I WANT HERMAN CAIN TO BE THE REAL DEAL. How can Americans know the truth in a "he said/she said" gossipfest? Is Mr. Cain a predator or innocently accused?
You know what Herman Cain needs? Authenticating. Perhaps he should release the National Restaurant Association's report that vindicated him.
Here's a different authentication. Thomas and the disciples are checking out what Jesus has said.
That's just ONE of the things I appreciate about the Lord. God authenticated what His Prophet said. Jesus' walk/talk aligned. Boy, are we thirsty for authentication in our day!
When Jesus walked across the Promised Land, He proclaimed the good news. Then He authenticated His credentials with signs and miracles. That helps my confidence in what He says...and also in His uniqueness. No other religious leader authenticated what he said. Neither Joseph Smith nor Mohammed nor any other figure came back from the dead. And that's not all.
Take Isaiah 40.22. The Holy Spirit overshadowed Isaiah to cause him to write "it is He (God) who sits above the vault (sphere) of the earth". Why is that 2,500 year-old-verse so inspiring? In Isaiah's day, scientists thought the earth was flat and held up by three elephants. I can just imagine Isaiah obediently putting down words while his human nature was shouting "do you know how crazy this is?"
Isaiah's verse is just one example of Scripture breaking new ground. But the BIGGEST reason I put my confidence in what the Bible says...is because there were so many prophecies of Jesus that came true. Coincidence? Maybe one or even two would be a coincidence. But how can the fulfillment of dozens be explained? (*See below)Then there are hundreds of prophesies that are future to us about Jesus' return. If He got the first bunch right, I'm willing to trust Him for the second bunch.
Finally, Jesus' Messianic miracles are powerful persuaders. Israel had been told to watch for certain things that would define their Messiah. That's how they would recognize Him...if He did four specific things that only God could do.
HEALING THE LEPER
Jesus cleansed a man of this incurable disease of leprosy in Luke 5. Then He told the leper not to tell a soul, but to go straight to show himself to the priests. Their response? They called Jesus a blasphemer.
CASTING OUT THE DEMON FROM A DUMB MAN
To do a Jewish exorcism you had to first establish communication (identify the demon's name). Because the afflicted was dumb, his demon was unexorcisible by human means. When we read in Matthew 12 and Mark 9 about Jesus casting out the demon, the multitudes were amazed. But the response of the religious leaders? They say Jesus is demon-possessed.
HEALING CONGENITAL BLINDNESS
In John 9, Jesus healed a man born blind. Who better to give sight than the Light of the world? The teachers of the law responded "you are healing on the Sabbath". Then they added "you are born in sin and now you try to teach us? Get out!"
RAISING THE DEAD
When Jesus raised Lazarus (John 11), the multitudes believed. But when the Pharisees found out, they convened the Sanhedrin and decided to bring Rome in to deal with the situation because "it was better for one man to die for the nation".
Jesus met the Messiah requirements and the religious leaders (above all people) should have known. But they were not interested in authentication. They already had their minds made up.
It is no different in our day. Check out the bodacious claims below that our Bible makes about Jesus. Remember they were hundreds of years before He came. And then watch Him fulfill what was written. It is great vetting when your walk and talk match. I still don't know about Herman Cain, but all my confidence is in the Good Book and the One who authenticates me.
*OT PROPHECY and NT FULFILLMENT
Micah 5.2 predicted Jesus would be born in Bethlehem (Matthew 2.1, Luke 2.4)
Zechariah 11.12,13 said He would be sold for thirty pieces of silver (Matt. 26.14-15, 27.8-10)
Psalm 41.9 described His betrayal by a friend (Matthew 26.49-54)
Psalm 27.12 and 35.11 talk of Jesus being accused by false witnesses (Matthew 26.59-60)
Zechariah 13.7 shows He's forsaken by disciples (Matthew 26.56, Mark 14.49-50)
Humiliated and spit upon in Isaiah 50.6,7 and 53.4 (Matthew 27.28-30)
Wounded and bruised in Isaiah 53.5 (Matthew 27.26, Mark 15.19)
Silent before accusers in Isaiah 53.7, 9b (Matthew 27.12 and 14, 1Peter 2.22-24)
Hands and feet pierced in Psalm 22.16 (Luke 23.33, John 20.25-27)
Crucified with thieves in Isaiah 53.12 (Mark 15.27, Luke 22.37)
Prayed for persecutors in Isaiah 53.12 (Luke 23.34)
Reviled, rebuked, mocked in Psalm 22.6-8 and 109.25 (Matthew 27.39-44, Mark 15.29-30)
People were astonished and stared in Psalm 22.17 (Luke 23.35)
Clothing divided and lots cast in Psalm 22.18 (Matthew 27.35, John 19.23-24)
Cried out in anguish in Psalm 22.1 (Matthew 27.46, Mark 15.34)
Gall and vinegar given in Psalm 69.21 (John 19.28-30)
Friends stood afar off in Psalm 38.11 (Luke 23.49)
Bones not broken in Psalm 34.20 and 22.14 and Exodus 12.46 and Numbers 9.12 (John 19.33 and 36)
Side pierced in Zechariah 12.10 (John 19.34-37)
Darkness came over the land when He died in Amos 8.9 (Matthew 27.45)
Committed Himself to God in Psalm 31.5 (Luke 23.46)
Buried in tomb of a rich man in Isaiah 53.9 (Matthew 27.57-60)
No comments:
Post a Comment