When we read this passage the first thing that comes to mind for me is the prophecies that Jesus made. Prophetic truth is a very important tool in the history of the Judeo-Christian transference of truth. It is also important to be able to trust that the prophecies that are made are trustworthy? It has been vital since the beginning of the world that truth is given to man in such a way that he can know, understand, trust it and pass it on to others. One of the greatest truths that need to be continuously passed along is the veracity or truthfulness of God. So how can God establish His own trustworthiness and truthfulness with man?
A number of years ago, Peter W. Stoner and Robert C. Newman wrote a book entitled Science Speaks. The book was based on the science of probability and vouched for by the American Scientific Affiliation. It set out the odds of any one man in all of history fulfilling even only eight of the 60 major prophecies (and 270 ramifications) fulfilled by the life of Christ. The probability that Jesus of Nazareth could have fulfilled even eight such prophecies would be only 1 in 1017. That's 1 in 100,000,000,000,000,000. Stoner claims that that many silver dollars would be enough to cover the face of the entire state of Texas two feet deep. Who in his right mind would suppose that a blindfolded man, heading out of Dallas by foot in any direction, would be able, on his very first attempt, to pick up one specifically marked silver dollar out of 100,000,000,000,000,000? The Problem is not that you need more evidence, it is that you hate God and suppress the truth refusing to believe and be saved. |