Apr 04, 2026
The Bible tells us this in John 1:14:
“So the Word became human and made his home among us. He was full of unfailing love and faithfulness. And we have seen his glory, the glory of the Father’s one and only Son.”
In other words, the Bible says God became a human and lived among us.
This happened through Jesus of Nazareth – the Word of God made flesh who dwelt among us.
The Bible also says this:
“For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.” John 3:16 (NLT)
In other words, God so loved the world, He offered Jesus as a sacrifice on our behalf so we can have eternal life.
The Bible says we’re all sinners. We’ve all fallen short of God’s perfect standard (Romans 3:23). It also tells us the wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23).
Sin separates you from a Holy God (Isaiah 59:2), and if you die in your sins (John 8:24), you’ll be separated from God for eternity (2 Thessalonians 1:9).
If that happens, you don’t go to heaven. You go to hell.
And that’s very bad news, because hell is a terrible place. The Bible calls it “a lake of fire” (Revelation 20:15).
It’s a place where “blazing coals and burning sulfur rain down on the wicked” (Psalm 11:6). It’s a place of sorrows (Psalm 18:5). Jesus says it’s a place of torment (Luke 16:23), outer darkness (Matthew 8:12), and weeping and gnashing of teeth (Matthew 13:42).
Fortunately, we also have Good News.
Because God loves us (John 3:16), He died for us (Romans 5:8). He paid the penalty for our sin so we don’t have to face hell. How did He do this?
He sent Jesus.
The Bible says God sent His one and only Son to die in your place (John 3:16-17). He obediently went to the cross. He allowed His captors to nail Him to it, and He shed His blood for you and me.
Because He did this, Jesus wiped away our sins (1 John 1:7). This was the only way. Because without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness (Hebrews 9:22).
This is why Jesus said:
“I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me.” John 14:6 (NLT)
How Can You Know This is True?
This is Good News. It means God provided a means for our reconciliation – Jesus is our Savior.
This is why John the Baptist said:
“Look! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” John 1:29 (NLT)
But how you can you know this is true? While some people claim there’s no evidence, nothing could be further from the truth.
In fact, the same Bible which reveals these truths also provides us with irrefutable evidence.
That evidence is too expansive to cover in its entirety in this article, but if you aren’t already convinced, I think what’s submitted below will do it.
Let’s start with this passage.
Read it, and while you do, think about what it describes:
“Who has believed our message? To whom has the Lord revealed his powerful arm? My servant grew up in the Lord’s presence like a tender green shoot, like a root in dry ground. There was nothing beautiful or majestic about his appearance, nothing to attract us to him. He was despised and rejected — a man of sorrows, acquainted with deepest grief. We turned our backs on him and looked the other way. He was despised, and we did not care.
Yet it was our weaknesses he carried; it was our sorrows that weighed him down. And we thought his troubles were a punishment from God, a punishment for his own sins! But he was pierced for our rebellion, crushed for our sins. He was beaten so we could be whole. He was whipped so we could be healed. All of us, like sheep, have strayed away. We have left God’s paths to follow our own. Yet the Lord laid on him the sins of us all.
He was oppressed and treated harshly, yet he never said a word. He was led like a lamb to the slaughter. And as a sheep is silent before the shearers, he did not open his mouth. Unjustly condemned, he was led away. No one cared that he died without descendants, that his life was cut short in midstream. But he was struck down for the rebellion of my people. He had done no wrong and had never deceived anyone. But he was buried like a criminal; he was put in a rich man’s grave.
But it was the Lord’s good plan to crush him and cause him grief. Yet when his life is made an offering for sin, he will have many descendants. He will enjoy a long life, and the Lord’s good plan will prosper in his hands.
When he sees all that is accomplished by his anguish, he will be satisfied. And because of his experience, my righteous servant will make it possible for many to be counted righteous, for he will bear all their sins. I will give him the honors of a victorious soldier, because he exposed himself to death. He was counted among the rebels. He bore the sins of many and interceded for rebels.”
This passage intimately describes the crucifixion of Jesus. What New Testament book does it appear in?
The answer is none.
The above passage is from Isaiah 53:1-12.
The Book of Isaiah was written over 700 years before the crucifixion – meaning the Bible foretold what Jesus would do for us on the cross.
How about this passage?
“My God, my God, why have you abandoned me? Why are you so far away when I groan for help? Every day I call to you, my God, but you do not answer. Every night I lift my voice, but I find no relief.
Yet you are holy, enthroned on the praises of Israel. Our ancestors trusted in you, and you rescued them. They cried out to you and were saved. They trusted in you and were never disgraced.
But I am a worm and not a man. I am scorned and despised by all! Everyone who sees me mocks me. They sneer and shake their heads, saying, ‘Is this the one who relies on the Lord? Then let the Lord save him! If the Lord loves him so much, let the Lord rescue him!’
Yet you brought me safely from my mother’s womb and led me to trust you at my mother’s breast. I was thrust into your arms at my birth. You have been my God from the moment I was born.
Do not stay so far from me, for trouble is near, and no one else can help me. My enemies surround me like a herd of bulls; fierce bulls of Bashan have hemmed me in! Like lions they open their jaws against me, roaring and tearing into their prey. My life is poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint. My heart is like wax, melting within me.
My strength has dried up like sunbaked clay. My tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth. You have laid me in the dust and left me for dead. My enemies surround me like a pack of dogs; an evil gang closes in on me. They have pierced my hands and feet. I can count all my bones. My enemies stare at me and gloat. They divide my garments among themselves and throw dice for my clothing.
O Lord, do not stay far away! You are my strength; come quickly to my aid! Save me from the sword; spare my precious life from these dogs. Snatch me from the lion’s jaws and from the horns of these wild oxen.
I will proclaim your name to my brothers and sisters. I will praise you among your assembled people. Praise the Lord, all you who fear him! Honor him, all you descendants of Jacob! Show him reverence, all you descendants of Israel! For he has not ignored or belittled the suffering of the needy. He has not turned his back on them, but has listened to their cries for help.
I will praise you in the great assembly. I will fulfill my vows in the presence of those who worship you. The poor will eat and be satisfied. All who seek the Lord will praise him. Their hearts will rejoice with everlasting joy. The whole earth will acknowledge the Lord and return to him. All the families of the nations will bow down before him. For royal power belongs to the Lord. He rules all the nations.
Let the rich of the earth feast and worship. Bow before him, all who are mortal, all whose lives will end as dust. Our children will also serve him. Future generations will hear about the wonders of the Lord. His righteous acts will be told to those not yet born. They will hear about everything he has done.” Psalm 22:1-31 (NLT)
Psalm 22 was written over a thousand years before the birth of Jesus.
Yet it accurately foretells the piercing of his hands and feet (Psalm 22:16), gambling for His clothes (Psalm 22:18), and even our talking about Him today (Psalm 22:30-31).
How about this passage?
“And I said to them, ‘If you like, give me my wages, whatever I am worth; but only if you want to.’ So they counted out for my wages thirty pieces of silver. And the Lord said to me, ‘Throw it to the potter’ – this magnificent sum at which they valued me! So I took the thirty coins and threw them to the potter in the Temple of the Lord.” Zechariah 11:12-13 (NLT)
The Book of Zechariah was written approximately 500 years before the birth of Jesus.
Yet, it foretold His betrayal for 30 pieces of silver – the exact amount Judas betrayed Him for (Matthew 26:15). It also foretold this – after the crucifixion, Judas threw the silver coins down in the Temple, and the leading priests used it to buy the potter’s field and make it a cemetery for foreigners (Matthew 27:7).
How is this possible?
God Wrote the Bible
All these passages – and there’s more than these – confirm Jesus is the Messiah. The scriptures foretold His birth, life, death, and resurrection centuries in advance.
How?
Because God is the true author of the Bible.
While the Bible was written by approximately 40 human authors with diverse backgrounds over a period of approximately 1,500 years, the Bible says they shared one thing in common:
“Above all, you must realize that no prophecy in Scripture ever came from the prophet’s own understanding, or from human initiative. No, those prophets were moved by the Holy Spirit, and they spoke from God.” 2 Peter 1:20-21 (NLT)
Humans speaking of their own accord could not have foretold so many specific details of the birth, life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. Only God is capable of foretelling the future:
“‘Present the case for your idols,’ says the Lord. ‘Let them show what they can do,’ says the King of Israel. ‘Let them try to tell us what happened long ago so that we may consider the evidence. Or let them tell us what the future holds, so we can know what’s going to happen. Yes, tell us what will occur in the days ahead. Then we will know you are gods. In fact, do anything — good or bad! Do something that will amaze and frighten us.’” Isaiah 41:21-23 (NLT)
In fact, God challenges anyone to do the same. He says, it’s an indication of divine authority:
“This is what the Lord says – Israel’s King and Redeemer, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies: ‘I am the First and the Last; there is no other God. Who is like me? Let him step forward and prove to you his power. Let him do as I have done since ancient times when I established a people and explained its future.’” Isaiah 44:6-7 (NLT)
God, through the inspired authors of the Jewish scriptures we now call “the Old Testament,” foretold the coming of a Messiah who would save us from “death in a waterless dungeon”:
“Because of the covenant I made with you, sealed with blood, I will free your prisoners from death in a waterless dungeon.” Zechariah 9:11 (NLT)
On the cross, Jesus sealed that covenant with His blood.
Fulfilled prophecy proves Jesus is the Messiah, and through Him alone we are saved.
As Peter said:
“For you know that God paid a ransom to save you from the empty life you inherited from your ancestors. And it was not paid with mere gold or silver, which lose their value. It was the precious blood of Christ, the sinless, spotless Lamb of God. God chose him as your ransom long before the world began, but now in these last days he has been revealed for your sake.” 1 Peter 1:18-20 (NLT)
Praise God, for Jesus has swallowed up death in victory!
