Before we continue, we have to ask and answer a really important question:
How can we know that Jesus was actually God?
- Jesus matches all the “FINGERPRINT EVIDENCE.” [1]
“The premise behind fingerprint evidence is simple: each individual has unique ridges on his or her fingers. When a print found on an object matches the pattern of ridges on a person’s finger, investigators can conclude with scientific certainty that this specific individual has touched that object…”
In the Jewish Scriptures, which Christians call the Old Testament, there are several dozen major prophecies about the coming of the Messiah, who would be sent by God to redeem His people. In effect, these predictions formed a figurative fingerprint that only the Anointed One would be able to match.” —Lee Strobel [2]
This was “CSI” hundreds of years before we knew about it!
Basically, the Bible indicates, “Whoever matches this prophetic fingerprint is validated and authenticated as Messiah, Anointed as Messiah, Anointed One and one and only Son of God.”
There are all kinds of prophecies — or fingerprint evidence — concerning the Messiah contained in the Old Testament.
For instance, in 4000 B.C. Adam and Eve (right on the heels of the fall) received the prophecy that the Messiah (Jesus) would be born of a woman (without any reference to a father, a subtle inference that the birth would be supernatural – a virgin birth).
God looked at the SERPENT and said these words, “I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring (seed) and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel.”
—Genesis 3:15 NIV
In 700 B.C., Isaiah prophesied that Messiah’s mother would be a virgin who conceived by a miracle and that Jesus would be God who became a man.
“Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.”
—Isaiah 7:14 ESV
Seven hundred years later the fulfillment of that prophecy gets recorded in the Gospel of Matthew.
This is how Jesus the Messiah was born. His mother, Mary, was engaged to be married to Joseph. But before the marriage took place, while she was still a virgin, she became pregnant through the power of the Holy Spirit.
—Matthew 1:18 NLT
At this point, Mary was an utterly ordinary Jewish teenage girl living in the first century. Her hopes were wrapped up in her engagement. She was thinking about her wedding day. She was dreaming about getting married.
Imagine her emotions when she was told by an angel that she would become pregnant without being married. In that culture, girls who became pregnant before marriage were shamed, humiliated, exiled, and sometimes even executed. A girl who was engaged and became pregnant through someone other than her fiancé would have been subjected to even more hostility.
Tradition says that she would be taken to the gate of the city. They would rip off her clothes, dress her in rags, tie her up, and bring all the women of the area to see her, so they would learn a lesson thru the shame of her suffering.
Incredibly… amazingly… somehow Mary surrendered to the purpose and plan of God. Instead of looking at the angel and saying, “Count me OUT, I would rather have a nice life, thank you…” she somehow looked past the very difficult life God called her to and said, “I am the Lord’s servant… May everything you have said about me come true.” —Luke 1:38 NLT
But those aren’t the only prophecies. There are dozens more. Here are just a few examples:
- There are prophecies concerning His birth and ancestry.
- He would be the seed of a woman — Genesis 3:15 (Gal 4:4; Heb 2:14)
- He would be a descendant of Abraham — Genesis 12:3; 22:18; 28:14 (Mt 1:1; Gal 3:8, 16)
- Descendant of Isaac — Genesis 17:19; 21:12 (Rom 9:7; Heb 11:18)
- Descendant of Jacob — Numbers 24:17-19 (Mt 2:2; Lk 1:33, 78; Rev 22:16)
- Descendant of Judah — Genesis 49:10 (Rev 5:5)
- An heir to David’s throne — Ps 89:3-4, 19, 27-29, 35-37; 132:11; 2 Sam 7:12-13, 16, 25-26, 29; Isa 16:4-5 (Mt 1:1; Lk 1:31-33; Acts 2:30; 13:23; Rom 1:3; 2 Tim 2:8)
- Born of a virgin — Isaiah 7:14 (Mt 1:22-23)
- Born in Bethlehem — Micah 5:2 (Mt 2:1; Lk 2:4, 10-11)
- Flee to Egypt for safety — Hosea 11:1 (Mt 2:15)
- Declared to be the Son of God — Psalm 2:7 (Mt 3:17; Mk 1:11; Acts 4:25-26; 13:33; Heb 1:5; 5:5; Rev 2:26-27; 19:15-16) There are prophecies concerning His life and ministry.
2. There are prophecies concerning His life and ministry.
- Preceded by a messenger — Isaiah 40:3-5 (Mt 3:3; Mk 1:3; Lk 3:4-5; Jn 1:23)
- He would teach in parables — Psalm 78:2 (Mt 13:34-35)
- He would perform miracles — Isaiah 29:18; 35:5-6 (Mt 9:30; 11:5; 12:22; 20:34; 21:14; Mk 7:30; Jn 5:9; 9:39)
3. There are prophecies concerning His death.
- He would be betrayed by a friend — Psalm 41:9 and 55:12-14 (Mt 26:47-50; Mk 14:17-21; Lk 22:21-23; Jn 13:18-19)
- Sold for 30 pieces of silver — Zechariah 11:12 (Mt 26:14-15)
- Accused by false witnesses — Psalm 27:12 and 35:11 (Mt 26:59-60; Mk 14:57-58)
- Scourged, beaten, mocked and spat upon — Isaiah 50:6 (Mt 26:67; 27;26, 30; Mk 14:65; 15:15, 19; Lk 22:63-65; Jn 19:1)
- Hated without reason — Psalm 35:19 and 69:4 (Jn 15:24-25)
- Mocked, insulted and ridiculed — Psalm 22:7-8 (Mt 27:39-43, 45-49)
- Hands and feet pierced — Psalm 22:16 (Mt 27:31, 35-36)
- His body would be pierced — Zechariah 12:10 (Jn 19:34, 37)
- He would pray for His enemies — Psalm 109:4 (Lk 23:34)
- No bones broken — Psalm 34:20 (Jn 19:36)
- Soldiers would gamble for His clothing — Psalm 22:18 (Mk 15:20, 24-25; Lk 23:34; Jn 19:23-24)
- He would die of a broken heart — Psalm 22:10b
- The sun would go down at noon and the earth would become dark while it is still day — Amos 8:9 (Mt 24:29; Acts 2:20; Rev 6:12)
- He would not remain dead, but would be resurrected — Psalm 16:8-10 and 49:15 (Mk 16:6; Acts 2:27; 13-35; 26:23)
- He would swallow death in victory! He will wipe away all tears! He’ll remove every sign of shame and disgrace from His people! — Isaiah 25:8 (1 Cor 15:54) [3]
We’re just getting started!
Some people refer to the OT book of Isaiah as the fifth gospel. The average girl or guy reading this passage would probably think it was written by someone who was an eye-witness to Jesus’ arrest, torture and crucifixion.
But it was actually written by a guy who lived 700+ years before Jesus ever walked the planet! It’s amazing! In fact, some scholars call Isaiah 53 the most important passage in the OT. It gets quoted or referenced at least 85 times in the New Testament.
The chapter contains all kinds of “fingerprint evidence” that prophesied various aspects of the Messiah’s life and death, hundreds of years before Jesus was ever born. For instance, it predicts that…
- He would stand silent before His accusers…
- He would be wounded, beaten and bruised…
- He would die with thieves…
- He would pray for His persecutors…
- He would be rejected by the Jews…
- He would be buried with the rich…
- By His stripes we are healed…
One of the ways we can know, beyond the shadow of a doubt, that Jesus is who He claimed to be is through the fact that Jesus fulfilled every prophecy in the Old Testament concerning the Messiah to a perfect “T”.
If there was no other reason to believe in who Jesus is and what He accomplished, the fact that a guy 700+ years removed from Jesus’ could write with that kind of clarity and insight as to what Jesus would go through, provides a pretty compelling argument.
Still not convinced?
Peter Stoner was the Chairman of the Department of Mathematics at Pasadena City College. Years ago, in his classic book Science Speaks, he and 600 of his students looked at just eight of the predictive prophecies in the Old Testament concerning Messiah to calculate the odds or mathematical probability of any one man fulfilling all eight prophecies.
The prospect of any one man fulfilling just eight of the prophecies concerning the Messiah is 1 in 10(17). That’s 1 with 10 with 17 zeroes following it. Stoner went on and wrote, if you calculate the probability of any one man fulfilling 48 of those prophecies, the odds jump to 1 in 10(157). That’s 1 in 10 with 157 zeroes following! Yet Jesus fulfilled very prophecy! [4]
- Jesus was born of a VIRGIN.
Before Jesus was conceived, his mother, Mary, had never had sex with a man. In fact, her first question when the angel announced her pregnancy was asked with amazement: “How can this be, I’m still a virgin” (Lk 1:34).
The angel’s answer left the miracle shrouded in mystery, but it made one thing unmistakably clear: the child conceived in Mary’s womb was DIVINE.
This is how Jesus the Messiah was born. His mother, Mary, was engaged to be married to Joseph. But before the marriage took place, while she was still a virgin, she became pregnant through the power of the Holy Spirit.
—Matthew 1:18 NLT
The angel replied, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the baby to be born will be holy, and he will be called the Son of God.”
—Luke 1:35 NLT
Why was the virgin birth necessary?
Scholar and theologian, Wayne Grudem gives at least three reasons:
- To remind us that our salvation comes only from God, not from us. The virgin birth was a once in history, never before, never to be repeated miracle of God.
- To make possible the uniting of full deity and full humanity in one person.
- To make possible Jesus’ full humanity without the problem of original or inherited sin. “…the fact that Jesus didn’t have a human father means that the line of descent from Adam [was] partially interrupted. Jesus didn’t descend from Adam the same way…every other human has descended from Adam… [That’s why] the legal guilt and moral corruption that belongs to [every other] human being didn’t belong to Christ.” [5]
- Jesus PERFORMED MIRACLES (Job 9:8; Matt 14:25; Mk 6:48).
Jesus went a step further in authenticating His divinity and revealing His divine nature by performing great miracles in public (Matthew 11:4-5).
Miracles that included speaking to the winds and waves and them immediately obeying (Mt 8:23‑27). He took the lunch sack of a boy and multiplied the 5 biscuits and 2 sardines in that lunch sack into a feast that fed approximately fifteen thousand when you include women and children, and after everyone was filled provided 12 take-home-baskets (not bags) of leftovers (Matthew 14:15-21).
Jesus turned water into the best wine imaginable (Jn 2:1-11). He healed the sick and oppressed (Mt 8:1-16; Mk 1:29-45; 2:1-12; 5:25-34). He demonstrated His power by driving out demonic powers (Mark 1:25). He even raised a man from the dead who had been dead four days (Jn 11:1‑44).
Let’s just think about one of His miracles – the miracle of Jesus walking on water (Mt 14:22-33; Mk 6:45-52; Jn 6:16-21).
Have you ever wondered, why He did it? I mean, why not turn Himself into a pterodactyl? Why walk on water?
Well, there’s a great verse in the Old Testament that gives us insight as to why Jesus walked on water. (Matthew 14:25; Mark 6:48)
He [God] alone has spread out the heavens
and marches on the waves of the sea.
— Job 9:8 NLT
That verse was common knowledge to the Jews in Jesus’ audience, especially Jesus’ disciples. They would have been familiar with the thought that “God alone… marches on the waves of the sea.”
When Jesus chose to walk on water, He wasn’t simply demonstrating His power. He was demonstrating His divinity. This wasn’t a carnival show. It was an object lesson for His disciples. He was letting them know in no uncertain terms, “I’m the promised. I’m Messiah! I’m God in the flesh.”
This is about the last thing you would do if you wanted to avoid someone attaching the “God label” to you.
The Gospels are filled with descriptions of the miracles of Jesus. The Gospel of Mark alone devotes more time and space to Jesus’ miracles than another other Gospel writer. One author indicates that one third of the book is taken up describing Jesus’ miracles! [6]
Even the critics of Jesus who were opposed to His ministry had to acknowledge the fact that He did miracles! Every miracle was just more evidence that He is who He claimed to be!
- Jesus actually CLAIMED TO BE GOD.
In Matthew 16, Jesus asked Peter an important question:
“And how about you? Who do you say I am?” 16Simon Peter said, “You’re the Christ, the Messiah, the Son of the living God.”
—Matthew 16:15-16 MSG
It’s interesting to note that Jesus wasn’t shocked by Peter’s outrageous answer. He didn’t correct Peter by saying, “No, no, no, no, Pete. Don’t say things like that. I’m a man just like you.” Instead, Jesus did the exact opposite.
Jesus came back, “God bless you, Simon, son of Jonah! You didn’t get that answer out of books or from teachers. My Father in heaven, God himself, let you in on this secret of who I really am.”
— Matthew 16:17 MSG
Instead of correcting Peter, Jesus commended Peter. He looked at Peter and said, “Right on, Pete! You’ve been talking to the Father! My Father — God Himself — let you in on who I really am.”
All throughout the Gospels, Jesus described Himself in terms of deity!
In John 10:30 Jesus said,
“The Father and I are one.”
—John 10:30 NLT
The word “one” means “one in essence.” Jesus wasn’t claiming to be “a” Son of God. He was claiming to be “the” Son of God. He was claiming a special and superior relationship to and with God.
That’s obvious when you look at how some of the religious people in the crowd responded. John says, “Once again the people picked up stones to kill him” (John 10:31 NLT).
In John 8, Jesus was engaged in a heated debate with the religious authorities of his day. They wanted to know, “Who do you think you are? Do you think you’re greater than our Ancestor Abraham?”
Jesus shot back: “Guys, your father Abraham rejoiced when he looked forward to my coming…” (John 8:56 NLT)
The crowd got ticked and said, “You’re not even fifty years old. How could you possibly know Abraham!” (John 8:57)
I love Jesus’ reply. He just smiled and said something He knew would light this crowd up.
Jesus answered, “I tell you the truth, before Abraham was born, I am!”
—John 8:58 NLT
Jesus basically said, “Before something happened in the past — before Abraham WAS, something happened in the present — I AM!”
It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to know that Jesus was either using very bad grammar that was going to get him in hot water with Mary, or He was saying something extremely significant.
In the Old Testament the name Jehovah (Yahweh) was written simply as four letters (YHWH). That name was considered to be so holy that a devout Jew wouldn’t even pronounce it. In fact, the scribes who recorded the Old Testament considered the name so holy that before writing the name they would actually perform a special ceremony.
This was the name God revealed to Moses in Exodus 3:14 at the burning bush when Moses asked, “Who should I say sent me? What’s your name?” God responded by answering, “I AM THAT I AM!”
Devout Jews called this “the unspeakable name of God”. But in John 8 Jesusused the same title to refer to Himself? He made no bones about it. He claimed to be God. He aligned himself with deity! He used the same title for Himself that God used to describe Himself!
One author describes it like this: “…in naming Himself ‘I am,’ Jesus was declaring Himself to be the SAME GOD who revealed himself by the title ‘I am’ some fourteen hundred years prior when he spoke to Moses through the burning bush. As a result, those who heard Jesus rightly understood him as declaring himself to be the eternal God who saved Abraham and called Moses.” [7]
That’s exactly why they picked up stones to attempt to take Him out.
Jesus made the same kind of claim several times in the Gospel of John (John 6:35; 8:12; 8:59; 9:5; 10:7; 10:11; 11:25; 15:1). John’s Gospel is filled with at least 23 “I AM” statements in the original Greek.
One of the most amazing things occurs in John 18. Jesus was praying in the Garden of Gethsemane when a group of more than 200 people, including members of the Sanhedrin and a detachment of Roman soldiers arrived to arrest Him. Jesus was caked in a mixture of sweat and blood. So much so, that He was unrecognizable to the arresting mob.
John 18:4 indicates, “Jesus fully realized all that was going to happen to Him, so He stepped forward to meet them [and asked], ‘Who are you looking for?’”
“Jesus the Nazarene,” they responded.
Jesus responded with two simple words: “I AM!”
According to John, the moment Jesus spoke those two words, the entire mob hit the dirt. The entire group fell down prostrate, unable to stand in the presence of His deity.
Jesus wasn’t nailed to the cross because He performed miracles, or preached really long sermons, or came up with really pithy statements and hard-hitting stories. He was nailed to the cross because He claimed to be God.
Not only did Jesus claim to be God, but his followers confirmed it!
Theologian John Frame says that this, in and of itself, is absolutely amazing! The disciples were all Jews who had been taught since childhood that there is only one God and that they should worship God and God alone. That they should never worship idols and certainly never worship a man. They weren’t primed to look for God in the form of a man. The very idea was preposterous. But somehow, Frame writes, “…during the next three years or so, all these Jewish disciples, and many more people besides, are convinced that Jesus is God and deserves to be worshiped as God. They have known him intimately as a man, have walked and talked and eaten with him; yet, they have come to worship him.” [8]
Frame concludes by saying, “That is quite an amazing thing.” [9]
Even Paul – a guy who was a staunch Pharisee and graduated at the top of his class in Jewish studies made this amazing statement in Colossians 2:9.
For in Christ lives all the fullness of God in a human body.
—Colossians 2:9 NLT
For a first century Jewish man, in a culture very committed to monotheism to write those words and make that statement is extraordinary!
- Jesus FORGAVE SIN (Cf. Lk 5:20-21; 7:47).
One author wrote: “Can you even imagine someone saying that he is God and has the authority to forgive your sin? Sin is the human problem. All sin is ultimately committed against God. Subsequently, God alone has the power to forgive the sins of sinners. Jesus could only forgive sin because he was and is, God. In making this claim, Jesus is inviting us to confess our sins to Him so that we may be forgiven through His substitutionary death and bodily resurrection…” [10]
This is reality: If he’s not God, our sins can’t be forgiven!
- Jesus ROSE FROM THE DEAD! (Matt 28:1-10; Mk 16:1-14; Lk 24; Jn 20; 1 Cor 15:1-4)
Perhaps the greatest proof that Jesus is who He claimed to be is the fact that He authenticated every claim by dying on a cross, being buried in a borrowed tomb and being raised again three days later!
Scholar William Lane Craig, wraps up his booklet, Did Jesus Rise from the Dead?With this paragraph:
“…three great, independently established facts — the empty tomb, the resurrection appearances, and the origin of the Christian faith — all point to the same marvelous conclusion: that God raised Jesus from the dead. Given that God exists, this conclusion cannot be barred to anyone seeking the truth about Jesus.” —William Lane Craig [11]
Investigative reporter turned best-selling author, Lee Strobel, sums it up like this:
“The disciples didn’t merely believe in the resurrection; they knew whether it was fact or fiction. Had they known it was a lie, they would never have been willing to sacrifice their lives for it. Nobody willingly dies for something that they know is false. They proclaimed the resurrection to their deaths for one reason alone: they knew it was true.” —Lee Strobel [12]
[1] I first read the term “fingerprint evidence” in Lee Strobel’s excellent book, The Case for Christ, p 171, Kindle Ed.
[2] Strobel, Lee. The Case for Christ (Case for … Series) (pgs. 171-172). Zondervan. Kindle Edition.
[3] John MacArthur, Biblical Doctrine, Location 6877-7156 of 34425, Kindle Ed.
[4] https://www.jesusfilm.org/blog-and-stories/old-testament-prophecies.html
[5] Wayne Grudem, Systematic Theology, p 1295. Kindle Ed.
[6] James Martin edited by Elizabeth Dias, What Did Jesus Ask?
[7] Mark Driscoll, Vintage Jesus, page 22.
[8] John M. Frame. Salvation Belongs to the Lord: An Introduction to Systematic Theology (Kindle Locations 1625-1626). Kindle Edition.
[9] John M. Frame. Salvation Belongs to the Lord: An Introduction to Systematic Theology (Kindle Locations 1625-1626). Kindle Edition.
[10] Mark Driscoll, Vintage Jesus, page 25.
[11] William Lane Craig, Did Jesus Rise from the Dead?, Location 1358, Kindle Ed.
[12] Strobel, Lee. The Case for Easter (p. 88). Zondervan. Kindle Edition.