Question
Christians admit that Jesus read the Old Testament during his time on earth. So he knew about the prophecies and tried to fulfill them. Does that not make them null and void?
Answer
While it is true that Jesus did have the Bible(at the time it was just the Old Testament) to read and go over this does not mean that he sought out things to do to accomplish these prophecies. On top of that, there are MANY that are completely out of human control. Born in Bethlehem, for example, is one that was not in his control as a human. Can you picture him in Mary’s stomach on the way to Bethlehem kicking to get attention and then saying “Um…mom….we need to hurry up and get there or this whole God’s son thing is not going to turn out so good…” I kid, but you can definitely see the point. Pure coincidence you say!? Well then let’s take a look at the day of crucifixion. On this one day, Jesus fulfilled nearly 30 prophecies about his life and death. Here is a list of some of them and a somewhat tongue-in-cheek humorous look of each.
Betrayed by a friend
Prophesied in Psalms 41:9 and Fulfilled in John 13:18-27
This would be rather hard for Jesus to pull off. I guess he could tell Judas to go sell him out, but the getting Judas to hang himself might have been a bit tougher to convince him of.
Sold for 30 pieces of silver
Prophesied in Zechariah 11:12 and Fulfilled in Matthew 26:14-15
OK say human-only Jesus does talk Judas into betraying him. “OK Judas now they are going to pay you for this information. You can only take 30 silver. Even if they offer you more tell them no and only take 30. I know that is a lot of money, but no you can’t take more. Oh yeah and then give it up and go hang yourself. Wait….where are you going!?” Somehow I am thinking this is not what happened.
Hands and feet pieced
Prophesied in Psalms 22:16 and Fulfilled in John 20:24-28
I am not sure about you guys, but of all the ways I would want to go, this is definitely not on the list. If I was in human-Jesus’ sandals and read this in the Old Testament I would just say “OK forget it; I am not the Messiah.” Do you really think someone in their right mind would aim for this in their life? And even if He did, He had no control over how they were going to punish Him.
Bones not broken
Prophesied in Psalms 34:20 and Fulfilled in John 19:32-36
Now this I find interesting. In all the beating He took that they did not break any bones. “OK guys, you can beat be but not too hard because I can’t break a bone!” I am thinking that they would probably just laugh and hit him harder. Again, this is something out that was out of his control.
Side pierced
Prophesied in Zechariah 12:10 and Fulfilled in John 19:34-27
While being nailed to the cross and dead, he went out of his mortal human-Jesus form and took control of a Roman guard and had him come over and piece his side with the spear. If this is your argument than you have already admitted that Jesus had supernatural powers; if not, then it is out of human control.
Crucified with thieves
Prophesied in Isaiah 53:12 and Fulfilled in Matthew 27:38
“I know you Romans and Jews want to crucify me, but can you please go out and find a couple of thieves to string me up with? Thanks, that would be great!” Yeah….did not happen like that.
The list goes on and on of things that are out of his control. To be fair, there were six of the thirty prophecies that we within human control on that day. He did not speak before his accusers, He fell under the weight of the cross, He prayed for his enemies, He became thirsty, He committed Himself to God, and finally His forsaken cry. That is the complete list of the ones He could have known about and done on the day of His death. All the others are under the control of His captors or the crowd.
There are many more that we could go on about, but I will leave them for your own research. The simple fact is, Jesus did not have control over 80% of the prophecies that took place that day. The argument that He knew the prophecies and set up to fulfill them just does not hold its water when compared to the fact.
But what if the religious leaders wrote these in after His death? That sounds like another tough question! See you next week!
In His service,
Hunter
