Connecting Point: Power of Probability

Peter Stoner, philosopher and mathematician at Pasadena College a few years ago, described the probability of Jesus Christ fulfilling just 8 of those 300

Messianic prophecies are described in the Old Testament record. “Try to visualize this probability, if you mark one of ten tickets, place all of the tickets in a hat, thoroughly stir them, and then ask a blindfolded person to draw one, his chance of getting the right ticket respectively is 1 out of 10.”

Now: follow him and my notes: “Now suppose we take 10 17 (that is ten times ten, times ten, seventeen times), of silver dollars and lay them on the face of Texas. They will cover all of the state two feet deep (nearly 270,000 square miles). Next, mark one of these silver dollars and stir the whole mass together, all over the entire state. Blindfold a man and tell him that he can travel as far as he wishes, but he must pick up only one silver dollar and say it is the right one, one chance. What chance would he have of getting the right one? You got it: a big fat ZERO.”

To fulfill 8 of those 300 prophecies and have them all come true in any one man, from the first century to the present day is nearly impossible. Jesus Christ is the only one in history to fulfill the Messianic prophecies. Jesus was more than a first-century miracle worker; he was the very personification of God in the flesh. The Gospel Book of Mark, which is only eighteen short chapters long, attests to the eyewitness account of Jesus healing a paralyzed man. However, Christ compounded the dilemma of non-belief, he forgave the man of his sins. Christ created a stir, and it led to an intoxication across the region. For only God could forgive sin. We’ll move on.

Isaiah’s prophecy of the Messiah says, “Surely he took up our pain and bore our suffering, yet we considered him punished by God, stricken by him, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds, we are healed. We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to our own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all,” (Isaiah 53:4-6). These events occurred through the crucifixion of Christ. Elsewhere, Isaiah explains Christ’s nature, “He will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” If we can’t trust Isaiah, who can we trust?

Some skeptics suggest that Jesus was aware of these prophecies so he cunningly met the criteria. Most pastors of most denominations beg to differ. Jesus didn’t have any influence on his birthplace. David wrote another messianic prophecy in Psalms 22 in which the style of Roman crucifixion is described in great detail almost 1000 years before the method was known. The form in David’s time was stoning to death. You can trust the Psalms too. Your next purchase? Maybe a new Bible…or maybe your first one?