Mathematics provides compelling evidence that Jesus is the Christ. Jesus fulfilled the Old Testament prophecies regarding the coming of the Messiah. Using mathematics, we can approximate the percentage of people throughout history who will fulfill each of these prophecies. The results are astounding! Keep reading to learn more!
Since the days of Adam and Eve, prophets have been called to testify of Jesus Christ. In response to Mary conceiving the Savior, Zacharias (the father of John the Baptist and Mary's cousin-in-law according to Luke 1:36) "was filled with the Holy Ghost, and prophesied, saying,"
Since the days of Adam and Eve, prophets have been called to testify of Jesus Christ. In response to Mary conceiving the Savior, Zacharias (the father of John the Baptist and Mary's cousin-in-law according to Luke 1:36) "was filled with the Holy Ghost, and prophesied, saying,"
"Blessed be the Lord God of Israel; for he hath visited and redeemed his people, And hath raised up an horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David; As he spake by the mouth of his holy prophets, which have been since the world began (Luke 1:67-70)."The so-called "prophecies" of most religions throughout history have been rather vague. This vagueness has allowed their "prophecies" to be easily fulfilled. However, due to their lack of specificity, the fulfillment of these "prophecies" has lent little scholarly support to the authenticity of these religions. For an example of what I mean, consider fortune cookies. Fortune cookies often say something to the effect of "You will have an important experience in the near future." People have important experiences all the time. Therefore, having an important experience soon after getting this fortune does not imply that the fortune cookie manufacturer is the true religion of God.
On the other hand, Old Testament prophets gave very detailed and specific prophecies regarding the coming of the Messiah. For example, 700 years before Jesus' birth, the prophet Micah prophesied that the Messiah would be born in the relatively small city of Bethlehem (See Micah 5:2). The prophet Isaiah prophesied that the Messiah would be born of a virgin (See Isaiah 7:14). Long before crucifixion had ever been invented by the Romans, David prophesied that the wicked would pierce the Messiah's hands and feet (See Psalms 22:16). There are many, many more specific prophecies like these. Jesus Christ fulfilled these prophecies.
Peter Stoner, an emeritus professor of science at Westmont College, calculated the probability of someone fulfilling these prophecies. For example he took a liberal estimate of the number of people who have lived in Bethlehem since the time of Micah and divided it by a conservative estimate for how many people have lived on the earth since the time of Micah. This yielded the result that 1 in 300,000 people have been born in Bethlehem. After considering only eight prophecies, Stoner showed that only 1 in 10^17 (a 1 with 17 zeros after it) people will fulfill all eight of them. After considering 48 prophecies, Stoner showed that only 1 in 10^157 (a 1 with 157 zeros after it) people will fulfill all 48 of them. The American Scientific Affiliation confirmed the accuracy of Stoner's calculations.
To illustrate just how unlikely it is for someone to fulfill all 48 of these Messianic prophecies by chance, imagine that the entire universe was completely filled with an enormous number of pennies and one quarter. Now, imagine that all of these coins got mixed up, and you drew one coin from the universe at random. It is estimated that the universe has a volume of about 3.58 x 10^80 (358 with 78 zeros after it) cubic meters. Thus, it is far more likely for you to draw the one quarter from the universe than it is for someone to fulfill all 48 of these prophecies.
The math so far leaves us with only two reasonable possibilities: Either every single one of Jesus Christ's Apostles lied about the events that occurred in Jesus' life, or Jesus is the Messiah. Let us consider the likelihood that all of Jesus's Apostles lied about the events that occurred in Jesus' life.
In the Book of the Acts of the Apostles, we read about how the Apostles succeeded in getting many thousands of people to convert to Christianity. In Acts 2, we read that the Apostles had the Spirit poured out upon them on the day of Pentecost. They were able to speak to a large multitude of people from a variety of nations in their own tongues. Due to the Apostles' ability to speak in any language, the multitude became willing to listen. As Peter spoke, the multitude felt the Spirit, and three thousand people were baptized. In Acts 3, we read that Peter and John healed a man lame from birth. Due to this miracle, the congregation listened to what Peter had to say. My point is that there were many more people who had witnessed great works performed by Christ's power than just the Apostles.
The Early Christian Church suffered immense persecution. The Apostles spent much of their ministries in prison for not denouncing their stories about Christ. Peter was crucified upside down for sticking to his story. Thousands and thousands of early Christians suffered poverty, political abuse, murder, and/or being sold into slavery. All of this occurred because the Christians would not deny their testimonies before the Jews and Romans. They knew what they had seen, heard, and (most importantly) felt in their hearts. The likelihood that an individual will continue lying about his or her experiences in the face of tremendous persecution and/or death is low. The likelihood that many thousands of people will do so is astronomically low. Thus, mathematics can rule out lying as a legitimate explanation.
When we consider the math, we are left with only one reasonable explanation: Jesus is "the Christ, the Son of the living God (Matthew 16:16)." I can testify of this. My testimony is strengthened as I engage in scholarly research, but it primarily comes from an even surer source of knowledge, "my Father which is in heaven (Matthew 16:17)," I know from the Holy Spirit that Jesus is my Lord and my God, my Savior from my sins and sorrows. You can gain this witness too as you read, ponder, and pray about the Holy Scriptures. I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Continued in The Math of Christ's Birth Part 3: The Wise Men and Star
Continued in The Math of Christ's Birth Part 3: The Wise Men and Star
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