Life of Jesus Foretold Devotionals, #1: Introduction

It is fascinating to see how every major event in the life of our Lord Jesus Christ was foretold in the Old Testament. A mathematician estimated that the odds of someone fulfilling only 8 of the major prophecies about the Messiah, written hundreds of years before he was born, would be one in 100,000,000,000,000,000! (Scott Dawson, editor, The Complete Evangelism Guidebook (Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 2006, page 234.) And the odds of a person fulfilling 48 of the major prophecies about the Messiah written hundreds of years before he was born is one chance in 10 to the 157th power. (“The Passion Prophecy Fulfilled”, CBN Frontlines magazine, April, 2011, page 5.) Jesus fulfilled more than 130 specific, detailed prophecies which foretold who the Messiah would be and what he would do.
 
Also, these Messianic prophecies had to be fulfilled by someone who lived between 525 B. C. and A. D. 70! The prophets Haggai and Malachi prophesied around 525 B. C. that the Messiah was still to come and that the Jewish temple would still be here when the Messiah arrived (Haggai 2:7, 9, Malachi 3:1-3). The prophet Daniel predicted that the Messiah would come while the Jewish temple was still standing and that that the Jewish temple would be destroyed after the Messiah was killed (Daniel 9:25-26). So according to these prophecies, the Messiah could not come until after Haggai’s and Malachi’s predictions were written (525 B. C.), and the Messiah had to come before the temple was destroyed by the Romans in A. D. 70. So we should ask ourselves, “Among the men who lived during the period 525 B. C. – A. D. 70 and claimed to be the Messiah, which one stands out with the best credentials?”
 
Through the coming devotionals that I have planned for the next several weeks, I invite you to go with me on an exciting journey through the life and ministry of our Lord Jesus Christ. What an amazing life He lived and what a tremendous labor of love He accomplished for us through His death and resurrection! Through these devotionals, which are mainly taken from my book, The Life of Jesus Foretold, I pray that you will enjoy this study of the life of Christ and see the amazing way Jesus fulfilled prophecies of the Messiah.
 

As we read about Jesus’ life, we see him bringing more abundant life to all who would receive Him. For He said, “I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly” (John 10:10b, NKJV). If you have not yet done so, receive Him as your Lord and Savior and He will give you more abundant life and eternal life. As we study Jesus’ life, I pray for we all will experience Jesus’ presence in a deeper and greater way and will receive more abundant life through Him.

Stephen Long