What are the odds Jesus is God? Many people agree that Jesus Christ was a great teacher, role model, and spiritual person. Where people begin to differ is in the Diety of Christ. Given the paramount importance the answer to that question has it is vital that we explore the reasons people should know He is Risen. Validity of the stories The first question to answer is whether Jesus existed. There are some who suggest he is a myth created from the compilation of a number of different people. There is of course the Bible which we can use to prove His life. There are some who believe the Bible is merely a collection of various stories used to make people feel good and provide them hope. So let's examine the proof for Christ outside the Bible. Josephus, a first-century historian, is considered one of the most important Jewish historians. He lived from 37 A.D. to sometime after 93 A.D. His most complete work is entitled "The Antiques" and is a history of Judaism from Creation until his day. In the book he describes Ananias, a high priest, who 'convened a meeting of the Sanhedrin and brought before them a man named James, the brother of Jesus, who was called the Christ, and certain other. He accused them of having transgressed the law and delivered them up to be stoned." According to 1 Corinthians 15:7 "Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles" in describing Jesus' resurrection. Another, more in depth article by Josephus, called "Testimonium Flavianum" reads as follows "About this time there lived Jesus, a wise man, if indeed one ought to call him am man. For he was one who wrought surprising feats and was a teacher of such people as accept the truth gladly. He won over many Jews and many of the Greeks. He was the Christ. When Pilate, upon hearing him accused by men of the highest standing among us, had condemned him to be crucified, those who had in the first place come to love him did not give up their affection for him. On the third day he appeared to them restored to life, for the prophets of God had prophesied these and countless other marvelous things about him. And the tribe of Christians, so called after him, has still to this day not disappeared.' This article was written years after the crucifixion by a historian in a secular publication. Another important writer was Tacitus, who is considered the greatest Roman historian of the first century. In 115 A.D., Tacitus states how Nero persecuted the Christians in an effort to blame them for the fire he set in 64 A.D. "Nero fastened the guilt and inflicted the most exquisite tortures on a class hated for their abominations, called Christians by the populace. Christus, from whom the name had its origin suffered the extreme penalty during the reign of Tiberius at the hands of one of our procurators, Pontius Pilatus" A Roman historian, who had nothing to gain and probably some things to lose by mentioning Jesus, discusses how he was killed by Pontius Pilate. Two secular sources written within 100 years of Christ's crucifixion (one Jewish and one Roman - neither friends of Christianity) confirm his life and death. What they also do is support the historical accuracy of the Bible. Odds of Biblical Prophecy The above portion shows that the Bible is accurate in its description of Christ's life, death, and resurrection. Since we can have faith in the accuracy of the words in the Bible, let's examine some of the prophecies of the Bible. Let's refresh our understanding of statistics. If the chance of one event happening is A and the chance of another separate event happening is B, then the chance of both happening is A times B. For example, if you have 10 numbered balls (1-10) in one jar - what are the odds of pulling out the ball numbered 5. It is one in 10. Now let's say you have another jar with 10 numbered balls - what are the odds of pulling out the number 5 ball. Again, it is one in 10. The odds of pulling out the number 5 ball from each jar is the two odds multiplied together or 1 in 100. If you don't believe me - try it. Let's examine a Biblical prophecy and calculate its odds. Ezekial 36: 3-16 reads 3 Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I am against thee, O Tyrus, and will cause many nations to come up against thee, as the sea causeth his waves to come up. 4 And they shall destroy the walls of Tyrus, and break down her towers: I will also scrape her dust from her, and make her like the top of a rock. 5 It shall be a place for the spreading of nets in the midst of the sea: for I have spoken it, saith the Lord GOD: and it shall become a spoil to the nations. 6 And her daughters which are in the field shall be slain by the sword; and they shall know that I am the LORD. 7 For thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I will bring upon Tyrus Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon, a king of kings, from the north, with horses, and with chariots, and with horsemen, and companies, and much people. 8 He shall slay with the sword thy daughters in the field: and he shall make a fort against thee, and cast F116 a mount against thee, and lift up the buckler against thee. 9 And he shall set engines of war against thy walls, and with his axes he shall break down thy towers. 10 By reason of the abundance of his horses their dust shall cover thee: thy walls shall shake at the noise of the horsemen, and of the wheels, and of the chariots, when he shall enter into thy gates, as men enter into a city wherein is made a breach. 11 With the hoofs of his horses shall he tread down all thy streets: he shall slay thy people by the sword, and thy strong garrisons shall go down to the ground. 12 And they shall make a spoil of thy riches, and make a prey of thy merchandise: and they shall break down thy walls, and destroy thy pleasant F117 houses: and they shall lay thy stones and thy timber and thy dust in the midst of the water. 13 And I will cause the noise of thy songs to cease; and the sound of thy harps shall be no more heard. 14 And I will make thee like the top of a rock: thou shalt be a place to spread nets upon; thou shalt be built no more: for I the LORD have spoken it, saith the Lord GOD. 15 Thus saith the Lord GOD to Tyrus; Shall not the isles shake at the sound of thy fall, when the wounded cry, when the slaughter is made in the midst of thee? 16 Then all the princes of the sea shall come down from their thrones, and lay away their robes, and put off their broidered garments: they shall clothe themselves with trembling; F118 they shall sit upon the ground, and shall tremble at every moment, and be astonished at thee These passages predict the destruction of Tyre and states seven very specific things to come. 1. Nebuchadnezzar will take Tyre 2. Other nations will be involved 3. The city will be made flat like the top of a rock 4. It is to become a place for spreading nets 5. Tyre's stones and timber at to be laid in the sea 6. Other cities will be afraid of Tyre's fall 7. The old city of Tyre will never be rebuilt A. In 586 B.C. Nebuchadnezzer attacked Tyre. In the 13 years of war, the inhabitants evacuated and moved everything of value to an island off the coast,since he could not pursue them he returned to Babylon. B. For the next 241 years the mainland city of Tyre remained the way Nebuchadnezzer left it. Then Alexander the Great began his conquest, but feared the fleet of the island of Tyre. He captured numerous surrounding towns and used their fleets and men to attack the island of Tyre. He was not successful, so he built a causeway from the mainland to the island. He scraped up all the soil and building materials of the old mainland city of Tyre. C. Other cities was so afraid for Alexander's conquest of the island of Tyre, they opened their gates to him. D. Today, Tyre is popular fishing destination with many fishing nets used. E. The site of the old city has a 10 million gallon per day spring, which would make it a good location for a city. To this day, no city is built at the location of mainland Tyre. What are the odds each of those would occur? If each had a one in ten chance, the combined odds are one in ten million! What about Christ? There are over 300 prophecies in the Old Testament about Christ. These include: 1. Christ will be born in Bethlehem (Micah 5:2) 2. Christ will be preceded by a messenger, John the Baptist (Malachi 3:1) 3. Jesus would enter Jerusalem on a donkey (Zech 9:9) 4. He would be wounded in his hands and betrayed by a friend (Zech 13:6) 5. The betrayal would be for 30 pieces of silver (Zech 11:12) 6. The silver would not be returned and would be given to the potter (Zech 11:13) 7. He would not defend himself at trial (Isa 53:7) 8 He would be crucified (Ps 22:16) and the list goes one for over 300. If each of those had an odd of one in ten (and many of them are very specific and would have much higher odds) the total odds become 10 times 10 times 10 (continued for 298 more times) or written in mathematical short hand is 10300. One billion, the amount of money we are spending in Iraq each week, is 109. Let's try and understand the size of 10300. The number 1017 can be represented by covering the entire state of Texas two feet deep in silver dollars. Imagine one of those silver dollars has a number written on it. The odds of picking the right coin out of two feet of silver dollars covering the entire state of Texas is 1017. Given the odds of one in 10300 that one man would be able to fulfill all the prophecies from the Old Testament, which were written over thousands of years, and we know from history that one man did fulfill those prophecies - the evidence is clear. Christ is the Messiah, He is Lord. Amen References 1."Case for Christ"by Lee Stroebl 2."Science Speaks" by Peter W. Stoner