Visit any part of the world today. Talk to people of any religion. No matter how committed they are to their particular religion, if they know anything about history, they will have to admit that there has never been a man like Jesus of Nazareth. He is the most unique personality of all time.
Jesus
changed the direction of history. Even the date on your morning newspaper
testifies to the fact that Jesus of Nazareth lived on earth nearly 2,000 years
ago. B.C. means "before Christ"; A.D. Anno Domini, "the year of
our Lord".
When
we look back at scriptures in the Old Testament, we can see that those who
rejected him when He came did not realize that His
Coming was Foretold.
The
Old Testament
(the part of the Bible written before Jesus' birth) was completed in 450BC,
hundreds of years before Jesus was born. The prophecies were made in astonishing
detail by many people throughout these books.
For
instance, the Old Testament indicated Jesus would be betrayed by someone he
trusted, "Even my close friend whom I trusted, he who has shared my bread,
has lifted up his heel against me" (Psalm 41:9). The New Testament,
which records Jesus' life and resurrection, reveals that one of the 12 people
Jesus chose to be part of his inner circle betrayed him, "Then Judas
Iscariot, one of the Twelve, went to the chief priests to betray Jesus to
them" (Mark 14:10).
More
than 300 prophecies like this were made in the Old Testament and then fulfilled
through Jesus' life, death and resurrection. The chances of one person
fulfilling a mere 8 of these prophecies are 1 in 100,000,000,000,000,000. For
one person to fulfill 48 of these prophecies, the number becomes staggering--1
chance in 10 to the 157th power (1 with 157 zeros after it). Add to that the 250
other prophecies and it becomes impossible for any other person except Jesus to
ever fit that particular sequence of time and events.
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Descendent
of Abraham |
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Genesis 18:18 "Abraham will surely become a
great and powerful nation, and all nations on earth will be blessed
through him." |
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Acts 3:25 "And you are heirs of the prophets
and of the covenant God made with your fathers. He said to Abraham,
'Through your offspring all peoples on earth will be blessed.'" |
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Descendent
of Isaac |
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Genesis 17:19 "Then God said, 'Yes, but your
wife Sarah will bear you a son, and you will call him Isaac. I will
establish my covenant with him as an everlasting covenant for his
descendents after him.'" |
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Matthew 1:2 "Abraham was the father of Isaac,
Isaac the father of Jacob, Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers. |
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Descendent
of Jacob |
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Numbers 24:17 "I see him, but not now; I
behold him, but not near. A star will come out of Jacob; a scepter will
rise out of Israel." |
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Luke 3:34 "The son of Jacob, the son of Isaac,
the son of Abraham, the son of Terah, the son of Nahor." |
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Will
descend from the tribe of Judah |
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Genesis 49:10 "The scepter will not depart
from Judah, nor the ruler's staff from between his feet, until he comes
to whom it belongs and the obedience of the nations is his." |
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Luke 3:33 "The son of Amminadab, the son of
Ram, the son of Hezron, the son of Perez, the son of Judah." |
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Place
of birth to be Bethlehem |
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Micah 5:2 "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." |
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Matthew 2:1 "After Jesus was born in Bethlehem
in Judea, during the time of King Herod..." |
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Will
be born of a virgin |
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Isaiah 7:14 "Therefore the Lord himself will
give you a sign: the virgin will be with child and will give birth to a
son, and will call him Immanuel." |
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Matthew 1:18 "This is how the birth of Jesus
Christ came about. His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph,
but before they came together, she was found to be with child through
the Holy Spirit." |
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Infants
will be slaughtered |
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Jeremiah 31:15 "This is what the Lord says: 'A
voice is heard in Ramah, mourning and great weeping, Rachel weeping for
her children and refusing to be comforted, because her children are no
more.'" |
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Matthew 2:16 "When Herod realized that he had
been outwitted by the Magi, he was furious, and he gave orders to kill
all the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity who were two years old and
under, in accordance with the time he had learned from the Magi." |
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Will
escape into Egypt as a child |
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Hoseah 11:1 "When Israel was a child, I loved
him, and out of Egypt I called my son." |
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Matthew 2:14 "So he got up, took the child and
his mother during the night and left for Egypt." |
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Will
minister in Galilee and along the Jordan River |
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Isaiah 9:1-2 "Nevertheless, there will be no
more gloom for those who were in distress. In the past he humbled the
land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, but in the future he will
honor Galilee of the Gentiles, by the way of the sea, along the
Jordan--The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those
living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned." |
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Matthew 4:12-16 "Jesus...returned to Galilee.
Leaving Nazareth, he went and lived in Capernaum, which was by the lake
in the area of Zebulun and Naphtali--to fulfill what was said through
the prophet Isaiah: Land of Zebulun and land of Naphtali, the way to the
sea, along the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles--The people living in
darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the
shadow of death a light has dawned." |
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He
will be rejected by the Jewish people |
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Isaiah 53:3 "He was despised and rejected by
men, a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering. Like one from whom
men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not." |
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John 1:11 "He came to that which was his own,
but his own did not receive him." |
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Character
of wisdom and understanding |
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Isaiah 11:2 "The Spirit of the Lord will rest
on him--the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding, the Spirit of counsel
and of power, the Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord." |
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Luke 2:52 "And Jesus grew in wisdom and
stature, and in favor with God and men." |
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He
will enter triumphantly into Jerusalem on a young donkey |
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Zechariah 9:9 "Rejoice greatly, O Daughter of
Zion! Shout, Daughter of Jerusalem! See, your king comes to you,
righteous and having salvation, gentle and riding on a donkey, on a
colt, the foal of a donkey." |
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John 12:13-14 "They took palm branches and
went out to meet him, shouting, 'Hosanna!' 'Blessed is the King of
Israel!' Jesus found a young donkey and sat upon it, as it is
written." |
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The
time of his entry prophesied to the very day |
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Daniel 9:25-26 "Know and understand this: From
the issuing of the decree to restore and rebuild Jerusalem until the
Annointed One, the ruler, comes, there will be seven 'sevens' and
sixty-two 'sevens.' It will be rebuilt with streets and a trench, but in
times of trouble. After the sixty-two 'sevens' the Annointed One will be
cut off and will have nothing." |
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This prophesy refers to weeks of years, or 483
biblical years. Beginning with the exact day on which Persian King
Artaxerxes gave the decree to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem (March 5,
444 BC), exactly 173,880 days later--Palm Sunday, March 30, AD33--Christ
rode into Jerusalem the week before he was 'cut off' (crucified). This
is the precise number of days spanning 483 biblical years, which were
then measured as 12 months of 30 days each. |
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Betrayed
by a close friend |
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Psalm 41:9 "Even my close friend, whom I
trusted, he who shared my bread, has lifted up his heel against
me." |
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Mark 14:10 "Then Judas Iscariot, one of the
Twelve, went to the chief priests to betray Jesus to them." |
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He
will be sold for thirty pieces of silver |
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Zechariah 11:12 "I told them, 'If you think it
best, give me my pay; but if not, keep it.' So they paid me thirty
pieces of silver." |
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Matthew 26:15 "And asked, 'What are you
willing to give me if I hand him over to you?' So they counted out for
him thirty pieces of silver." |
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Money
returned and used to buy potter's field |
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Zechariah 11:13 "And the Lord said to me,
'Throw it to the potter'--the handsome price at which they priced me! So
I took the thirty pieces of silver and threw them into the house of the
Lord to the potter." |
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Matthew 27:6-7 "The chief priests picked up
the coins and said, 'It is against the law to put this into the
treasury, since it is blood money.' So they decided to use the money to
buy the potter's field as a burial place for foreigners." |
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Silent
when accused during his trial |
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Isaiah 53:7 "He was oppressed and afflicted,
yet he did not open his mouth; he was led like a lamb to the slaughter,
and as a sheep before her shearers is silent, so he did not open his
mouth." |
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Matthew 26:62-63 "Then the high priest stood
up and said to Jesus, 'Are you not going to answer? What is this
testimony that these men are bringing against you?' But Jesus remained
silent. The high priest said to him, 'I charge you under oath by the
living God: Tell us if you are the Christ, the Son of God.'" |
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He
will suffer for others |
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Isaiah 53:4-5 "Surely he took up our
infirmities and carried our sorrows, yet we considered him stricken by
God, smitten by him, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our
transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that
brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed." |
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Matthew 8:16-17 "When evening came, many who
were demon-possessed were brought to him, and he drove out the spirits
with a word and healed all the sick. This was to fulfill what was spoken
through the prophet Isaiah: 'He took up our infirmities and carried our
diseases.'" |
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He
will be crucified with sinners |
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Isaiah 53:12 "Therefore I will give him a
portion among the great, and he will divide the spoils with the strong,
because he poured out his life unto death, and was numbered with the
transgressors. For he bore the sin of many, and made intercession for
the transgressors." |
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Matthew 27:38 "Two robbers were crucified with
him, one on his right and one on his left." |
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His
hands and feet will be pierced |
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Psalm 22:16 "Dogs have surrounded me; a band
of evil men has encircled me, they have pierced my hands and my
feet." |
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John 20:27 "Then he said to Thomas, 'Put your
finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side.
Stop doubting and believe.'" |
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Will
be mocked and insulted by the people |
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Psalm 22:6-8 "But I am a worm and not a man,
scorned by men and despised by the peopple. All who see me mock me; they
hurl insults, shaking their heads: 'He trusts in the Lord; let the Lord
rescue him. Let him deliver him, since he delights in him.'" |
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Matthew 27:39-40 "Those who passed by hurled
insults at him, shaking their heads and saying, 'You who are going to
destroy the temple and build it in three days, save yourself! Come down
from the cross, if you are the Son of God!'" |
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Will
be given gall and vinegar to drink |
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Psalm 69:21 "They put gall in my food and gave
me vinegar for my thirst." |
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John 19:29 "A jar of wine vinegar was there,
so they soaked a sponge in it, put the sponge on a stalk of the hyssop
plant, and lifted it to Jesus' lips." |
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His
side will be pierced with a spear |
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Zechariah 12:10 "And I will pour out on the
house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and
supplication. They will look on me, the one they have pierced, and they
will mourn for him as one mourns for an only child, and grieve bitterly
for him as one grieves for a firstborn son." |
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John 19:34 "Instead, one of the soldiers
pierced Jesus' side with a spear, bringing a sudden flow of blood and
water." |
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Soldiers
will cast lots for his clothing |
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Psalm 22:18 "They divide my garments among
them and cast lots for my clothing." |
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Mark 15:24 "And they crucified him. Dividing
up his clothes, they cast lots to see what each would get." |
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Not
a bone of his body will be broken |
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Psalm 34: 20 "He protects all his bones, not
one of them will be broken." |
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John 19:33 "But when they came to Jesus and
found that he was already dead, they did not break his legs." |
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Will
be buried in a rich man's tomb |
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Isaiah 53:9 "He was assigned a grave with the
wicked, and with the rich in his death, though he had done no violence,
nor was any deceit in his mouth." |
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Matthew 27:57-60 "As evening approached, there
came a rich man from Arimathea, named Joseph, who had himself become a
disciple of Jesus. Going to Pilate, he asked for Jesus' body, and Pilate
ordered that it be given to him. Joseph took the body, wrapped it in a
clean linen cloth, and placed it in his own new tomb that he had cut out
of the rock. He rolled a big stone in front of the entrance to the tomb
and went away." |
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He
will be resurrected after his death |
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Psalm 16:10 "Because you will not abandon me
to the grave, nor will you let your Holy One see decay." |
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Matthew 28:9 "Suddenly Jesus met them.
'Greetings,' he said. They came to him, clasped his feet and worshiped
him." |
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He
will ascend into heaven |
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Psalm 68:18 "When you ascended on high, you
led captives in your train; you received gifts from men, even from the
rebellious--that you, O Lord God, might dwell there." |
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Luke 24:50-51 "When he had led them out to the
vicinity of Bethany, he lifted up his hands and blessed them. While he
was blessing them, he left them and was taken up into heaven." |
In
his book, Science Speaks, Peter Stoner applies the modern science of
probability to just eight prophecies regarding Christ. He says, "The chance
that any man might have ...fulfilled all eight prophecies is one in 10 to the
17th. That would be 1 in 100,000,000,000,000,000." (one hundred
quadrillion)
Stoner
suggests that "we take 10 to the 17th silver dollars and lay them on the
face of Texas. They will cover all of the state 2 feet deep. Now mark one of
these silver dollars and stir the whole mass thoroughly... Blindfold a man and
tell him he can travel as far as he wishes, but he must pick up [that one marked
silver dollar.] What chance would he have of getting the right one?" Stoner
concludes, "Just the same chance that the prophets would have had of
writing those eight prophecies and having them all come true in any one
man,...providing they wrote them in their own wisdom."