What Scripture Said About Jesus

Luke24:27 states:

And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself. 

Jesus was talking with two men walking on the road to Emmaus, and imagine their surprise and luck to be able to be instructed on the prophecies of the Messiah. The part I find truly amazing is that their eyes were closed, so it wasn't their fault they didn't understand that they were speaking with Jesus. As I read these words, I reached for my NIV Study Bible, hoping it would give me a nice list of these prophecies--nope, not even a good note. So, being the diligent researcher I am, I went online to find some kind of compendium of Old Testament prophecy regarding Jesus and found this--I can't vouch for who these people are, but a list is a list. You'll have to scroll down a bit to reach the list, but when you do, you'll see around forty prophecies, which you can read for yourself. In fact, I'll go one better--I'll turn that list into a handout.

Imagine being those two men and essentially being told the entire history of the people of Israel by Jesus himself. I find that so enticing I almost ended that last statement with an exclamation point, but I didin't want to get carried away. The list as presented in that web site goes through the Bible in order as opposed to how the prophecies would be fulfilled, but either way, we're looking at items that not just Pharisees and other learned men knew, but that even common synagogue attendees were familiar with. To fulfill that list of prophecies that in many cases were extremely specific is far beyond coincidental--it is truly divine.

The famous last verse of John (21:25) states:

Jesus did many other things as well. If every one of them were written down, I suppose that even the whole world would not have room for the books that would be written. 

I for one wouldn't have minded if John HAD tried to write down more, but I understand his point--all the Gospel writers were able to provide was the barest of sketches of a man with whom they had spent the better part of three years, but it's enough for us today. Does it matter if Jesus did four miracles or four hundred? Both numbers are more than we can do. Does it matter how often he debated with the Pharisees and won, preached to crowds or any of those other items? Not in the least, because the most important thing he did, he did only once, but that once was enough to guarantee an eternity with him for all who believe in him.

Scott