In his book, Science Speaks, Peter Stoner applies the modern science of probability to just eight Messianic prophecies regarding Christ. He says, "The chance that any man might have fulfilled all eight prophecies is one in 10 to the 17th. That would be 1 in 100,000,000,000,000,000." (one hundred quadrillion).
To understand that amount, Stoner suggests that "we take 10 to the 17th silver dollars and lay them on the face of Texas. They will cover all of the state 2 feet deep. Now, mark one of these silver dollars and stir the whole mass thoroughly. Blindfold a man and tell him he can travel as far as he wishes, but he must pick up that one marked silver dollar.
What chance would he have of getting the right one?
Stoner concludes, "Just the same chance that the prophets of the Old Testament times would have had of writing those eight prophecies and having them all come true in any one man." And, yet, Jesus fulfilled over 300 prophecies concerning the Messiah and proved to the world that He is more than just a carpenter. He was God in the flesh!
- Sermon Illustrations