 Prophecies
Old Testament Prophecy New Testament Fulfillment Probability
Christ to be born in Bethlehem And Herod asked where Christ had
(Micah 5:2) been born ... they answered Bethlehem 2.8 x 105 or 1 in 280,000
(Matt 2:4-6)
Forerunner of Christ John the Baptist, the forerunner of Christ
(Malachi 3:1) (Mark 1:2-8) 1 x 103 or 1 in 1,000
Christ to enter Jerusalem riding on a Christ enters Jerusalem riding on a
donkey donkey
1 x 102 or 1 in 100
(Zech 9:9) (Matt 21:4-11)
Christ to be betrayed by a friend Judas betrayed Jesus
(Psalm 41:9) (Luke 22:21) 1 x 103 or 1 in 1,000
Christ to be betrayed for 30 pieces of
Judas sold out Jesus for 30 pieces of
silver
silver 1 x 103 or 1 in 1,000
(Zech 11:12)
(Matt 26:15)
30 pieces of silver casted down and
30 pieces of silver used to buy a potter's
used to buy a potter's field
field 1 x 105 or 1 in 100,000
(Zech 11:13)
(Matt 27:3-10)
Although innocent, Christ kept silent Jesus kept silent when questioned
when on trial (Mark 14:60-61) 1 x 103 or 1 in 1,000
(Isaiah 53:7)
Christ crucified
Jesus was crucified
(Psalm 22:16) 1 x 104 or 1 in 10,000
(John 19:17, 18)
http://www.bibleprobe.com/365messianicprophecies.htm
http://www.goodnewsdispatch.org/math.html
5. Prophecy Intersecting
With History
6 You see, at just the right time, when we were still
powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. 7 Very rarely
will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a
good person someone might possibly dare to die. 8 But
God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we
were still sinners, Christ died for us. - Romans 5:6-8
6. What are the Odds?
The odds of a single person fulfilling just 8 of the
prophecies already highlighted: 1 out 1028
1 X 1028 mean 1 followed by 28 zeroes
Two ways to put this into perspectives
1. 1 billion is 1 followed by 9 zeroes. There are
between 7 or 8 Billion people on earth today – More
people than have ever lived at any one time.
7. 2. Understanding the numbers involved
• Fill the state of Texas with quarters
to a depth of two feet.
• Mark one and throw it into mix
• Use bull dozers mix the quarters
• Now pick one of the quarters up at
random
The odds of selecting your marked
quarter out of that is the same as the
odds of a single person fulfilling those 8
prophecies in a single life time.
Alternate Viewpoint
- Total 268,581[3] sq mi(696,241 km2) - Width 773[4] miles (1,244 km) - Length 790 miles (1,270 km)
- Total 268,581[3] sq. mi(696,241 km2) - Width 773[4] miles (1,244 km) - Length 790 miles (1,270 km)
8. God is in Control of
History
The “Battle of
Thermopylae” was used
by God to set the stage for
Jesus coming at the right
time.
486 BC
A stylized, fictional
account has been
throughout culture
Even the secular world
understand the
importance of this event
9. Want to Know more about
“Battle of Thermopylae”
There is a great documentary that aired on the History Channel. Let me
know later if you want the YouTube Link.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Q8MF6I9Tw4
10. Importance of the
Thermopylae Battle
“Few stood against many”
Spoiler Alert: The Greeks lost the Battle against the
Persians (its been 2500 yrs., so forgive me anyone
who didn’t see the movie)
It set the stage for the Greeks to unify as a single
nation and ultimately defeat the Persian Empire that
we was the most power Empire ever up until that
time.
11. Alexander The Great.
Alexander The Great
Built and expanded the Greek Empire
Standardized Greek – translation of the Old
Testament and the writing of the New Testament
Laid the foundation for the Roman Empire – whose
roads and tech made it easier for the Gospel to travel
quickly
14. Objections
God worked through History and we can see that in the
fact that Jesus fulfilled prophecies that were given
centuries before his birth.
Objection 1: The messianic prophecies are so vague
they could describe anyone.
Objection 2: The prophecies were not really written
by the men tradition says they were.
Objection 3: Jesus purposely fulfilled the messianic
prophecies so that he could take credit for being
the messiah.
15. Jesus is Plan A
What I’m saying is that Jesus birth, death, and
resurrection was not a coincidence. It wasn’t an accident.
God wasn’t just crossing His fingers hoping that all of this
would work out. God sovereignly put everything and
everyone in their place according to what HE wants to do.
Fortunately, He wanted to save us. Jesus came to do
exactly that. He died for us in our place to atone for the
sins of His people. If you confess with your mouth and
believe in your heart, you are one of God’s people and
your sins are not counted against you. This is the point of
Christmas. Jesus is the ultimate Gift – at the right place
and at the right time. There are two last things I’d like to
cover today.
16. Dr Ravi Zacharias
Jesus is just as relevant today as ever
The answer to every question. The solution to every
problem.
When Dr Zacharias had the opportunity to talk to
one of the founders of Hamas during a Middle East
peace negotiations, he made the most of it. And
centered the brief time he had on Christ.
18. Conclusion
There aren’t enough words or examples to fully
cover all the facets of God’s plan of salvation and
how awesome and wonderful God has worked it
out.
It’s too big and too complex. Take a moment and
think about how many strings God pulled to bring
Jesus at the just the right time.
Dr. S.M. Lockridge in 1977 gave a sermon that makes
a good start at trying to describe Jesus. We will end
with him.
Good afternoon, ET. Merry Christmas! We say that “Jesus is the Reason for the Season”. The truth is that Jesus is the reason for everything. What we want to do today is to scratch the surface of what that means. Everything points to Jesus including mathematics, science, and history. On December 14 we just saw that a man walked into an elementary school and shot killed over 20 children and 6 adults! We have people shocked and amazed. The question on people’s minds: “How could God allow such an evil thing to take place? Why were some people spared and some people were not?” Some conclude that there couldn’t be a God because there is no good reason for such a thing to happen and blame God. The reason why the subject we are talking about today is so important is that you’ve got to wonder over the course of history how many such inexplicable things have happened. Such things in your own lives have happen that left you scratching your head – with differing levels of despair. Just like God has guided everything for Jesus to come at just the right time to save us, God directs everything even when we don’t understand where things are going and why. This is the good news that Christmas rests on. God is in control and He loves you - and you can hold on that even when the unthinkable happens. Given that Christmas is just in a couple of days, let’s take a closer look at Jesus. Starting at Colossians 1:15-20
Jesus is the Son. He created all things and put all things in their place. Everything that makes God what God is is in Him. It is through Jesus, that we are redeemed from sin and death. I’d like to spend some time looking at how History and science come together in Christ. And they come together in prophecy. The Old Testament points us to Jesus. The Old Testament scriptures are full of prophecies that point to Jesus Christ. There are over 300 of them.
I found a list of 365 that were fulfilled by Jesus. Anyone who would like to see the full list let me know. Think of how probable for one human being to just fulfill one of them let a lone all of them in a single life time. Any one person that would fit that many prophecies must be the messiah. It’s like a fingerprint. No one else could have done this and nor would anyone ever be able to fulfill these.
So let’s look at just how probable it is for a single person to fulfill just eight of these prophecies. The chances of a single person fulfilling eight of these prophecies is 1 in 1 x 10 to the 28th power. Here is a little bit of math and science. 1 time 10 to the 28th means the number 1 with 28 zeroes after it. That is huge. That is more than the total number of people who have ever lived on earth. Our best estimates are that there are between 7 and 8 Billion people on earth right now and that there are more people alive now than who have ever lived. Put it into perspective: The more digits that number has, the bigger the number is. 1 Billion means 1 with 9 zeroes. 9 is a lot smaller than 28. If you think just fulfilling 8 of these is such a low probability, what about 16 of them? 32? 300? This is real quantifiable evidence that Jesus is who Jesus said He is.
When you are asking about the odds of something, a visual aid could help. What we are saying is that one person fulfilling those eight prophecies is like the following: filling the entire state of Texas with quarters to a height of 2 feet, marking one of these quarters, using bulldozers to mix them all up, and then blind folded picking the marked quarter at random. We are talking about one quarter out of 1 times 10 to 28th quarters. We could use all kinds of examples of how God has acted throughout history but I don’t have enough time, so instead we are going to focus on one particular example. Let’s put this in a larger historical context with cultural relevance.
Remember the movie “300”?It was the story of King Xerxes of Persia (the same King in the story of Esther in the Bible) who invaded of Greece. The movie is stylized and is not completely accurate, but it is based on true events. It even contained some direct language taken from the ancienthistorical account. The story of King Leonidas - when few stood against many - is dated to 486 BC. Although the Greeks lost that battle (sorry for the spoiler) but they it set the stage for a larger Greek victory not long after that.
If you want to see a good documentary on what happened and why and how history is really different than the movie I’d recommend watching the History Channel’s Battle of Thermopylae - Last stand of Leonidas & the 300 Spartans It is available on YouTube. Anyone who wants to know more please let me know I’ll make sure you get the link.
Thermopylae sets the stage for Greece to become unified world power. They finally defeated the Persians under Alexander the Great. By this time, you may be wondering what does all this has to do with Jesus? Everything!
Alexander standardized Greek as a language and a culture and spread it out all around the known world. Greek became the language of commerce, politics, literature, and diplomacy. If it was important and from the Greek or Roman Empire chances are it was in Greek. When the Romans conquered the Greeks, they kept much of their technology and culture and just incorporated them with their own – including the use of Greek. Because the Greek was the dominant language in use even before Jesus, the Old Testament had been translated into Greek 3 centuries before Jesus. All of the New Testament was written in Greek and because the Romans wanted to be able to be able to deploy their professional army anywhere in their empire and beyond, they built roads. Roads that were also great for commerce – and God had them in place for the Gospel to be spread throughout the Roman Empire quickly.
You can see a progression in the size of the last three great ancient empires of the Western World. First the Egyptians. Then the Assyrians. The Babylonians. The Persians. The Greeks. Then the Romans. Each played a part in God’s plan for reconciling us back to Him. We don’t have the time to cover everything but these maps give the flavor for how History flowed leading up to Jesus.
At this point, I really should give some attention to potential objections and why they offer nothing against the point that God worked through History and we can see that in the fact that Jesus fulfilled prophecies that were given centuries before his birth. Objection 1: The messianic prophecies are so vague they could describe anyone. Anyone telling you this does not know enough about what the prophecies are. For example, the prophecy that the messiah would be betrayed by someone close to him, the place the messiah would be born, and many other details make it impossible to claim that the prophecies are vague.Objection 2: The prophecies were not really written by the men tradition says they were. Some claim that Isaiah's prophecies were not really written by the prophet Isaiah or during the time the Bible says that Isaiah lived. They claim that the majority of scholarship backs up their conclusion. Don't buy it. Not in the slightest. Most people who come to this conclusion think that because they are looking for a reason not to believe that. Even if you grant that them the point ( and I would not) the entire Hebrew Bible predates Jesus by almost 400 years. So the point is moot. The prophecies and their fulfillment still evidence that God is behind History. Objection 3: Jesus purposely fulfilled the messianic prophecies so that he could take credit for being the messiah. Not much of an objection. Think about it. It's assuming that Jesus prearranged not only his being baptized by John the Baptist but also that he pre-arranged his birth in Bethlehem. Why stop there? That means if he could do that then he could also arrange a virgin birth. If Jesus did that is that a problem if you are Christian? Nope. That is exactly what we are saying - Jesus did arrange it - all. But of course, wouldn't he have to be God in order to do all of that? Duh! Exactly what we are saying. Making this objection actually concedes the argument. Thanks.
There are two last things I’d like to cover today.
Jesus is that gift. God’s Word, love, and forgiveness personified. I want to end with a video that Pastor Stewart showed us 4 years ago. We need to remember and celebrate Christ – all year round. He just wasn’t a baby in a manger. Jesus is far more. Let’s end with Dr S.M. Lockridge asking the fundamental question: “Do you know Him?” And then he answers the question by telling you who Jesus is: “That’s My King”.