Here’s a sermon I preached one time on Easter, composed of prophecies about the last days of Jesus.
Intro: What is a prophecy? Webster’s defines a prophecy as “a prediction of the future, made under divine inspiration”. That is what makes the Bible unique. The Bible contains thousands of prophecies. All of the prophecies, up to this point in history, have come true. There are hundreds of prophecies about the Messiah in the Old Testament. Now, the Messiah was the “anointed One” who would come to save the Jewish people, bringing them to paradise or heaven. He would save all the other people, whom they called the Gentiles, through the Jews. Of these prophecies about the Messiah, one hundred percent of them were fulfilled by the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. What makes this so amazing is the simple odds in fulfilling even one of the Messianic prophecies. The odds of fulfilling even one prophecy run about one in 10,000. That’s 10 to the 4th power for all you math people out there. When we talk about Jesus fulfilling three prophecies, the odds go up to about 10 to the 10th power. That’s about a one in ten billion chance. The odds of fulfilling even seven of the prophecies run to something like one in one hundred billion, billion, billion. Let me give you something equivalent so you can know what those chances can be compared to. The odds of one person fulfilling seven of the prophecies are like the odds that a tornado will sweep through a junk yard and reassemble five cars completely, making them fit to drive again. But all of the prophecies concerning the Messiah were met completely by Jesus. These prophecies concern His entire life. There are prophecies concerning the virgin birth, even the city of his birth. But, because this is Easter, the anniversary of Jesus rising from the dead, we’re going to look at the prophecies that foretell His road to the cross, events while He was on the cross, and what happened beyond the cross.
I. To the Cross: Broken and Beaten
A. Betrayed by friend (Psalms 41:9)
B. Quiet before Accusers (Isaiah 53:7)
C. Smitten and spit upon (Isaiah 50:6)
II. On the Cross: Hung on a Tree
A. Psalms 22:16-18 (written by David)
1. Pierced hands and feet
2. no broken bones
3. Cast lots for clothes
B. Isaiah 53:12 (Prayed for persecutors)
III. Beyond the Cross: After Death
A. Buried by rich (Isaiah 53:9)
B. Rise from the dead (Psalm 16:10)
C. Ascend into heaven (Psalm 68:18)
IV. What this should have meant to them:
(Messianic Deliverance)
A. Fulfillment of prophecy – Luke 24:44
B. Why didn’t they see it?
1. Stumbling block
2. Blinded eyes
3. Neighborhood Prophet
4. Looking for physical deliverance
V. What this should mean to us:
(Salvation has come)
A. Forgiveness (redemption from sins)
B. Acceptance from God (Justified by faith)
C. New Creation (temple of God)
D. Song “You are my king”
1. How a Christian honors God
2. How an unbeliever honors God