There are hundreds of prophetic prophecies that refer to the coming Messiah. All of these prophecies were written well over 300 years prior to the birth of Jesus. One of the most ridiculous, yet common arguments against Jesus as that Messiah is that Jesus was just attempting to copy these prophecies. Examine the few prophecies written below and determine how he could as a man made them happen and what the odds of making it happen are. I believe any reasonable person would determine the claim was ridiculous and that Jesus is an incredible historical figure. A mathematician would determine that the odds were astronomical from just these few prophecies.

1) Previously we mentioned he would come at the appointed time. The time of Jesus.

2) The previous article also demonstrated Jesus was the Prophet like Moses.

3) Messiah would come from Judah

"The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto him shall the gathering of the people be." Genesis 49:10

This prophecy refers to the King of Israel. The record of the Kings of Israel are contained in Kings 1 &2 and Chronicles 1 & 2. Just prior to the end of the kingdom Ezekiel wrote this in chapter 21 verses 25-27.

"'Now to you, O profane, wicked prince of Israel, whose day has come, whose iniquity shall end, 'thus says the Lord GOD: "Remove the turban, and take off the crown; Nothing shall remain the same. Exalt the humble, and humble the exalted. Overthrown, overthrown, I will make it overthrown! It shall be no longer, Until He comes whose right it is, And I will give it to Him."' There is not another king of Israel until Jesus is called the King of the Jews during his entry to Jerusalem and in numerous languages on his cross. The King was to come from Judah. Jesus was from Judah. (Matt 2:2 ; 27:37)

4) Messiah would come from King David’s seed. "Behold, the days are coming," says the LORD, "That I will raise to David a Branch of righteousness; A King shall reign and prosper, And execute judgment and righteousness in the earth. In His days Judah will be saved, And Israel will dwell safely; Now this is His name by which He will be called: THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS". Jeremiah 23:5-6

There are two genealogies listed for Jesus, one in Matthew and one in Luke, both go back to King David. The genealogies are obviously different. The one in Matthew is through Joseph who was begotten by Matthan. The one in Luke traces Mary’s Father’s lineage in that Joseph was the son-in-law of Heli. Both lineages state that the kingly reign went into Babylon and captivity and returned to the Land. (This is important when considering the accuracy of other speculations about what happened to the throne.) These genealogies could have been proven right or wrong when they were first written because the temple was still standing yet no one disputed them. It would be nigh impossible to prove the accuracy of a David son’s lineage today.

5) Be born in Bethlehem - Micah 5:2

Jesus was born in Bethlehem because the Romans required his family return there. Jesus is also described in John 1 and Hebrew 1 as the one who’s going are from of old.

Luke 2: 2-7 "This census first took place while Quirinius was governing Syria. So all went to be registered, everyone to his own city. Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David, to be registered with Mary, his betrothed wife, who was with child. So it was, that while they were there, the days were completed for her to be delivered. And she brought forth her firstborn Son, and wrapped Him in swaddling cloths, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn."

Now normally he wouldn’t have been born in Bethlehem because they lived in Galilee but the odds of him being born at the set time, from the tribe of Judah, being from the kingly line in Bethlehem are slowly growing against him.

6) A Messenger would Prepare His Way - Matt 3:1-3

John the Baptist prepared the people for Jesus and proclaimed him when He came.

7) His entrance into Jerusalem

"Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your King is coming to you; He is just and having salvation, Lowly and riding on a donkey, A colt, the foal of a donkey." Zechariah 9:9 ; Matthew 21:5

"Then they brought him to Jesus. And they threw their own clothes on the colt, and they set Jesus on him. And as He went, many spread their clothes on the road. Then, as He was now drawing near the descent of the Mount of Olives, the whole multitude of the disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works they had seen, saying: " 'Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the LORD!' Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!" Luke 19:35-38

8) Betrayed by a Friend

Even my own familiar friend in whom I trusted, Who ate my bread, Has lifted up his heel against me. Psalm 41:9

"And while He was still speaking, behold, a multitude; and he who was called Judas, one of the twelve, went before them and drew near to Jesus to kiss Him. But Jesus said to him, "Judas, are you betraying the Son of Man with a kiss?" Luke 22:47-48

9) Betrayed for 30 pieces of silver

Then I said to them, "If it is agreeable to you, give me my wages; and if not, refrain." So they weighed out for my wages thirty pieces of silver." Zechariah 11:12

"What are you willing to give me if I deliver Him to you?" And they counted out to him thirty pieces of silver." Matthew 26:15

10) The betrayal money would be thrown in the House of the Lord from the potter.

"And the LORD said to me, "Throw it to the potter"; that princely price they set on me. So I took the thirty pieces of silver and threw them into the house of the LORD for the potter." Zechariah 11:13

"Then he threw down the pieces of silver in the temple and departed, and went and hanged himself. But the chief priests took the silver pieces and said, "It is not lawful to put them into the treasury, because they are the price of blood." And they consulted together and bought with them the potter's field, to bury strangers in. Therefore that field has been called the Field of Blood to this day. Then was fulfilled what was spoken by Jeremiah the prophet, saying, "And they took the thirty pieces of silver, the value of Him who was priced, whom they of the children of Israel priced, "and gave them for the potter's field, as the LORD directed me." Matthew 27:5-10

Now I know that it would be possible for Jesus to arrange the donkey, although it would be hard to guarantee the people would come and praise him as the King but how does he arrange a betrayer and how much the betrayer will get paid and what his enemies will do with the money when the betrayer throws it away??? What are the odds of this happening in conjunction with the previous odds of his birth?

11) He would be silent before His accusers

"He was oppressed and He was afflicted, Yet He opened not His mouth; He was led as a lamb to the slaughter, And as a sheep before its shearers is silent, So He opened not His mouth." Isaiah 53:7 A natural response is to defend yourself to avoid the punishment, especially if the witnesses are not telling the truth but his response was vastly different. "And the chief priests accused Him of many things, but He answered nothing. Then Pilate asked Him again, saying, "Do You answer nothing? See how many things they testify against You!" But Jesus still answered nothing, so that Pilate marvelled." Mark 15:3-5

12) He would be Beaten and Smitten

"So His visage was marred more than any man" Isaiah 52:14

"Then they spat in His face and beat Him; and others struck Him with the palms of their hands," Matthew 26:67

"Scourged" .."crown of thorns" …"Crucified" Matthew 27:26,29,31

This was done so that you may be healed. As a man He had no way to control who Pilate would release, it could have been him.

13) He would be Crucified with Thieves Isaiah 53:12

Compared to, "Now it was the third hour, and they crucified Him. And the inscription of His accusation was written above: THE KING OF THE JEWS. With Him they also crucified two robbers, one on His right and the other on His left. So the Scripture was fulfilled which says, "And He was numbered with the transgressors." Mark 15:25-28

14) Parted the Garments and Gambled for Them

"They divide My garments among them, And for My clothing they cast lots." Psalm 22:18

"Then the soldiers, when they had crucified Jesus, took His garments and made four parts, to each soldier a part, and also the tunic. Now the tunic was without seam, woven from the top in one piece. They said therefore among themselves, "Let us not tear it, but cast lots for it, whose it shall be," that the Scripture might be fulfilled which says: "They divided My garments among them, And for My clothing they cast lots." Therefore the soldiers did these things." John 19:23-24

How would an informal Jewish leader convince the Roman soldiers to split his garments and then gamble for the jacket. There was no way for him to control who the soldiers were in advance.

15) Pierced His Side (& His hands & feet too)  Psalm 22:16

16) Not one of His Bones will be Broken

These are important because the way they sped up the death of people being crucified was to break the legs - not to pierce the side.

"And I will pour on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem the Spirit of grace and supplication; then they will look on Me whom they pierced. Yes, they will mourn for Him as one mourns for his only son, and grieve for Him as one grieves for a firstborn." Zechariah 12:10

"He guards all his bones; Not one of them is broken." Psalm 34:20

"Therefore, because it was the Preparation Day, that the bodies should not remain on the cross on the Sabbath (for that Sabbath was a high day), the Jews asked Pilate that their legs might be broken, and that they might be taken away. Then the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first and of the other who was crucified with Him. But when they came to Jesus and saw that He was already dead, they did not break His legs. But one of the soldiers pierced His side with a spear, and immediately blood and water came out. And he who has seen has testified, and his testimony is true; and he knows that he is telling the truth, so that you may believe. For these things were done that the Scripture should be fulfilled, "Not one of His bones shall be broken." And again another Scripture says, "They shall look on Him whom they pierced." John 19:31-37

How does one control what happens to him by his enemy when he is dead? The odds of Him being dead already was rare so that they pierced his side to make sure.

17) He would be buried in a rich man’s tomb

"And they made His grave with the wicked; But with the rich at His death, Because He had done no violence, Nor was any deceit in His mouth." Isaiah 53:9 Not only is the burial interesting but the fact is also true that he was innocent - just as Pilate declared it. "Joseph of Arimathea, a prominent council member, who was himself waiting for the kingdom of God, coming and taking courage, went in to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. Pilate marveled that He was already dead; and summoning the centurion, he asked him if He had been dead for some time. So when he found out from the centurion, he granted the body to Joseph. Then he bought fine linen, took Him down, and wrapped Him in the linen. And he laid Him in a tomb which had been hewn out of the rock, and rolled a stone against the door of the tomb." Mark 15:43-46 Joseph being a Jewish leader and rich man did this after Jesus had died and obviously had absolutely no control on if Joseph would do this or if he would be allowed to.

I continue to hammer home the simple truth that it was impossible for Jesus to control the fulfillment of these prophecies made by so many different writers, hundreds of years earlier, and the concept that this was just chance is also ridiculous just by the prophecies fulfilled above. How about when we add: His body would not see decay (odds of a resurrection anyone?), that darkness would cover the earth (Pagan historians, Thallus and Phlegon both verify this happened.) He also fulfilled what was foreseen in the promises to the Fathers: in Isaac, Jacob and Joseph. His control of the Chief Priests so that they killed their enemy at the time of the Passover Lamb and that He arose on the Feast of Firstfruits.

There is no one that fulfilled the Messianic Prophecies like Jesus and no one can do so at the appointed times ever again. He was and is the Messiah, the Christ.

To further understand what He did, why He did it, and what He expects from you, please read Isaiah 53, Psalm 22, and John 13-19.