Do Christians have blind faith? Fingerprint evidence for—Jesus Christ.
Grant Gevers
Senior Solutions Consultant (Nonprofit) ? Passionate about helping Nonprofit and Faith Based Organisations achieve digital transformation ? Cloud Technology ? Sage Intacct
Jesus Christ is the Son of God.?Such a statement is an?outrageous claim to make to any rational thinking person without any evidence to back it up?— in fact, the evidence had better be, so good for anyone to believe such a claim, let alone, go on to place trust in such an individual.
Bible Prophecy
God has furnished us with an?abundance of evidence to prove, that His existence, His word to us (the Bible) and His Son Jesus Christ are trustworthy; these can be seen in areas of science, archaeology, and secular history to name a few — but one area that really sets the Bible apart from any Holy book is, Prophecy.
God who exists outside of the bounds of time can see the end from the beginning; and tells us of future events before they happen this is known as — Prophecy.
About 28% of the Bible is made up of prophecy some of which, has already been fulfilled, and some prophecies about future events are yet to be fulfilled.
Prophetic Evidence For Jesus Christ
Did you know that?Jesus fulfilled at least 300 prophecies?in his earthly ministry? Here are some examples of the prophecies Jesus fulfilled:
Did anyone recognise Jesus to be God during His Earthly Ministry?
One group of individuals who recognised Jesus’ to be God incarnate were His own disciples. This unlikely group of individuals made up of fishermen, a tax collector even a politician (Zealot) and others had their lives turned upside down. One disciple, in particular, exuding self-confidence, a real go-getter,?Simon called Peter said; “You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God!”?To which Jesus replied, “…Flesh and blood did not reveal?this?to you, but My Father who is in heaven.”
Mathematical Probability of Jesus Fulfilling Old Testament Prophecies
For one person to fulfill 300 prophecies?statistically is so improbable, that it can only be described as miraculous.
“…for no prophecy was ever made by an act of human will, but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God.” — 2 Peter 1:21
The late Peter W. Stoner, Professor of Mathematics and Astronomy in his book, Science Speaks gives the following?example to help us understand just how miraculous?it is:
The statistical probability of?Jesus Christ fulfilling just?8 of the 300 prophecies about Him is 101? (a figure with 17 zeros). For perspective, suppose that we take 101? silver dollars and lay them on the face of Texas (which is slightly bigger than the country of France). They’ll cover all of the state two feet deep. Now mark one of these silver dollars and stir the whole mass thoroughly, all over the state. Blindfold a man and tell him that he can travel as far as he wishes, but he must pick up the one silver dollar that has “the special mark” on it.?What chance would he have of getting the right one?
That is the probability of Jesus fulfilling just 8 of the 300 prophecies He fulfilled in His ministry! Former investigative journalist and ex-atheist,?Lee Strobel in his book, The Case for Christ —?shows Stoner also computed the?probability of Jesus fulfilling 48 of the messianic prophecies, and he puts it this way:
These Old Testament prophecies about the coming Messiah created a fingerprint that only the true Messiah could fit. This gave Israel a way to rule out imposters and validate the credentials of the authentic Messiah. Against astronomical odds — one chance in a trillion, trillion, trillion, trillion, trillion, trillion, trillion, trillion, trillion, trillion, trillion, trillion, trillion — Jesus, and only Jesus throughout history, matched this prophetic fingerprint. — The Case for Christ by Lee Strobel.
Seeing Prophecy Fulfilled
Jesus' disciples, were excited to be walking the earth at the same time as their long-awaited Jewish Messiah, filled with excitement over who would be the greatest in Christ's earthly kingdom, a kingdom far greater than the current Roman rule, they missed the important business Jesus’ had come to complete in His first visitation to earth as —?the suffering servant.
What was so Important?
In the light of this undeniable evidence that Jesus Christ is from God, it then begs the question?what did He come to do that was so important, to warrant all of the incredible validation?
The Problem of Sin and Death
To answer this important question, we need to go back to the beginning. In the beginning, when Adam and Eve disobeyed God’s one command, not to eat the fruit of the?tree of the knowledge of good and evil, in the garden of Eden — as a?result of their disobedience,?sin and death?entered the world.
As a sidenote, many Christians believe in a literal creation as is described in Genesis (The First book of the Bible) and not without good solid evidence, dare I say?all the evidence supports the creation account?described in the book of beginnings, Genesis, but I will take a look at that evidence in another article.
Jesus’ Death and Resurrection — bring’s Grace and Eternal Life
Jesus warned his disciples that they would all fall away before He was crucified (Matthew 26:31), but, the?self-confident Peter said to Him, “Even though all may fall away because of You, I will never fall away.”?Jesus said to him, “Truly I say to you that this very night, before the rooster crows, you will deny me three times.”
What did Jesus suffer?
Jesus was whipped by the Roman soldiers, so severe and brutal was a roman flogging that the?39 lashes of the leather braided whip, with metal balls and pieces of sharp bone woven into it, would leave recipients with lacerations, from the shoulders down to the back of their legs. According to a third-century historian Eusebius:
‘The sufferer’s veins were laid bare, and the very muscles, sinews, and bowels of the victim were open to exposure’ — Eusebius (3rd Century Historian)
Jesus having been left within an inch of his life from the beating, was mocked, spat on, and had his beard plucked from His face?all before being led away to be crucified.
领英推荐
Peter who sheepishly watched Jesus’ mock trial from a distance, saw some of Jesus’ maltreatment, was recognised by some of the bystanders as having been with Jesus, he denied it and continued to deny it?until he?began to curse and swear, “I do not know the man!”?Immediately the cock crowed, Peter remembered Jesus’ words to him ran off, and wept bitterly.
Historic Fact #1 — Jesus Died
Jesus already entering a state of shock through the loss of blood, would then have been led away to be crucified, nails being driven through the wrists and feet, crowned with a crown of thorns, Psalm 22 describes?all his bones were out of joint but without a bone being broken, He bled, and He died.
Jesus suffered the most excruciating death on a cross, in fact, the word?excruciate?was created to describe it; from Latin?excruciat-?‘tormented’, from the verb?excruciare?(based on?crux,?cruc-?‘a cross’),?but why?
Why Suffer and Die?
“For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish, but have eternal life. — John 3:16
This command given to Moses — that the Passover lamb is not to have its legs broken — is symbolic of Jesus. John the Baptist proclaimed,?“Behold the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!”
The love of God for us made it necessary for Jesus to die so that He Himself could?settle the heavenly demands of justice and holiness of God?His Father, and become the sacrifice for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for?those of?the whole world.
Jesus became the last Adam, the one who obeyed the Father to the point of death,?bearing?our judgment and sins, upon himself.
As a result, the?gospel (good news)?of our salvation?means that God is now free within Himself to act in grace toward sinners through the death of Christ for them —?through Christ’s sacrifice?fellowship with God has been restored.
Resurrection
What Jesus accomplished just before dying on the cross when He cried out,?“It is Finished!”?is remarkable. However, if that is where it ended, Jesus’ death would have been like any other unfortunate and untimely death, forgotten along with many others in the annals of time.
Historic Fact #2 — The tomb was empty
The women who first visited the empty tomb, found a young man wearing a white robe who said to them; “He has risen; He is not here; behold, here is the place where they laid Him.?But go, tell His disciples and Peter.”
Tacitus a patriotic Roman senator and historian, not sympathetic towards Christianity, wrote about Jesus?being put to death?by Pontius Pilate, in his historical work The Annals — around the year 116 A.D.
Historic Fact #3 — The transformation of the disciples
The?resurrection is the power behind the Christian message, it was this truth that took Jesus’ disciples who once had abandoned him when he faced death on the cross, even denying they knew Him, grieving for the loss of the one they now doubted to be the Messiah, bewildered and confused — and transformed them into the Apostles that while establishing the early church were prepared, to be imprisoned, beaten and to die for the gospel message.
Three undeniable historical facts about the resurrection of Jesus Christ that historians affirm:
The?full evidence for the resurrection of Jesus Christ is so convincing?that the late Sir Lionel Luckhoo the famous lawyer who was entered into?The Guinness Book of World Records, 1990 edition, for his 245 consecutive successful defenses in murder cases, who was also knighted twice by Queen Elizabeth — upon subjecting the evidence for the resurrection to his own rigorous analysis concluded:
“I say unequivocally that the evidence for the resurrection of Jesus Christ is so overwhelming that it compels acceptance by proof which leaves absolutely no room for doubt.” — Sir Lionel Luckhoo, Award-winning Lawyer
Eternal Life For You
What could be more important than knowing that there is life after death?and that it is available to you too? Yes, you! God is calling you to respond in light of the evidence He provides.
So having overlooked the times of ignorance, God is now proclaiming to mankind that all people everywhere are to repent,(which means to change one’s mind) because He has set a day on which He will judge the world in righteousness through a Man whom He has appointed,?having furnished proof to all people by raising Him from the dead.” Acts 17:30–31
Salvation is being offered as a free gift by the grace of God any effort to pay for it through works of our own can not, and never will — satisfy the heavenly demands already fulfilled through the completed work of the cross.
Jesus speaking with Peter after He rose from the dead asked Peter three times, “Do you love Me?” Peter was grieved saying “Lord, You know all things; You know that I love you.” Jesus said to him, “Tend my Sheep.”
The Christian message is alive today due to the?transformative power in the life of Christ?available to all who would place their trust in Him — for salvation.
Peter filled with the Holy Spirit went on later to preach the first sermon, contribute to the New Testament writings, and help build the early church.
To accept the?gift of Salvation and be born again is a deeply personal work between you and God —?He knows you, and loves you;?if you have read this far will you not pray to God in Jesus’ name and ask to meet Him?