What Are the Odds?
“Jesus explained to them what was said about himself in all the Scriptures,
Luke 24:27 GNT
beginning with the books of Moses and the writings of all the prophets.”
The Old Testament is filled with prophecies that point to the coming of the Messiah. What are the odds that one Man — Jesus — would fulfill them all?
“That same day two of Jesus’ followers were walking to the village of Emmaus, seven miles from Jerusalem. As they walked along they were talking about everything that had happened. As they talked and discussed these things, Jesus himself suddenly came and began walking with them.”
Luke 24:13-15 NLT
“Didn’t our hearts burn within us as he talked with us on the road and explained the Scriptures to us?”
Luke 24:32 NLT
As I thought about this passage, I started wondering just how many prophecies there are about the Messiah in the Old Testament Scriptures. I did a little online research, and the general consensus among Bible scholars is around 200 to 400 prophecies. I have included a link to one website in the references below that includes a list of 68 of them. I also found the following video, which explains that someone — a mathematics and science professor named Dr. Peter Stoner — actually calculated the odds of one human fulfilling just 48 of them. It turns out the odds are pretty slim!
The video above is an excerpt from the documentary The Case for Christ, based on the book by the same name, by Lee Strobel, a Yale Law School trained legal affairs journalist who, as an atheist, launched an investigation into the divinity of Jesus. Skeptical, but willing to keep an open mind, he traveled the country to interview leading scholars, he examined numerous categories of evidence, and he dove into a detailed analysis of Scripture. By the time his investigation was concluded, he realized that it would actually take more faith to maintain his atheism than to believe that Jesus of Nazareth is the Son of God. He was forced to rethink everything he had previously believed, and he gave his life to Christ. Lee Strobel is now a Christian author and teaching pastor.
I’ve read The Case for Christ, but it’s been a while, so after watching the video above, I decided to open up my copy of the book and see what else Strobel had to say about Messianic prophecies. Sure enough, in “PART 2: Analyzing Jesus” is a chapter titled “The Fingerprint Evidence” which asks the question, “Did Jesus — and Jesus Alone — match the identity of the Messiah?” In attempting to answer that question, Strobel interviewed Pastor Louis Lapides, a man who was raised Jewish but was converted to Christianity after examining the Old Testament prophecies about the Messiah. Here is a portion of that interview:
“First, I asked Lapides whether it’s possible that Jesus merely fulfilled the prophecies by accident. Maybe he’s just one of many throughout history who have coincidentally fit the prophetic fingerprint.
‘Not a chance,’ came his response. ‘The odds are so astronomical that they rule that out. Someone did the math and figured out that the probability of just eight prophecies being fulfilled is one chance in one hundred million billion. That number is millions of times greater than the total number of people who’ve ever walked the planet! He calculated that if you took this number of silver dollars, they would cover the state of Texas to a depth of two feet. If you marked one silver dollar among them and then had a blindfolded person wander the whole state and bend down to pick up one coin, what would be the odds he’d choose the one that had been marked?’
With that he answered his own question: ‘The same odds that anybody in history could have fulfilled just eight of the prophecies. . . . The odds alone say it would be impossible for anyone to fulfill the Old Testament prophecies,’ Lapides concluded. ‘Yet Jesus — and only Jesus throughout all of history — managed to do it.'”
Lee Strobel, The Case for Christ
“When I was with you before, I told you that everything written about me in the law of Moses and the prophets and in the Psalms must be fulfilled.”
Luke 24:44 NLT
Should we be surprised that Jesus is the only One who could have possibly fulfilled all of these prophecies? No, I guess we shouldn’t. After all, God had been pointing to this in Scripture all along. He told us what He would do, and then He did it, just as He always does. But is it still really cool to realize how astronomical the odds are that it could have happened by chance? Yeah, it is!
So, what’s the point of all of this? Why does it matter that Jesus is who He says He is? What difference does it make? Lee Strobel was faced with these same questions, and in answer, he wrote out several implications. Here are a few of them:
~”If Jesus is the Son of God, his teachings are more than just good ideas from a wise teacher; they are divine insights on which I can confidently build my life.”
~”If Jesus did rise from the dead, he’s still alive today and available for me to encounter on a personal basis.”
~”If Jesus conquered death, he can open the door of eternal life for me, too.”
~”If Jesus has divine power, he has the supernatural ability to guide me and help me and transform me as I follow him.”
~”If Jesus loves me as he says, he has my best interests at heart. This means I have nothing to lose and everything to gain by committing myself to him and his purposes.”
~”If Jesus is who he claims to be (and remember, no leader of any other major religion has even pretended to be God), as my Creator he rightfully deserves my allegiance, obedience, and worship.”
Lee Strobel, The Case for Christ
So, what difference does it make? It makes all the difference! Believing in Jesus changes everything. It opens our eyes to the supernatural power of God. It gives us a new purpose. And it transforms our lives. Faith in Jesus as the promised Messiah brings eternal life, unstoppable hope, and neverending love.
“Yes, it was written long ago that the Messiah must suffer and die and rise again from the dead on the third day; and that this message of salvation should be taken from Jerusalem to all the nations: There is forgiveness of sins for all who turn to me. You have seen these prophecies come true.”
Luke 24:46-48 TLB
This week’s Scripture passages are just a small sample of the Messianic prophecies. For more Scripture references, you can see the “Chart of Old Testament prophecies fulfilled by Jesus” in the link given below (in the References section of this post). As we learn more about these prophecies, we begin to see Jesus in the Old Testament more and more, and we have the point driven home to us that yes, God really does have a plan! He had one then, and He has one now. So we can trust Him to fulfill it.
One more thing we may wonder about: Why did God go though all the trouble to give so many prophecies about the Messiah, when just a few would have sufficed? I think’s it’s so that we would get the point! So that there would be no question that Jesus is who He claims to be. To me, it’s summed up best in the closing words of John’s Gospel: So that we will believe that Jesus is the Messiah, and that by believing we may have life!
“Jesus performed many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.”
John 20:30-31 NIV
References:
- Frazee, Randy. The Heart of the Story: Discover Your Life Within the Grand Epic of God’s Story. Zondervan, 2017.
- Konig, Ray. “Chart of Old Testament prophecies fulfilled by Jesus.” about-Jesus.org, http://www.about-jesus.org/complete-chart-prophecies-jesus.htm, accessed 5 November 2023.
- “MESSIANIC PROPHECIES.” YouTube, uploaded by The John 10:10 Project, 9 May 2017, https://youtu.be/nE-OEMejMpU?si=SkBzUtcgCYV91D5B.
- The Story: Read the Bible as One Seamless Story from Beginning to End. Rev. ed., Zondervan, 2008.
- Strobel, Lee. The Case for Christ. Zondervan, 1998.
Images:
- Cross Fingerprint featured image by Jeff Jacobs from Pixabay (edited)
- Scroll image by falco from Pixabay
- The Road to Emmaus Stained Glass Window image by falco from Pixabay
- Cross Fingerprint image in weekly Scripture passages by CatsWithGlasses from Pixabay (edited)
- Bible and Cross image by Tima Miroshnichenko: https://www.pexels.com/photo/silver-cross-pendant-necklace-on-brown-holy-bible-5199797/
About The Author
Christa
My vision for Wondertakings was to create a devotional blog for "nerdy" Christians like me. I do believe, as Socrates said, that wisdom begins in wonder. So I love to read or watch anything that inspires wonder and figure out what I can learn from it. I view it all through a Christian lens. I believe that God can and does speak through many sources in many ways, even if those speaking are not aware of it. I am not an expert in theology or religious studies. My goal with this blog is simply to share what I've learned as a fellow student and sinner in the Christian walk. My hope and my prayer is that by doing so I may be able to help someone else. In Deuteronomy 5:33 (NLT), we are told: "Stay on the path that the Lord your God has commanded you to follow. Then you will live long and prosperous lives. . . ." So in the words of Moses (and Spock), live long and prosper, my friends!