This is the genealogy of Jesus the Messiah the son of David, the son of Abraham:
Matthew 1:1
This is the first verse in our New Testament, and if we are not careful, we can read over it without thinking very much about it. This introduction of Jesus is telling us that Jesus is the fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy. Although counts differ among scholars, many serious students of the Bible believe that there are around 300 distinct prophetic predictions in the Old Testament that describe the birth, life, and death of the Messiah. Miraculously these predictions are fulfilled in the birth, life, and death of Jesus.
Mathematically, this is a huge improbability. For one man to fulfill forty-eight of these prophecies, the chances would be one in 10157. This number is so large, this statistic so impossible, that we cannot really comprehend the miracle of this accomplishment. Yet Jesus did not just fulfill forty-eight Messianic prophecies. We believe that He fulfilled somewhere around 300 (some count less, while some count more). To put this in perspective, the average person has a one in 1.2 million chance of being struck by lightning in any given year.
It seems to me that God is speaking the language of probability, statistics, and prophecy to show us something. About fifteen times, Jesus spoke of His listeners having “ears to hear.” In other words, Jesus is asking if we have the spiritual aptitude and sensitivity to understand what He is trying to tell us. Can you see that Jesus is no normal man, but has been sent by the Father to accomplish the mission of mankind’s redemption? Do you have ears to hear and eyes to see what God is trying to show you in the life of Jesus? How will you let this change your life?
