Day 8: The World’s Most Prophetic Book – Part 3b
The evidence you never heard.
Bible References (NIV)
34. And at three in the afternoon Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?” (which means “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”).
2. My God, I cry out by day, but you do not answer, by night, but I find no rest.
3. Yet you are enthroned as the Holy One; you are the one Israel praises.
4. In you our ancestors put their trust; they trusted and you delivered them.
5. To you they cried out and were saved; in you they trusted and were not put to shame.
6. But I am a worm and not a man, scorned by everyone, despised by the people.
7. All who see me mock me; they hurl insults, shaking their heads.
8. “He trusts in the LORD,” they say, “let the LORD rescue him. Let him deliver him, since he delights in him.”
9. Yet you brought me out of the womb; you made me trust in you, even at my mother’s breast.
10. From birth I was cast on you; from my mother’s womb you have been my God.
11. Do not be far from me, for trouble is near and there is no one to help.
12. Many bulls surround me; strong bulls of Bashan encircle me.
13. Roaring lions that tear their prey open their mouths wide against me.
14. I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint. My heart has turned to wax; it has melted within me.
15. My mouth is dried up like a potsherd, and my tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth; you lay me in the dust of death.
16. Dogs surround me, a pack of villains encircles me; they pierce my hands and my feet.
17. All my bones are on display; people stare and gloat over me.
18. They divide my clothes among them and cast lots for my garment.
19. But you, LORD, do not be far from me. You are my strength; come quickly to help me.
20. Deliver me from the sword, my precious life from the power of the dogs.
21. Rescue me from the mouth of the lions; save me from the horns of the wild oxen.
22. I will declare your name to my people; in the assembly I will praise you.
23. You who fear the LORD, praise him! All you descendants of Jacob, honor him! Revere him, all you descendants of Israel!
24. For he has not despised or scorned the suffering of the afflicted one; he has not hidden his face from him but has listened to his cry for help.
25. From you comes the theme of my praise in the great assembly; before those who fear you I will fulfill my vows.
26. The poor will eat and be satisfied; those who seek the LORD will praise him— may your hearts live forever!
27. All the ends of the earth will remember and turn to the LORD, and all the families of the nations will bow down before him,
28. for dominion belongs to the LORD and he rules over the nations.
29. All the rich of the earth will feast and worship; all who go down to the dust will kneel before him— those who cannot keep themselves alive.
30. Posterity will serve him; future generations will be told about the Lord.
31. They will proclaim his righteousness, declaring to a people yet unborn: He has done it!
Devotional
How well do you think you could predict five unusual things that would happen in the coming week? Studies on the work of psychics have shown that it’s possible to achieve about an 8% accuracy rate through some intelligent guessing while also speaking in generalisations. In contrast, the Bible’s predictions are not generalisations. Specific details are predicted, requiring specific fulfilments, while what hangs in the balance is the trustworthiness of the book as a revelation from God.
In today’s video clip, you’ll hear about some calculations a mathematics professor had his students do on the improbability of Jesus fulfilling some of the many predictions that he did fulfil. However, the most surprising thing in this study is the ‘condition’ that Jesus had to plausibly fulfil ALL the predictions, or he wasn’t the Messiah. It’s an impossible standard, only unless God does exist and really had told the prophets in advance what was going to happen!
To note it, there are predictions about the Messiah that Jesus hasn’t yet fulfilled. The Bible explains the Messiah to be both a ‘suffering servant’ and a ‘conquering King’. Jesus explained that he would come back a second time as the ‘conquering King’. There is, therefore, a reasonable explanation as to why he hasn’t yet ‘ruled the world’. Yet with 127 specific predictions fulfilled already (as per the work of the scholar J. Barton Payne), it’s an unparalleled miracle! He couldn’t have controlled where he was born. He couldn’t have controlled whose descendant he was. These aren’t things that can be fabricated!
Your Bible reading today included Psalm 22. The first words are the same words Jesus said when on the cross – which you also read. (“My God, why have you forsaken me?”) Back then the Psalms weren’t numbered, so Psalms were referred to instead by their first sentence. Jesus wasn’t, therefore, saying “My God, why have you forsaken me?” He was actually saying “Psalm 22”. But why would he say that? Here are some of the reasons.
- Verse 1: In fulfilment, Jesus was considered forsaken.
- Verse 6: Jesus was despised.
- Verse 7: Jesus was mocked and insulted.
- Verse 8: Onlookers said, “Let the Lord rescue him’ (Matthew 27:41-43; Luke 23:35)
- Verse 13: Jesus endured a torture, including a whipping.
- Verse 15: Jesus is known to have been thirsty while dying.
- Verse 16: Remarkably, Jesus died through the piercing of his hands and feet – fulfilling a prediction written before crucifixion was invented.
- Verse 17: Regarding his ‘bones being on display’ and people ‘gloating’ – Jesus was hung naked on the cross.
- Verse 18: Incredibly, lots were cast by the soldiers to decide who would get to keep Jesus’ garments.
- Verse 19: Jesus kept his faith in God, knowing he would be delivered.
- Verse 26: While the result of his sufferings has indeed already affected the nations of the world, the true fulfilment of that last prediction is probably speaking of a future time.
That’s why Jesus said, “Read Psalm 22”!
What a truly powerful thing to say right as he suffered, dying due to piercing, while onlookers gloated and mocked, and soldiers cast lots for his clothes!
Video clip: The World’s Most Prophetic Book – Part 3b — 3mins
Reflection questions
- Revision: According to Professor Stoner’s students, what was the probability of 8 selected predictions of the coming Messiah coming about by chance? (1 in 10 to the power of 17)
- Revision: When considering the 100+ predictions there are about the promised Messiah, how many does a person need to plausibly fulfil to be the Messiah, and why? (Not just some — he had to fulfil them all)
- What does the miracle of fulfilled prophecy in the Bible tell us about the Bible, and also about Jesus?
- What examples from amongst these various predictions might you be able to take and show someone else, to open a conversation about who might sit behind this book?
For prayer
“Thank you, God, for gifting us chapters like Isaiah 52 and Psalm 22. We are humbled and amazed. Thank you for having a plan in this world, despite our sin and the mess our choices have made. Our eyes get caught up in the troubles. These evidences that you really do have a plan give us a reason to hold hope. Thank you.”
related topics
coming up in our next devotion
Day 9: The World’s Most Prophetic Book – Part 3c
Despite the evil and suffering of our world, the fulfilled predictions show us that God does still have a plan and is in control. Put differently, there is hope! God isn’t freaking out, as if he had lost control of his creation. Despite our evils, God has a plan that is still going to work.