[Faith-talk] The Crucifixion - recorded 1,000 years beforehand!

[Melody Wartenbee]

The Crucifixion — recorded 1,000 years beforehand! 

By Dr. David R. Reagan
Founder & Director, Lamb & Lion Ministries

There are many reasons to study Bible prophecy. One of the most important is
that it validates Jesus as God in the flesh.

There are over 300 prophecies concerning the First Coming of the Messiah in
the Hebrew Scriptures. One hundred and eight of these are separate and
distinct. The odds of only seven being fulfilled accidentally in the life of
one person are 1 in 10 to the 17th power, or one in one hundred quadrillion.
All 108 — not just 7 — were fulfilled in the life of Jesus.

Bible prophecy also helps us to better understand Jesus — to understand who
He was and what He did.

One of the most remarkable prophecies about the Messiah is contained in
Psalm 22. This psalm was written by David ben Jesse one thousand years
before the birth of Jesus.

A Fascinating Possibility

The last phrase of Psalm 22 reads, "He has performed it." Literally, in the
Hebrew, it says, "It is finished."

This fact has prompted some scholars to theorize that as Jesus hung on the
Cross, He quite likely quoted all of Psalm 22, beginning with the words, "My
God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?" and ending with the words, "It is
finished." The witnesses then simply wrote down the opening and closing
words which were recorded in the Gospels (Mat. 27:46; Jn. 19:30).

Psalm 22 records the emotional, spiritual and physical sufferings of the
Messiah as He took on the punishment for the world's sins. In this letter,
we'll focus just on the Messiah's physical sufferings, recorded in
first-person detail 1,000 years before they finally happened.

Messiah's Physical Suffering

At verse 14 the psalmist begins to describe the Messiah's physical suffering
in gory detail: 
14 I am poured out like water,
And all my bones are out of joint;
My heart is like wax;
It is melted within me.

15 My strength is dried up like a potsherd,
And my tongue cleaves to my jaws;
And You lay me in the dust of death.
His bones are out of joint. He is suffering from extreme thirst. His heart
is stressed to the point of bursting. Death hovers about Him.

Here's how the Gospel of Mark describes the suffering of Jesus (Mk.
15:15-17,19): 
15 ...after having Jesus scourged, he [Pilate] delivered Him to be
crucified.

16 And the soldiers took Him away...

17 They dressed Him up in purple, and after twisting a crown of thorns, they
put it on Him...

19 They kept beating His head with a reed, and spitting on Him...
John in his gospel adds that Jesus suffered extreme thirst while he was
hanging on the cross, and when He cried out, "I am thirsty," the soldiers
taunted Him by putting a sponge to His mouth that was full of sour wine (Jn.
19:28-29).

The Method of Execution

When we come to verse 16 of Psalm 22, we encounter one of the most
remarkable prophecies in the Hebrew Scriptures: 
16 For dogs have surrounded me;
A band of evildoers has encompassed me;
They pierced my hands and feet.
Keep in mind that these words were written 1,000 years before the birth of
Jesus. That means they were also written 700 years before the Romans refined
crucifixion as a method of execution. Yet, by inspiration of the Holy
Spirit, David prophesied that the Messiah would die by having His hands and
feet pierced!

The Jewish method of execution at the time David wrote the psalm was by
stoning. This was still true a thousand years later when Jesus lived. But
the Jews had lost the power of implementing capital punishment under Roman
rule, so they turned Jesus over to the Roman authorities when they decided
He should be executed.

All four of the gospel stories record the execution of Jesus by crucifixion.
The Gospel of Mark describes it succinctly as follows (Mk. 15:22,24): 
22 Then they brought Him to the place Golgotha, which is translated, Place
of a Skull...

24 And they crucified Him...
A Final Comment About Suffering

The prophet concludes his observations about the suffering of the Messiah in
verses 17 and 18: 
17 I can count all my bones.
They look, they stare at me;

18 They divide my garments among them,
And for my clothing they cast lots.
All the Messiah's rib bones are laid bare as He gasps for air while hanging
on the execution stake. And the emotional suffering continues as no one
shows any compassion. Instead, while His life ebbs away, those carrying out
the cruelty pass the time by gambling for Jesus' clothing!

Matthew describes the fulfillment of this prophecy in this manner (Mat.
27:35): 
35 And when they had crucified Him, they divided up His garments among
themselves by casting lots.
The Greatest Miracle of History

Between verses 21 and 22 of Psalm 22 the greatest miracle in history occurs.
It is the... 


     
 



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