Prophecy Fulfilled

You who fear the LORD, praise him! All you offspring of Jacob, glorify him, and stand in awe of him, all you offspring of Israel! For he has not despised or abhorred the affliction of the afflicted, and he has not hidden his face from him, but has heard, when he cried to him. From you comes my praise in the great congregation; my vows I will perform before those who fear him. The afflicted shall eat and be satisfied; those who seek him shall praise the LORD! May your hearts live forever! (Psalm 22:23-26 ESV). 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!