Is Jesus Really the Messiah?
Imagine you and your family are walking out of church this Easter Sunday and someone recording everything with their phone walks up to you and asks, “Is Jesus really the Messiah?” What would your answer be? Do you, yourself, even believe that Jesus is the Messiah? Let’s dive into some biblical evidence and quotes from scholars on the subject to form a good defense for this question.
Related Content: Is There Really a Heaven and Hell?
I have to give credit to the book, “The case for Christ” by Lee Strobel for the following chart of passages. The accuracy of the verses when I first saw them, blew me away. The predictions of the coming of Jesus are so long ago. It is amazing how many different authors the prophesies span.
|
Fulfilled Prophecy |
Old Testament Reference |
Approx. Years Written before Jesus |
| He would be born of a Virgin. | Isaiah 7:14 | 700 |
| Be born in Bethlehem. | Micah 5:2 | 700 |
| Mocked and scorned, whipped, and killed by the piercing of his hands and feet. His bones would be out of joint; his garments divided by casting of lots (dice). | Psalm 22 | 300 - 1,000 |
| The time of his birth was predicted. | Daniel 9:24-26 | 600 |
| He would come from the seed of a woman. | Genesis 3:15 | 1,400 |
| Be a descendant of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and David. | Genesis 12:3; 17:19Numbers 24:17Isaiah 9:7 | 700 - 1,400 |
| He would come from the tribe of Judah. | Genesis 49:10 | 1,400 |
| Heal the deaf and blind. | Isaiah 29:18 | 700 |
| Be rejected by his own people, the Jews. | Isaiah 53:3 | 700 |
| He would teach with parables. | Psalm 78:2 | 300 – 1,000 |
| Kings and rules would plot to kill him. | Psalm 2:2 | 300 – 1,000 |
| He would be betrayed by a close friend. | Psalm 41:9 | 300 – 1,000 |
| Betrayed for thirty pieces of silver. | Zechariah 11:12 | 500 |
| His disciples would be scattered. | Zechariah 13:7 | 500 |
| His bones would remain unbroken. | Psalm 34:20 | 300 – 1,000 |
| He would be buried in a rich man’s grave. | Isaiah 53:9 | 700 |
| Be resurrected on the third day. | Psalm 16:10Hosea 6:2 | 300 – 1,000 |
That’s 17 prophecies predicted between 300 to 1,400 years before Jesus was even born! And these are only a few because in all, Jesus fulfilled 48 Old Testament prophesies. Imagine writing down everything you thought was going to happen in the years 2417 – 3417. I think it’s safe to say that whatever we wrote down wouldn’t even be close to right or accurate.Maybe you are like me and wonder what the chances are that any human being could fulfill all 48 events. Lee Strobel has the answer below;
“A college professor of mathematics and science named Dr. Peter Stoner wanted to determine what the odds were that any human being throughout human history could fulfill the messianic prophesies. He estimated that the odds of any human being fulfilling 48 of these ancient prophesies would be one chance in a trillion, trillion, trillion, trillion, trillion, trillion, trillion, trillion, trillion, trillion, trillion, trillion, trillion.” – Lee Strobel
That’s a 1 out of 1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000, 000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000, 000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000.
I don’t even think Lloyd Christmas could look at that number and say, “So you’re telling me there’s a chance.”There is much more evidence outside of what we went over today (Eye witness accounts, Disciples willing to suffer to death for their belief, rapid growth of the church, the conversion of skeptics, etc…) but to cover all of that would take more space than this post!
So, is Jesus really the Messiah?
This is one question every single person walking, have walked, or will walk the earth has to answer. What’s your verdict?