{"id":12581,"date":"2013-12-16T00:00:17","date_gmt":"2013-12-16T06:00:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.markmallett.com\/blog\/?p=12581"},"modified":"2017-04-17T22:00:21","modified_gmt":"2017-04-18T02:00:21","slug":"unbelievable-odds","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.markmallett.com\/blog\/unbelievable-odds\/","title":{"rendered":"Unbelievable Odds","gt_translate_keys":[{"key":"rendered","format":"text"}]},"content":{"rendered":"<div align=\"center\">\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\" align=\"CENTER\">THE NOW WORD ON MASS READINGS<br \/> for December 16th, 2013<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\" align=\"CENTER\">Liturgical texts <a href=\"http:\/\/www.usccb.org\/bible\/readings\/121613.cfm\"><em>here<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n<p><em><span style=\"font-size: small;\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/www.markmallett.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/12\/BoyJesusInTheTemple_____001.jpg\" width=\"467\" height=\"443\" \/><br \/>Christ in the Temple, <\/span><\/em><span style=\"font-size: small;\">by Heinrich Hoffman<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<div id=\"fb-root\">\u00a0<\/div>\n<p>\n<script type=\"text\/javascript\">\/\/ < ![CDATA[\n\/\/ < ![CDATA[\n\/\/ < ![CDATA[\n\/\/ < ![CDATA[\n\/\/ < ![CDATA[\n\/\/ < ![CDATA[\n\/\/ < ![CDATA[\n\/\/ < ![CDATA[\n\/\/ < ![CDATA[\n\/\/ < ![CDATA[\n\/\/ < ![CDATA[\n\/\/ < ![CDATA[\n\/\/ < ![CDATA[\n\/\/ < ![CDATA[\n\/\/ < ![CDATA[\n\/\/ < ![CDATA[\n\/\/ < ![CDATA[\n\/\/ < ![CDATA[\n\/\/ < ![CDATA[\n\/\/ < ![CDATA[\n\/\/ < ![CDATA[\n\/\/ < ![CDATA[\n\/\/ < ![CDATA[\n\/\/ < ![CDATA[\n\/\/ < ![CDATA[\n\/\/ < ![CDATA[\n(function(d, s, id) {\n  var js, fjs = d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0];\n  if (d.getElementById(id)) return;\n  js = d.createElement(s); js.id = id;\n  js.src = \"\/\/connect.facebook.net\/en_US\/all.js#xfbml=1\";\n  fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js, fjs);\n}(document, 'script', 'facebook-jssdk'));\n\/\/ ]]><\/script>\n<\/p>\n<p align=\"LEFT\"><strong>WHAT <\/strong>would you think if I could tell you who the President of the United States will be <em>five hundred years from now<\/em>, including what signs will precede his birth, where he will be born, what his name will be, what family line he will descend from, how he will be betrayed by a member of his cabinet, for what price, how he will be tortured, the method of execution, what those around him will say, and even with whom he will be buried. The odds of getting every single one of these projections right are astronomical.<\/p>\n<p align=\"LEFT\"><!--more-->And yet, several men born in different generations and living in various places made over <em>300 prophecies<\/em> <span class=\"footnote_referrer\"><a role=\"button\" tabindex=\"0\" onclick=\"footnote_moveToReference_12581_1('footnote_plugin_reference_12581_1_1');\" onkeypress=\"footnote_moveToReference_12581_1('footnote_plugin_reference_12581_1_1');\" ><sup id=\"footnote_plugin_tooltip_12581_1_1\" class=\"footnote_plugin_tooltip_text\">[1]<\/sup><\/a><span id=\"footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_12581_1_1\" class=\"footnote_tooltip\">Some scholars estimate over 400 prophecies, depending on interpretation<\/span><\/span><script type=\"text\/javascript\"> jQuery('#footnote_plugin_tooltip_12581_1_1').tooltip({ tip: '#footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_12581_1_1', tipClass: 'footnote_tooltip', effect: 'fade', predelay: 0, fadeInSpeed: 200, delay: 400, fadeOutSpeed: 200, position: 'top right', relative: true, offset: [10, 10], });<\/script> regarding the coming Messiah with the exact detail I&#8217;ve described above, and much more. If you thought the odds above were high, then the odds that one man would fulfill <em>every<\/em> single one of those Old Testament prophecies are, well, unbelievable.<\/p>\n<p align=\"LEFT\">And yet, Jesus did fulfill them, including the one in today&#8217;s first reading:<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p align=\"LEFT\"><span style=\"font-family: Courier New,Courier,mono; font-size: small;\">I see him, though not now; I behold him, though not near: A star shall advance from Jacob, and a staff shall rise from Israel.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p align=\"LEFT\">In the Gospel, the chief priests and elders question Jesus on what authority He acts. These religious leaders, more than anyone, should have recognized that Jesus was beginning to fulfill the prophecies of the long awaited Messiah. Why is it that the scholars of that day failed to recognize the signs of the times, and yet, a simple fisherman\u2014Peter\u2014was able to say:<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p align=\"LEFT\"><span style=\"font-family: Courier New,Courier,mono; font-size: small;\">You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God. (Matt 16:16)<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p align=\"LEFT\">It was a matter of the heart, as Jesus revealed when He prayed to the Father: &#8220;<em>&#8230;although you have hidden these things from the wise and the learned you have revealed them to the childlike.<\/em>&#8221; <span class=\"footnote_referrer\"><a role=\"button\" tabindex=\"0\" onclick=\"footnote_moveToReference_12581_1('footnote_plugin_reference_12581_1_2');\" onkeypress=\"footnote_moveToReference_12581_1('footnote_plugin_reference_12581_1_2');\" ><sup id=\"footnote_plugin_tooltip_12581_1_2\" class=\"footnote_plugin_tooltip_text\">[2]<\/sup><\/a><span id=\"footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_12581_1_2\" class=\"footnote_tooltip\">Matt 11:25<\/span><\/span><script type=\"text\/javascript\"> jQuery('#footnote_plugin_tooltip_12581_1_2').tooltip({ tip: '#footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_12581_1_2', tipClass: 'footnote_tooltip', effect: 'fade', predelay: 0, fadeInSpeed: 200, delay: 400, fadeOutSpeed: 200, position: 'top right', relative: true, offset: [10, 10], });<\/script><\/p>\n<p align=\"LEFT\">Indeed, we pray in today&#8217;s Psalm:<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p align=\"LEFT\"><span style=\"font-family: Courier New,Courier,mono; font-size: small;\">He guides the humble to justice, he teaches the humble his way.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p align=\"LEFT\">It is no different today. The life, power, and presence of Jesus are firmly believed and felt by millions around the globe\u2014both those with doctorates, and the unschooled alike\u2014<em>precisely<\/em> because they believe with a childlike faith that &#8220;unlocks&#8221; the revelation of God.<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p align=\"LEFT\"><span style=\"font-family: Courier New,Courier,mono; font-size: small;\">&#8230;seek him with sincerity of heart; because he is found by those who do not put him to the test, and manifests himself to those who do not distrust him. (Wis 1:1-2)<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p align=\"LEFT\">And what He manifests most of all to the &#8220;humble&#8221; is that He is love and mercy itself. Those who have encountered Jesus in this way are changed: it is tangible and unforgettable.<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p align=\"LEFT\"><span style=\"font-size: small;\"><strong>Those who have met Jesus along the way have experienced a joy that nothing and no one can take away. Jesus Christ is our joy<\/strong>! \u2014POPE FRANCIS, Sunday Angelus, St. Peter&#8217;s Square, Dec. 15th, 2013; <a href=\"http:\/\/www.zenit.org\/en\/articles\/on-the-sunday-of-joy?utm_campaign=dailyhtml&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;utm_source=dispatch\">Zenit.org<\/a><br \/><\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p align=\"LEFT\">But to those who worship their intelligence and stand on the podium of pride, expect Jesus to say to them as He did to the high priests:<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p align=\"LEFT\"><span style=\"font-family: Courier New,Courier,mono; font-size: small;\">Neither shall I tell you by what authority I do these things.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p align=\"LEFT\">Regardless, the attestation that Jesus is &#8220;the Messiah, the Son of the living God&#8221; is evident in hundreds of ways, from modern day miracles that inexplicably defy science and medicine, to the incorruptible bodies of saints, to the fulfillment of prophecies that defy the odds.<\/p>\n<p align=\"LEFT\">Here are just a few of the hundreds of prophecies that Our Lord Jesus Christ fulfilled <em>to the letter<\/em>. As you read these, ponder the fact that these details were penned hundreds of years before these events occurred. And let these facts inspire you to greater faith that <em>He is Emmanuel<\/em>: &#8220;God with us&#8221;.<\/p>\n<p align=\"LEFT\">\u00a0<\/p>\n<p align=\"LEFT\">PROPHECIES OF JESUS OF NAZARETH<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\" align=\"LEFT\"><em>(with New Testament cross-references)<\/em><\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p align=\"LEFT\"><strong><span style=\"font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;\">How he would be born and His title:<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p align=\"LEFT\"><span style=\"font-family: Courier New,Courier,mono; font-size: small;\">Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign. Behold a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and his name shall be called Emmanuel. (Is 7:14\/Matt 1:23)<\/span><\/p>\n<p align=\"LEFT\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;\"><strong>Where he would be born:<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p align=\"LEFT\"><span style=\"font-family: Courier New,Courier,mono; font-size: small;\">But you, Bethlehem-Ephrathah least among the clans of Judah, from you shall come forth for me one who is to be ruler in Israel; Whose origin is from of old, from ancient times. (Mic 5:1\/Matt 2:5-8)<\/span><\/p>\n<p align=\"LEFT\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;\"><strong>Kings would come to honor him, bringing gifts of gold and frankincense:<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p align=\"LEFT\"><span style=\"font-family: Courier New,Courier,mono; font-size: small;\">&#8230;may the kings of Sheba and Seba bring gifts&#8230; They shall bring gold and frankincense, and shall bring good news, the praises of the Lord. (Ps 72:10; Is 60:6\/Matt 2:11)<\/span><\/p>\n<p align=\"LEFT\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;\"><strong>How he would enter Jerusalem and be received:<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p align=\"LEFT\"><span style=\"font-family: Courier New,Courier,mono; font-size: small;\">Exult greatly, O daughter Zion! Shout for joy, O daughter Jerusalem! Behold: your king is coming to you, a just savior is he, humble, and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey. (Zech 9:9\/Matt 21:4-11)<\/span><\/p>\n<p align=\"LEFT\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;\"><strong>The Messiah would be betrayed by one who ate bread with Him:<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p align=\"LEFT\"><span style=\"font-family: Courier New,Courier,mono; font-size: small;\">Even my trusted friend, who ate my bread, has raised his heel against me. (Ps 41:10\/Jn 13:18-26)<\/span><\/p>\n<p align=\"LEFT\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;\"><strong>An allusion to the price of betrayal:<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p align=\"LEFT\"><span style=\"font-family: Courier New,Courier,mono; font-size: small;\">If the ox gores a slave, male or female, the owner shall give to their master thirty shekels of silver, and the ox shall be stoned&#8230; And they counted out my wages, thirty pieces of silver. Then the Lord said to me, &#8220;Throw it in the treasury \u2014 the handsome price at which they valued me.&#8221;. (Ex 21:32; Zech 11:12-13\/Matt 26:1-16)<\/span><\/p>\n<p align=\"LEFT\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;\"><strong>His Apostles would flee the garden:<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p align=\"LEFT\"><span style=\"font-family: Courier New,Courier,mono; font-size: small;\">Strike the shepherd that the sheep may be scattered&#8230; (Zech 12:7\u2014Matt 26:31)<\/span><\/p>\n<p align=\"LEFT\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;\"><strong>He would be rejected by His people:<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p align=\"LEFT\"><span style=\"font-family: Courier New,Courier,mono; font-size: small;\">Who has believed our message? To whom will the Lord reveal His saving power? He was despised and rejected \u2013 a man of sorrows, acquainted bitterest grief. We turned our backs on Him and looked the other way when He went by. He was despised, and we did not care. (Is 53:1,3; Jn 12:37-38)<\/span><\/p>\n<p align=\"LEFT\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;\"><strong>He would be beaten and spat upon:<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p align=\"LEFT\"><span style=\"font-family: Courier New,Courier,mono; font-size: small;\">I gave my back to those who beat me, my cheeks to those who tore out my beard; My face I did not hide from insults and spitting. (Is 50:6\/Mat 26:67)<\/span><\/p>\n<p align=\"LEFT\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;\"><strong>Long before the Roman penalty of crucifixion was introduced, it was prophesied that the Messiah would be &#8220;pierced&#8221;:<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p align=\"LEFT\"><span style=\"font-family: Courier New,Courier,mono; font-size: small;\">Dogs surround me; a pack of evildoers closes in on me. They have pierced my hands and my feet, I can count all my bones&#8230; they look on him whom they have pierced. (Ps 22:17-18; Zech 12:10\u2014Mk 15:20)<\/span><\/p>\n<p align=\"LEFT\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;\"><strong>They would cast lots for his clothing:<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p align=\"LEFT\"><span style=\"font-family: Courier New,Courier,mono; font-size: small;\">They stare at me and gloat&#8230; they divide my garments among them; for my clothing they cast lots. (Ps 22:19\/Jn 19:23-24)<\/span><\/p>\n<p align=\"LEFT\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;\"><strong>He would die with sinners&#8230; two thieves:<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p align=\"LEFT\"><span style=\"font-family: Courier New,Courier,mono; font-size: small;\">&#8230;because he poured out his soul to death, and was numbered with the transgressors; yet he bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors. (Is 53:12\/Mk 15:27)<\/span><\/p>\n<p align=\"LEFT\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;\"><strong>The exact words of the mocking crowd:<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p align=\"LEFT\"><span style=\"font-family: Courier New,Courier,mono; font-size: small;\">All who see me mock me; they curl their lips and jeer; they shake their heads at me: \u201cHe relied on the Lord \u2014 let him deliver him; if he loves him, let him rescue him.&#8221; (Ps 22:8-9\/Matt 27:43)<\/span><\/p>\n<p align=\"LEFT\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;\"><strong>Despite his brutal death, and that the criminals beside him had their legs broken, not a bone of the Lord&#8217;s was touched:<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p align=\"LEFT\"><span style=\"font-family: Courier New,Courier,mono; font-size: small;\">He keeps all his bones; not one of them is broken. (Ps 34:20\/Jn 19:36)<\/span><\/p>\n<p align=\"LEFT\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;\"><strong>Even His final words were predicted:<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p align=\"LEFT\"><span style=\"font-family: Courier New,Courier,mono; font-size: small;\">Into your hands I commend my spirit. (Ps 31:6\/Lk 23:46)<\/span><\/p>\n<p align=\"LEFT\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;\"><strong>He would be buried in a rich man&#8217;s tomb:<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p align=\"LEFT\"><span style=\"font-family: Courier New,Courier,mono; font-size: small;\">And they made his grave with the wicked and with a rich man in his death, although he had done no violence, and there was no deceit in his mouth. (Is 53:9\/Matt 27:57-60)<\/span><\/p>\n<p align=\"LEFT\"><span style=\"font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;\"><strong>The Messiah will rise from the dead!<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p align=\"LEFT\"><span style=\"font-family: Courier New,Courier,mono; font-size: small;\">For you will not abandon my soul to Sheol, nor let your devout one see the pit. (Ps: 16:10\/Acts 2:27-31)<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p align=\"LEFT\">\u00a0<\/p>\n<p align=\"LEFT\"><span style=\"font-size: small;\">RELATED READING:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>\n<div align=\"left\"><span style=\"font-size: small;\">Finding proof of God: <em><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.markmallett.com\/blog\/measuring-god\/\">Measuring God<\/a><\/strong><\/em><\/span><\/div>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<div align=\"left\">\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: small;\">Evidence of God: <em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.markmallett.com\/blog\/evident-in-creation\/\"><strong>In All of Creation<\/strong><\/a><\/em><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<div align=\"left\">\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: small;\">Why &#8220;scientific reasoning&#8221; alone is <em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.markmallett.com\/blog\/the-painful-irony\/\"><strong>A Painful Irony<\/strong><\/a><\/em><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<ul>\n<li>\n<div align=\"left\"><span style=\"font-size: small;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.markmallett.com\/blog\/jesus-the-myth\/\"><em><strong>Jesus &#8220;the myth&#8221;<\/strong><\/em><\/a><\/span><\/div>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"fb-like\" data-href=\"https:\/\/www.markmallett.com\/blog\/unbelievable-odds\" data-layout=\"standard\" data-action=\"recommend\" data-show-faces=\"true\" data-share=\"true\">\u00a0<\/div>\n<p><a class=\"twitter-share-button\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/share\" data-url=\"https:\/\/www.markmallett.com\/blog\/unbelievable-odds\" data-via=\"MarkMallett2\">Tweet<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\n<script type=\"text\/javascript\">\/\/ < ![CDATA[\n\/\/ < ![CDATA[\n\/\/ < ![CDATA[\n\/\/ < ![CDATA[\n\/\/ < ![CDATA[\n\/\/ < ![CDATA[\n\/\/ < ![CDATA[\n\/\/ < ![CDATA[\n\/\/ < ![CDATA[\n\/\/ < ![CDATA[\n\/\/ < ![CDATA[\n\/\/ < ![CDATA[\n\/\/ < ![CDATA[\n\/\/ < ![CDATA[\n\/\/ < ![CDATA[\n\/\/ < ![CDATA[\n\/\/ < ![CDATA[\n\/\/ < ![CDATA[\n\/\/ < ![CDATA[\n\/\/ < ![CDATA[\n\/\/ < ![CDATA[\n\/\/ 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class=\"footnote_reference_container_label pointer\" onclick=\"footnote_expand_collapse_reference_container_12581_1();\"><h5>Footnotes<\/h5><\/span><span role=\"button\" tabindex=\"0\" class=\"footnote_reference_container_collapse_button\" style=\"display: none;\" onclick=\"footnote_expand_collapse_reference_container_12581_1();\">[<a id=\"footnote_reference_container_collapse_button_12581_1\">+<\/a>]<\/span><\/p><\/div> <div id=\"footnote_references_container_12581_1\" style=\"\"><table class=\"footnotes_table footnote-reference-container\"><caption class=\"accessibility\"><h5>Footnotes<\/h5><\/caption> <tbody> \r\n\r\n<tr class=\"footnotes_plugin_reference_row\"> <th scope=\"row\" id=\"footnote_plugin_reference_12581_1_1\" class=\"footnote_plugin_index pointer\" onclick=\"footnote_moveToAnchor_12581_1('footnote_plugin_tooltip_12581_1_1');\"><a role=\"button\" tabindex=\"0\" class=\"footnote_plugin_link\" ><span class=\"footnote_index_arrow\">&#8593;<\/span>1<\/a><\/th> <td class=\"footnote_plugin_text\">Some scholars estimate over 400 prophecies, depending on interpretation<\/td><\/tr>\r\n\r\n<tr class=\"footnotes_plugin_reference_row\"> <th scope=\"row\" id=\"footnote_plugin_reference_12581_1_2\" class=\"footnote_plugin_index pointer\" onclick=\"footnote_moveToAnchor_12581_1('footnote_plugin_tooltip_12581_1_2');\"><a role=\"button\" tabindex=\"0\" class=\"footnote_plugin_link\" ><span class=\"footnote_index_arrow\">&#8593;<\/span>2<\/a><\/th> <td class=\"footnote_plugin_text\">Matt 11:25<\/td><\/tr>\r\n\r\n <\/tbody> <\/table> <\/div><\/div><script type=\"text\/javascript\"> function footnote_expand_reference_container_12581_1() { jQuery('#footnote_references_container_12581_1').show(); jQuery('#footnote_reference_container_collapse_button_12581_1').text('\u2212'); } function footnote_collapse_reference_container_12581_1() { jQuery('#footnote_references_container_12581_1').hide(); 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