When examining the evidence for Jesus and the resurrection, not only should you consider each piece of evidence; you should consider the synergistic effect of how all the pieces of evidence interact to support your conclusion. In other words, the pieces of evidence reinforce one another, producing an effect stronger than any piece of evidence by itself. As stated in this website, the evidence for Jesus and the resurrection includes the following.
Historical principles to determine whether a particular account of history is credible.
We can use the following principles that historians utilize to determine whether the New Testament’s account of the resurrection is credible.
Uncontested Historical Facts.
Nearly all critical New Testament scholars agree that
- Jesus died due the rigors of the crucifixion and a well-known man and member of the Jewish Sanhedrin, Joseph of Arimathea, buried Jesus in Joseph’s tomb.
- Jesus’ death caused the disciples to lose hope and to despair, doubt, and deny Jesus was the Messiah.
- The apostles/disciples of Jesus had experiences they believed were the literal appearances of Jesus.
- The apostles/disciples were transformed from deniers and doubters to bold proclaimers of the resurrected Jesus. They proclaimed the risen Jesus in a hostile culture with full knowledge they would likely suffer and die for their beliefs.
- The gospel message was a central message of the early church which grew quickly despite a hostile environment and persecution of Christians.
- James, the brother of Jesus, was converted from skeptic to the leading apostle of the church in Jerusalem after he believed he experienced the resurrected Jesus.
- A few years later, Saul, also known as Paul, was converted from the chief persecutor of Christians to the apostle to the Gentiles after he experienced the resurrected Jesus.
Gary R. Habermas-Christian and Anthony Flew-Atheist, Did Jesus Rise From the Dead? The Resurrection Debate (Eugene, OR: Wi and Stock, 2003) 19-20; Gary R. Habermas and Michael R. Licona, The Case for the Resurrection (Grand Rapids, MI: Kregal, 2003), see chapters 2-4; William Lane Craig, On Guard: Defending You Faith with Reason and Precision (Colorado Springs, CO: David C. Cook, 2010), see chapter 9.
8.Jesus’ tomb was empty. This fact is not accepted by nearly every scholar, but there is strong evidence for it, and it is accepted as a fact of history by roughly 75% of scholars on the subject. Habermas and Licona, The Case for the Resurrection, 69-74.
A Romanized engraving of non-Christian historian Flavius Josephus appearing in William Whiston’s translation of his works.
Non-Christian historical confirmation of Jesus and the Resurrection.
Non-Christian neutral or hostile historians have confirmed a general outline of the events of Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection including historians: Flavius Josephus (Jewish historian that served the Romans), Cornelius Tacitus (Roman historian A.D. 55-20), Suetonius (Roman historian, official under Hadrian, and annalist of the Imperial House), Thallus (Eastern Mediterranean historian), Phlegon (historian that wrote Chronicles). Government officials: Pliny the Younger (Governor Bithynia in Asia Minor letter to Emperor Trajan), Emperor Trajan, Emperor Hadrian. Other sources include the Jewish Talmud and Greek writer Lucian. Compiling their references, we get a story consistent with the New Testament.
1. Jesus lived during time of Tiberius Caesar.
2. He lived a virtuous life.
3. He was a wonder-worker.
4. He had a brother named James.
5. He was acclaimed to be the Messiah.
6. He was crucified during the reign of Pontius Pilate.
7. An eclipse and earthquake occurred when he died.
8. He was crucified on the eve of Passover.
9. His disciples believed he rose from the dead.
10. His disciples were willing to die for their belief.
11. Christianity spread rapidly as far as Rome.
12. His disciples denied the Roman gods and worshiped Jesus as God.
Frank Turek, I Don’t Have Enough Faith to Be an Atheist: Lesson 10 PowerPoint Presentation, slides 218-219, 2012; Josh McDowell and Sean McDowell, PhD, Evidence that Demands a Verdict: Life Changing Trust for a Skeptical World (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson-Harper Collins, 2017), chapter 5. The best explanation for these historically confirmed events about Jesus is that the Gospel writers truthfully wrote about their experiences and encounters with Jesus that spiritually transformed them.
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Luke put “historical crosshairs” on the target events of history.
John’s Gospel is historically reliable.
Eye witness testimony is stronger than testimony from a secondhand account. John personally encountered Jesus and his gospel includes intimate details about numerous private conversations of Jesus. (See John 3, 4, 8-10, and 13-17). Craig Bloomberg completed a detailed verse by verse study of the Gospel of John and identifies 59 historical details that have been confirmed by archeology and or non-Christian writings in his book, The Historical Reliability of John’s Gospel (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2002), 69-281, (cited and summarized by Geisler and Turek, I Don’t Have Enough Faith to Be an Atheist, 263-268).
Luke demonstrated that he is a first rank historian when he wrote the Gospel of Luke and the Book of Acts.
Luke wrote an account of Jesus’ life and ministry (Gospel of Luke) and the establishment and growth of the early Christian church for the first 30 years after the death and resurrection of Jesus and his ascension to heaven (Book of Acts). Luke wrote from the unique perspective of Gentile (non-Jew), a Greek physician, man of science and detail, and the first historian of the Christian church. Although Luke was not an eyewitness of Jesus’ ministry, he was an eyewitness to many New Testament events. He traveled with Paul, and interacted with the apostle Peter, Timothy, and Silas (Acts 16-28). Luke was very concerned that the eyewitness accounts be preserved carefully and accurately so that the foundational beliefs of Christianity could be transmitted intact to the next generation (Luke 1:1-3; Acts 1:1-5).
In Luke’s Gospel, he names 11 historically confirmed leaders in the first three chapters of Luke (12 if you include Jesus) that have be historically confirmed by non-Christian writers and/or archeology. These include Herod the Great (Luke 1:5), Cesar Augustus (Luke 2:1), and Quirinus (Luke 2:2). Then at the beginning of the third chapter of Luke, he names 8 more leaders including John the Baptist, “It was now the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius, the Roman emperor. Pilate was governor over Judea; Herod Antipas was ruler over Galilee; his brother Philip was ruler over Iturea and Taconitis; Lysanias was ruler over Abiline, Annas and Caiaphas were the high priests. At this time a message came from God to John son of Zechariah, who was living in the wilderness. Then John went from place to place on both sides of the Jordan River, preaching that people should be baptized to show that they had turned from their sins and turned to God to be forgiven” (Luke 3:1-3 NLT).
This does not sound like Luke was making up a story. Instead, he put “historical crosshairs” on the target events he is describing, like John the Baptist’s ministry, by naming these prominent leaders and their dates. John the Baptist, Jesus’ cousin who baptized Jesus, is mentioned by Josephus (Antiquities 18:5.2). Geisler and Turek, I Don’t Have Enough Faith to Be an Atheist, 261-262.
A historically accurate detail relating to the crucifixion of Jesus is at Luke 22:44. This is where Luke records that Jesus was in agony and sweat drops of blood before his crucifixion. Jesus appeared to suffer from a rare stress-induced medical condition known today as hematohidrosis. This condition occurs when tiny blood vessels rupture due to extreme stress, thus allowing blood to mix with sweat. Since physicians like Luke most likely did not know this medical condition 2,000 years ago, he could not have written an account of it unless he interviewed someone who saw it. Geisler and Turek, I Don’t Have Enough Faith to Be an Atheist, 262; Lee Strobel, The Case for Christ: A Journalist’s Personal Investigation of the Evidence of Jesus (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1998), 194-195.
Classical scholar and historian Colin Hemer chronicled Luke’s accuracy in Acts verse by verse and identified 84 facts in the last 16 chapters of Acts that have been confirmed by historical and archeological research. Colin J. Hemer, The Book of Acts in the setting of Hellenistic History (Winona Lake, IN: Eisenbrauns, 1990), (cited and summarized by Geisler and Turek, I Don’t Have Enough Faith to Be an Atheist, 256-268).
Another classical scholar and archeologist, William M. Ramsey, investigated the book of Acts with skepticism, but his discoveries changed his mind so that he concluded that the book of Acts is a marvelous truthful authority for the topography, antiquities, and society of Asia minor. Specifically, Ramsey stated, “Luke’s history is unsurpassed in respect of its trustworthiness,” and “Luke is a historian of the first rank … [H]e should be placed along with the very greatest of historians.” William M. Ramsey, St. Paul the Traveler and the Roman Citizen, (New York, NY: Putnam, 1896), 8, 90-91, (cited by Geisler and Turek, I Don’t Have Enough Faith to Be an Atheist, 260, 2-268). Therefore, Luke’s written historical accounts are trustworthy. .
Since the historical details of the Gospel of Luke and Acts have been confirmed by archeology and or non-Christian writings, we can have confidence in the reliability in Luke’s eyewitness account of Jesus’ life and ministry. Moreover, since Luke’s Gospel is a trustworthy historical account, then the Gospels of Mark and Matthew are also trustworthy because they provide the same basic historical account.
Historical criteria principle of embarrassment and hearsay legal evidence admission against interest exception to the hearsay rule both confirm the Bible’s truthful account Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection.
Another principle that historians use to determine whether a historical author is credible and truthful is ”the principle of embarrassment.” This principle assumes that any details that are embarrassing to the author are probably true. This is similar to the hearsay legal evidence admission against interest exception to the rule not allowing hearsay evidence in a trial. The following are some embarrassing admissions against interest details and statements in the New Testament that are most likely truthful details and statements.
The disciples fall asleep on Jesus twice as he prays before he is captured (Mark 14:32-41). Free Bible Images.
1.The disciples are dim-witted. On numerous occasions they fail to understand what Jesus is saying (Mark 9:32; Luke 18:34; John 12:16).
2. The disciples are uncaring. They fall asleep on Jesus twice while he is praying before he is captured (Mark 14:32-41). They make no effort to give Jesus a proper burial. Jesus was buried by Joseph of Arimathea, a member of the Jewish Sanhedrin, which is the very court that sentenced Jesus to die (Mark 15:42-47).
3. The disciples are rebuked. Jesus calls Peter, “Satan” (Mark 8:33). Paul rebukes Peter for being wrong about the theological issue of whether Gentiles should get circumcised (Galatians 2:11).
4. The disciples are cowards. Peter denies Jesus three times. All the disciples except John hide when Jesus goes to the cross. The brave women stand by Jesus and are the first to discover Jesus’ empty tomb (Matthew 26:33-35, 56, 27:55-56, 28:1-10).
5. The disciples are doubters. Despite being taught several times that Jesus would rise from the dead (John 2:18, 3:14-18; Matthew 12:39-41, 17:9, 22-23), the disciples are doubtful when they hear of his resurrection. Some are doubtful even after they see the risen Jesus (Matthew 28:17).
6. Jesus is considered “out of his mind” by His own family who come to seize him to take him home (Mark 3:21, 31).
7. Jesus is deserted by many of his followers (John 6:66).
8. Jesus is not believed by His own brothers (John 7:5).
9. Jesus is thought to be a deceiver (John 7:12).
10. Jesus offends Jewish believers to the point that they want to stone Him to death (John 8:30-31, 59).
11. Jesus is called a “madman” (John 10:20), a “drunkard” (Matthew 11:19), and “demon-possessed” (Mark 3:22; John 7:20, 8:48).
12. Jesus has his feet wiped with hair of a prostitute (Luke 7:36-39).
13. Jesus is crucified despite the fact that “anyone who is hung on a tree is under God’s curse.” (Deuteronomy 21:23 NIV).
Norman L. Geisler and Frank Turek, I Don’t Have Enough Faith to Be an Atheist (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books, 2004), 275-279; Frank Turek, I Don’t Have Enough Faith to Be an Atheist: Lesson 9 PowerPoint Presentation, slides 203-205, 2012. The best explanation for these embarrassing details is the gospel writers honestly reported the events even if they were embarrassing to Jesus, his followers, and the gospel writers.
Bible verse of 1 Corinthians 15:3-9
The closer in time between the event and the testimony about it, the more reliable the witness, because there is less time for exaggeration of the account or for legend to develop. The earliest Christian creed is 1 Corinthians 15:3-9.
“I passed on to you what is most important and what had also been passed on to me-that Christ died for our sins, just as the Scriptures said. He was buried, and he was raised from the dead on the third day, as the Scriptures said. He was seen by Peter and then by the twelve apostles. After that, he was seen by more than five hundred of his followers at one time, most of them are still alive, though some have died by now. Then he was seen by James and later by all the apostles. Last of all, I saw him too, long after the others, as though I had been born at the wrong time. For I am the least of all the apostles, and I am not worthy to be called an apostle after the way I persecuted the church of God.” NLT
Conservative and liberal scholars agree that the apostle Paul wrote this creed in 1 Corinthians as part of his first letter to the church in Corinth between A.D. 55 and 56. This was within 25 years of the resurrection of Jesus in about 30 or 33 A.D. Paul wrote down the testimony he received from others. He most likely received it from Peter and James in Jerusalem after his conversion (Galatians 1:18), which occurred about five years after the resurrection. This creed dates right back to about 18 months to 8 years after the resurrection, but some scholars say even earlier. Gary Habermas, The Historical Jesus, (Joplin, MO: College Press, 1996), 152-157; Habermas and Licona, The Case for the Resurrection of Jesus, 51-53, 221. Numerous other New Testament documents were written in the 50s A.D. or earlier. These include Galatians (A.D. 48), 1 Thessalonians (A.D. 50-54), and Romans (A.D. 57-58). The gospels also were written on or before A.D. 65: Mark (approximately A.D. 55-65), Matthew (approximately 60-65), Luke (about A.D. 60), John (A.D. 65, but some scholars say approximately A.D. 75-90). Geisler and Turek, I Don’t Have Enough Faith to Be an Atheist, 242-243. According to historical principles, the New Testament eyewitness sources and documents are of very early origin. For an in-depth scholarly discussion of the history of the early Christian belief in the resurrection, see N.T. Wright, The Resurrection of the Son of God: Christian Origins and the Question of God, Volume 3, (Minneapolis, MN: Fortress Press, 2003).
A cold-case detective applied his homicide investigation skills and principles to the New Testament witnesses of Jesus to provide clear and convincing evidence of Jesus’ divinity and resurrection.
Detective J. Warner Wallace, a cold-case homicide investigator and former atheist, used his detective skills to determine whether Christianity is true. In his book, Cold-Case Christianity, he explained how he used 10 principles from his detective work to examine the reliability of the New Testament Gospel accounts of Jesus’ life and ministry. After collecting all the evidence, Wallace made an honest rational evaluation and concluded that Christianity is true beyond a reasonable doubt J. Warner Wallace, Cold-Case Christianity: A Homicide Detective Investigates the Claims of the Gospels (Colorado Springs, CO: David C. Cook, 2013).
Jesus is the most influential person of history because he is God.
Jesus still matters to Christian believers and unbelievers today because, as God, he is the most influential person in history. Consider Jesus’ impact on the following:
- He inspired more literature than any other person in history.
- He was the catalyst for the visual arts and inspired painters and sculptors in every generation, genre, style, and nation.
- He has been the topic of more songs, hymns, and symphonies than any other person in history.
- His teaching set the standard for moral reform.
- He established a worldview that led to the flourishing of education.
- His worldview encouraged exploration and motivated his followers to investigate how God created the world, which resulted in the scientific revolution by the “science fathers” – the vast majority of whom were Christians.
- He influenced spiritual seekers and religious thinkers to such an extent that every major world religion either mentions or merges [or modifies] Jesus into their theological system.
J. Warner Wallace, Person of Interest: Why Jesus Still Matters in a World that Rejects the Bible (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2021).
Even if all the Christian Bibles and manuscripts were destroyed, the life and ministry of Jesus could still be reconstructed from non-Christian literature, art, education buildings and charters, writings of the “science fathers,” and the scriptures of non-Christian religions. “Jesus doesn’t matter because he influenced the world; Jesus influenced the world because he matters.” Wallace, Person of Interest, 255. Therefore, the clear and convincing evidence of history outside the Bible verifies that Jesus had a major impact on every significant human achievement and every meaningful aspect of culture, because Jesus is God.
Prophecy of Jesus Christ as the Messiah.
Centuries before Jesus, the Hebrew Scriptures predicted the coming of a divine Messiah for all mankind. The entire Hebrew Scriptures (or Old Testament) were completed by 400 B.C. The Septuagint, the Greek translation of the entire Hebrew Scriptures, was completed by 247 B.C. In addition, the Messiah is spoken of in such specific detail in the Hebrew Scriptures 456 times that is clear and convincing proof that Jesus fulfilled these predictions which God revealed to man through the Bible. The sampling of the following 12 Bible prophecies will show that God promised to speak through his prophets about things concerning the future, including but not limited to, Jesus as the coming Messiah. See John Ankerberg, Walter C. Kaiser, Jr., John Weldon, The Case for Jesus the Messiah: Incredible Prophecies that Prove God Exists (Chattaanooga, TN: ATRI Publishing, 2014); David Limbaugh, Finding Jesus in the Old Testament (Washington, D.C.: Regnery, 2015)..
The Messiah, a male child, will be born of the seed of the woman and would eventually defeat Satan (Genesis 3:15). Fulfillment: Jesus was wounded during the crucifixion, but his death and resurrection would inflict a fatal blow to Satan’s domination over man (Acts 10:38, 26:15; Ephesians 4:8; Colossians 2:15; James 4:7), and Jesus will permanently defeat Satan by removing him from the earth and casting him into hell forever (Romans 16:20; Revelation 20:10). Ankerberg, Kaiser, Weldon, The Case for Jesus the Messiah, 29-37.
God promises to make Abram the father of a great nation that will bless the earth. Free Bible Images.
The Messiah will come from the race of the Jews, and specifically from the seed of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob (Genesis 12:2, 17:6-7, 22:17-18). Fulfillment: Jesus was the literal descendant of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in whom all the world was blessed (Matthew 1:1-17, see also Galatians 3:8-9).
The Messiah will be a great prophet, with the authority to teach like Moses (Deuteronomy 18:9-12, 15, 17-19). Jesus was prophet like Moses in that he founded Christianity like Moses founded the religion of Israel (John 1:17; Matthew 5:17; 1 Timothy 2:5-6), Jesus revealed God like Moses revealed God (John 5:46-47), Jesus taught God’s law with authority like Moses initially gave Israel God’s law (Matthew 5:21-22, 7:28-29), Jesus performed greater miracles than Moses (Exodus 7-14; Deuteronomy 34:10-12; Matthew 8:23-27, 14:25; Luke 4:33-35, 7:11-15, 8:41-42; John 2:19-22, 9:1-7, 15:24, Acts 2:22), Jesus rescued the world from the bondage and slavery of sin (Ephesians 2:1-8; Romans 3:28-4:6) like Moses rescued Israel from the bondage of slavery of Egypt (Exodus 3-4; Acts 7:20-39), Jesus is currently the Mediator between God and all humanity (1 Timothy 2:5-6) like Moses was the mediator between God and Israel, Jesus currently intercedes on behalf of all mankind before God (John 3:14-16; Hebrews 7:25) like Moses interceded on behalf of Israel to prevent God from destroying them when they worshiped the golden calf (Exodus 32:7-14; Numbers 14:11-2), Jesus was a great prophet, judge, and king (John 1:19-21, 29-34, 45; Matthew 2:2; John 5:26-29; Hebrews 7:17) like Moses was a great prophet, judge, and king (Exodus 18:13; Deuteronomy 33:5) and Jesus is the Messiah (John 4:25-26, 5:46) while Moses was like the Messiah.
The Messiah will be mocked, people will cast lots for his garments while he suffers as his hands, feet, and side will be pierced, but his bones will not be broken (Psalm 22:7-8, 14-18, fulfilling Isaiah 53:5; Zechariah 12:10). Fulfillment: Jesus was mocked, insulted, crucified with piercing of his hands, feet, and side, but his bones were not broken (Matthew 27:39-40, 43, 46; Luke 23:10-11, 34-40; John 19:28-37).
The Messiah will be King David’s Lord that will sit at God’s right hand and a forever priest (Psalm 110:1, 4; 2 Samuel 7:16). Fulfilment: Jesus will be the Lord of lords that sits at God’s right hand and is a forever priest (Hebrews 7:11-24).
The Messiah will be a child born who is God, and will have an everlasting kingdom (Isaiah 9:6-7). Fulfillment: Jesus was born as child as the Son of God that is both human and God, and he will reign on David’s throne forever.
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The Psalms and Isaiah contain clear prophecies that Jesus would be crucified for the sins of humanity. Free Bible Images.
The Messiah will be wounded and bruised, insulted, spit upon, mocked, killed with thieves, bear the sins of many, be rejected by his own people, pierced for our transgressions, be buried in a rich man’s tomb, and come back to life after his death (Isaiah 53:1-12 NLT). Fulfillment: God came to earth in the human form of Jesus with saving power for those who believe in him (John 3:16; Romans 10:16). He was despised and rejected by the Jews (Luke 18:31-33; 1:10-11). He was whipped before going to the cross and was wounded and spiritually crushed on the cross for our sins (John 19:34; Romans 4:25; 1 Corinthians 15:3; Hebrews 5:8, 9:28; 1 Peter 2:24-25). Jesus had done no wrong and did not deceive anyone (Acts 8:32-33). He voluntarily sacrificed himself on the cross (Romans 5:6-8). He was buried in a rich man’s family tomb (Matthew 15:42-46, 27:57-60).
The Messiah will be a righteous Branch of David that will reign and deal wisely, and execute justice and righteousness (Jeremiah 23:5-6; see also Isaiah 4:2; Zechariah 3:8, 6:12-13). Fulfillment: Jesus claimed to be the one and only righteous God and that he had authority to execute justice and forgive sinners (John 8:54, 58, 10:33, 14:9).
The Messiah will be born in Bethlehem, but has existed for eternity and will be the peace of the people (Micah 5:2-5; see also 1 Samuel 17:12). Fulfillment: Jesus was born in Bethlehem, would live forever, and be the spiritual peace of the people (Matthew 2:1; Luke 2:4-7; John 14:27).
The Messiah will be the righteous king, who has salvation, and comes riding on a donkey as the people rejoice (Zachariah 9:9). Fulfillment: Jesus entered Jerusalem while riding on a donkey while the people of Israel rejoiced, shouted, and celebrated (Matthew 21:1-11, John 12:13-16). Also, Jesus claimed he was righteous and had salvation (John 3:16, 18, 5:24, 34, 39, 8:29, 46). This prediction was made more than 500 years before it happened.
The Messiah will be an only son that will be pierced and crucified and the people of Israel will eventually realize they were responsible for crucifying him and will grieve (Zechariah 12:10). Fulfillment: Jesus is God’s “only son” who was pierced and killed on the cross. God poured out his spirit of grace on Israel so they could understand the meaning of the crucifixion and mourn for Jesus. Also, Jesus is the only one who ever claimed to be God and the Messiah, and was crucified at the demand of the people of Israel (see John 1:1,14; Acts 2:46; Philippians 2:6-8).
Malachi predicted that John the Baptist would prepare the way for Jesus and baptize him (Matthew 3:13-17). Free Bible Images.
The Messiah will come to the temple in Jerusalem, but a messenger will prepare the way before the Messiah (Malachi 3:1). Fulfillment: The messenger preparing the way before Jesus is John the Baptist. The second messenger is Jesus who came to the temple (Matthew 11:10; Mark 1:2, Luke 7:27).
Ankerberg, Kaiser, Weldon, The Case for Jesus the Messiah, 29-138
Based upon the above prophecies, the predicted Messiah would be a male seed of a woman that will defeat Satan, but will be wounded in the process. He will come from the family line of Abram/Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. He will bless all the world. He will be a unique prophet like Moses, but he will be mocked, insulted, and crucified without breaking his bones. They will gamble for his garments. Although he will descend from King David, he also will be David’s “Lord” and second in authority except for God the Father. He will be a child given to Israel who will also be God and have an everlasting kingdom.
He will live in Galilee. He will die for the world’s sins even though he was perfectly innocent. He will resurrect and come back to life from the dead. His name will be, “the LORD of our righteousness.” He will be the ruler of Israel whose origins are from old ancient times. He will be born in Bethlehem and become the king of Israel who will bring salvation, but will come humbly riding on a donkey. God will pour out his spirit of grace and prayer on him, but his body would be pierced and bear the sins of men, and all Israel will mourn for him. A special messenger will come before him to prepare his way. Finally, he will come again suddenly to the temple of God. Ankerberg, Kaiser, Weldon, The Case for Jesus the Messiah, 134-138.
Professor Emeritus of Science of Westmont College, Peter Stoner, and his 600 students calculated the probabilities of one person filling various numbers of prophecies made concerning the Messiah. After examining just 8 different prophesies, they conservatively estimated that the chance of one man fulfilling all 8 prophecies was one in 10 to the 17th power (a figure with 17 zeros). Stoner illustrated this probability by stating it would be the equivalent of covering the entire state of Texas with silver dollars to level of two feet deep. Then you would mark one silver dollar, blindfold a man, and tell him to travel anywhere he wanted in Texas to pick only one silver dollar. The chance of finding the one marked silver dollar would be the same as one man fulfilling just 8 of the Messianic prophesies. Professor Stoner concluded: “The fulfillment of these 8 prophecies alone proves God inspired the writing of those prophesies to a definiteness which lacks only one change in 10 to the 17th power of being absolute. “ Peter W. Stoner, Science Speaks: Scientific Proof of the Accuracy of Prophecy and the Bible, (Chicago, IL: Moody Press, 1969), 107(cited by Ankerberg, Kaiser, Weldon, The Case for Jesus the Messiah, 24-26).
The cumulative effect of the probabilities of fulfilling all these prophecies from a general description to specific details and considered together are clear and convincing evidence that these predictions are of Jesus Christ, the Messiah. In addition, based upon the cumulative historical evidence for Jesus and the resurrection as stated above, there is clear and convincing evidence that God came to the earth in the form of Jesus to sacrifice himself as the Messiah so that we can have an eternal relationship with him if we believe, receive, and trust in Jesus as our Lord and Savior.