“When they came to the place called the Skull, there they crucified Him, along with the criminals — one on His right, the other on His left.” (Luke 23:33 NIV)

In the whole realm of prophecies, there is much discussion about the legitimacy of their fulfillment. Some radicals argue that Jesus may have retroactively fulfilled the prophecies by knowing what they were and living them out. I know it is silly, but these discussions are used by Satan to distract us and create doubt. The response to these critics must be, “But what about the prophecies Jesus had no control over? He certainly could not have controlled the place of His birth and the fact that Herod would try to kill Him when He was young, and there are several more. But let’s jump to Good Friday. He could not have controlled His betrayal, His beatings and scourging, nor the fact that He would be crucified under Roman law.

Now, I ask you to stop reading this devotion and read Psalm 22 and Isaiah 53. One would think that the writers of those two chapters were eyewitnesses of the events of Good Friday, but they were not; they wrote those words 300-700 years before the time of Jesus. Isaiah wrote in verse 12 that “He poured out His life unto death, and He was numbered with the transgressors.” What an amazing God we have! He provided such detailed prophecies of who the promised Messiah would be so that we would be certain.

Peace!

Pastor Tom

www.firmlyrooted.church