Coincidence? I don't think so!

 

                                          

                                                                             Coincidence?

 

I don’t think this is

coincidence.

 

 Many years ago, while traveling in Scotland, we met an Australian friend whom we had not seen for many years. Why did we need to travel around the globe to meet him outside Edinburgh Castle? A coincidental meeting or a God ordained event? Whilst this meeting was memorable, it wasn’t life changing, but I believe God gave us a richer experience by orchestrating that special moment.

Compare that to the seemingly insignificant events surrounding Jesus’ death. Should Jesus’s crucifixion be merely a human atrocity or random misfortune, then faith in him would be unwarranted.

In the last blog, Jesus was walking with his disciples to Emmaus and explaining prophecies concerning himself. We’ll visit specific predictions which the Old Testament prophets recorded hundreds of years before his death and resurrection.

 Judas Iscariot, his disciple, betrayed Jesus at the last supper and Jesus handed Judas a piece of bread dipped in wine, naming him as his betrayer. You can read this in John 13:26 before comparing it to Psalm 41:9. “My close friend, whom I trusted, he who shared my bread, has lifted his heel against me.”

 How could David the Psalmist have known his words would describe the Messiah’s betrayal?

 What was Jesus’ betrayal worth to Judas, and how much did the authorities pay him? Judas approached the chief priests for a bribe to deliver Jesus into their hands. They didn’t read the Old Testament before deciding on the fee! Instead, they counted out thirty pieces of silver, the price of a slave. When the reality of Jesus’ arrest hit home with Judas, he tried to return the money, but they didn’t want it. He tossed it into the temple and hanged himself.

 Judas’ actions are mirrored in Zechariah 11:12-13, penned over four hundred years before Christ.

 “If you think best, give me my pay: but if not, keep it. They gave me thirty pieces of silver. And the Lord said to me, ‘Throw it to the potter,’- the handsome price at which they valued me! Thirty silver pieces I grasped, afterward flinging them toward the potter near the temple of the Lord.”

It’s ludicrous to think Judas, in his rage, consulted the prophet! But the chief priests bought the potter’s field, just as Zechariah and Jeremiah predicted.

 When Jesús was arrested, his disciples fled in fear for their lives. Matthew 27:31. Jesus had called himself the Good Shepherd, and Zechariah wrote, “I will strike the shepherd, and the flock will be scattered.”

  The soldiers gambled for Jesus’ clothes. Luke 23:34. Is this another insignificant detail?

  Let’s see what Psalm 22:18 says: “They divide my garments among them and for my clothing they cast lots.”

 As Jesus hung on the cross, they gave him a sponge of vinegar on a hyssop stick.

Did you know this was predicted in Psalm 69:21?

 “They put gall in my food and gave me vinegar for my thirst.”

 Jesus did not suffer the usual practice the soldiers inflicted on criminals. They broke their bones to make them die sooner, but Jesus was already dead. Even this was recorded in Psalm 34:20. “He keeps all his bones; not one of them is broken.”

 Isaiah 53 and Psalm 22 describe in graphic detail Jesus’ sufferings on the cross, and when David penned this psalm, crucifixion had not been invented. Only the Holy Spirit could have inspired such accuracy.

Here are two more fulfilled prophecies:

The chief priests and elders mocked Jesus. “Let him come down from the cross… He believes in God. Let him rescue him.” Matthew 27:42.

 “Let the Lord rescue him. Let him deliver him.” Psalm 22:8b.

 When Jesus faced Pilate, he marvelled Jesus didn’t defend himself, and the prophet wrote,

“He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth. He was led like a lamb to the slaughter.” Isaiah 53:7.

 Even in his death, Jesus was assigned a grave with the rich. Joseph of Arimathea buried Jesus’ body in a fresh tomb. Criminal bodies were usually tossed on the city rubbish dump. And in Isaiah 53:9, this was prophesied: "He was assigned a grave with the wicked and with the rich in his death, though he had done no violence, nor was any deceit found in his mouth."  At his trial, Pilate found no reason to sentence Jesus to death. He caved in to the pressure of the crowd who wanted Jesus crucified. 

 Was Jesus’ resurrection predicted?

  “After the suffering of his soul, he will see the light of life and be satisfied.” Isaiah 53:11.

 Bible scholars suggest over 300 Old Testament prophecies came to fruition in Jesus’ lifetime. Combined, these isolated events are prophetic evidence that Jesus is the Messiah. Coincidence plays no role because God knew the end from the beginning.

 Are you convinced that such a detailed salvation plan could only originate from an everlasting God?

 And finally, why did Jesus die and rise from the dead?

Isaiah has the answer. “He was pierced for our transgressions. … The punishment that brought our peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed.” Isaiah 53:5.

Are you depressed because of your failures? God knows how you feel. Tell him, because his son, the Messiah, died for you and is waiting to forgive you. We have all sinned against God. Let his death and resurrection transform your life forever.