We have now proven that God exists. Now we need to prove Jesus is God the Son and that he actually walked the earth 2000 years ago. There is overwhelming evidence that supports this fact (biblical prophecy, extra-biblical historical accounts, logical arguments, etc.), but this article will focus on biblical prophecy and some history. Afterward, I will provide other resources for additional reading.
The Old Testament is replete with prophecies about the Messiah and the New Testament records many of their fulfillments. By some estimates, Jesus fulfilled as many as 300 prophecies. We’ll examine only four in this article. Also, in their book, Science Speaks, Peter Stoner and Robert Newman calculate the odds of Jesus fulfilling only eight Old Testament prophecies is 1 in 1017. That’s 1 in 100,000,000,000,000,000. By the way, Stoner and Newman were not simpletons who arbitrarily decided to write a book. Peter Stoner was the Pasadena City College Department of Mathematics and Astronomy Chairman and Robert Newman received his Ph.D in astrophysics from Cornell University. I believe their math can be trusted. Now, let us move on to those prophecies.
Isaiah 7:14 (RSV-CE) prophesies, “Behold, a virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.” Matthew 1:23 explicitly applies this prophecy to Jesus Christ. Isaiah 9:6-7 states, “For to us a child is born, … of the increase of his government and of his peace there will be no end, upon the throne of David, and over his kingdom, to establish it, and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time forth and for evermore.” Additionally, 2 Samuel 7:12-14 states, “When your days are fulfilled and you lie down with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring after you, who shall come forth from your body, and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. I will be his father and he shall be my son.” Some argue this passage was not fulfilled by Jesus because the next sentence begins with, “When he commits iniquity…” If Jesus was sinless, they argue, he could not be the fulfillment of this prophesy. Or, if this prophecy were correct, they continue, Jesus committed iniquity. Keep in mind, the direct fulfillment of this prophecy was David’s son, Solomon, and he committed iniquities. Jesus, however, fulfilled the prophecy without committing sin. Rather, he bore our sins. If you continue reading verse 14, Samuel states, “I will chasten him with the rod of men, with the stripes of the sons of men.” This literally happened after Pilate sentenced Jesus, not because of his iniquity, but because he bore ours. The fulfillment of the passage can be found in Luke 1:32-33.
Isaiah 40:2-5 predicts a messenger will prepare the way for the Messiah. “A voice cries: ‘In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord, make straight in the desert a highway for our God. Every valley shall be lifted up, and every mountain and hill be made low, the uneven ground shall become level, and the rough places a plain. And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together, for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.’” Luke 3:3-6 explicitly applies this prophecy to John the Baptist, who announced the coming of the Messiah, Jesus Christ, with these very words.
Finally, read Psalm 22. It is too lengthy to fully quote in its entirety, but it unmistakably applies to Jesus. It begins with Jesus’ very words from Matthew 27:46, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me.” The Psalm goes on with unmistakable detail: “He committed his cause to the Lord; let him deliver him, let him rescue him, for he delights in him!” “I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint; my heart is like wax, it is melted within my breast; my strength is dried up like a potsherd, and my tongue cleaves to my jaws; thou dost lay me in the dust of death. Yea, dogs are round about me; a company of evildoers encircle me; they have pierced my hands and feet— I can count all my bones—they stare and gloat over me; they divide my garments among them, and for my raiment they cast lots.” The passage continues with the suffering one glorifying God. Clearly, this passage is fulfilled in Christ’s Passion.
Again, Jesus fulfilled many other prophecies. A quick internet search of “prophecies Jesus fulfilled” will render numerous Old Testament prophecies and their New Testament fulfillments. In the next half of this article, we will look at a few Bible verses that unambiguously declare Jesus is God the Son. We will also look at extra-biblical history to show that Jesus walked the earth 2000 years ago.