The Israeli Stampede and Yahweh’s forgiveness
The Israeli stampede following the Omer offerings, on April 29, 2021, was a very sad event indeed. The stampede took place simply because of man’s carelessness to his fellow men. It had nothing to do with Yahweh’s forgiveness. For today, Yahweh accepts the prayers of His children for the remission of their sins by pleading the blood not of lambs and Omer offerings but of His Son Jesus Christ (Isaiah 53). The sacrificial system with its blood (Leviticus 1:4-5;4:16-17; 19:9,14 ) and grain offerings only pointed to the Redeemer that was to come to save the world (John 3:16).
How Can a Jew Be Sure Jesus Is the Messiah?
The Old Testament predictions of the Messiah were so specific and so clearly fulfilled by Jesus of Nazareth that both Jesus and Apollos used these prophecies to prove that Jesus was indeed the Messiah. There are more than 125 of these prophecies. Let’s review just 12 of them:
Fulfilled Prophecies
- Born in Bethlehem Micah 5:2 Matthew 2:1
- Born of a virgin Isaiah 7:14 Matthew 1:18-23
- David’s lineage Jeremiah 23:5 Revelation 22:16
- Target of murder attempt Jeremiah 31:15 Matthew 2:16-18
- Betrayed by a friend Psalms 41:9 John 13:18, 19, 26
- Sold for 30 silver coins Zechariah 11:12 Matthew 26:14-16
- Crucified Zechariah 12:10 John 19:16-18, 37
- Lots cast for His clothes Psalms 22:18 Matthew 27:35
- No bones broken Psalms 34:20 John 19:31-36
- Buried in a rich man’s tomb Isaiah 53:9 Matthew 27:57-60
- Year, day, hour of His death Daniel 9:26, 27; Exodus 12:6 Matthew 27:45-50
- Raised the third day Hosea 6:2 Acts 10:38-40
What are the odds that Jesus could have fulfilled just eight of these prophecies by mere chance? Dr. Peter Stoner, former chairman of the departments of mathematics, astronomy, and engineering at Pasadena College in California, applied the principle of probability to this question. He calculated the odds of just eight being fulfilled by one man as one in1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000. What would be the odds of all 125 prophecies of the Messiah being fulfilled by chance alone? It simply couldn’t have happened by chance!
One of the most amazing Old Testament prophecies of the Messiah is the one that predicted exact year of Christ’s Baptism and Crucifixion. The prophecy of the “Seventy Weeks” of Daniel 9 pointed to these exact years. For more check this link: What was the purpose of the seventy weeks prophecy in Daniel 9?
The Divinity of Christ
Christ’s life and death proved His divinity. For He healed all sickness (Luke 5:15-26), fed thousands of people (Luke 9:12-17), had authority over nature (Luke 8:22-25), cast out demons (Luke 4:33-37), raised the dead (Luke 7:11-16), lived a sinless life (1 Peter 2:22), sacrificed His life for humanity for the remission of their sins (1 John 3:16), and then got resurrected from the dead (1 Corinthians 15:1-4). No other man on earth ever did such mighty deeds.
Christ must be divine because His One life atoned for the sins of humanity. Only the Creator’s life is more equivalent than the lives of all His creation. If Jesus was a mere man, He could save only one life – “life for life” (Exodus 21:23). But Christ was the Creator “all things were created by him, and for him” (Colossians 1:16). By the power of Christ all things cohere. Not only did He bring them into being, He sustains them continually. And Christ is the goal toward which all creation moves for its justification, sanctification and very existence. He is “the beginning and the end, the first and the last” (Revelation 22:13).
Salvation in Christ
Anyone that comes to Christ by faith in His worthy blood can obtain remission of all of his sins. “Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit” (Acts 2:38). Note the steps in the glorious experience of becoming a new born believer, as outlined in this verse: (1) repentance, (2) baptism, (3) remission of sin, (4) reception of the Holy Spirit to walk as Jesus walked in the path of sanctification.
In His service,
BibleAsk Team
