I’ve been studying the four Gospels as of late and have found it incredulous that the Jews would not accept Jesus as the Messiah. I just finished Josh McDowell’s book, More than a Carpenter. If you have not read it, you are truly missing out. It is a must read! Josh was an agonistic/atheist and was one of those of us who tried to disprove the Bible. He went the extra mile and after extensive research including going abroad to study ended up devoting his life to Christ.
I read an article entitled Messianic Prophecy Fulfilled by Harry R. Osborne and he quoted some of Josh McDowell’s findings. The article in part had the following to say:
“ . . . the facts concerning the life and death of Jesus were foretold long before his coming and fulfilled in exact detail. Those prophecies are commonly called “Messianic prophecies.” Jesus repeatedly referred to the fact that the Scriptures of the Old Testament spoke of Him. All of the gospel accounts contain statements by Jesus claiming to fulfill various prophecies concerning him from the Old Testament. Those prophecies from the Old Testament pointing towards a coming Messiah were not vague or limited to one part of his life, but were specific, detailing a number of facts about his life so people might recognize him by comparing his life with the events foretold. Floyd Hamilton wrote that there were “332 distinct predictions which were literally fulfilled in Christ” (The Basis of Christian Faith, 160). Sixty of those are often called “major prophecies.” Included are these:
- The Messiah was to be born at Bethlehem (Micah 5:2).
- The Messiah was to be preceded by a messenger (Isa. 40:3 and Mal. 3:1).
- The Messiah was to enter Jerusalem riding a donkey (Zech. 9:9).
- The Messiah was to be betrayed by a friend who ate with him (Psa. 41:9).
- The Messiah was to be sold for 30 pieces of silver (Zech. 11:12).
- The money was to be thrown into God’s house and used for a potter’s field (Zech.11:13).
- The Messiah was to stand silent before his accusers (Isa. 53:7).
- The Messiah was to die by crucifixion (Psa. 22:16; Zech. 12:10; Isa. 53:12).
Taking just these eight specific prophecies concerning the Messiah, Peter Stoner wrote in his book, Science Speaks, to show that mere coincidence cannot explain all of these being fulfilled in one man. He applied the science of probability to show the chance that all eight prophecies would be fulfilled in one man. That probability was calculated to be 1 in 100,000,000,000,000,000! When Stoner’s calculations were submitted to the American Scientific Affiliation for verification, both a committee of review and the Executive Council found them “dependable and accurate in regards to the scientific material presented”
It does not take a great deal of mathematical prowess to understand that 1 in 100,000,000,000,000,000 (100 quadrillion) shows that the odds are heavily against these prophecies being fulfilled as a result of shear chance. But do we really have any concept of how many 100,000,000,000,000,000 is? Is there any comparison we can make to help understand that huge number?
In the book Evidence That Demands A Verdict, Josh McDowell points out the fact that it would take 100,000,000,000,000,000 silver dollars to cover the state of Texas two feet deep. Suppose we marked one of those silver dollars and let a man with a blindfold wander as long and far as he wished but instructed him to pick up one specific silver dollar. He would have the same chance of picking up the right silver dollar as that one man would have of fulfilling those eight prophecies about the Messiah.
The fact is that Jesus fulfilled all eight of those prophecies and many more. We have not even discussed the prophecies regarding the Messiah’s lineage as being through Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Judah, Jesse and David. Nor have we mentioned the prophecies of events like the virgin birth (Isa. 7:14) or the miracles done during his ministry (Isa. 35:5-6). Many prophecies about his death and burial remain untouched in this glance at eight prophecies.
How could the writers used to pen those prophecies know that one man would fulfill all those predictions? How could they see that precisely into the future? The fact is that they could not do it of themselves. They could only succeed in such prophecies because the knowledge of God, not man, was ultimately responsible for those predictions.”
God gave us the evidence, now all we have to do is believe!
2 Peter 1:19
We also have the word of the prophets as confirmed beyond doubt. And you will do well to pay attention to it, as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts.