What are the odds...
...that Jesus is the Messiah?
I didn’t like math as a subject in school. Part of it was an early experience with a bad-tempered math teacher who screamed at students (way back in the 70s). Part of it was a natural aversion to something that I didn’t particularly enjoy, compared to English and reading and writing and history and topics that came to me easily. God made me a lover of books and words and writing and so as a young person I didn’t really want to take time for numbers, especially algebra and trigonometry and the like. I had to work for those and it was so much nicer not to have to work!
I wish that someone had explained to me back then, however, the beauty inherent in mathematics. The fact that only math can give us some very important insights into reality and the world we live in.
The mathematical probability, for example, of planet Earth being perfectly fine-tuned for human life amidst countless galaxies of solar systems – or the fact that just one tiny adjustment to our planet’s path across the sky could wipe us all out – these are mathematical testimonies of a God who created it all. The current dogma insists we evolved, but you may have heard of mathematical calculations that bring into question that being possible. Perhaps most people don’t require complex algorithms – perhaps many of us can look around at the astonishing design of everything from human DNA to supernovas in space and acknowledge a Creator God must be behind it all. But these probability discussions have impacted some scientists, who’ve then acknowledged it takes more faith to believe in evolutionary theory than in a Creator. (You can find much on this topic at answersingenesis.org or icr.org.)
Probabilities are fascinating, and revealing. This next one is a new favorite of mine.
Messiah Yeshua, by the numbers
The Old Testament contains 300-400 prophecies about the coming Messiah. The numbers there vary because some of the prophecies repeat each other, but scholars seem to agree that a little over 300 of them are distinct prophecies regarding Messiah.
Jesus Christ (Yeshua, in Hebrew) perfectly fulfilled each and every one of them.
Peter Stoner, chair of the departments of mathematics and astronomy at Pasadena City College and Professor Emeritus of Science at Westmont College, wrote a book called Science Speaks back in 1963. He calculated the probability of one person fulfilling just eight of those prophecies.
The result? 1 in 100,000,000,000,000,000. I don’t even know what that number is called, but in a way it doesn’t matter – because that calculation was just for fulfilling 8 of the 300 or so. Former atheist Lee Strobel calculated a way to think about this in real life:
I imagined the entire world being covered with white tile that was one-and-a-half inches square—every bit of dry land on the planet—with the bottom of just one tile painted red. Then I pictured a person being allowed to wander for a lifetime around all seven continents. He would be permitted to bend down only one time and pick up a piece of tile. What are the odds it would be the one tile whose reverse side was painted red? The odds would be the same as just eight of the Old Testament prophecies coming true in any one person throughout history!
From the book Inside the Mind of Unchurched Harry and Mary
How do the Jews miss this truth?
Well first – more and more of them aren’t missing it at all. Chosen People Ministries, One for Israel and other similar organizations report growing interest in Yeshua from Jews in Israel and around the world. One for Israel has almost a hundred videos on their I Met Messiah! webpage – Jews who have come to know and follow Jesus. (Notably, these organizations are also reaching Arabs and Muslims.)
But most Jews are not particularly religious and are not that familiar with the Old Testament. The majority, who are not Orthodox Jews, do not accept the divine authority of their own Old Testament. They may or may not believe in God. They value their heritage, culture and traditions but are secular in their daily life.
If they are religious, they are taught to reject specific scriptures regarding the deity of the Messiah or other topics that would otherwise point them to Christ. This should not be surprising, after all – the first Jews to encounter Jesus mostly rejected Him, save for that handful of followers who didn’t – the ones who went on to change the world by His power.
Prophecies to open eyes and hearts
So let’s look at some of these prophecies and how Yeshua fulfilled them. We’ll look at a few more than eight – just so we can “up the odds” even more.
OLD TESTAMENT PROPHECY - Messiah will come from the tribe of Judah, one of the 12 tribes of Israel, and through the royal line of David – Genesis 49:10 and Jeremiah 23:5
FULFILLMENT - Jesus’ genealogy shows He descended from the tribe of Judah, through David – Matthew 1:1-16
OLD TESTAMENT PROPHECY - Messiah will be born in Bethlehem – Micah 5:2
FULFILLMENT - Jesus was born in Bethlehem – Matthew 2:1, Luke 2:4-6 (Interestingly, people of Jesus’ day knew that He was from Galilee – but they didn’t bother to find out where he was born. See John 7:40-42.)
OLD TESTAMENT PROPHECY - The Messiah will be born of a virgin – Isaiah 7:14
FULFILLMENT - The Virgin Mary gave birth to Jesus – Matthew 1:22-23
OLD TESTAMENT PROPHECY - The Messiah would be of humble origins and unremarkable physical appearance – Isaiah 53:2
FULFILLMENT - His own people were not impressed with Him – Mark 6:3
OLD TESTAMENT PROPHECY - The Messiah would miraculously heal the sick – Isaiah 35:5-6
FULFILLMENT - The blind see, the lame walk, the sick are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised – Matthew 11:5
OLD TESTAMENT PROPHECY - The Messiah would be betrayed for 30 pieces of silver, and that silver used to buy a potters field – Zechariah 11:12-13
FULFILLMENT - Judas betrayed Jesus for 30 pieces of silver and after he hanged himself, the money was used to buy a potters field – Matthew 26:14-15 and Matthew 27:7
OLD TESTAMENT PROPHECY - The Messiah would be denied by His disciples, and mocked by His enemies – Zechariah 13:7 and Psalm 22:7-8
FULFILLMENT - Everyone deserted Him, and those passing by hurled insults – Mark 14:50 and Matthew 27:39-44
OLD TESTAMENT PROPHECY - The Messiah’s clothing would be divided up, and His bones would not be broken – Psalm 22:18 and Psalm 34:20
FULFILLMENT - They cast lots for his clothing. They did not break his bones. – Matthew 27:35-36 and John 19:32-33
OLD TESTAMENT PROPHECY - The Messiah would be beaten and spit upon, then flogged and crucified – Isaiah 50:6 and Isaiah 53:5
FULFILLMENT - They spit in His face and punched Him, then He was flogged and crucified – Matthew 26:67-68 and Matthew 27:26
OLD TESTAMENT PROPHECY - The Messiah would be silent before His accusers – Isaiah 53:7
FULFILLMENT - When He was accused, He gave no answer – Matthew 27:12-14
OLD TESTAMENT PROPHECY - The Messiah would atone for the sin of man – Isaiah 53:12
FULFILLMENT - God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement – Romans 3:25
That’s 15 fulfilled prophecies (I grouped some of them together). I can’t even imagine the number that 15 fulfilled prophecies would net us in regard to mathematical probabilities. And there are literally hundreds more (here’s one link to a more comprehensive list).
The Old Testament writings predicted Jesus, and the New Testament shows us how those predictions came true. Let’s pray for the Holy Spirit to open eyes to these truths – the eyes of Jews, Muslims, your neighbor next door, your colleague at work. Every precious individual for whom Yeshua died on the cross can have a place in God’s family because of what He did.
As the prophets foretold.