Sullivan church of Christ – Sullivan, MO
Date: June 8, 2008
PROPHECIES OF THE DEATH OF JESUS (Part 1)
Ben Justice
A simple definition of prophecy would be “history written in advance” (Wayne Jackson,
“Fortify Your Faith,” Pg. 64). Concerning prophecies of the earthly life of Jesus “there
are no less than 333 prophecies in the Old Testament which center in the person of the
Messiah — every one of which, relating to His earthly life, has been fulfilled to the letter”
(Ibid., Pg. 67). What are the odds of Jesus of Nazareth fulfilling all 333 prophecies? A
Mathematician named Peter W. Stoner selected just 8 prophecies describing the coming
Messiah. He estimated that the odds of these being accidentally fulfilled by any person
(as Christ did) are approximately 1 in 100,000,000,000,000,000 (Ibid, Pg. 69). This is one
followed by 17 zeros. A one followed by 2 zeros is a hundred; a one followed by 5 zeros is a
hundred thousand; a one followed by 6 zeros is a million; a one followed by 9 zeroes is a
billion; a one followed by 12 zeroes is a trillion; a one followed by 15 zeros is a quadrillion;
a one followed by 17 zeros is one hundred thousand quadrillion. Remember, this is only
eight prophecies being accidentally fulfilled. One writer stated, “Using the science of
probability, we find the chances of just forty-eight of these prophecies being fulfilled in one
person to be right at one in 10(157th) (a one followed by 157 zeros!) (Josh McDowell, “A
Ready Defense,” Pg. 210). Roger Dickson declared,
. . . it would be certainly nonsense to suppose that all of them, to the smallest detail,
could be fulfilled by one man by accident. However, Jesus fulfilled them all. The
probability of one man fulfilling all these prophecies by chance is beyond possibility (Roger
Dickson, “The Dawn of Belief,” Pg. 392-393).
The prophecies of Jesus are his address. God wrote an address in history to single out his
Son, the Messiah, the Savior of mankind, from anyone who has ever lived in history —
past, present, or future. Jesus himself often alluded to these prophecies as being fulfilled
in him (cf. John 5:39, 46; Matt. 26:56; Luke 24:27, 44).
Out of over 300 prophecies of Jesus, many of these prophecies have to do specifically with
his death. Throughout the NT, the apostles and other NT writers, appealed to two areas of
the life of Jesus to prove his messiahship. One was the resurrection and the other was
fulfilled prophecy. Indeed, many prophecies of the Messiah in the OT have been fulfilled in
his death and things associated with his death. It will be the burden of this study to focus
upon these OT prophecies.
“THE MESSIANIC PROPHET”
Isaiah has been called the “Messianic Prophet.” This is because he spoke more of the
coming Messiah than any other prophet. As Homer Hailey commented, “The Book of Isaiah
is more than a chronicle of history with moral principles attached; it is a book of messianic
hope and redemption” (Homer Hailey, “A Commentary on Isaiah,” Pg. 328). One author
remarked,
The New Testament contains more quotations and allusions to the book of Isaiah than of any other book in
the Old Testament, except Psalms. Forty-seven chapters from Isaiah are directly quoted or alluded to by Christ
and the apostles (B.J. Clarke, Major Lessons From Isaiah, “Major Lessons From The Major Prophets,”
1995 Power Lectures — Pg. 38).
Some have even nicknamed Isaiah as “the fifth evangelist” outside of Matthew, Mark,
Luke, and John (Homer Hailey, Ibid.).
The book of Isaiah can be basically divided up into two sections:
1.) The Judgment of God (chs. 1-39).
2.) The Comfort of God (chs. 40-66).
Chapters 40-66 can be further divided up into three main sections:
1.) Deliverance from Babylonian Captivity (chs. 40-48).
2.) Jehovah’s suffering Servant (chs. 49-57).
3.) The glory of the Messianic Age (chs. 58-66).
Chapters 49-57 detail for us God’s Suffering Servant. This section “sets forth the
character, mission, and achievement of the divine Servant, and the glory of redeemed Zion”
(Homer Hailey, Ibid., Pg. 405). There are what many call four “Servant Songs” in Isaiah
(Keith Mosher, Isaiah: An Introduction, “Major Lessons From the Major Prophets,”
Ibid., Pg. 29). These would be:
1.) Chapter 42:1-4 — The First Song
2.) Chapter 49:1-6 — The Second Song
3.) Chapter 50:4-9 — The Third Song
4.) Chapter 52:13-53:12 — The Fourth Song
Each song speaks of Jehovah’s Servant. This Servant is the Messiah, the Christ, the
incarnate Son of God. It will be our aim to rivet our attention on the fourth song (ch. 52:
13-53:12). One author said in regard to these verses, “Undoubtedly, this is the summit of
OT prophetic literature. Few passages can rival it for clarity on the suffering, death, burial,
and resurrection of the Messiah” (Walter C. Kaiser, Jr., “The Messiah In the Old
Testament,” Pg. 178). These verses can be broken down into five parts:
1.) His Exaltation (52:13-15)
2.) His Rejection and Suffering (53:1-3)
3.) His Atonement (53:4-6)
4.) His Total Submission (53:7-9)
5.) His Victory and Reward (53:10-12)
Next week, we will begin a study of these verses.
RULES FOR SUCCESSFUL LIVING
James Abram Garfield was America’s 20th President. When Garfield was a young man,
someone placed in his hand one day a slip of paper, which he carried with him all his life.
Inscribed on this paper were the following lines:
— Make few promises.
— Always speak the truth.
— Live within your income.
— Never speak evil of anyone.
— Keep good company or none.
— Never play games of chance.
— Drink no intoxicating drinks.
— Good character is above everything else.
— Keep your own secrets if you have any.
— Never borrow if you can possibly avoid it.
— Do not marry until you are able to support a wife.
— Keep yourself honest if you would be happy.
— When you speak to a person, look into his eyes.
— Make not haste to be rich, if you would prosper.
— Save when you are young to spend when you are old.
— Never run into debt, unless you see a way out again.
— Good company and good conversation are the sinews of virtues.
— Your character cannot be badly hurt except by your own vices.