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Praise
the LORD, all you who fear him! Honor him, all you descendants of Jacob! Show
him reverence, all you descendants of Israel! For he has not ignored the
suffering of the needy. He has not turned and walked away. He has listened to
their cries for help. I will praise you among all the people; I will fulfill my
vows in the presence of those who worship you. The poor will eat and be
satisfied. All who seek the LORD will praise him. Their hearts will rejoice with
everlasting joy.
(Psalm 22:23-26 NLV). In your imagination go with me back a
thousand years ago. The date is A. D. 963. Most of Europe was only sparsely
inhabited by barbarian tribes. The discovery of America would not be for another
500 years. Let's suppose there existed a document prepared a thousand years
before the event predicted of a time when a man of great prominence, would be
the head of a great nation. He would be riding a street in a large metropolitan
city in a metal chariot not drawn by horses. Then this man suddenly and
violently would die from the penetration of his brain by a little piece of metal
hurled by a weapon made of wood and iron. Within hours, his death would have
world–wide effect and world–wide mourning. Can you imagine with what awe
that document written in A. D. 963 predicting the death of President John
Kennedy on November 22, 1963 would be held today? That hypothetical prediction
would have been made even before the invention of the automobile, or guns or
tall buildings, radio or television. Now
that is exactly what we have in reality in Psalm 22. The Psalmist described a
capital punishment by crucifixion before it had even been invented. It was
unheard of in Jewish minds. It was written many centuries before depraved minds
invented this horrible cruel form of punishment. No one had ever been put to
death by crucifixion in King David's time. The Jewish method of execution was by
stoning someone to death. Romans borrowed the crucifixion from the Carthaginians
who invented it in order to make death as painful and cruel as possible. Apart
from the Gospel records themselves Psalm 22 and Isaiah 53 describes the
crucifixion of Jesus Christ more accurately and in greater detail than any other
portion of Scripture. He describes at least nine specific events or aspects of
the crucifixion in minute detail a thousand years before it actually happened in
history. All of them fulfilled during the six hours Jesus hung on the cross. The
Old Testament continuously, from Genesis on down, speaks of God's intention to
provide the Messiah for the redemption of mankind. He was to be of David's line.
Here 1000 years before the event, and long before a Roman Empire appears and
introduces crucifixion to a conquered world, David in his despair foretells the
crucifixion of the promised one, the Messiah. The point I'm trying to make is that in a world that some believe came into being by a random act and where everything is rendered transient by natural decay, where, if anywhere, can we turn for assurance? The answer is found in the truth of Scripture. When we pick up the Bible, we can rest assured that we are holding in our hands the one authoritative divine revelation of truth, a claim verified by prophecy fulfilled a historic record. Read it, trust it, and follow its instruction. It will lead you to life! |
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