by Jack MacArthur Copyright 1975 by Voice of Calvary A ll rights reserved CHRIST

Who Is He?

"From that time many of his disciples went back, and walked no more w ith him. Then said Jesus un to the twelve, W ill ye also go away? Then Simon Peter answered him, Lord, to whom shall we go? Thou hast the words of eternal life. And we believe and are sure that thou art that

Christ, the Son of the living God" (John 6:66-69). Jesus Christ of Historicity The

THE CHRIST Occasionally we hear of those who doubt that Jesus ever existed; but this would never be the conclusion drawn by any qualified historian. F. F. Bruce, professor of and exegesis at the Universi­ ty of Manchester, has stated that those who toy with the fancy of a "Christ-" do so on the ground of unfounded notions, not on the facts of historical evidence. Christ's historicity is as axiomatic for an un­ biased historian as the historicity o f Julius Caesar. It is clearly not his­ torians who foster the "Christ-myth" theories. John Warwick Montgomery writes that what historians do know about Jesus Christ is, first and foremost, that the New Testament docu­ ments can be relied upon to give an accurate portrait of Him. They also know that this portrait cannot be rationalized away by wishful thinking or by philosophical or literary maneuvering. The historicity of Jesus Christ is confirmed by the early Church fa­ thers—Polycarp, Eusebius, Irenaeus, Ignatius, Justin, Origen, and others of the 1st, 2nd and later centuries A.D. There are also numerous, early, non-Biblical witnesses to the historical fact of Jesus of , includ­ ing , Lucian, , Seutonius, Pliny, Tertullian, and Thallus. To question that Jesus Christ ever existed only shows abysmal ignor­ ance. The record should be recognized as sober, factual history.

IMPOSTOR, INSANE, OR SON OF GCD?

Many say they can accept Jesus Christ as a great moral teacher, -j n

opl aeul n cnil,ad ewil ecnicd hth i read- is he that convinced be ill w he and candidly, and carefully Jesus Christ — Who Is He? n mre Hm s dmn o w cn al t i fe n cyot as out, cry and feet His at fall can we or demon, a as Him murder and choices: o tw have we then false, were they If false. or true either were 5: (John Father the honor asthey even Him honor should men all that indeed were He if teacher, moral good a just o f the authority o f Jesus Christ. Dr. Vernon Grounds, in his book, book, his in Grounds, Vernon Dr. Christ. Jesus f o authority the f o irrational evidence, misguided on skepticism f o his Son base asthe Jesus f to o favor in continue ill clearly w be ev­ to the f it o discover investigation ill The conscience w acareful a He clear to ith importance. idence. w and, himself address immediate purpose, f preconceptions o single a all becomes and away put question ill this w man life, honest this in Christ any ith w come not us let But !" d o G my and Lord y "M old, f o Thomas is He then true, were claims His if But a ward. paranoid, and psychopathic aderanged r hopelessly fo was case He else or fit it, r fo died He cause same the be to claimed He said 14:9). He (John 10:30-33). Father the seen has 8:58,59; Him so 5:18; seen Jews (John the that Him alone reason kill this to r fo was It attempted deity. often His asserted tently untenable, is position This man. a than more no was He but greatest, the hit s crdtdt u yfv udnal, iie testimonies: divine undeniable, five by us to accredited is Hope, Christ Our r fo Reason HITSA C DT I N TIO CCR A EDITA destiny, ate CHRIST'S ultim his or th tru about caring not thinker, lazy The God. the Because purpose? cor­ redemptive in great a God—God in f o earth Son to the He was coming or form grandeur, f poreal o to. delusions intend He ith w path did did He neither us, teacher. to moral open great a just option being His that leave not about nonsense patronizing Savior. only man's and Lord only man's God, of Son the indeed then, claims, These 3:14). Ex. 8:58; has (John who he that to and appeared 10:30), that (John God one are Father the and He that 23), be not ould w did Christ that claims the make would who man a because prejudice, or on the mindless hearsay o f unbelievers. f o hearsay mindless the on or prejudice, toward attitude our on depends destiny eternal our that teaches Bible be­ fool, a also and chicanery, monstrous f o guilty impostor, an was He f o one perhaps man, good a was He say They incarnate. God as not but eu Crs camd qaiy t Gd H rpael ad insis­ and repeatedly He God. ith w equality claimed Christ Jesus 1. The testim ony o f His divine life. Let any man read the four four the read man any Let life. divine His f o ony testim The 1. C. S. Lewis w rote that we can shut Christ o ff as a fool, spit at Him Him at spit as fool, a ff o Christ shut can we that rote w Lewis S. C. Essential to the understanding o f Christian tru th is the acceptance acceptance the is th tru Christian f o understanding the to Essential psycho­ a impostor, an Christ Jesus Was decide: must man Every rts ht hs cetne s seta because essential is acceptance this that writes only a man. a The ing the story of a life actually lived, that no man could have imagined the character there set forth, much less could fo u r men have imagined Him, each making his own account consistent n ot only w ith in itself, but with the other three. It will also be evident that the life set forth in the Gospels stands by itself, apart from all other human lives. It is manifest­ ly a divine life lived under human conditions. Jesus Christ was holy, loving, and righteous in all His ways. He was precisely what we might imagine God to be like if He were to lay aside His glory and live as a man among men. This, by the way, is not only the opinion o f Christians, who are open to the charge o f prejudice; it is also the verdict of competent critics who make no profession of personal faith in Jesus as Savior. Consider, fo r example, the verdict o f Jean Jacques Rousseau. Com­ paring Socrates the Greek, and Jesus the Galilean, he exclaimed, "The death of Socrates, peacefully philosophizing among friends, appears the most agreeable that one could wish. That o f Jesus, expiring in agony, abused, insulted and accused by a whole nation, is the most horrible Accreditation Christ's that one could fear. Socrates, indeed, receiving the cup of poison, blessed the weeping executioner who administered it. But Jesus, amid excruciat­ ing tortures, prayed fo r His merciless torm entors. Yes, if the life and death of Socrates were those of a sage, the life and death o f Jesus were those of a God." This opinion is shared by many other notable world figures. The exiled Napoleon Bonaparte said, "I know men, and I tell you that Jesus Christ is not a man. Superficial minds see a resemblance between Christ and the founders of empires and the gods of other religions. That resem­ blance does not exist. There is between Christianity and whatever other religions the distance of infinity. Everything in Christ astonishes me. His S pirit overawes me and His w ill confounds me. Between Him and any­ one else in the world there is no possible term of comparison. He is truly a being by Himself. His ideas and sentiments, the tru th w hich He an­ nounces, His manner of convincing are not explained either by human organizations or by the nature of things. The nearer I approach, the more carefully I examine. Everything is above me. Everything remains grand, of a grandeur which overpowers.... I search in vain in history to find one similar to Jesus Christ, or anything which can approach the Gospel...." 2. The testimony of His divine words. Anyone who studies the Gospels soon discovers that the teachings of Christ have characteristics that distinguish them from all other teachings. They are authoritative, powerful, profound. Yet, this Jesus of Nazareth had no opportunity for w Jesus Christ — Who Is He? inl i cre mgt ae en te eoy f i i so blotted soon is him of memory the been, have might career his tional divine. out a violence o f treatment which no reasonable man w ill perm it. If If record, it. Gospels perm God. by ill the as w endorsed and man sent asteacher a reasonable substantially no credentials miracles clear ­ bears He ith which w then rought w element and treatment miraculous f lived o Jesusthe violence from a separated be out cannot they disappear; was pt attem able most the Possibly dogma. and yth m from apart was, know "...we Nicodemus, ith w conclude, lly fu th tru not and them study dead; the raised and blind, the f o eyes the opened lepers, the cleansed O rdinarily, when a young criminal is put to death, no matter how sensa- how matter no death, to put is criminal young a when rdinarily, O too so and failed, also he but tried, Renan Ernest pt. attem the renew really as HeJesus historical the reconstruct to Gospels, 3:2). the mira­ these (John from do " can im man element h no ith for w be God God; except from doest, cannot come thou One teacher athat cles teacher. art God-sent a thou of that credentials clear are power f o cles vitiated. teachings the f o bination com study; to home at books no had He synagogue. the of room audience the et ons n h ae ieto—o Msih h i oh ua and human Testa­ both is New who the a a of that is evidence direction—to same the the failure in All this r points fo to existed. reason ment never must fell The Jesus it they human lt attempts. analysis, fe merely subsequent others critical other Yet, all rigid, have discredited. to book, completely his is submitted in was today Jesus" and scholarship, pieces, of ife profound "L his of man a Jesu. Strauss, Leben by made a was which fishes, o tw and loaves small five ith w people being t u o ith w Him from divorced be cannot teachings His remarkable. ap­ otely rem even ignorance, or of surpassed, midst equaled, been the never has in up that grew teaching He of philosophy. and culture ith w ed perhaps except school, grammar a attended never He education. formal bigotry, superstition and intolerance; yet, He gave to the w orld a body body a orld w the to gave He yet, intolerance; and superstition acquaint­ become bigotry, might He where library a access to have He neitherdid He stilled a tempest by a word, turned water into wine, and fed 5,000 5,000 fed and wine, into Jews, water the accusers, His turned word, a by tempest a stilled He history. sages of greatest the by proached 4. The testim ony o f His influence upon all subsequent history. history. subsequent all upon influence His f o ony testim The 4. Strenuous efforts have been made to eliminate the supernatural the eliminate to made been have efforts Strenuous sick, the healed JesusChrist works. divine His of ony testim The 3. If we eliminate the miracles o f Christ, His character and teachings teachings and character His Christ, f o miracles the eliminate we If Moreover, what Christ taught is inseparable from Himself. It is the the is It Himself. from inseparable is taught Christ what Moreover, He spent his best years and strength in this e ffo rt, but when when but rt, ffo e this in strength and years best his spent He never dsvwd n of i mrce. hs mira­ These miracles. His f o any disavowed and te a Hmefta mks hit so Christ makes that Himself man the creative act. act. out. But of 30,000 Jews crucified around the walls of Jerusalem, the world remembers the name of only one—Jesus of Nazareth. Jesus, the strange teacher of antiquity, who was crucified at the age o f 33, is reported to have said to His disciples on the night o f His ex­ ecution, "...I have overcome the w orld" (John 16:33). What a preposter­ ous statement to make when to all appearances the world had proved too much for Him and was at last about to destroy Him! Nevertheless, out of the life of that young man, who was put to death as a criminal, has flowed the most penetrating, transforming, uplifting influence in all history. Phillip Schaff w rote that w ith o u t money or arms, Jesus of Naza­ reth conquered more millions than did Alexander, Caesar, Charlemagne, Mohammed and Napoleon. He was born in a manger and crucified as a malefactor, yet He now controls the destinies of the civilized races and one-third of the inhabitants of the world. The late Kenneth Scott Latourette, former president of the Amer­ ican Historical Society, said that the short life of Jesus Christ, measured Accreditation Christ's by its fruits in the human race, has been the most influential ever lived. 5. The testimony of His from the dead. Before Jesus was put to death fo r claiming to be the Son o f God, He gave the un- equivocating promise that in three days He would rise from the dead (John 2:19-22). He was murdered and subsequently put in a grave. But when the appointed hour of which He spoke arrived, the breath of God swept through the sleeping clay, and Jesus Christ arose trium phant over death and the grave. The Apostle Paul said that Jesus Christ was "...de­ clared to be the Son of God with power...by the resurrection from the dead" (Rom. 1:4). The resurrection of Christ is one of the best attested facts of his­ tory. Six different and independent accounts, one in each of the four Gospels, one in the book o f Acts, and one from the pen o f the Apostle Paul, recount His trium ph over death. Scores o f passages in the remain­ der of the New Testament speak of the Savior's resurrection with a clar­ ity that tolerates no uncertainty. The many testimonies of Christ's res­ urrection have always been recognized as based on two great facts: the empty tomb, and the bodily post-resurrection appearances of Christ to His disciples. In the tremendous fact of the resurrection, God spoke more clearly than ever: "This is my beloved Son: hear ye Him !" If we accept the authority of Jesus Christ, as the incarnate Son of God, then we must accept the entire Bible as the inspired Word of God, for He set the stamp of His authority upon the entire book. He affirmed on

lr H wil o sae t aohr I calnig h fle os f o gods false the challenging In another. ith w share not ill w He glory Jesus Christ — Who Is He? spoken. od ad h ata, itrcl ulil of pcfc dtie proph­ detailed specific, f o t n e lfillm fu historical actual, the and words hw e t te il i ide ta wil Te a H a hsn is chosen has He way The ill. w that indeed is Bible the t a th men show to "declare new things before they spring fo r th " (Isa. 42:8,9), and this this and 42:8,9), (Isa. " th r fo spring they before things know new men lets "declare to which seal divine His is this believe I ecies. one that men o f average intelligence can understand: through the spoken spoken the through would He understand: can way intelligence average f o unmistakable men some that in one that suppose to reasonable only cosmic God. If God God If God. outstand­ cosmic so are religions, other all f o those ith w compared Bible, the f o the and true not are words prophet's a if thing words, the if other Lord, In the of name spoken...." the in speaketh prophet a "When clares, h wr o te rpe sal oe o ps, hn hl te rpe be prophet the shall then pass, to come shall prophet the of word the not hath Lord the which de­ thing the is 18:22 that pass, to come Deuteronomy nor not, phant. trium follow and searching, central, is prophecies. frame to claim ventured ever have Bible, the of religion the its particular, in and prophecies, its than more documents) original the man. to God of revelation asthe on ceived investigation; fear not does Bible The claim. its substantiate to dence Bible is a divine revelation, fu lly authenticated and authorized by the the by authorized and authenticated lly fu revelation, the have divine we a is that Bible portant im and ing unhesitating­ Scriptures The proof. ." im h sent "...when unquestionable ly this 28:9, tru to the is hath appeal ly Lord neither in and the told Lord, that are the we known, of hand, not is other he the then On , d lfille fu prophecy. not is prophecy except orld, w the of history the in religion other any nor these neither re­ be ill w it known is unreservedly it more widely the more studied, The is it. it challenges closely and more courts the it and contrary, the 14:26). John 24:44; Luke 7:13; (Mark God of Word eternal the lutely unique to the Bible. There are religious systems, such as Islam and and Islam as such systems, religious are There Bible. the to unique lutely evi­ factual f o abundance an also is there but God, from revelation a be be to Testament New the anticipation, by and, Testament Old the both Buddhism, that try to validate their claims on supposed miracles, but but miracles, supposed on claims their validate to try abso­ is that prophecy Buddhism, Fulfilled JesusChrist. in d lfille fu prophecies Messianic H TSI N O PROPHECY OF ONY TESTIM THE The Bible alone bases its claim to divine origin on prophecy. The The prophecy. on origin divine to claim its bases alone Bible The Prophecy is God's own method o f proving His tru th . The teachings teachings The . th tru His proving f o method own God's is Prophecy to ways numerous in claims only not It orthy. trustw is Bible The No area vindicates the authority and in fa llib ility o f the Bible (in (in Bible the f o ility llib fa in and authority the vindicates area No It is the peculiar "g lo ry " o f the A lm ighty, the all-knowing God, God, all-knowing the ighty, lm A the f o " ry lo "g peculiar the is It has ie a eeain f i wil nte il, t is it Bible, the in ill w His of revelation a given i t h rig to know whether or not the the not or whether know to thaX He has He thaX

Isaiah's time, God said, "Produce your cause...bring forth your strong reasons...show us what shall happen.... Show the things that are to come hereafter, that we may know that ye are gods.... Behold, ye are of noth­ ing...an abomination is he who chooseth you" (Isa. 41:21 -24). Prophecy is a phenomenon that cannot be counterfeited. The true God alone fore­ knows and foretells the future, and He has chosen to confine His fore­ telling to the pages of Scripture. Dr. A. T. Pierson tells us that there are nearly 1,000 separate pre­ dictions of future events in the prophecies of the Old and New Testa­ ments together, of which perhaps 800 are in the Old Testament. Those that relate to events up to the present time have all been fulfilled. Of these, there are 25 predictions centering about the destruction of Jeru­ salem (which occurred in A.D. 70 by Titus Vespasian), and every one of them actually took place. Biblical prophecies have distinctive characteristics. They are not h Tsioy f Prophecy of TestimonyThe merely sage remarks or scientific predictions based upon laws of nature; neither do they reflect humanly controlled situations wherein the proph­ et or his supporters fulfill the prophecy. They are predictions of the fu­ ture such as no human could forecast, nor human effort bring to pass. II Peter 1:21 declares, "For the prophecy came not at any time by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit." Dr. Robert D. Culver reminds us that another necessary and inter­ esting feature of prophecy is a degree of obscurity in many of its pre­ dictions. At first thought this might seem to seriously weaken the value of the evidence, but it actually becomes the basis of its strength! The prophecy ordinarily will have a true but obscure reference to future events. For example, in Jesus' prediction o f His resurrection in Matthew 12:40, He did not clearly say that He would die, that His body would be buried, or that three days later His body would be resurrected, leav­ ing an empty tomb; rather. He made an enigmatical reference to Jonah's experience inside the great sea monster and indicated that He would have a similar experience in the "heart of the earth" (the underworld). When He predicted His resurrection in connection w ith His cleansing of the Temple, He said, "Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up" (John 2:19). Except for Jesus Himself, no one on earth really un­ derstood these predictions until after His resurrection, and then only with considerable reflection (John 2:22). In other words, after the prophecy had become history, then with reflection, the disciples knew, without doubt that our Lord was speaking of His resurrection. vi co Jesus Christ — Who Is He? EU CRS: H ESA O TE L TSA ENT TESTAM OLD THE OF MESSIAH THE CHRIST: JESUS od, sn Od etmn pohce cnenn te esa, he Messiah, the JesusChrist. of person the concerning in d prophecies lfille fu were prophecies those Testament how Old showed using words, etmn n f fled i te e,i h eta hm iie revela- divine f o theme central the is New, the in d lfille fu and Testament other In publicly, 18:28). that (Acts and Jews, hrist" C was Jesus the that convinced scriptures the ightily by m showing "...he hap­ read, or we done, esus, was such and and such Time that Testament. ula, Old form the of this read prophecies we Messianic again the e tim of t n e lfillm fu ent m hns (ak 32) \ His and resurrection, His JesusChrist: f o Messiahship the establish easto 13:23). (Mark things" pened "th a t it might be fu lfille d which was spoken by the prophet...." prophet...." the by spoken was which d lfille fu be might it t a "th pened if And God. of fingerprint the bears ly tru it then chance, mere of ility b gument that it is indeed a revelation from God. Prophecy might not not might Prophecy God. from ar­ valid a is revelation a certainly indeed this , is d it lfille fu were that prophecies gument be­ recorded first, its at seen ly before dim prophecy t. n e of design lfillm fu ll fu ith w the clear So comes together. put are the by destroyed be might evidence its of value the or it, oppose to wish o eape we te lqet lxnra, plo, pk i Eph­ in spoke Apollos, Alexandrian, eloquent the when example, For to fools be would we Surely it. trust must we fingerprint, His bears it prove the Bible is the Word o f God to some, but the the but some, to God f o Word the is Bible the prove an like is it Or, pattern. a into but fits all obscure; it and then is case known, is disconnected the As seem th tru may decision. the f o all pieces once time the the at issued is assembled, prophecy. verdict being d true a lfille evidence, when fu the of in court evidence flaw athe f being o strengths from the far of isone see that, feature to this easy is it So pass. to ignore it! Jesus said, "B u t take heed; behold, I have foretold you all all you foretold have I behold, heed; take t u "B said, Jesus it! possi­ ignore the the beyond if and foreknowledge knowledge, prior have scientific and could historical mind both has Bible supernatural a only mind, yn i is o, t sue a umsaal pcue atr oc i is it pieces once the all pattern until picture known be when cannot picture design unmistakable a ll an assumesfu ith The it w assembled. box, connected properly its ly in dim only lying puzzle: jigsaw unassembled it bring to try would who friends, too-helpful who those other f o f o efforts efforts the through bungling unfulfilled be either actually might ecy t s ie cs peetd ihr y h poeuin r h dfne in defense the or prosecution the by either presented case a like is It would certainly prove it was was it prove certainly would The coming o f Christ (the "A nointed O ne"), promised in the Old Old the in promised ne"), O nointed "A (the Christ f o coming The When we find a book unquestionably w ritten hundreds o f years years f o hundreds ritten w unquestionably book a find we When hogot h Nw etmn te psls peld ot ar­ o tw to appealed apostles the Testament New the Throughout fsc osuiywr nt nii l peet n rpey h proph­ the prophecy, in present lly itia in not were obscurity such If t o n the Word o f God. To the natural natural the To God. f o Word the akofisf lfill­ fu its f o lack tion. Jesus Christ is the bond that ties the two Testaments together. It has been said that the Old Testament is, in the New, revealed; the New Testament is, in the Old, concealed. David Baron wrote that the Christ of the Bible is the fruit of the tree of prophecy, and Christianity is the actualization of a tremendous plan, the first outlines of which were sketched more than 1500 years before Christ was born. Revelation 19:10 tells us, “ ...for the testim ony of Jesus is the spir­ it of prophecy." The overwhelming purpose and underlying spirit of Biblical prophecy is to testify of Jesus. The original meaning of the name Jesus is "Savior." Thus, the primary theme of prophecy is the tes­ timony of the Savior, the story of . Dr. Criswell beautifully ex­ presses that Christ is the burden of the prophets' message, the subject Testament Old the Messiah of TheJesus Christ: of the Psalmist's song, the principal character of the Gospels, the foun- tainhead of inspiration of the Epistles, and the sublime and central fig­ ure of the Apocalypse. Jesus frequently asserted that He was the subject of the Old Test­ ament. He quoted Psalm 40:7: "...in the volume of the book it is written o f m e." In John 5:39 He said, "Search the scriptures; fo r in them ye th in k ye have eternal life; and they are they which testify of me." On the evening of His resurrection. He said to those who had gathered in the Upper Room, "...all things must be fulfilled, which were written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the psalms, concerning me" (Luke 24:44). That covers the entire canon of Old Testament Scripture! Canon Liddon tells us that there are, in all, more than 300 proph­ ecies in the Old Testament concerning the Messiah, all of which have been fu lfille d in the life of Jesus Christ or w ill be fu lfille d at His second coming. Desperate atheists and other unbelievers, seeking a way to cir­ cumvent the fact of fu lfille d prophecy in its connotations, have argued that the fulfillments were accidental, chance, or coincidental. But when the great number of details are considered, chance fulfillm ent must be ruled out. In each of the prophecies explicit details were given with suf­ ficient time intervening between the prediction and the fulfillment to insure that they were not just clever guesses. There were 400 years be­ tween the last of the Messianic predictions of the Old Testament, which were given between 1500 and 400 B.C., and their fulfillment in the Christ of the Gospels. Moreover, many of the Messianic prophecies were of such a na­ ture that only God could fulfill them, such as the virgin birth of Jesus, His sinless and holy character, His resurrection and ascension. Dr. Culver reminds us that Christians have always believed that the 10 n aseso wr al itn n mreos anr etre before centuries manner marvelous a in ritten w all were a'scension and 2 Jesus Christ — Who Is He? these sermons of reproof is in itself a kind o f prophetic call for a Savior Savior a for call prophetic f o kind a itself in is reproof of sermons these the all and Moses at beginning And glory? his into enter sinful. and to and foolish things, both Christians r fo was fact this neglect to that and After inistry. m His and Himself authenticated Lord our way the is This son and career in the Old Testament. Many of them were recognized by Christ. by f o e recognized tim were the them during of and Many before Messianic as Jews Testament. the Old qual­ the in career predictive and general son this people from aside the Yet, sins. That their The laws. from book. Moses' savethem to to Testament obedience Old to other back any Jews the than Testament New more the in Psalms Christ quoted The age. fact, in are, coming predicting and a as Christ to f and o One prophecies Coming also a to religion pointed Testament they Old that the f o desperately institutions how The demonstrates also Savior. It a needed coming. His they for ready is all people It own detail every prophet. some that by show foreseen to xts" te specifically was f o career ro "p Lord's specific our of of store unclassified of these suffered have to Christ not Ought spoken! have prophets Him, the concerning that words: prophetic His was entire are the These texts) that asserted isolated just strenuously He (not Testament history, Old become last Christ. f at o had prophecies ecy its in lies Testament Old the of significance chief acter, career, preaching, reception, rejection, death, burial, resurrection resurrection burial, char­ death, teaching, rejection, manhood, reception, infancy, manner, preaching, irth career, b acter, birthplace, Jesus Lord forerunner, the ith w did God of Word the what exactly is that Yet, born? per­ Lord's our of predictions detailed and specific many are there , ity calling sermons mainly are prophets) inor m and (major books prophetic way. same the in all not but Christ, f o predictive Testa­ 24:25-27). Old (Luke [the self” scriptures him the all in concerning things them, the , unto ment] expounded he prophets, Christ. The writers portrayed Him w ith increasing vividness until the day day the until vividness increasing ith w Him portrayed writers The Christ. were many but worship, r fo value ­ im contemporary understood their their was it had had also then even etc.) But (hymns) Israel. rituals, of worship sacrifices, the priests, in value laver, mediate altar, temple, (the i rsreto, hn a fra Hs is avn a cnend proph­ concerned) was advent first His as far (as when resurrection, His He was cradled in the manger o f Bethlehem. His ancestry, birth time, time, birth ancestry, His Bethlehem. f o manger the in cradled was He H RWRTE LI F CHRIST OF E IF L RITTEN PREW THE Who on earth could paint the portrait in detail o f a man not yet yet not man a f o detail in portrait the paint could earth on Who His getting was God how shows Testament Old the of history The It would be a mistake to read the Old Testament as merely a kind kind a merely as Testament Old the read to mistake a be would It 0 " foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe all all believe to heart of slow and ones, foolish needed

He was even born! Old Testament prophecies o f the Messiah are indeed like the separate pieces of a jigsaw puzzle, except that each separate part is intelligible in itself. Still, it is a part of a greater whole, not fully to be appreciated until set in its place in the greater whole. The Word of God is not a cryptic, mystical hieroglyphic that must be interpreted only by an elite priesthood. It is w ritten in plain language for every person to see for himself, if he will only take the time to seek its truths. Anyone who will study the Word of God may examine the predictions of the Messiah's person and w ork found in the Old Testa­ ment, and fo llo w the gradual progress of these specific revelations from Genesis to Malachi, until at last the full figure o f the Coming One stands out. Then one can turn to the New Testament and, beginning with Mat­ thew, see how his account of the historic Christ corresponds and coin­ cides in every particular w ith the Messiah portrayed by the prophets. It is the simple comparison of two portraits—one in the Old Testament of a mysterious Coming One, another in the New Testament of One who Christ of Life PrewrittenThe has already come. The irresistible conclusion is that these two blend per­ fectly in absolute unity. The quick logic of common sense tells us that one hand drew the image and prophecies, and also molded the portrait into history, and that hand must have been divine. D. M. Panton speaks o f the narrative of Jesus Christ w ritten in prophecy in the Old Testament and in biography in the fo u r Gospels, as the most amazing drama that was ever presented to the mind o f man. It is truly amazing that many of the details of His life and death are in doc­ uments given to the public centuries before He appeared, and that no one challenges or can challenge that these documents were w idely circu­ lated long before His birth. The challenge of this miracle is that it hap­ pened concerning only one man in the entire history of the world. To focus on the unparalleled wonder of this literary miracle, think for a moment: Who could have prewritten the life of George Washing­ ton, or Abraham Lincoln, or any other character 500 years before he was born? Indeed, nothing but divine foreknowledge could have fore­ seen and predicted the life of Christ, and nothing but divine power could have accomplished it. The inevitable conclusion to this miracle is fourfold: 1. It proves that the Bible is the inspired Word of God, for unaided man is neither capable of writing nor of fulfilling such a literary wonder; 2. It proves that the God of the Bible, the only one who knows the end from the be­ ginning, and who alone has the power to fulfill all His Word, is the true and living God; 3. It demonstrates that the God of the Bible foretells the bus hs el) ad i opee n eeta vcoy vrStn and Satan over victory eventual and complete His and heel"), his bruise ™ Jesus Christ — Who Is He? woman, and between thy seed and her seed; he shall bruise th y head, head, y th bruise shall he seed; her and seed thy between and woman, hundreds. literally but specifications, gin birth o f Jesus Christ, but also His vicarious sufferings ("th o u shalt shalt u o ("th sufferings vicarious vir­ His the also only but not Christ, Jesus ated f intim o have we Here birth heel." gin his bruise shalt thou and pro­ the gave He when being, would celestial Messiah some the as that not clear and it man made a as time, same come the at and, Messiah the to and peoples, all from nations, all from history, all from man one out house. specifications. same eight the or in seven live about may ith w who world people the other from the him selecting thus address, an using distinguishing by city, that in ith w area an eliminating selecting thereby country, one selecting by him U.S.A. reach and California, Francisco, identify to Ave.,San Pacific 1250 Smith, C. one- Robert and to three the of rest the from selected be can service mail is there Old Testament concerning the coming Messiah, God enabled us to pick pick to us enabled God Messiah, coming the concerning Testament Old an suggests Meldau John Fred ." Christ, Jesus f o Abraham genealogy of the creden­ son of the Christ's book David, called be of "The son could saying, the by what f begins o He summary tials. succinct a sentence, the indeed is predictions, perfectly so on who Testament Old Christ, Jesus the rebellion all and that d lfille ignorance fu demonstrates It unbelief, 4. completely man; and widespread of f o part midst the the in Word be absolutely sure that this one is the Messiah—not w ith seven or eight eight or seven ith w Messiah—not the is one this that sure absolutely be in people n illio b one-half and three other thus name, the all correct his eliminate we him so giving And by thus and Code, lives, one Zip a he and using by which others, in country all house the of one eliminating out state thus one state, selecting that possible by is in It city countries, orld. w the all other all from letter a man one rite w but using we ut o if him picking to are example, we letter For a94109, addressing specifications. simply by definite earth eight on or people seven n illio b half mise that the coming deliverer would be of "th e seed o f the wom an." an." wom the f o seed e "th of be would deliverer coming the that mise where orld w the f o part any in living person Any illustration: interesting His of t n e lfillm such fu that perfect and pass agents the to moral bring free are to able is who God men numerous all-powerful an through future He said, in Genesis 3:15, "A n d I w ill put enm ity between thee and the the and thee between ity enm put ill w I d n "A 3:15, Genesis in said, He esa, h Svo h rd teSn fte iig God. living the of Son the orld, w the f o Savior the Messiah, H CREE IL O TE MESSIAH THE OF TIALS EDEN R C THE S im ilarly, in giving a number o f definite "specifications" in the the in "specifications" definite f o number a giving in ilarly, im S God eliminated half the human race as the immediate parents of of parents immediate the as race human the half eliminated God In the first chapter of his Gospel, Matthew presents, in a single single a in presents, Matthew Gospel, his of chapter first the In his works ("he [Messiah] shall bruise thy head"). We have remarkable evidence in Genesis 4:1 that this promise was well understood by Adam and Eve, for, at the birth of their firstborn son, Eve ecstatically ex­ claimed (carefully translated from the Hebrew): "I have obtained the man, even the L ord." Eve thought her firstborn was the promised de­ liverer, but she was mistaken as to the time, place, and many other spe­ cifications yet to be given. It was necessary in God's plan that many cen­ turies pass before the Messiah would come. The Apostle Paul tells us, "But, when the fullness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman...To redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons" (Gal. 4:4,5). God then eliminated two-thirds of the nations of the earth when He indicated that the Messiah must come through Shem, not Ham or Japheth, of the three sons of Noah. In the beginning of the history of the nations, God, through His prophet Noah, identified Himself with h Ceetas f h Messiah the of Credentials The Shem in a special way: "Blessed be the Lord God of Shem.... God shall enlarge Japheth, and he shall dwell in the tents o f Shem" (Gen. 9:26,27). The final fu lfillm e n t of the prediction in Genesis 9:27 came when the eternal Word, who was w ith God and was God (John 1:1), "was made flesh, and dwelt [literally, "tabernacled"] among us...." He came to His people, Israel, who are descendants of Shem, through Abraham. Interest­ ingly, Genesis 11:10-27 gives the ancestry o f Abraham, beginning w ith Shem. Next, all the hundreds of the nations of the world were eliminated except one. A new nation was created by God Himself when He called Abraham. Galatians 3:8,16 tells us, "And the scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the through faith, preached before the gospel unto Abraham, saying. In thee shall all nations be blessed." "Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ." Now we see what Matthew meant in the opening verse of his Gospel: "Jesus Christ...the son o f Abraham ." We now know to look fo r the Messiah in the Jewish race as a de­ scendant of Abraham. But Abraham had several sons, including Ishmael, his firstborn, and Isaac. So another choice has to be made. Continuing in Genesis we find that the Messiah was to come through Isaac, not Ish­ mael, the progenitor of the modern Arabs. The promise given to Abra­ ham was reiterated by God to Isaac in Genesis 26:2-4. Because Isaac had tw o sons, the Messianic line must be narrowed further still. So the prediction was clearly made that the Christ must w isl t b te esa bcueh cud ee poe ewsasn of sona was he prove never could he because Messiah the be to himself 2 Jesus Christ — Who Is He? those of the Bible) were destroyed or confused, no impostor could prove prove could impostor no confused, or destroyed were Bible) the of those cord. However, since A.D. 70, when Israel's genealogical records (except (except that re­ records fact public genealogical the of Israel's matter awhen disputed was 70, one it A.D. no because since Thus, David, However, home. f o cord. lineage former the his f Jerusa­ o of was to Jesus title destruction the Jew's a until kept carefully were 22:41-46). records (Matt. genealogical avid" D f o Son of lineage "The the answered, Him. f o they be called must he?" is Messiah they son so Whose the and that David," well ll of fu son knew "the as Jesus The knew public The ill w he David; unto truth in sworn hath Lord "The David: in son, him youngest put which king, a David of son head his the made not Jesse was God line. Messianic cut until Interestingly, the tree a ily it. of fam out into life shoot a royal a new it, expresses graft Hebrew and asthe or, down, ” p m "stu mere a o un rm i: f h fui o ty oy l I e uo ty throne." thy upon set I ill w body thy of it fru the Of it: from turn not upon rest shall Lord the of pirit S the And roots; 11:1,2: his of David. out of grow father shall Jesse,the f o ily fam line—the ily fam one "the Him calls 5:5 Revelation 7:14). (Heb. Judah" of metaphorical aout grapes," "sprang of Jesus blood the his garments...in his between "...washed from he that lawgiver a nor Judah, from depart not shall scepter lem, the Temple and the Jewish state in A.D. 70. This record constituted constituted record This 70. A.D. in state Jewish the and Temple the lem, ? Messiah] [the Christ f o ye think hat "W them, Jesusasked When David. Jesse's of descendant a be to was Messiah the that reveals 132:11 Psalm standing, no ith w man a take ill w God usthat passage tells This ...." im h from come to was Messiah the that read we So made. be to has that read choice we Testament New the In crucifixion. Lord's our people f o the f o forehint gathering the shall him unto and "The come; 49:10, Shiloh Genesis until in feet, read We selected. twelve—Judah—was the f o was earth, the to come to blessing the Abraham, seed, and to the made land, promise the same the concerning Esau.And not Jacob, through come "A nd there shall come forth a rod out o f the stem of Jesse, and a Branch Branch a Jesse, and of stem the f o out arod forth come shall there nd "A told then are We is.' it right whose "he means " h ilo h "S word The be." Jacob. to repeated 1:1: "The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David...." David...." of son the Christ, Jesus of genealogy the of book "The 1:1: Lion of the tribe of Judah." of tribe the of Lion Jesse had eight sons, so we must look for another divine choice. choice. divine another for look must we so sons, eight had Jesse Turning to the New Testament, we read once again in Matthew Matthew in again once read we Testament, New the to Turning During Bible times, every Jew could trace his genealogy. National National genealogy. his trace could Jew every times, Bible During Now, of the thousands of families of the tribe of Judah, another another Judah, of tribe the of families of thousands the of Now, One made. be to has choice another so sons, twelve had Jacob But David. In other words, the Messiah had to come before the year A.D. 70. Moreover, of all of David's many sons, the Messiah was to get His right to the throne of David through Solomon's regal line. We read in I Chronicles 28:5, "And of all my sons...he hath chosen Solomon, my son, to sit upon the throne of the kingdom of the Lord over Israel." Yet another extremely important "specification” about the Mes­ siah's lineage was given: He must be born of a virgin. Because the Mes­ siah must be "the fruit of David's body,” this virgin had to be a direct descendant of King David. In Isaiah 7:13,14 we read this prophecy: "Hear ye now, 0 house of David...the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, the virgin shall conceive...." Turning to the New Testament, we find that Jesus indeed was born of a virgin who was a direct descen­ dant of King David. Matthew writes, "Now all this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying, Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel, which being interpreted, is God with us." Here indeed is a prophecy that only God could fulfill. No Messianic Prophecy Messianic pretender could cause himself to be born of a virgin. When the Messiah came, He fu lfille d to the letter all the specifica­ tions of His lineage. No one in all the w orld but Jesus of Nazareth could have met all or even a small part o f the qualifications.

MESSIANIC PROPHECY The Old Testament is divided into three great periods: the Mosaic, the Davidic, and the Messianic. The Mosaic Period gives us the great germ of all that later unfolds in the perfect and fragrant bloom of Christ, the "Rose of Sharon," the "Lily of the Valley." Its prophecies branch out into particulars which tell us that not only Abraham's seed, but all the families o f the earth are to be blessed in this Coming One. He is to be a prophet like unto Moses, yet clothed with higher authority and gifted with higher wisdom. He is to be a lawgiver, a leader, a ruler, and a re­ deemer. In the Davidic Period, the same One is to be a king o f war as David, yet a prince o f peace as Solomon. His kingdom, however, is to be w ith ­ out succession and w ith o u t end, which could be true only o f a royal or­ der higher than human. In the Messianic Psalms, various aspects of the dignity and d ivin ity o f this coming King are set forth. The Messianic Period is represented by the book of Isaiah, the rich­ est mine of Messianic prophecy in the entire Old Testament. The 40th through 60th chapter is one continuous Messianic poem, in which Christ «i Jesus Christ — Who Is He? Who could accurately foretell w hat w ould take place in any obscure obscure i­ d was any Micah in God. f answer: place o one pirit S take only is the There by ould w time? inspired his hat w vinely after years foretell 700 n tow accurately could Who def­ a is Here 2:5,6). come att. shall (M thee f o Israel" out r people, fo my rule Judah; f o shall princes ritten that isw the it among Governor a least thus for the Judea; not of art Bethlehem "In we decisive: For and Jews? the pt of prom King was born is that he is "Where inquiring, Jerusalem, PROPHECIES ESSIANIC M SPECIFIC That it was made in the year 700 B.C. precludes human sagacity. What What sagacity. human precludes B.C. 700 year the in made was it That to prophecy) Testament astrolo­ Old (Zoroastrian ith Magi w the of ev­ acquainted visit from the old, f evidently f o o were tells from 2 been who have gers Matthew rth fo goings whose Israel, erlasting." in ruler be to that read Spirit we Holy the 1:18-25 that and son, a Mary, bear Matthew named and In virgin, a conceive, of anuel." shall m born Im indeed virgin name was the his Christ call "Behold, shall and virgin: a of born be 1:1,14). (John us..." Everlast­ among The God, Mighty The Counselor, Won­ "], called be le c shall ira name "m his lly, and ra [lite shoulder; his upon derful be shall ernment Ser­ this of career and character ages the all r God. fo f o vant forth set Isaiah f o ecies inite prediction, definitely understood and just as definitely fulfilled. fulfilled. definitely as just and understood Judah, definitely of land the in prediction, inite Bethlehem, thou And prophet, the answer [through] The ." im by h worship to come are east,and the in star his seen have whole the to addressed was prediction Isaiah this Ahaz, faithless that the to clear only it addressed was makes Lord our f 7:13 o birth virgin dwelt and flesh, made was Word the d n "A God." was Word the and God, led Micah to select this one little village among the thousands o f Judah? Judah? f o thousands the among village little one this select to Micah led is that me unto forth come he shall thee f o Bethlehem...out thou, t David­ u "B the to addressed prophecy continuing a was ily. It fam ic avid." D f o "house lfill­ fu the relates John f o Gospel The Peace." f o Prince The Father, ing gov­ the and given, is son a us unto isborn, child a us unto r o "F born: be proph­ The King. and Priest, as Prophet, offices three His in depicted is (God Himself) was His Father. If it is argued that this prediction of the the of prediction this that argued is it If Father. His was Himself) (God ith w was Word the and t], ris h [C Word the was beginning the "In ment: h prs i Mchs rpey "hs gig f t ae been have rth fo goings "whose prophecy, Micah's in phrase The Micah 5:2 predicts that the Godman would be born in Bethlehem: Bethlehem: in born be would Godman the that predicts 5:2 Micah would Godchild this that prophecy amazing the gives 7:14 Isaiah Isaiah 9:6, w ritten in 700 B.C., prophesies that a Godchild would would Godchild a that prophesies B.C., 700 in ritten w 9:6, Isaiah from of old, from everlasting," cites the pre-existence of Christ. In John 8:42 Jesus declared that He lived before coming to earth as a man. In John 17:5 He prayed, "...0 Father, glorify thou me with...the glory which I had with thee before the world was." Jesus' forerunner was also foretold in Scripture. Malachi 3:1: ''B e­ hold, I w ill send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me; and the Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to his temple, even the messenger of the , whom ye delight in; behold, he shall come, saith the Lord o f hosts." Isaiah 40:3: "The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make straight in the desert a highway for our G od." In Matthew 3:1,2 we read, " [came] preaching in the wilderness of Judea, And saying, Repent; for the kingdom of heaven is at hand." In 500 B.C. the Prophet Zechariah predicted that Christ would

enter Jerusalem as a King riding on an ass: "Rejoice greatly, 0 daughter Messianic PropheciesSpecific of Zion; shout, 0 daughter of Jerusalem; behold, thy King cometh unto thee; he is just, and having salvation; lowly, and riding upon an ass...up­ on a colt, the foal of an ass" (Zech. 9:9). Matthew 21 tells us that this was exactly how Jesus entered Jerusalem. Zechariah further predicted that Christ would be sold by His ene­ mies for thirty pieces of silver: "And I said unto them, if ye think good, give me my price; and if not, forbear. So they weighed fo r my price th ir­ ty pieces of silver" (Zech. 11:12). Matthew 26:14,15 tells us, "Then... Judas Iscariot, went unto the chief priests, And said unto them, What w ill ye give me, and I w ill deliver him unto you? And they bargained w ith him fo r th irty pieces o f silver." A t approximately this same date, 500 B.C., Zechariah prophesied that the smiting of the Shepherd (Christ) would cause the sheep to scat­ ter: "...smite the shepherd, and the sheep shall be scattered..." (Zech. 13:7). A fter Jesus was seized by His enemies, Matthew tells us, "Then all the disciples forsook him, and fled" (Matt. 26:56). Psalm 35:11 predicts, concerning the Messiah, "False witnesses did rise up; they laid to my charge things that I knew not." Matthew re­ cords the fu lfillm e n t: "N ow the chief priests, and elders...sought false [witnesses] against Jesus to put him to death" (Matt. 26:59). About 700 B.C. Isaiah wrote prophetically of the humiliation of the Messiah: "I gave my back to the smiters, and my cheeks to them that plucked o ff the hair; I hid not my face from shame and sp ittin g " (Isa. 50:6). Matthew writes, "Then they spat in his face, and buffeted him; and others smote him with the palms of their hands..." (Matt. 26:67). Jesus Christ — Who Is He? thew gives us further word that His strength gave out: "A n d as they they as com­ d n they "A him name; out: Mat­ gave by Simon 19:17). strength Cyrene, f His o (John man a that ..." found rth they fo word out, went cross, came further his us gives bearing he, thew d n "A reproach a also us, became I fatness. tells f o faileth flesh my and fasting, through atoning. and fall his and substitionary sin was death His original man's cross. f the o on sins results our tragic the (Matt. f o sicknesses" one isour bore it and sin; ities, sonal infirm our took himself He saying, come weak; His flesh would fail. :24,25: "M y knees are weak weak are knees y "M 109:24,25: Psalm fail. would flesh His weak; come per­ of result the necessarily not is itself in prophet, disease the were Isaiah, Physical by that all spoken was healed and 8:16,17). lfill­ which fu word, d his lfille ith Christ's fu w be of might spirits tells it the That out sick. cast beautifully "...he Matthew earth: God, f o 53:4). (Isa. smitten " stricken, d te him esteem fflic a did we and yet 2:24). Pet. sorrows; (I our carried tree..." and the on blood body my isown his in this sins r our o bore Lord—"F self our of words the quoted he when diction pelled to bear his cross" (M att. 27:32). att. (M cross" his bear to pelled John heads." their shook they me, upon looked they when ; them unto sins" f o remission pre­ the this r fo of t many n r e fo shed is lfillm ity u fu iq which in the the testament, ed him new on confirm the laid of Matthew hath Lord 53:5,6). the (Isa. and ll" a way, us turned have own of we his astray; gone to have sheep one like every we our ll A for healed. are bruised we was he stripes transgressions, our r fo wounded was "...he wrote, were literally fu lfille d in Jesus Christ Christ Jesus in d lfille fu literally were ment of the first part o f this prophecy during His healing m inistry on on inistry m healing His during prophecy this f o part first the of ment tells us that 29 prophecies from the Old Testament, which speak of the the of speak which Testament, Old the from prophecies 29 that us tells (Rom. 5:12). Thus, :5,6 prophesies that our Lord w ould bear bear ould w Lord our that prophesies 53:5,6 Isaiah Thus, 5:12). (Rom. his ith w and him, upon was peace our for chastisement the iniquities; betrayal, trial, death, and burial o f our Lord, spoken at various times by by times various at spoken Lord, our f o burial and when death, nd "A trial, t: betrayal, n e lfillm fu the nothing." answered he confirms elders, and priests 27:12 chief the Matthew by accused ." was he th u o m his not od ol fl bnah h wih of i cos Hs ne wud be­ would knees His cross. His f o weight the beneath fall would Lord own his ho "W said, he when it ed confirm further Peter 26:28). att. (M many different voices during the five centuries from 1000 to 500 B.C., B.C., 500 to 1000 from centuries five the during voices different many His accusers: "He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened opened he yet afflicted, was he and oppressed, was "He accusers: His One thousand years before Christ, the Psalmist predicted that our our that predicted Psalmist the Christ, before years thousand One sl 2:6 s n mzn pohc cnenn te Messiah: the concerning prophecy amazing an is 22:16 Psalm griefs, our borne hath he "Surely Christ, f o predicted Isaiah Again, Josh McDowell, in his book, book, his in McDowell, Josh Isaiah 53:7 poignantly pictures the Messiah standing silent before before silent standing Messiah the pictures poignantly 53:7 Isaiah n oncin t hits aso, h isie Poht Isaiah Prophet inspired the passion, Christ's ith w connection In vdne ht ead Verdict, a Demands That Evidence in one 24-hour period o f time. f o period 24-hour one in

"...they pierced my hands and my feet." A prophecy yet to be fulfilled says, concerning Israel and its Messiah, "A nd I w ill pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the Spirit of grace and of supplications; and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for his only son, and shall be in bitterness fo r him, as one that is in bitterness for his firs t­ born" (Zech. 12:10). When these prophecies were written, no one was executed in any manner which involved "piercing of hands and feet." The Encyclopedia Americanna records that crucifixion as a mode of punishment for crime was a part of the Roman system of jurisprudence. The Hebrews inflicted the death penalty by stoning. But when Palestine became Roman territory, the Hebrews were compelled to adopt the Ro­ man method of crucifixion. No life could be taken supposedly without Roman permission, and all executions were supposed to be carried out by the Roman government. Evidently this was not rigidly enforced, be­ pcfc esai Prophecies MessianicSpecific cause Stephen was stoned, and there were no recriminations follow ing his death. So Luke 23:33 tells us, "And when they were come to the place which is called Calvary (or the skull), there they crucified him...." A fascinating prophecy in Isaiah 53 reads, "...because he hath poured out his soul unto death; and he was numbered with the trans­ gressors...." It is affirmed in Mark 15:28: "And the scripture was ful­ filled, which saith, And he was numbered with the transgressors." Mat­ thew 27:38 relates how this prophecy was fu lfille d : "Then were there two thieves crucified with him, one on the right hand, and another on the left." It is amazing that Isaiah should predict that the child who was in reality the Mighty God, would as a man die the death of a criminal among criminals! The only possible explanation is that his message was inspired of God, for no man would have been so presumptous. In :8 the Psalmist predicted that the Messiah would be mocked because o f His trust in God, who would be challenged to deliver Him. Matthew records this exact picture in perfect fulfillment: "Like­ wise also the chief priests, mocking him, w ith the scribes and elders, said, He saved others; himself he cannot save. If he be the King o f Israel, let him now come down from the cross, and we will believe him. He trusted in God; let him deliver him now, if he w ill have him ; fo r he said, I am the Son of God" (Matt. 27:41-43). In the same Psalm, the Messiah declares, "...they look and stare up­ on me" (vs. 17). Matthew 27:36 reports this actually happening: "And sitting down they watched him there" as He was writhing in the agony of the world's sin. 3 h Aote on nom u, ..hn hy ae o Jss ad saw and Jesus, to came they "...when us, informs John Apostle the ° Jesus Christ — Who Is He? pr; n as hs ot Nw h ca ws tot em wvn rm from woven seam, ithout w was coat the Now coat. his also and part; a vesture" my upon lots cast and them, among garments my "...part would ht l tig wr nw copihd ta te citr mgt e ul­ fu be might scripture the that accomplished, now were things all that Psalmist the could How be...." shall not us it Let whose it, themselves, for among lots cast therefore, said, but They it, tear soldier throughout. every to top parts, the four made and garments, his took Jesus, crucified h Pam ae i cer ht e a nt oskn f o, o e read we for God, of forsaken not was He that clear it makes Psalm the Him. to done had they to what given after kindness; of insult, act an an his was was it it to it Savior, criminals, put to righteous and the Given hyssop, upon effect. it they and anesthetic put vinegar; and of vinegar, full vessel a set was ith w there sponge Now a thirst. filled I knowing Jesus, this saith, r fte filled, "A us, tells John Apostle The (Ps.69:21). agony God. by inspired were was words his JesusChrist answer: before one years only is thousand a There happen born? would this known have ad cmmi m sii.." ue 34 rcrsta tteed f His of end the at that records 23:46 Luke spirit...." my it m com I hand cried he when but him; from face his hidden he hath neither afflicted, forsaken thou hast why God, lama Eli, my Eli, God, saying, My voice, say, loud a to is ith w that cried Jesus hour sabachthani? ninth the about death His in while drink, to vinegar and gall Messiah the give would men had they when soldiers, the "Then answers: 19:23,24 John 22:18). (Ps. follow ing crucifixion that if by sundown those who were hanging on on hanging were who those sundown by if that crucifixion ing follow the to recalled have must cry this the of n Undoubtedly, fflictio a heard." he the him, abhorred nor unto But despised grace. not and love hath God's "...he of 24: verse in rejection the that in forsakenness die the who feeling was Godman the experience nd men "A moment t: this n e During lfillm me?" fu the records 27:46 Matthew me?" forsaken thou hast supposed its of because given usually was This 19:28,29). (John outh" m rse wr sil lv, hi lg wr boe t hse dah Bt as But, death. hasten to broken were legs custom the their was It alive, still broken. be were crosses would bones His f o none that was the of t 34:20, n e lfillm fu as direct a words very these uttered Jesus agony long their in d lfille fu being was per­ prophecy and 22, this Psalm of that cry crucified! them asthe Jesuswas presence hearing to in ith occurred w Jews it the haps of some of minds prophecy. Speaking fo r the Messiah, the Psalmist then prophesies that men men that prophesies then Psalmist the Messiah, the r fo Speaking A t approximately the same date, the Psalmist boldly declared that that declared boldly Psalmist the date, same the approximately t A n of h ms aaig esai pohce, on i Psalm in found prophecies, Messianic amazing most the f o One thine to "In out, cry would Messiah the that predicted :5 1 3 Psalm why God, my God, y "M cry: awesome the records 22:1 Psalm that he was dead already, they broke not his legs..." (John 19:33). Psalm 38:11 predicted that the Messiah's friends and kinsmen would stand aloof from His "sore" (His suffering). The fulfillment is de­ scribed in Luke 23:49: "And all his acquaintances, and the women that followed him from , stood afar off, beholding these things." Psalm 22:14 tells us that the Messiah's heart would be broken: "...my heart is like wax; it is melted within me." John 19:34 records: "B u t one o f the soldiers, w ith a spear, pierced His side, and immediately came there out blood and w ater." Physicians explain that this is a sign that Christ's heart had indeed ruptured within Him. Jesus literally died with a broken heart. Amos 8:9 foretells the sun's setting at noon and the earth's be­ coming dark on a clear day, which occurred when Jesus was crucified. Matthew 27:45: "N o w from the sixth hour there was darkness over all the land unto the ninth hour." The Jews reckoned twelve hours from pcfc esai Prophecies Messianic Specific sunrise to sunset, which would make the sixth hour near noon, and the ninth hour about 3 o'clock in the afternoon. How could Amos have known this eight centuries before it happened? There is only one an­ swer: he knew it because God knew it, and he wrote what God moved him to write. Seven hundred years before it was fu lfille d from the cross, the Prophet Isaiah wrote how the dying Messiah would make intercession for His murderers (Isa. 53:12). Luke 23:34 records Jesus' prayer: "F a ­ ther, forgive them; for they know not what they do." Again, Isaiah prophesied, "A n d he made his grave w ith the wicked, and w ith the rich in his death..." (Isa. 53:9). Matthew details the fu lfill­ ment: "The thieves also, who were crucified w ith him, cast the same in his teeth" (M att. 27:44). Then, in verses 57-60, he relates that Christ made His grave w ith the rich: "...there came a rich man o f Arimathea, named Joseph, who...begged the body of Jesus." "And when Joseph had taken the body, he wrapped it in a clean linen cloth. And laid it in his own new tomb...." Christ's resurrection is seen in the amazing prophecy o f Psalm 16: 10: "For thou w ilt not leave my soul in sheol, neither w ilt thou permit thine Holy One to see co rru p tio n." The Apostle Peter quoted these words in Acts 2:29-31: "Men and brethren, let me freely speak unto you o f the patriarch, David, that he is both dead and buried, and his sep­ ulcher is with us unto this day. 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This was a paradox to the Old Testament prophets. Peter tells us they couldn't understand how the Messiah could be a suffering, dying ser­ vant, and at the same time, a glorious, regal King. He wrote, "O f which salvation the prophets have inquired and searched diligently, who proph­ esied of the grace that should come unto you, Searching what, or what manner of time the Spirit of Christ who was in them did signify, when he testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ, and the glory that should fo llo w " (I Pet. 1:10,11). The best answer to this enigma, the Jews reasoned, was that there were to be two . This was evidently behind the question John the Baptist sent to Jesus in Matthew 11:3: "A rt thou he that should come, or do we look for another?" To John, Jesus appeared to be the suffering Servant. But was He also the conquer­ rpei Prdxs ocrig h Messiah the Concerning Paradoxes Prophetic ing Prince, who was to burn up His enemies "w ith unquenchable fire"? Were they to look for yet another Messiah—a second one? In actual fulfillment, both lines of prophecy meet in one person— Jesus of Nazareth. At His first coming, He was the suffering Servant, who made an atonement fo r our sins by His death on the cross. A t the second coming, He will be a conquering King, who will rule over the na­ tions of the earth. The diverse and seemingly contradictory prophecies concerning Christ, and their fulfillments sometimes thousands of years later, actu­ ally constitute one of the greatest attestations of the Christian faith that the mind could conceive! They indicate that the God of prophecy who designed them and the God of providence who fulfilled them are one and the same. Consider the prophetic paradoxes concerning His birth. Isaiah 7: 14 announces, "...the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, the vir­ gin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Im m anuel." In Isaiah 9:6, however, we read that this child shall be called "T he Mighty God, The Everlasting Father" (literally, "The Father of Eternity"). A virgin was to bear a son (something unknown in human experience, sup­ posedly a biological impossibility), and this child was to be God. The paradox is, God begotten, yet God incarnate? To fulfill these amazing prophecies, God performed a "biological miracle" when Christ was conceived by the Holy Spirit. God, in the per­ son of His Son, invaded our world, and the incarnation became a reality. "The Son of the Highest" became Mary's son, God manifest in the flesh. As the Apostle John so magnificently expresses it in his Gospel, "...the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us..." (John 1:14). All this took place, Luke tells us, though Mary "knew not a man" (Luke 1:34). w Si Acts 2:22). He was also a true true a also was He 2:22). Acts Si Jesus Christ — Who Is He? h Ireie: H sal e ald Nzrn" Mat 22) (hs was (This 2:23). att. (M " among a known called be only m shall com "He But prophecy Israelites: spoken a was everlasting." there the Then from old, gypt." E of of Bethle­ from been have thou, t rth u fo "B goings said, whose Micah rael, Prophet The n. tow home Messiah's the Jesus f o person the in dynamic and of real personal, reconciliation and become has spoke, the is r fo od" G f o knowledge and ystery "m wisdom The divine 2:2,3). (Col. knowledge" and wisdom of sures man— representative an"—the m f o Son "the was He 4:4); (Gal. an" om w lfill fu to way, mysterious some in also, was by Joseph and Mary. A fte r the death o f King Herod, He was called back back called was He Herod, King f o death the r fte A Mary. and Joseph by 1:1). att. (M David of seed the of and Abraham f seedo was Christ Jesus Lord the us, tells Scripture the As descriptions. these "Jesus o f Bethlehem." He was called "Jesus of Nazareth" (Luke 18:37, 18:37, (Luke Nazareth" of "Jesus called was He Bethlehem." f o "Jesus Egypt into taken was He after. Soon said. Micah as Bethlehem, in Branch born the called is Messiah the where 11:1, Isaiah on based probably Is­ in ruler be isto that me unto rth fo come he shall thee f o hem...out Father..." the seen proof! hath the me seenbecomes hath paradox Einstein the that Thus which "He of 14:9). said, God, (John Lord cosmic the Our the that f is o Christ. all and od" G f o Godhead" the ystery f o "m The "fullness man. the trea­ the of all hidden are incarnation whom the In Christ, Christ, of and Father, the f o and God, the f o "seed the f o was He 1:14); (John man was He 1:1); (John God has woman the when father? an" human om w no have the of yet and and "seed man be an" the m f o f God be o He "Son a could could be how and How one And 22:18), could 132:11). (Gen. (Ps. how " y" And d o Abraham b f o seed David's e "th f o it 2:7), (Ps. fru "the God” of Son "the Mat 21-3, n H stld t Hs aet i Nzrt. t s re­ is It as Nazareth. known not in was He parents His Bethlehem, in ith born w was He settled although He that and markable 2:13-23), att. (M out son my "I...called reads, to, refers 2:15 Matthew which 11:1, Hosea all d lfille fu miraculously one Nazareth could How of Jesus man"? a Yet, not knew these? all ary be "M person when especially and seed, no God? f o Son a and man of Son a be 7:13), time, same (Dan. the at an" and, m God, of be Son man "the 3:15), (Gen. an" om w the f o seed "the (Luke 19:10); He was "the Son o f G od" (John 3:16); and He was of the the of was He and 3:16); (John od" G f o Son "the was He 19:10); (Luke [Nehtzer h Gse rcrs ov ti pzl prety Jss hit was Christ Jesus perfectly. puzzle this solve records Gospel The concerning predictions contradictory seemingly three were There The Apostle Paul wrote to the Colossians of the "...m ystery o f f o ystery "...m the of Colossians the to wrote Paul Apostle The o ol ws h Msih o e h Gda,br o a ign He virgin, a of born Godman, the be to Messiah the was only Not maig "h eaae oe o "h Nazarite.") "the or one" separated "the meaning, , ] Nazarene a eaae oef H lived He r one—fo —a separated ll a o f these descriptions: descriptions: these f o in Galilee instead of with His Judean brethren in Judah. Jesus confronted the Pharisees w ith a fascinating paradox, record­ ed in Matthew 22:41-45: "W hile the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them , Saying, What th in k ye o f Christ? Whose son is he? [His question was not personal but doctrinal; He was asking, 'Whose son is the Messiah?'] They say unto him, The Son of David. Hesaith unto them [now quoting the 100th Psalm], How, then, doth David, in the Spirit, call him Lord, saying, The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand, till I make thine enemies thy footstool? If David, then, call him Lord, how is he his son?" This was a puzzling question. How could the Messiah be David's son and Lord? To unravel this mystery, we go back to the announce­ rpei Prdxs ocrig h Messiah the Concerning Paradoxes Prophetic ment made to Mary by the angel Gabriel, that "He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father, David. And he shall reign over the house of Jacob forever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end" (Luke 1:32, 33). Thus, Jesus Christ was a descendant o f David after the flesh: He was David's "S o n ." But He was also David's Lord, fo r the Messiah is God, "King of kings, and Lord of lords" (Rev. 19:16). In Jeremiah 23:6 the Messiah is called Lord (Jehovah)', in Psalm 45:6 He is called God (E/o- him ); and in Malachi 3:1 and :1 He is called Lord (A donai). All three names and titles of Deity in the Old Testament are used in ref­ erence to the Messiah. We can understand w hy, as Matthew continues, "And no man was able to answer him a word, neither dared any man from that day forth ask him any more questions" (vs. 46). Thus again, what appears to be a paradox is majestically resolved in Jesus Christ. Consider the paradox concerning Christ's right to the Davidic throne. In the New Testament the legal right to the throne o f David was passed through Solomon and Jehoiakim to Joseph, and to Joseph's legal son, Jesus Christ. The physical seed, however, was passed through Na­ than and Mary to Jesus Christ. Thus, the promises to both David and Solomon were literally fulfilled in and through the Lord Jesus Christ. Mary and Joseph had to be the parents (mother and foster father) of Jesus Christ. They were the only two people of their generation who could fu lfill prophecy about the Messiah. Joseph had to be married to Mary before Jesus was born so that Christ could get His legal right to David's throne through Joseph. At the same time, Christ could not be a child o f Joseph because o f the curse against the descendants of Jecon- iah (Jer. 22:24-30). Verse 30 reads, "Thus saith the Lord, Write this man childless, a man that shall not prosper in his days; for no man of his seed w shall prosper, sitting upon the throne of David, and ruling any more in Judah." Though Jeconiah was to have children (listed in I Chron. 3:17, 18), this declaration signified that none of his physical descendants would ever occupy a place in the list of Israel's kings. Consequently, if the Lord Jesus, who is to occupy David's throne (Luke 1:32,33), had been begotten by Mary's husband, Joseph, who was o f Jeconiah's lin­ eage, it would have contradicted this divine prediction. Christ's dynastic right to the throne (from Jeconiah) came through His foster father Jo­ seph, but the physical descent of Jesus from David came through Mary, whose genealogy is traced through Nathan, rather than through Solo­ mon (Luke 3:31; Matt. 1:17). If Christ had been the natural son of Jo­ seph, He could never reign in power and righteousness because of the curse. But our Lord came through Mary's line, not Joseph's. As Joseph's adopted son. He was not affected by the curse upon Jeconiah's seed. Though Joseph had to be married to Mary, yet Joseph could not "k n o w " Mary as his w ife until after Jesus was born, fo r He had to be born of a virgin. Thus, the divinely ordered fulfillm ent was perfect in every detail. Consider this fascinating paradox: The Messiah was to be both a "ch ie f cornerstone" and a "ro ck of offense." Isaiah 8:14: "A n d he shall be...for a stone of stumbling and for a rock of offense to both the houses of Israel...." :22: "The stone which the builders refused is be­ come the head of the corner." Isaiah 28:1 6: "...Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation a stone, a tested stone, a precious cornerstone, a sure foun­ dation; he that believeth shall not make haste." The key that unlocks this mystery is a simple one—belief or unbelief in the Lord Jesus Christ. The Apostle Peter explains in I Peter 2:6-8: "Wherefore also it is con­ tained in the scripture, Behold, ! lay in Zion a chief cornerstone, elect, precious; and he that believeth on him shall not be confounded. Unto you, therefore, who believe he is precious, but unto them who are dis­ obedient, the stone which the builders disallowed, the same is made the head of the corner, And a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offense, ev­ en to them who stumble at the word, being disobedient." In Matthew 21:42 Jesus called attention to this Old Testament prophecy and declared Himself to be its New Testament fulfillment: "Jesus saith unto them [the Pharisees], Did ye never read in the scrip­ tures, The stone which the builders rejected, the same is become the head of the corner; this is the Lord's doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes?" Then He added this significant statement: "And whosoever shall fall on this stone [seeking His mercy and grace], shall be broken [that is, his hopes in himself completely crushed], but on whomsoever it shall fall [in judgment], it will grind him to powder [completely ruin him fo r tim e and e te rn ity ]." Thus we see Christ revealed as the Stone in a threefold way: to Israel He first comes in the form o f a servant, not in Messianic glory, and is a Stumbling Stone and a Rock of offense; to the Church, He is the Foundation Stone and the Head of the corner; and to the world powers. He is to be the Smiting Stone of destruction. The personal ac­ ceptance of Christ brings salvation;the personal rejection of Christ brings judgment. To Christians He is the chief Cornerstone; to unbelievers He is a Stone of stumbling, a Rock of offense. Thus the paradox is resolved.

ISAIAH'S PORTRAIT OF THE LORD JESUS CHRIST

Without doubt, the most remarkable example of prophecy in all Christ Jesus Lord the of Portrait Isaiah's the Word o f God is the 53rd chapter o f Isaiah. W ritten 700 years before Christ was born, it describes in minute detail the sufferings and exalta­ tion o f the Messiah. David Baron said o f Isaiah 53 that it reads more like a historical synopsis of the Gospel narratives o f Christ's passion and glory than a prophecy! The great Augustine said, "M ethinks Isaiah writes not a prophecy, but the Gospel." Another commentator has said, "It reads as if it had been w ritten beneath the cross o f Golgotha. It is the deepest and loftiest thing that Old Testament prophecy, outstripping it­ self, has ever achieved." In considering this chapter verse by verse, we must go back to Isaiah 52:13, where Isaiah's portrayal o f Jesus Christ as the suffering Servant actually begins. The prophet wrote, "Behold, my servant shall deal prudently; he shall be exalted and extolled, and be very high." Be­ fore the depth of the Messiah's hum iliation is presented, we are assured o f His final victory. The New Testament makes very clear the ultimate exaltation of the crucified, risen Savior. Philippians 2:5-11 declares, "Let this mind be in you, which.was also in Christ Jesus, Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery [a thing to be held on to] to be equal with God, But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men; And being found in fash­ ion as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient unto death, ev­ en the death o f the cross, Wherefore, God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name, That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things

faith in Christ is to be disbelieved and rejected by Israel. Isaiah 53:1: Christ Jesus Lord the of Portrait Isaiah's "Who hath believed our report? And to whom is the arm of the Lord revealed?" Among other passages, John 12:37,38 describes the fu lfill­ ment of this prediction: "B u t though he [Jesus] had done so many m ir­ acles before them, yet they believed not on him; That the saying of Isaiah, the prophet, might be fulfilled, which he spoke, Lord, who hath believed our report? And to whom hath the arm of the Lord been re­ vealed?" In Isaiah 53:2 we read, "F o r he shall grow up before him like a tender plant, and like a root out of a dry ground...." The Messiah's supernatural birth is intimated in the phrase, "like a root out of a dry ground." A root growing out of dry ground is a miracle. One essential element—moisture—is missing. Here is suggested the miracle o f the vir­ gin birth of Jesus Christ. Even though Christ was God incarnate, yet He was to "grow up." In Luke 2:40 we read, concerning the child, Jesus, "And the child grew, and became strong in spirit, filled w ith wisdom; and the grace o f God was upon h im ." James Culross reminds us that He did not burst upon the world all at once, in a sudden splendor of marvelous achievements. He conformed to God's slow, silent law of growth. Luke 2:52 says, "And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature...." The world has yet to see Him in His full splendor; but one day they will, when He comesas King of kings and Lord of lords! Continuing, we read that the Messiah's generation w ill fail to ap­ preciate His greatness. Isaiah 53:2: "...he hath no form nor comeliness, and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him." At the time of Christ, the Jews were looking for a political re­ former who could deliver them from the tyranny of Rome. So they did <3 po

Jesus Christ — Who Is He? on him, and w ith his stripes we are healed." Verse Verse healed." are we stripes his ith w and him, on ufrn of hit Vre : Srl h ht bre u gif,ad car­ and griefs, our borne hath he "Surely 4: Verse Christ. f o suffering the f o curse the from us redeemed on that hath hrist crucified was "C Deuteronomy in Lord rote, w Paul our words these of that basis was Apostle it the so on the was is It And cross. who he Roman r a Deuteronomy. (fo " f o phrase: law the next shalt this thou Notice but tree, the day...." upon that on night all him him hang remain bury thou not and shall surely death, to body put be His he and tree. a death, f o orthy w sin a ted it And 1:11). (John t" o n him con­ received lly fu own his and history But own, be­ his people! the unto the f o came from leaders end the of the knows support the who t u God, o ith w infinite the Only No!) viously, certain f o sarcastically asked Pharisees the how 7:45-48 John in read we stricken, smitten of God, and a fflicte d " (Isa. 53:3,4). David Baron tells tells Baron David 53:3,4). (Isa. " d fflicte a and God, of smitten stricken, he was bruised fo r our iniquities; the chastisement for our peace was up- up- was peace our for transgressions, chastisement our the r fo iniquities; wounded was our r fo "...he 5: bruised Verse was he sorrows...." our ried 3:13). (Gal. tree" a on hangeth f o curse the bear to Christ Jesus For od)...." G by accursed is hanged God. be to to them Hirjnself realiz­ reconcile not might permitted He He od," death G His f o that through them, itten that redeem "sm curse" a to Him "made suffered He considered They that ing religion. e "H and records, God John Apostle The prediction. this f o truthfulness as being Messiah the s the firm presenting ob­ was prophecy a answer frame the to dare question; would ginning, rhetorical a was Pharisees the (This f o or ?" rulers him the on of any Have believed deceived? also ye re "A officers, influence. and rity o he Surely not. our were him as it esteemed hid we we and and despised, grief, was he ith ; w him acquainted from and faces sins. sorrows, their f r o fo man die a would who Messiah asuffering not leader, aclysmic law, being made a curse fo r us; fo r it is w ritten. Cursed is everyone that that everyone is Cursed ritten. w is it r fo us; r fo curse a made being law, ith w accordance in hanging, public by be to have would it us, r fo God of name the in done was God f o Son the f o execution their that true is understand they did nor holiness, of beauty the beauty, Christ's see not ih ak" e mn itnto wud upr Hmwih hi auth­ their ith w Him of men support by would "rejected mean distinction f o actually men Few en" m him f o esteem rank." did high "rejected we words yet the sorrows; that us our carried and griefs, our borne hath i msin Hvn msedte rpeis te ee okn fra cat­ a for looking were they prophecies, the misread Having mission. His Thus He was, as Isaiah predicted, "...despised and rejected o f men, men, f o rejected and "...despised predicted, Isaiah aswas, He Thus Notice in the twelve verses of Isaiah 53 the theme o f the vicarious vicarious the f o theme the 53 Isaiah of verses twelve the in Notice n etrnm 2:22 w ra, And i mn ae o it­ m com have man a if d n "A read, we 21:22,23 Deuteronomy In instance, For Christ! of life the in true was this atically dram How 6 : ..h Lr hath Lord "...the laid on him the iniquity of us all." Verse 8: “ ...for the transgression of my people was he stricken." Verse 10: "...th o u shalt make his soul an offering for sin...." Verse 11: "...for he shall bear their iniquities." Verse 12: "...he bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgres­ sors." A. T. Pierson points out that this amazing chapter in Isaiah con­ tains only 12 verses, yet 14 times it announces the doctrine of the vicar­ ious sacrifice of Jesus Christ for all sin. The entire passage overflows w ith this concept, and never was the mystery solved until Christ was "made sin for us" (II Cor. 5:21), and "...bore our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness; by whose stripes ye were healed" (I Pet. 2:24). He bore our judgment for sin. That is why Romans 8:1 says, "There is, therefore, now no con­ sihs otat f h Lr Jss Christ Jesus Lord the of Portrait Isaiah's demnation [judgment] to them who are in Christ Jesus." In verse 7 the prophet tells us that the Messiah w ill suffer w illingly and w ith o u t complaining: "H e was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth; he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his m outh." When Christ was beaten, falsely accused, mocked, scourged and cruci­ fied, there was no flame o f resentment, no incrim ination against His ex­ ecutioners; there was only a prayer for His persecutors. Matthew 26:59- 63 tells us that after many false witnesses appeared against Him, Jesus "held his peace." The high priest wondered about it and said, "An- swerest thou nothing?" Then, we can never forget those words spoken through indescribable suffering, in the midst of the shrieking mob—"Fa­ ther, forgive them...." What a remarkable fulfillment! Isaiah now tells us, in verse 8, that when taken from prison and judgment, the Messiah w ill have no advocate to plead His cause, no friend to declare His innocence: "H e was taken [literally, snatched or hurried away] from prison and from judgment; and who shall declare his generation?" An alternate reading o f the last phrase is, "A n d who among his generation shall declare his innocence?" At the time of Christ, when a man was on trial for his life, it was the custom of the Sanhedrin to call on those who knew anything in the man's favor, or for the accused to come forward and declare it. This im­ portant tradition was ignored in the trial of Jesus Christ. The proceed­ ings at His hasty, illegal, mock trial before the Sanhedrin were in flagrant contradiction to their own regulations and standards of fairness. Jesus had to appear alone and undefended before the corrupt hierarchy and the representatives of the greatest Gentile power on earth at that time— “ co Lord, as the waters cover the sea." the cover waters as the Lord, co Jesus Christ — Who Is He? words of Isaiah 11:9: "...the earth shall be fu ll of the knowledge o f the the f o knowledge the of ll fu be shall earth "...the 11:9: Isaiah of words ac­ day ird th the again and...rose buried, "was sins," our r fo "died who ae.Crs ide hs en"ed"adtewil f o i poprn in prospering is God of ill w through the and inistry m seen"seed," has His indeed of Christ saved. beginning the f o also but Christ, Jesus Lord the our which to Scriptures The 15:3,4). Cor. (I Christ, f scriptures" o the resurrection to and death cording the in is paradox this of t n e pro­ shall he lfillm seed, see his fu The shall he sin, r fo offering an soul his make shalt t. n e lfillm fu able umph after His second coming, and then shall be fu lfille d the wonderful wonderful the d lfille fu be shall then and coming, second His after umph the r fo Scriptures, Testament Old the course, f o were, referred Apostle thou When grief. to him put hath he him; bruise to Lord the pleased it On­ 27:57). att. (M garden body. own his lifeless in His asepulcher to in it placed permitted was To- who of tocrat, fires indignity the the in over further no flung criminals been have finished, other were ith would w garbage body like Christ's burned be to ordinarily, wall that us tells og i dy, n te laue te od hl popr n i hand." his in prosper shall Lord the f o pleasure the and days, his long Pierson death...." his in rich the ith w grave his made was] He "...he [but foretold, 53:9 Isaiah wicked, As the it. allow ith w not did God tion, i hn. h Gse wil vnuly oe o fnl n cmlt ri­ tr complete and were final a to come multitudes eventually which ill w Gospel through The hand. His resurrection, His after disciples His ritten. w been yet not had books Testament New remark­ its and prophecy this out worked have could ighty lm A God ly sufferings vicarious His when But Jerusalem. of west was which pheth, even But was. He who of because it, loneli­ known knew He ever Christ. had Jesusas was absolutely ones was one He loved no and as ness friends crucifixion His by the Mary, to forsaken up was leading body, ordeal the bleeding abused, His throughout denied Peter beneath Him, cross His betrayed f o Judas Ev­ t Him: o fo favor. His in forsook speak to appeared followers person own one His Not en Rome. f o power the m an" (Luke 23:4). As Isaiah prophesied, "...he had done no violence, violence, no done 53:9). had (Isa. " "...he th u o m prophesied, his in Isaiah deceit As any was 23:4). neither (Luke an" m alone. Never in the history of the w orld has anyone bee.i so completely completely so bee.i anyone has orld w the of history the in Never alone. Roman authorities handed over His body to Joseph, an Arimathean aris­ Arimathean an Joseph, to body His over handed authorities Roman this in fault no find "I declared, He innocence. His to attested But Pilate disciple. beloved the John, and women, l fu ith fa few a mother, Him w ith cursing, and the other disciples fled in fear. A t the end, at the the at end, the t A fear. in fled disciples other the and cursing, ith w Him The New Testament not only tells of the glorious resurrection of of resurrection glorious the of tells only not Testament New The t e "Y 53:10: Isaiah in implied is Messiah the f o resurrection The lhuh e pand o ae hits uil frhr u ilia­ hum further a burial Christ's make to planned men Although Isaiah 53:11 forecasts the tremendous truths developed by the Apostle Paul o f justification by faith and salvation by grace. We read, "He shall see of the travail [birth pangs] of his soul, and shall be satis­ fied; by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their in iq u itie s." Ephesians 2:8,9 tells us, "F o r by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God— Not of works, lest any man should boast." A strange circumstance of the Messiah's death is given in Isaiah 53: 12: "...he was numbered with the transgressors; and he bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors." Our Lord quoted this scripture just before He was crucified. He said, "...this that is w rit­ ten must yet be accomplished in me. And he was reckoned among the transgressors..." (Luke 22:37).

ANSWERING THE SKEPTICS It is difficult to understand why so many people disavow and re­ nwrn te Skeptics the Answering pudiate Jesus Christ as the Messiah when prophecy and history unite in Him with such accuracy. I have yet to meet the first honest skeptic or even a destructive critic who has carefully studied the prophecies that center in Christ. Consider some of the objections of those w ho refuse to believe in the Messiahship o f Jesus o f Nazareth. It is said that Jesus and His friends collaborated to make His life conform to all the Old Testament proph­ ecies. This is the allegation of the Jewish scholar, Hugh J. Schonfield, in his book. The Passover P lot (London: Bernard Geis Associates, 1966). He claims that Jesus had the delusion that He was the Messiah; therefore, He planned His actions to fulfill the Messianic prophecies of the Old Testament. One reason this objection cannot stand is simply that most of the predictions made about the life and death of Jesus Christ were fu lfille d not by the friends o f Jesus or by the acts o f Jesus, but by His enemies, who hated Him so much they wanted to murder Him. Or else they were fulfilled by blase, indifferent, cold-hearted Romans who were bored with their assignment and had only contempt for their Jewish subjects. Actually, the idea of a collusion between Jesus and His friends is so nonsensical that even the refutation of it dignifies empty babbling. Samuel Sandmel, author of We Jews and Jesus, writing in the "Saturday Review" (Dec. 3,1966), says that the imaginative construction inSchon- field's book is devoid of proof. It is founded on dubious inferences from passages in the Gospels, whose historical reliability he rejects on page af- w Jesus Christ — Who Is He? w ith those Scriptures, they would have been dealt w ith severely and and severely ith w dealt been have would they Scriptures, those ith w that judgment if only we accept Jesus Christ, the One who died as our asour died who One the Christ, Jesus accept I we that only word if the : him judgment judgeth that that one hath words, my not receiveth and able. This book demonstrates the converging o f not 3, or 10, but many many but 10, or 3, not f o converging the demonstrates book This able. dispatch. ith w Greek completely the were completed books scholars the Hebrew and Ezra, Greek. f o into days the translated after completed was the into looked even has who Anyone lly. fo this advance dare ouldn't w usiue o rde u rm i,a u air Hsueuvctn pro­ unequivocating His Savior. asour sin, from us redeem fear me, to not need We rejecteth substitute y." a d that last He the in “ him 12:48, judge shall same John the in spoken, have declared Lord Our men. line. in all fall on surely most ill w ahead lie predictions still God's f that o all those because And past. the by is future temple. the judge can magnificent Herod's f o in destruction predicted utter the Christ foretold Testament. against New accurately the in judgment d f o lfille fu words seen have we contain which many because them, heed to well of the over over the of Schonfield Even life. 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Testament Old the is. it that curiosity a rfr o t Jss u t sm ohr a. hs scery nthink­ u clearly is This man. other some to but Jesus to not refer may In Luke 21:24 He predicted that Gentiles would dominate Jerusalem Jerusalem dominate would Gentiles that predicted He 21:24 Luke In ue 94,4ta euae ol b etoe. n ate 42 He 24:2 Matthew In destroyed. be would Jerusalem that 19:43,44 Luke nte algto ofte kpis ae u ee dee it irra­ into deeper even us takes skeptics the f o allegation Another erw 92 sy ht o hs pone adyofjdmn up­ judgment f o day a appointed has God saysthat 9:27 Hebrews do would Unbelievers unfulfilled? yet prophecies about what But It is also claimed by some skeptics that the prophetic Scriptures Scriptures prophetic the that skeptics some by claimed also is It 300 specific prophecies fu lfille d uniquely in Jesus Christ. Jesus in uniquely d lfille fu prophecies specific