I. Paul’s Message
A. Reviews Their History Vs. 17-20
1. NOTE- repetitive references to God: “God”; “He” vs. 17-23
2. God was active and gracious to them
a. Called out Abraham
b. Brought them out of Egypt
c. Provision in the wilderness
d. Brought tem into the land of Canaan
e. Provided judges & deliverers for them
f. Giving them kings: Saul, David vs. 21, 22
3. God had been so good to them.
B. God’s Goodness- Brought Them A Savior
1. Paul exhorts them to trust in Jesus
2. He gives them three witnesses to support his exhortation
3. “Don’t believe just b/c I do, or b/c I say you should”.
C. Two Of The Three Witnesses
1. Jewish courts always required 2 or more witnesses
2. 1st witness- John the Baptist vs. 24, 25
a. John made a huge impact; he was noticed
b. John pointed to Jesus: Follow Him, the Lamb of God
3. 2nd witness- Many eyewitnesses of resurrected Jesus v. 31
a. They were available to interview, interrogate
b. They were still alive and testifying of Jesus’ resurrection
II. 3rd Witness- Prophetic Scriptures Of O.T.
A. Christian Testimony Is Valid
B. Prophetic Scriptures-Stronger Witness
C. Jesus Is The Fulfillment Of O.T. Predictions
1. V. 23
2. V. 27
3. V. 29
4. V. 32
5. V. 33
6. V. 34
7. Paul lays out O.T. biblical basis for believing in Jesus
8. Jesus fulfilled 300+ prophecies in His first coming
9. Paul gives more than a personal testimony
10. He brings forth the power of the prophetic O.T. scriptures
11. Jews were not looking for a Messiah that would die
12. They ignored the detailed, “examinable”, prophetic word
13. Paul just touched on a few of the 300+ prophetic scriptures re. Jesus
III. The Studies Of Peter Stoner Math professor @ Pasadena City College
A. Probability
1. If 1 in 10 men are bald, then randomly pick 10 men, and 1 will be bald.
2. If 1 in 100 men- missing a finger, then randomly pick 100 men, and 1 will not have a finger.
3. The odds of a man being bald and missing a finger would be 10 X 100, or 1 an in 1000 would be bald and missing a finger.
4. If 1 in 100 is a redhead, then 10 X 100 X 100 would produce a bald, redheaded man, missing a finger.
5. Every added requirement decreases the probability of fulfillment.
B. Probability Of Jesus Fulfilling 8 Prophecies
The O. T. has over 300 references to Messiah that were fulfilled in Jesus.
According to mathematician Peter Stoner, if one considers just eight of them:
1. Born at Bethlehem (Micah 5:2 / Matt. 2:1) 1 in 280k
2. Preceded by forerunner (Isaiah 40:3 / Matthew 3:1,2) 1 in 1000
3. Enter Jerusalem as ruler on donkey (Zech. 9:9 / Luke 19:35) 1 in 100
4. Betrayal by a friend, wounds in hands (Zech. 13 / Matthew 10:4) 1 in 1000
5. Sold for 30 pieces of silver (Zechariah 11:12 / Matthew 26:15) 1 in 1000
6. Silver returned, used for potter’s field (Zech. 11:13b / Matt. 27:5,7) 1 in 100k
7. Dumb before his accusers (Isaiah 53:7 / Matthew 27:12-19) 1 in 1000
8. Hands and feet pierced, crucified with thieves (predicted before the invention of crucifixion in Psalm 22:16 & Zech. 12:10 / Luke 23:33 & Matt.27:38) 1 in 10k
According to Peter Stoner, “We find that the chance that any man might have fulfilled all eight prophecies is 1 in 1017 ” That looks like this: 1 in 1,000,000,000,000,000,000.
To illustrate those odds, Stoner gives the following example:
Take the same number of silver dollars and lay them on Texas. They would be two feet deep! Paint one red, and stir the whole batch. Blindfold a man and set him loose to pick the right one on the first try. That is the mathematical probability to which Stoner refers regarding Jesus fulfilling just eight of over 300 O.T. prophecies regarding His first coming.
Stoner- the chance of any one man fulfilling all 48 would be 1 in 10157. Using electrons: 2.5 X 1015 electrons laid side by side would make a single file line 1”. Counting 250 per minute day and night would require 19 million years to count the 1” line. Current estimate of space is 9 billion light years in every direction. Light-186k miles/sec. A solid ball of electrons 6 billion light years not equal to 10157. To make 500 of these electron balls per minute would take 10 million X 10 million X 10 million in order to use 10157 electrons. Now paint one red, fly through space, and grab that electron on your first try. That is an illustration of the probability of Jesus fulfilling just 48 O.T. prophecies.
C. Paul’s Conclusion
1. Believe in Jesus based upon the scriptures. God made it clear to us. 2. Life is based on faith. Why do you believe what you believe? 3. Faith in Jesus results in justification, forgiveness of sins. V. 38, 39 4. Beware of unbelief. Logical conclusion to believe in Jesus. V. 40, 41 5. Prophecy stronger than personal experience. 2 Peter 1:16-19 6. Christians do not have blind faith. Beware of blind unbelief. 7. Men do not reject God b/c of a lack of evidence.