We have been reviewing the hours leading up to Jesus’ resurrection. These incidents were predicted by the prophet Isaiah 700 years prior. If you go back 700 years from today, it would place you in the 1,500’s. During the 1,500’s, Michelangelo painted the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel and sculpted “The David.” Leonardo da Vinci painted “The Mona Lisa.” Henry VIII, King of England severed ties with Rome and declared himself head of the English church. The Protestant Reformation was under way. Ulrich Zwingli begins the Reformation in Switzerland. Martin Luther was excommunicated by Pope Leo X. John Calvin establishes Reformed and Presbyterian forms of Protestantism in Switzerland, and writes Institutes of the Christian Religion. John Knox leads the Reformation in Scotland and establishes the Presbyterian church there. The United States of America did not exist. What are the odds that anyone in the 1500’s could have predicted all the modern amenities we enjoy today; jet aircraft, space travel, walking on the moon, vehicles, computers and smart phones. Yet Isaiah, writing 700 years before the birth of Jesus, predicted not only His death, but that in His death, He would act in a lamb-like manner. What are the odds that Isaiah’s prophecies would be fulfilled by a single person, Jesus Christ the Messiah?
We are five weeks from celebrating Easter, the most miraculous day in history. What a marvelous and unprecedented event that was orchestrated by God the Father to provide the world with “So Great A Salvation”. It was the obedience of Jesus Christ to God’s will to be the ”Suffering Servant” that provided His salvation to lost humanity. On Easter, God did what only God could do. God saw that human beings were filled and overcome by sin. Humankind couldn’t make up for the things they were doing wrong. No one could pay the cost. We were helpless to help ourselves. Justice needed to be served. So God helped in a way only God could: He sent His Son, Jesus to be a substitutionary payment for our sins: His life for yours. What Are the Odds?
Last week we begin our new series “Against All Odd!” by looking at the 24 prophecies that Jesus fulfilled from Isaiah 53. Today, I want to begin the journey of examining these prophetic fulfillments in greater detail. The first major prophecy Jesus fulfilled during His final 36 hours of living was, He remained silent refusing to defend Himself of the accusations and charges made against HIm. Imagine yourself appearing before court officials, with other people watching. You’re being accused of actions that could pronounce the death sentence. You are without a defense attorney, without a friend, or your family. Everyone is against you, and you know you did not do what you’re being charged with. How would you feel? What would you do? How would you get yourself out of that situation and have the changes dropped so you could return to your normal life? That’s the situation Jesus faced, not once, not twice, but six times over the course of a few hours on Good Friday morning. During the six trials, He did not defend Himself. What Are The Odds?
We are looking at the prophecies Jesus fulfilled in Isaiah 53. The final verse of Isaiah 53 describes the unlikely circumstance that the “Anointed One” would find Himself identifying with the lowliest of humanity and willingly submit to death in their behalf. He was counted among the rebels, interceded for them, and bore the sins of the wicked. Who would have expected the greatest man to ever live would die like a criminal. He was crucified between two criminals and accused of being like them. Anyone reading the story of a great hero would expect that hero to come from noble origins. But the story of Jesus begins with a humble birth in a stable and attended by shepherds. Therefore, it shouldn’t be surprising that when Jesus died, He died with the lowest class. 700 years prior to His coming, Isaiah wrote: “He poured out Himself to death, and was numbered with the transgressors; Yet He Himself bore the sin of many and interceded for the transgressors” (Isaiah 53:12b). What are the odds that a rebel would be the Messiah and Against All Odds, the Messiah would be a rebel.
We have been reviewing the hours leading up to Jesus’ resurrection. These incidents were predicted by the prophet Isaiah 700 years prior. If you go back 700 years from today, it would place you in the 1,500’s. During the 1,500’s, Michelangelo painted the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel and sculpted “The David.” Leonardo da Vinci painted “The Mona Lisa.” Henry VIII, King of England severed ties with Rome and declared himself head of the English church. The Protestant Reformation was under way. Ulrich Zwingli begins the Reformation in Switzerland. Martin Luther was excommunicated by Pope Leo X. John Calvin establishes Reformed and Presbyterian forms of Protestantism in Switzerland, and writes Institutes of the Christian Religion. John Knox leads the Reformation in Scotland and establishes the Presbyterian church there. The United States of America did not exist. What are the odds that anyone in the 1500’s could have predicted all the modern amenities we enjoy today; jet aircraft, space travel, walking on the moon, vehicles, computers and smart phones. Yet Isaiah, writing 700 years before the birth of Jesus, predicted not only His death, but that in His death, He would act in a lamb-like manner. What are the odds that Isaiah’s prophecies would be fulfilled by a single person, Jesus Christ the Messiah?