Jesus and Fulfilled Prophecy

Now, about Jesus...

Among the greatest of the proofs that the Scriptures came from God is the fulfillment of prophecy.  The prophecies regarding Jesus, in particular, predict things pertaining to the life of Jesus.  Scholars have concluded that Jesus fulfilled at least four dozen major prophecies which were written three centuries before his birth.  Among them are prophecies like the one found in Psalms 22:16 which states, “…they pierced my hands and my feet.”  This prophecy is an obvious reference to the crucifixion, however, it was written about three hundred years before crucifixion was invented.  How would David, the man who penned the psalm, have known about a form of capital punishment that had yet to be invented? 

Doctor Peter Stoner, a professor of math and science, and author of the book Science Speaks, took just eight of the prophecies of Jesus and calculated the odds of them being fulfilled by one person in history.  Stoner employed the help of over 600 of his students, and investigated these odds over the course of about 10 years.  They concluded that the odds of one man fulfilling just eight of the prophecies was on in 100 quadrillion, or 100 to the 17^th power (Powell, 252).   This supports the notion that the Scriptures are a product of the mind of God because limited human beings could not accurately predict the future and write down future events centuries before the events occurred.  It is unfathomable to believe that one human being could have pulled off predicting and then fulfilling just 8 of the prophecies in the Old Testament.  Human beings are too limited to do that.  However, if God, who is unlimited, exists, then such prophecy is possible and if the Scriptures contain such prophecy, then the Scriptures support the fact that they are inspired by God. 

  

Just a few examples of prophecies and their fulfillment.

Prophecy	Fulfillment of the Prophecy
Born of a virgin. Isaiah 7:14: “14 Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.”	Matthew 1:18-25: “18 Now the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise: When as his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Ghost…”
Born in Bethlehem Micah 5:2: “2 But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting.”	Matthew 2:1: “1 Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem.”
Teaches in Parables Psalm 78:2: “2 I will open my mouth in a parable: I will utter dark sayings of old.”	Matthew 13:34: “34 All these things spake Jesus unto the multitude in parables; and without a parable spake he not unto them.”
Hated Without a Cause Psalm 69:4: “4 They that hate me without a cause are more than the hairs of mine head: they that would destroy me, being mine enemies wrongfully, are mighty: then I restored that which I took not away.”	John 15:23-25: “23 He that hateth me hateth my Father also. 24 If I had not done among them the works which none other man did, they had not had sin: but now have they both seen and hated both me and my Father. 25 But this cometh to pass, that the word might be fulfilled that is written in their law, They hated me without a cause.”
Betrayed by a Friend Psalm 41:9: “9 Yea, mine own familiar friend, in whom I trusted, which did eat of my bread, hath lifted up his heel against me.”	Mark 14:10: “10 And Judas Iscariot, one of the twelve, went unto the chief priests, to betray him unto them.”
He Would be Pierced Zechariah 12:10: “10 And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplications: and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn.”	John 19:34: “34 But one of the soldiers with a spear pierced his side, and forthwith came there out blood and water.”
Committed Himself to God Psalm 31:5: “5 Into thine hand I commit my spirit: thou hast redeemed me, O LORD God of truth.”	Luke 23:46: “46 And when Jesus had cried with a loud voice, he said, Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit: and having said thus, he gave up the ghost.”