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Book: Matthew
 Print ( PC Only )
Matthew 22:42
I. "What think ye of Christ, whose Son is He?"
A. You have two choices. Son of man, or Son of God.
1. Maybe Mary was lying, she had been cheating of Joseph.
2. She knew the prophecy that a virgin was going to bring
forth a Son and call His name Immanuel.
3. When she found out that she was pregnant, she decided
to cover her sin by saying she was the chosen virgin.
4. It was a little tough at first to convince Joseph, but
he finally came around to believe her story.
5. Or Mary was telling the truth and He is the Son of God.
B. What difference does it make?
1. The difference between spending eternity in heaven or
hell.
2. The difference between having a hope of eternal life,
and having no hope for eternal life.
3. If He is not the Son of God then we might as well close
down our school, our church, sell all the proceeds and
party, eat drink, be merry, for tomorrow we die.
4. But before we buy the booze and balloons let us take a
closer look at this man Jesus who was called the
Christ.
C. One of His contemporaries wrote of Him and declared, He went
about doing good and healing all that were oppressed of the
devil, for God was with Him.
1. The gospels record many of the miracles that he did.
a. Besides healing the sick, He raised the dead.
b. He turned water into wine, He calmed the raging
storm with a command.
c. He walked on the water, and fed 5,000 men with
five loaves and two fish.
2. He was crucified on a cross, but He rose from the dead
on the third day.
a. There were many eye witnesses of His
resurrection.
b. Our court system ascertains the facts by the
sworn testimony of witnesses.
c. If there is any validity to the judicial
system, then it must be concluded that Jesus
did indeed rise from the dead.
3. Peter declares that he was an eye witness of the
sufferings and of His glory, but he said, We have the
more sure word of prophecy.
II. A look at the prophecies, and the law of compound probabilities.
A. If I should start to make predictions you can determine the
approximate chance that the prediction will be fulfilled.
1. If I should say that the sun is going to rise shortly
after 7:00 o'clock tomorrow morning. And I gather all
of you out on the lawn to watch the sun rise, the
chances are that my prophecy will be fulfilled,
provided it is not a foggy day. That does not make me
a prophet.
2. If I should say that the Sun will not rise tomorrow,
and the day stays dark, then you would begin to look
at me with wonder and respect.
3. Several years ago I was watching a Rose Bowl game, and
U.S.C. was playing Ohio State. As U.S.C. came up to the
line of scrimmage on their own 18, I remarked aloud to
my friend, Anthony Davis around the left side, all the
way in one play.
4. How compound probabilities works.
a. Let us assume that one man in ten is bald.
b. Let us assume that one man in ten is missing
his right thumb.
c. Let us assume that one man in ten is blind in
his right eye.
d. How many men would I need to find a bald headed
man who was missing his right thumb and was
blind in his right eye?
B. Look at some of the three hundred prophecies concerning Jesus.
1. Born in Bethlehem. What chances are there that a person
would be born in Bethlehem? About one in 280,000 at the
time of the birth of Christ. Today about one in
2,500,000.
a. So how many men random selection of men would
you need to find a man born in Bethlehem.
b. If you should come up to me all glassy eyed and
say, Hey man, I am the Messiah. I ask you,
where were you born? and you answer, Irvine.
2. Make His triumphant entry into Jerusalem on a donkey.
How kings in history made their triumphant entry into
Jerusalem riding a donkey? One in ten.
3. He would have a forerunner. I will send my messenger
before Him. one in ten
4. Be wounded in His hands. one in ten
5. Sold for thirty pieces of silver. one in a thousand.
6. The money would be used to buy a potters field. one in
100 thousand.
7. He would not open His mouth to defend Himself. How many
in history do you know of who were falsely charged with
a capitol crime, did not seek to defend themselves?
one in 1000.
8. They would pierce his hands and his feet. one in
10,000.
C. This brings us to a total of one in 2.8x10 to the 28th power.
To simplify let us just say one to the 28th power. Subtract
the 11 billion people who have lived since the prophecy and
you have one to the 17th power. This many silver dollars would
cover the state of Texas two feet thick.
D. Take 16 predictions. one in 10 to the 45th power A silver ball
of that if the earth was at the center the outside would be 30
times as far as the earth is from the sun. Or somewhere near
Neptune some 2,750,000,000 miles from here.
E. 48 predictions. One in 10 to the 157th power. Cannot make ball
of silver dollars. We need something smaller. Use electrons.
2.5 quintillionth of an inch. Or 2.5x10 to the 15th power.
To count a one inch line of electrons laid single file would
take 19 million years counting day and night at the rate of
250 a minute. What kind of pile would 10 to the 157th power of
electrons make?
1. Our universe is now estimated to be somewhere around 12
to 15 billion light years in radius. If we started
making giant balls of electrons with this supply we
could make them at the rate of 500 a minute for the
next 3,000,000,000 years and still have electrons left
over.
2. Mark one of the electrons.
F. No wonder Peter said, "We have the more sure word of
prophecy."
1. Jesus said, "I have told you before it came to pass,
that when it did come to pass, you might believe."
2. God said to the people that they might know that He is
God, He was going to tell them of things that had not
yet happen so that when they did happen they might know
that He had spoken.
3. What think ye of Christ, whose Son is He? Chances are
He is the Son of God.
H. What are the implications? You had better believe in Him and
receive eternal life. You are gambling with odds that you
cannot afford by rejecting Him. It is your eternity that you
are determining.
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