Matthew does a great job of laying down the evidence for his Jewish readers, that Jesus is the promises Messiah. In chapter 1 we find that he was from the line of David and he was born of a virgin. In chapter 2 we see that Jesus was born in Bethlehem as prophesied; is called out of Egypt as prophesied; and has Nazareth as a hometown as prophesied (And he was called Nazarene for the rest of his life). As we continue to read through the New Testament, we will see prophecy after prophecy fulfilled by Jesus Christ. To fulfill one or two or three prophesies could be a coincidence, but Jesus and his church fulfill over a thousand prophecies about the Messiah and the coming of the Messiah recorded in the Old Testament. The probability of one man fulfilling even 60 of the prophecies is 1 in 10 to the 895th power - which looks like this 1 out of 1000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000
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So...not very good odds, huh? And that is by fulfilling only 60 prophecies - we can't even do the math on what over 1,000 prophecies would look like. This is pretty much the long way of saying, Jesus is who he said he was!
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So...not very good odds, huh? And that is by fulfilling only 60 prophecies - we can't even do the math on what over 1,000 prophecies would look like. This is pretty much the long way of saying, Jesus is who he said he was!
3 comments:
I have heard the 1 in 10 to the 895th power odds put this way - take silver dollars and stack them 1 foot high covering the state of Texas – mark one of them – blindfold a person and tell them to find it.
Matthew also shows that no matter what satan does, God is in charge. Satan tries to kill Jesus – God, already knowing this, used those actions to fulfill prophecies from long ago.
God is in the details. I sometimes struggle with remembering who is in charge. Reading this passage reminds me that I should rely on the One who is in charge and wants to be in every detail of my life.
J
God being in every detail is a tidbit of hope that keeps me going everyday. Even in times of trial and defeat, the fact that nothing is out of the reach of God is enough for me to find some strength to try again.
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