Saturday, April 23, 2011

Since the media is giving attention to the subject of Easter this week, we thought it would be an appropriate time to share our thoughts on the subject.  Our faith has been the anchor of our 42 year marriage, how we raised our children, and our very lives.  There is overwhelming evidence that Christ was the Messiah-----The King of the Jews. God has promised an abundant life which we have experienced as his children.

 To begin, the most powerful arguments are the prophecies concerning Christ’s first coming and his crucifixion.  No person could possibly script his life to fit where he would be born, how he would die, and where and how he would be buried.   These prophecies can be found throughout the Old Testament; but for the sake of brevity, we’ll center on two books.  The book of Isaiah was written in 740-680 B.C. Isaiah was born into an upper-class family where he rubbed shoulders with royalty and gave advice concerning foreign affairs of the nation.  He also attacked the social ills of his day like many of us who are concerned about the welfare of our nation.  He saw these social abuses as symptoms of spiritual declension.    To give you a flavor of his writing which got him in trouble, see Isaiah 1: 23. “Your rulers are rebels and companions of thieves; they all love bribes and chase after gifts.  They do not defend the cause of the fatherless; the widow’s case does not come before them.” Today, we can throw our corrupt politicians in jail.  Unfortunately for Isaiah, who lived most of his life in Jerusalem, he was martyred by being sawed in two while inside a hollow log (Hebrews 11:37) under the reign of Manasseh. Here are the statements of a God inspired man. When reading Isaiah 53, one would think he was reading the lyrics for Handel’s Messiah.  Many of these verses will resonate with you. 

• “He was despised and rejected by men-a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief.” Is. 53.3
• “But he was pierced for our transgressions.  He was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him and by his wounds, we are healed.  We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all……he was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth. Is. 53.5-7
• “He was assigned a grave with the wicked and with the rich in his death though he had done no violence, nor was any deceit in his mouth.” Is. 53:9
• “After the suffering of his soul, he will see the light of life, and be satisfied:  Is. 53:9
• “For he bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.” Is. 53:12

 The book of Isaiah was found in the Dead Sea Scrolls relatively intact and is 1000 years older than the oldest script before the discovery.  The Isaiah scroll dates back to the second century B.C. which would make it impossible to falsify to fit the life of Christ.  The whole Old Testament was discovered except for the book of Esther.  The Dead Sea Scrolls also called the Qumran scrolls (Qumran is the main location in the Dead Sea area where the scrolls were discovered) demonstrates unequivocally the fact that the Jews were faithful in their transcription of biblical manuscripts.  The Jewish writers were extremely conscientious about copying the biblical text, and memorization was a key component of their education.  The Old Testament books from Qumran are those which we find in our Bibles.  Minor textual variants occur as they do in any document which depended on hand copies for multiplication.   Comparing today’s scripture to those found in the Dead Sea Scrolls speaks of the accuracy found in the text.      

 The second book is the Psalms which was also found in the Dead Sea Scrolls.

 The following are some of the prophecies of the Messiah.

• “All who see me mock me; they hurl insults, shaking their heads; He trusts in the Lord let the Lord rescue him.  Let him deliver him, since he delights in him.” Ps. 22: 7-8
• “I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint.  My heart has turned to wax; it has melted away within me…my tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth; Ps. 22:14 (Medically this is an accurate description of what takes place when a person is crucified.) 
• “They have pierced my hands and my feet.  I can count all my bones; people stare and gloat over me.  They divide my garments among them and cast lots for my clothing.” Ps. 22:16
• “They put gall in my food and gave me vinegar for my thirst.” Ps. 69:21
• “Because you will not abandon me to the grave, nor will you let your Holy one see decay.” Ps. 16:10

There are hundreds of prophecies concerning the coming Messiah which Jesus has fulfilled.  Here are a few more.

• Bethlehem was named as the birthplace of the Messiah seven centuries before the event.  “But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from of old, from ancient times.”(Micah 5:2)
• “See your king comes to you, righteous and having salvation, gentle and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.” Zechariah 9:9
• “They will look on me, the one they have pierced, and they will mourn for him as one mourns for an only child, and grieve bitterly for him as one grieves for a firstborn son.” Zechariah 12:10

The prophecies of Christ first coming are powerful.  In addition, there are prophecies about his second coming also. We encourage you to do your own study and see how these prophecies are fulfilled in the New Testament.  Being skeptics ourselves at one time, we understand the many questions and concerns you may have.  . But we were created for a relationship with the living God.   “You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.” (Jeremiah 29:12)  If Christ was the Messiah and there is such a thing as abundant life here and life after death-----------------wouldn’t you want to know?  Anything this important cannot be ignored.

We welcome questions and discussion on this all important topic.

                                     Because we care, Sue and Larry Schuerr