Mathematical Proof that Jesus is God

Apr 12, 2011

It is often claimed by Christians that Jesus fulfilled numerous prophecies within the Old Testament, so I decided to take a look at some of these claims and see if they stand up to basic critical analysis.

Often times Christians will list several prophecies at once, and list statistics for each prophecy. Despite numerous requests, I’ve never had a Christian actually present the methodology used to determine the figures reported. Several prophecies will have completely different statistics listed depending on your source. The basis of claims regarding Jesus fulfilling Old Testament Prophecies, especially claims with statistical figures attached, is that the statistical likelihood that someone “just happened” to fulfill so many Old Testament prophesies is so unlikely that it is not reasonable to think of Jesus as anything other than the Messiah.

Statistics are useful tools when they are based on accurate figures, but they have their limits.

Let’s look at an example: Let’s assume the odds of predicting the final score in a Vikings vs. Cardinals is 1/5000 (whether or not this is an accurate statistic is not important). The odds of you correctly predicting the outcome of a specific game on a specific day are very small. That is only true if you are predicting the outcome of a specific game. If you make an open-ended prediction – that someday the outcome of a Vikings vs. Cardinals game will be X – then the statistical likelihood of your guess one day being correct becomes nearly 1/1. It also becomes impossible to prove your prediction wrong, since you can always say you were predicting the outcome of a future game.

There is another problem with biblical prophecies, we don’t know how accurately the bible portrays the life of Jesus – some biblical scholars even doubt whether or not there was a historical Jesus on whom the stories were based.

Let’s return to the sports analogy for a moment. Imagine you are a sports commentator reporting the outcome of a game that took place 150 years ago, you weren’t at the game and neither was anyone currently living. No one can validate any account or correct any errors. In fact, there is no way for you to verify your own information. If you found an earlier prediction about the game you may use it to create your commentary. You may simply assume the prediction turned out to be right, even though the prediction was actually false. You are in a position to simply make up figures to match the prediction, and no one can prove you wrong. In fact, you could invent an entire game based on the prediction, the actual game need not ever to have taken place. Statistics are useless when discussing a completely fictional, or highly embellished, story.

Let’s review several “prophecies” and see if Jesus’ “fulfillment” of these prophecies is as incredible as some people make it out to be:

Prophecy 1: Born in Bethlehem

The odds of someone being born in a specific town will vary wildly based on where their parents live, where their ancestors are from, how often they travel, where they travel, etc. The odds of me being born in Bethlehem were extremely low, because my family is not from Bethlehem, and has never visited that part of the world. If Joseph and Mary lived in Bethlehem – as the book of Matthew claims – then the likelihood that their child would be born there is almost 1 to 1. (Most people are born in the city where their parents live.)

This claim is referring to Micah 5:2, which says: “But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting.”

There are several problems that make it impossible for Jesus to have fulfilled this prophecy. (Notice that most of the time when this prophecy is mentioned, only part of the prophecy is actually voiced. The part about being a “ruler in Israel” is usually ignored for some reason.)

First: “Ephratah” is the ancient name of Bethlehem, but “Bethlehem Ephratah” is also the name of a person: Bethlehem the son (or grandson) of Ephratah (depending on whether you go by the genealogy listed in 1 Chronicles 4:4 or 1 Chronicles 2:50-51). Which means this prophecy could refer to either a native of the town of Bethlehem or to a descendent of Bethlehem Ephratah. If the latter, Jesus does not qualify since neither of his alleged genealogies (found in Matthew and Luke) list either Bethlehem or Ephratah. If the former (which is the usual claim), then Jesus may qualify by birthplace but he still fails to meet the condition of being “ruler in Israel.” Most Christians claim this part of the prophecy is yet to be fulfilled. (See my comment earlier comment about saying you were predicting a future game whenever the prediction fails.)

Second, and perhaps more important, are the differences in the gospel accounts. The gospels of Mark and John never mention Jesus’ birthplace. (Mark is generally accepted as the oldest gospel.) The nativity story only appears in Matthew and Luke. The authors of both gospels report that Jesus was born in Bethlehem, but they have drastically different ways of getting him there.

Matthew says Joseph and Mary lived in Bethlehem then moved to Nazareth after fleeing to Egypt with Jesus to avoid the slaughter of the innocents (Herod’s order to kill every male child in Judea). Luke says Joseph and Mary lived in Nazareth, and that Jesus was only born in Bethlehem because Joseph and Mary were forced to travel there to enroll in a census. Luke makes no mention of Herod’s slaughter (neither does any other historian, including Josephus), and Matthew makes no mention of the census. Both stories are mutually exclusive and contradictory.

Even the date of Jesus’ birth varies drastically between the two stories. Matthew places Jesus’ birth during the reign of Herod (Matt 2:1) 4 B.C. or earlier, while Luke has Jesus being born when Quirinius was governing Syria (Luke 2:1-2), 10 years later in 6 A.D.

Although both gospels place Jesus’ birthplace in Bethlehem, they disagree on nearly every conceivable point. Of one thing we can be certain – one or both of these accounts is wrong.

Since we’re focusing on statistics, which is statistically more likely?

1. Jesus’ parents simultaneously lived in Bethlehem and Nazareth, Jesus was born during the reign of Herod and then again 10 years later when Quirinius was governing Syria, and that Herod slaughtered thousands of children but no one other than the writer of Matthew noticed?

or…

2. The writers of Matthew and Luke independently embellished an earlier account (such as Mark) and each invented their own nativity story in order to make the character of Jesus “fulfill” the prophecy in Micah?

We know people lie and embellish, we also know the gospels of Matthew and Luke were not written until nearly 100 years after the events they report. But I’ll let you decide the odds for each of those yourself.

For the first “fulfilled prophecy,” Micah 5:2, we know that at least one (possibly both) of the gospel writers fabricated the nativity account in order to make that Jesus’ story fulfill the existing prophecy (like the sports commentator who invents his own scores for a 100 year old game to match an earlier prediction), but they were unable to embellish the story enough to satisfy the entire prophecy because Jesus was never the “ruler of Israel.”

Prophecy 1: Micah 5:2 – False.

Prophecy 2: Preceded by a Messenger

This is referring to the prophecy in Malachi 3:1 “Behold, I will send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me: and the LORD, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to his temple, even the messenger of the covenant, whom ye delight in: behold, he shall come, saith the LORD of hosts.”

Christians claim this prophecy was fulfilled by John the Baptist. But, did John the Baptist really “prepare the way” for Jesus? Josephus, the historian, talks about John the Baptist in great detail, but he never mentions any tie with Jesus. The earliest Christian writings (the letters from Paul) don’t mention John the Baptist at all. The gospel of John says John the Baptist recognized Jesus as the Messiah before he was arrested by Herod, but Matthew and Luke both have John the Baptist sending messengers while he was in prison to ask Jesus if he is the Messiah. (Matt 11:2-3, Luke 7:18-20) “Art thou he that should come? or look we for another?”

If John the Baptist were truly sent to “prepare the way” for Jesus, why would he have needed to ask this question?

For the second “fulfilled prophecy,” Malachi 3:1, we know that at least 2 of the gospel accounts shed serious doubt on the fulfillment of this prophecy.

Prophecy 2: Malachi 3:1 – false according to 2 gospel accounts

Prophecy 3: Entered Jerusalem on a Colt

This is referring to the prophecy in Zechariah 9:9 “Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem: behold, thy King cometh unto thee: he is just, and having salvation; lowly, and riding upon an ass, and upon a colt the foal of an ass.”

First of all, in a world without cars does anything really think it was rare for people to ride into Jerusalem on horses or donkeys?

The prophecy does not describe just anyone riding into town on a colt, it specifically described a king: someone who, due to his station, would not be expected to ride into town on such a lowly creature. The prophecy is notable because a king has wealth and power and therefore would have no reason to ride a colt. Jesus was not a king, nor was he a powerful or wealthy man. He didn’t even own his own colt. (The colt he rode into Jerusalem was stolen at his order by two of his disciples.)

Jesus was never a king, so immediately this prophecy could not apply to him. Even without that, the “fulfillment” of this prophecy is problematic. According to Mark, Luke, and John Jesus rode in on a colt – however, according to Matt 21:1-11, Jesus rode into Jerusalem simultaneously riding a colt and an ass. (Showing that the authors were confused about what this prophecy specifically described.)

For the third “fulfilled prophecy,” Zechariah 9:9, in a world without cars it wasn’t unusual for ordinary people to ride into a city on a colt or a donkey. Jesus’ lack of wealth and power did not make his ride in on a colt or donkey especially notable. The gospels disagree about the how Jesus arrived in Jerusalem, meaning that one or more of them is wrong and may have been fabricated to make it appear that Jesus fulfilled this prophecy.

Prophecy 3: Zechariah 9:9 – Contradictory accounts suggest fabricated history.

Prophecy 4: Betrayed by a Friend

This is referring to Psalms 41:9 “Yea, mine own familiar friend, in whom I trusted, which did eat of my bread, hath lifted up his heel against me.”

The psalm talks about the bitter pain of being betrayed by a close and trusted friend. However, it is not prophetic. There is no indication that this verse was ever meant to be a prophecy. The verse is quoted by Jesus in John 13:18, but he leaves out an important line “in whom I trusted.” Which makes sense, Jesus supposedly had foreknowledge of who would betray him, and therefore couldn’t have actually trusted Judas.

The fourth “fulfilled prophecy” therefore has several problems: 1) The verse is not a prophecy; 2) If it is treated as prophetic, Jesus’ betrayal by Judas would not qualify due to Jesus’ foreknowledge of the event; and 3) Nearly every person alive has been betrayed by a friend in some way, so the “prophecy” has been fulfilled by nearly every person who has ever lived.

Prophecy 4: Psalms 41:9 – Fulfilled by nearly every person alive, including Jesus

Prophecy 5: Hands and Feet Pierced

This refers to Psalms 22:16, “For dogs have compassed me: the assembly of the wicked have inclosed me: they pierced my hands and my feet.”

Many Christians argue that this entire chapter is a prophetic description of Jesus’ crucifixion. Matthew and Mark both have Jesus quoting part of Psalms 22:1 for his final words: “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?” (Luke and John have other words listed as Jesus’ last.)

This is a psalm gives no indication of being prophetic and describes the speaker being hunted down and killed, not being arrested and then crucified. Some scholars have argued that a more accurate translation of verse 16 would be “like a lion they are at my hands and feet.” In fact, most Hebrew manuscripts translate it that way. (Some Bibles, like the English Standard Version and the New International Version are honest enough to admit this in the footnotes.)

I’m not a Hebrew scholar, but there are several verses in this chapter that seem to fit the “lion” translation – and don’t fit well with the idea of a crucifixion.

Psalms 22:13 “They gaped upon me with their mouths, as a ravening and a roaring lion.”
Psalms 22:16 “For dogs have compassed me: the assembly of the wicked have inclosed me: like a lion they are at my hands and feet.”
Psalms 22:20 “Deliver my soul from the sword; my darling from the power of the dog.”
Psalms 22:21 “Save me from the lion’s mouth…”

As you can see, the verse in question makes more sense in context when the when the Jewish translation is used — however, even with the translation Christians prefer the chapter cannot be about Jesus.

Psalms 22: 2 says the man was crying out to God day and night, “O my God, I cry in the day time, but thou hearest not; and in the night season, and am not silent.” Jesus did not cry out to God in the day and the night, he was crucified early in the afternoon and was dead before sun down.

This chapter describe a man being mauled to death and suffering for days, it cannot be a prophecy about Jesus.

The 5th prophecy: Psalms 22:16 – is not a prophecy, and doesn’t describe a crucifixion.

Prophecy 6: Wounded and Whipped by his Enemies

This refers to Isaiah 53:5 “But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.”

During this time period crucifixion was a common death penalty. Jesus’ suffering would not have been significantly more or less than any other person who was unfortunate enough find themselves within this assembly line of torture. The two thieves crucified with Jesus were most likely whipped and wounded as much as Jesus, in fact everyone who was ever crucified was probably beat and whipped first.

The verse in Isaiah describes a person being “wounded for our transgressions.” Jesus wasn’t whipped by the Romans because of our transgressions, he was found guilty of trying to subvert the government and sentenced to die by crucifixion for his crime.

The 6th prophecy, Isaiah 53:5 – failed because Jesus was “wounded and whipped” for his crimes, not for our transgressions.

Prophecy 7: Sold for Thirty Pieces of Silver

Matthew 27:9-10 says Jesus was sold for thirty pieces of silver in order to fulfill a prophecy in Jeremiah “Then was fulfilled that which was spoken by Jeremy the prophet…” Unfortunately for the author of Matthew, there is no such prophecy in Jeremiah.

There is a similar verse in Zechariah 11:12-13, but in those verses Zechariah is talking about himself – and there is no betrayal.

Prophecy 7: Does not exist

Prophecy 8: Spit Upon and Beaten

This prophecy is referring to Isaiah 50:6 “I gave my back to the smiters, and my cheeks to them that plucked off the hair: I hid not my face from shame and spitting”

This is basically the same as #6, many people who have lost fights have been spit upon and beaten. That portion is too vague to be applied to one specific person. However, their is no biblical account of anyone plucking off Jesus’ hair, so he could not have fulfilled this prophecy.

Prophecy 8: Isaiah 50:6 – Failed because Jesus never had his hair plucked off.

Prophecy 9: Have His Betrayal Money Thrown in the Temple and Given for a Potter’s Field

Often listed as a separate prophecy this is actually the same as prophecy 7, the prophecy which doesn’t exist.

Prophecy 9: Doesn’t exist

Silent Before His Accusers

This is referring to Isaiah 53:7 “He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth.”

This can not refer to Jesus, all four gospels agree that Jesus spoke to his accusers (although they disagree on what he had to say). According to John 18:33-37, and 19:11, Jesus had plenty to say to Pontius Pilot. Jesus could not have fulfilled this prophecy.

Prophecy 10: Isaiah 53:7 – False according to all gospel accounts.

Prophecy 11: Crucified With Thieves

I’m not personally familiar with any prophecy about the Messiah being crucified with thieves. I searched the internet for this one, and the verse that came up was Isaiah 53:12 “Therefore will I divide him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong; because he hath poured out his soul unto death: and he was numbered with the transgressors; and he bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.”

I’m guessing many Christians are interpret “he was numbered with the transgressors” to refer to being crucified with thieves. This verse doesn’t say anything about thieves, it says “transgressors,” which could refer to any human being on the planet, since we supposedly all fall short of the glory of God. The prophecy doesn’t mention crucifixion or death.

Prophecy 11: Isaiah 53:12 – Too vague, it could be interpreted in many ways. Doesn’t foretell anything specific.

I don’t know about you, but I don’t find these prophecies to be especially persuasive.