“How foolish you are, and how slow to believe all that the prophets have spoken! Did not the Messiah have to suffer these things and then enter his glory?’ And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself.”

Luke 24:25-27

Premise 1: The Old Testament accurately predicted the life, death and resurrection of Jesus

The story of Jesus saturates the narrative of the Bible, and prophecies of His first coming are found throughout the Old Testament.

• There are as many as 574 verses in the Old Testament that somehow point to or describe or reference the coming Messiah.

• Alfred Edersheim found 456 Old Testament verses referring to the Messiah or His times.
• Conservatively, Jesus fulfilled at least 300 prophecies in His earthly ministry.

All of these supernatural prophecies were uniquely fulfilled in Jesus Christ. This is not true of any great religious leader or person who has ever lived including Muhammad

Norman Geisler; The Uniqueness of Jesus Christ-bethinking.org

The Old Testament, which even the most ardent critic acknowledges was in existence centuries before Christ, predicted the where (Micah 5:2), the when (Daniel 9:26), and the how (Isaiah 7:14) of Christ’s entry into the world.

He would be born of a woman (Genesis 3:15) from the line of Adam’s son Seth (Genesis 4:26), through Noah’s son Shem (Genesis 9:26–27), and Abraham (Genesis 12:3; 15:5). He would come through the tribe of Judah (Genesis 49:10) and would be the son of David (2 Samuel 7:12f.).

The Old Testament predicted that Christ would die for our sins (Psalm 22; Isaiah 53; Daniel 9:26; Zechariah 12:10) and would rise from the dead (Psalms 2:7; 16:10).

How does…?

How does someone “arrange” to be born in a specific tribe? Psalm 78:67-68

How does one “arrange” to be born in a specified city, in which their parents don’t actually live? Micah 5:2

How does one “arrange” their own death – and specifically by crucifixion, with two others, and then “arrange” to have their executioners gamble for His clothing? Psalms 22:18

How does one “arrange” to be betrayed in advance? Psalm 41:9

How does one “arrange” to have the executioners carry out the regular practice of breaking the legs of the two victims on either side, but not their own?

How does one escape from a grave and appear to people after having been killed?

Indeed, it may be possible for someone to fake one or two of the Messianic prophecies, but it would be impossible for any one person to arrange and fulfill all of these prophecies.

Discussion Question 1: If one were to conceive 50 specific predictions about a person in the future, whom one would never meet, what’s the likelihood that this person will fulfill all 50 of the predictions? How much less would this likelihood be if 25 of these predictions were about what other people would do to him?

Premise 2: The accuracy of the prophecies about Jesus show God’s direct hand in their fulfillment

There are over 300 predictions about the Messiah to be found in the Old Testament that were fulfilled in the New Testament.

Professor Peter W. Stoner was Chairman of the Departments of Mathematics and Astronomy at Pasadena City College and Chairman of the science division at Westmont College. In his book, Science Speaks, Professor Stoner outlines the mathematical probability of one person in the first century fulfilling just eight of the most clear and straightforward Messianic prophecies.

	Old Testament Prediction	Passage	When Prophesied	New Testament Fulfillment	Specifics of improbability	Mathematical Probability
1	Messiah born in Bethlehem	Micah 5:2	Ca. 600 years before Christ was born	Matthew 2:1-6	The average population of Bethlehem from time of Micah to present day divided by average population of the earth during the same period?	1 in 280,000
2	Messenger will prepare the way	Malachi 3:1	Ca. 450 years before Christ was born	Matthew 3:1-3	One man in how many, the world over, has had a forerunner (in this case, John the Baptist) to prepare his way?	1 in 1,000
3	Messiah will enter Jerusalem on Palm Sunday riding a donkey	Zechariah 9:9	Ca. 520 years before Christ was born	Mark 11:1-9	One man in how many, the world over, has been betrayed by a friend, resulting in wounds in his hands?	1 in 100
4	Messiah will be betrayed by a friend and suffer wounds on his hands	Zechariah13:6	Ca. 520 years before Christ was born	Matthew 26:20-25	One man in how many, the world over, has been betrayed by a friend, resulting in would in his hands?	1 in 1,000
5	Messiah will be betrayed for 30 pieces of silver	Zechariah 11:12	Ca. 520 years before Christ was born	Matthew 26:14-16	Of the people who have been betrayed, one in how many has been betrayed for exactly 30 pieces of silver?	1 in 1,000
6	The betrayal money will be used to purchase a potter’s field	Zechariah 11:13	Ca. 520 years before Christ was born	Matthew 27:1-9	One man in how many, after receiving a bribe for the betrayal of a friend, has returned the money, had it refused, and then experienced it being used to buy a potter’s field?	1 in 100,000
7	Messiah will remain silent while he is afflicted	Isaiah 53:7	Ca. 740 years before Christ was born	Matthew 26:59-63	One man in how many, when he is oppressed and afflicted, though innocent, will make no defense of himself?	1 in 1,000
8	Messiah will die by having his hands and feet pierced	Psalm 22:16	Ca. 600 years before Christ was born	Luke 24:39	One man in how many, since the time of David, has been crucified?	1 in 10,000

Dr. Stoner calculated that the probability of all 8 prophecies being fulfilled accidently i the life of one person is 1 in 100,000,000,000,000,000. That’s one in one hundred quadrillion!

It is astronomical when you consider that all of the prophecies were written in different centuries, by different people, and in different cities or regions and they all came to pass precisely as predicted.

Discussion Question 2: Do the hundreds of accurately fulfilled prophecies concerning Jesus clearly show that his life was purposed and ordered chronologically and historically by God even before his arrival on earth?

Premise 3: Prophecies of Jesus are evidence of the accuracy of the Bible and it’s testimony concerning Jesus

Why are the Bible prophecies of Jesus Christ’s life and death so important? It is a powerful evidence of the accuracy of the Bible and its divine inspiration.

Predictive prophecy is the foremost proof to which the Word of God appeals on its own behalf. It was the standing miracle by which God challenged faith in His inspired Word.

Dr. A.T Pierson, Consulting Editor of Scofield Reference Bible, Author of 50 books

Even though these prophecies were written by several different men over many years, they were divinely fulfilled! Here are a handful of the Messianic prophecies and fulfillments. More comprehensive lists are also available.

• Bible Prophecy: Isaiah 53:3 says, “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.”
• Fulfillment: John 1:10-11 says, “He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him.”
• Bible Prophecy: Psalm 41:9 says, “Even my close friend, whom I trusted, he who shared my bread, has lifted up his heel against me.”
• Fulfillment: Mark 14:10 says, “Then Judas Iscariot, one of the Twelve, went to the chief priests to betray Jesus to them.”
• Bible Prophecy: Zechariah 11:12 says, “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.”
• Fulfillment: Matthew 26:14-16 says, “Then one of the Twelve – the one called Judas Iscariot – went to the chief priests and asked, ‘What are you willing to give me if I hand him over to you?’ So they counted out for him thirty silver coins.”
• Bible Prophecy: Isaiah 53:7 says, “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.”
• Fulfillment: Mark 15:5 says, “But Jesus still made no reply, and Pilate was amazed.”
• Bible Prophecy: Psalm 22:1-2 says, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from saving me, so far from the words of my groaning? O my God, I cry out by day, but you do not answer, by night, and am not silent.”
• Fulfillment: Matthew 27:46 says, “About the ninth hour Jesus cried out in a loud voice, ‘Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?’ – which means, ‘My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?’”
• Bible Prophecy: Psalm 22:7-8 says, “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.’”
• Fulfillment: Matthew 27:41-44 says, “In the same way the chief priests, the teachers of the law and the elders mocked him. ‘He saved others,’ they said, ‘but he can’t save himself! He’s the King of Israel! Let him come down now from the cross, and we will believe in him. He trusts in God. Let God rescue him now if he wants him, for he said, I am the Son of God.’ In the same way the robbers who were crucified with him also heaped insults on him.”
• Bible Prophecy: Psalm 22:15 says, “My strength is dried up like a potsherd, and my tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth; you lay me in the dust of death.”
• Fulfillment: Matthew 27:48 says, “Immediately one of them ran and got a sponge. He filled it with wine vinegar, put it on a stick, and offered it to Jesus to drink.”
• Bible Prophecy: Psalm 22:17-18 says, “I can count all my bones; people stare and gloat over me. They divide my garments among them and cast lots for my clothing.”
• Fulfillment: John 19:23 says, “When the soldiers crucified Jesus, they took his clothes, dividing them into four shares, one for each of them, with the undergarment remaining. This garment was seamless, woven in one piece from top to bottom.”

All other miracles demonstrate God’s power over nature, biology, and physics which is known as omnipotence. Prophecy is the miracle of utterance … which demonstrates omniscience.

Discussion Question 3: If the accuracy of prophecy in Scripture is the seal of it’s divine origin–Is Scripture accurate when it says Jesus was the Messiah and the Son of God?