Sermon Illustrations

Josh McDowell lists 61 major prophecies that were fulfilled in the birth, life, and death of Jesus. Peter Stoner, a mathematician, applied the principles of probability to just 8 of these prophecies.

ILL: Imagine covering the state of Texas with silver dollars 2 feet deep. The number of silver dollars would be 1 followed by 17 zeroes. Now imagine that all those silver dollars are alike except one. It is marked with a bold, black “X.” We blindfold a man, place him in the middle of the state, and tell him that he can only pick up one silver dollar. The chance of him picking up the marked silver dollar in one try is so slim as to be labeled scientifically impossible – 1 in 1017. That is the same chance of having just 8 of the prophecies concerning Christ to be fulfilled in one man without the intervention of God.

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