Acts 17:1-3 – The One You’re Looking For
The book The World’s Worst Predictions lists some of history’s all-time prophetic goofs. King George II said in 1773 that the American colonies had little stomach for revolution. An official of the White Star Line, speaking of the firm’s newly built flagship, the Titanic, launched in 1912, declared that the ship was unsinkable. In 1939 The New York Times said the problem of TV was that people had to glue their eyes to a screen, and that the average American wouldn’t have time for it.
An English astronomy professor said in the early 19th century that air travel at high speed would be impossible because passengers would suffocate. And Frank Knox, U.S. Secretary of the Navy, said on December 4, 1941: “Whatever happens, the U.S. Navy is not going to be caught napping.”
It’s so dangerous to make predictions about what will happen. The economist Edward Feidler said: “It is very difficult to forecast, especially about the future.” But as we continue to look at Jesus being our King, we come to the predictions in the OT speaking of Him – of His life, His suffering, His death, and His resurrection. Today, we will simply look at prophecies written hundreds of years before Jesus was born, describing his life in intimate detail. My goal is that you will have a better understanding of whom the Jews were expecting to be the Anointed One of God – in Hebrew Messiah, in Greek Christ – the Son of God, and Savior.
The apostle Paul made it his life mission to tell others that Jesus was the one the OT prophesied about. Acts 17:1-3 says: “When they had passed through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica, where there was a Jewish synagogue. As his custom was, Paul went into the synagogue, and on three Sabbath days he reasoned with them from the Scriptures, explaining and proving that the Christ had to suffer and rise from the dead. "This Jesus I am proclaiming to you is the Christ, " he said.” Well, let’s look at just a few of those scriptures.
Way back in Genesis, the very first book of the Bible, Jacob, also known as Israel, blessed His children and grandchildren. And he said this to Judah: “The scepter will not depart from Judah, nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet, until he comes to whom it belongs and the obedience of the nations is his.” This is the first longing for something or someone better. They wanted a ruler who was worthy to demand allegiance from the nations, not just the children of Israel. And this ruler would come from the family of Judah, so that would make Him a Jew. A Jewish king would one day rule the world.
Now, skip ahead a few hundred years. The prophet Nathan brought word to King David. This promise was made to David in 2 Samuel 7:11-16: " `The LORD declares to you that the LORD himself will establish a house for you: 12 When your days are over and you rest with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring to succeed you, who will come from your own body, and I will establish his kingdom. 13 He is the one who will build a house for my Name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. 14 I will be his father, and he will be my son. When he does wrong, I will punish him with the rod of men, with floggings inflicted by men. 15 But my love will never be taken away from him, as I took it away from Saul, whom I removed from before you. 16 Your house and your kingdom will endure forever before me; your throne will be established forever.’ " The throne of this King will be established forever. His will be an eternal reign.
But maybe you noticed something in there. V14: “When he does wrong, I will punish him with the rod of men, with floggings inflicted by men.” Now, Jesus did not sin. He did no wrong. But Hebrews 5:8 tells us that “although he was a son, Jesus learned obedience from what he suffered.” Not that He had been disobedient, but that He wanted to experience all the suffering that we go through. And although it was part of God’s plans, He certainly suffered, inflicted by men.
Isaiah 53 was a prophecy about this suffering king. These are the words written 700 years before Jesus was born: “He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering. Surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows, yet we considered him stricken by God, smitten by him, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed. For he was cut off from the land of the living; for the transgression of my people he was stricken. He was assigned a grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death, though he had done no violence, nor was any deceit in his mouth.”
And these are the words of Psalm 22, poetry of King David: “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? All who see me mock me; they hurl insults, shaking their heads: "He trusts in the LORD; let the LORD rescue him. Let him deliver him, since he delights in him." I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint. My heart has turned to wax; it has melted away within me. They divide my garments among them and cast lots for my clothing.” You see? The words written hundreds of years before Jesus came to pass. The NT concealed in the Old, the OT revealed in the New. The promises of God all came to be. We can trust Him not to forget us no matter how much time has passed.
But as we know, the life of Jesus did not end in death. His resurrection and defeat of death was also predicted. Psalm 16:10 says to God: “You will not abandon me to the grave, nor will you let your Holy One see decay.” Psalm 118:17, one of the Hallel psalms, sung by Jesus the night He was betrayed, says this: “I will not die but live, and will proclaim what the LORD has done.” And Hosea 6:2 says this: “After two days he will revive us; on the third day he will restore us, that we may live in his presence.” And later on in Hosea, in a passage quoted in the NT book of 1 Corinthians, we read this bit of poetry:” "I will ransom them from the power of the grave; I will redeem them from death. Where, O death, are your plagues? Where, O grave, is your destruction?”
Folks, perhaps the original authors did not know all that God meant when He inspired them with words. Perhaps the readers did not put all the prophecies together. But we can see it looking back. We can see the King, the King who would rule but only after He suffered and died and rose again. Dr. Charles Ryrie says that according to the laws of chance, it would require two hundred billion earths, populated with four billion people each, to come up with one person whose life could fulfill one hundred accurate prophecies without any. Yet the OT scriptures record not one hundred, but over three hundred prophecies that were fulfilled in Christ’s first coming. The odds are staggering.
Yet we have a God who is absolutely trustworthy. Every promise He has ever made has been kept, or will be. He loves us enough to tell us that He will do a thing, and then backs it up. We can believe Him. We can trust Him. All through the scriptures we find Him faithful. And we can continue to place our trust in Him.
Someone took the time to go through the Bible, all 66 books, and summarize what each says about our Lord. In Genesis, He is the Creator God. In Exodus, He is the Redeemer. In Leviticus, He is your sanctification. In Numbers, He is your guide. In Deuteronomy, He is your teacher. In Joshua, He is the mighty conqueror. In Judges, He gives victory over enemies. In Ruth, He is your kinsman, your lover, your redeemer. In I Samuel, he is the root of Jesse. In 2 Samuel, He is the Son of David. In 1&2 Kings, He is King of Kings and Lord of Lords. In 1&2 Chronicles, He is your intercessor and High Priest. In Ezra, He is your temple, your house of worship. In Nehemiah, He is your mighty wall, protecting you from your enemies. In Esther, He stands in the gap to deliver you from your enemies. In Job, He is the arbitrator who not only understands your struggles, but has the power to do something about them. In Psalms, He is your song—and your reason to sing. In Proverbs, He is your wisdom, helping you make sense out of life and live it successfully. In Ecclesiastes, He is your purpose, delivering you from vanity. In the Song of Solomon, He is your lover, your Rose of Sharon.
In Isaiah, He is the mighty counselor, the prince of peace, the everlasting father, and more. In short, He’s everything you need. In Jeremiah, He is your balm of Gilead, the soothing salve for your sin-sick soul. In Lamentations, He is the ever-faithful one upon whom you can depend. In Ezekiel, He is your wheel in the middle of a wheel—the one who assures that dry, dead bones will come alive again. In Daniel, He is the ancient of days, the everlasting God who never runs out of time. In Hosea, He is your faithful lover, always beckoning you to comeback—even when you have abandoned Him. In Joel, He is your refuge, keeping you safe in times of trouble. In Amos, He is the husbandman, the one you can depend on to stay by your side. In Obadiah, He is Lord of the Kingdom. In Jonah, He is your salvation, bringing you back within His will. In Micah, He is judge of the nation. In Nahum, He is the jealous God. In Habakkuk, He is the Holy One. In Zephaniah, He is the witness. In Haggai, He overthrows the enemies. In Zechariah, He is Lord of Hosts.
In Matthew, He is king of the Jews. In Mark, He is the servant. In Luke, He is the Son of Man, feeling what you feel. In John, He is the Son of God. In Acts, He is Savior of the world. In Romans, He is the righteousness of God. In I Corinthians, He is the rock that followed Israel. In II Corinthians, He the triumphant one, giving victory. In Galatians, He is your liberty; He sets you free. In Ephesians, He is head of the Church. In Philippians, He is your joy. In Colossians, He is your completeness. In I Thessalonians, He is your hope. In I Timothy, He is your faith. In II Timothy, He is your stability. In Philemon, He is your benefactor. In Hebrews, He is your perfection. In James, He is the power behind your faith. In I Peter, He is your example. In II Peter, He is your purity. In I John, He is your life. In II John, He is your pattern. In III John, He is your motivation. In Jude, He is the foundation of your faith. In the Revelation, He is your coming King.
From beginning to end, the Bible is not about rules, appeasing an angry and temperamental God. It is not about why we are better than anyone else. It is about Jesus, our prophesied King. He is unique. He defied the odds. He is the Lord, the only begotten Son of God, the Messiah, the savior, the Lover of our souls. He is Jesus. And He is all you need.
