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The Bible is Reliable
RO133-02© Berean Memorial Church of Irving, Texas, Inc. (1977)
Our subject is "The Availability of the Gospel." This is segment number two on Romans 10:5-8.
The apostle Paul, in Romans 10, has pointed out that there are two kinds of righteousness in the world. One kind is produced by the human efforts of morality and good
works. This is a relative righteousness, and it has no value with God concerning salvation. The other kind of righteousness is God's own absolute righteousness, which
characterizes Him. This is a righteousness of total perfection, and this qualifies a person for eternal life in heaven. So, relative righteousness takes a person into
the lake of fire forever. Absolute righteousness takes a person into heaven forever.
The Jews of Paul day said that they were very religious. As he has pointed out, they were very zealous for God as they tried to qualify for heaven by obeying the works
of the Mosaic Law system. They were pursuing a relative righteousness, thinking that that is what God expected of them. The sincerity of the Jews did not make them
acceptable, however, to God in terms of securing eternal life in heaven, because they simply did not possess the absolute righteousness that it takes. Nothing else
counts with God except absolute righteousness. The Jews refused to accept the fact that there is no salvation through keeping the Mosaic Law, but only through trusting
in Jesus Christ. They were very proud of their special place with God, and therefore, they refused to believe that grace was the way to go to heaven.
Paul Quotes Moses
Paul told the Jews that the way into heaven was through faith in Jesus Christ, and he warned them that morality and good works would not do it for them. Furthermore,
Paul quotes Moses in Deuteronomy 30:11-14, which we looked at in some detail, to illustrate that salvation by faith is readily available to everyone; that is, the
information about the gospel is no secret. There's nothing more that anyone has to do to establish a basis for salvation because God has done it all. God has never,
therefore, made a secret of how to get into heaven. So, there is no need to rush around trying to get the information. We have it in the Bible. So, Paul's ministry to
the Jews was devoted to telling them how to be saved by faith in Jesus Christ. Their response was total rejection.
We now come to Romans 10:6 which says, "But the righteousness which is of faith speaks on this wise." The apostle Paul treats absolute righteousness as a person. And he
is referring now to this passage in Deuteronomy 30:11-14. And he is taking ideas – he doesn't quote it precisely, but he takes ideas from that passage from
Deuteronomy to illustrate his point that the information about how to be saved is clear, and that we have that information. All you have to do is pay attention to the
information. And he goes back to this Deuteronomy 30 passage to illustrate that point. Now he takes ideas from that passage in Deuteronomy, and he makes reference here
in Romans 10:6 to that.
How Will God Provide us the Information?
"Say not in your heart who shall ascend into heaven." The word "ascend" is the Greek word "anabaino." "Anabaino" means "to go up." It's in the future tense – at
some point in the future. Its middle voice, which indicates it'll be for your personal benefit to do this. And he says, "Do not say," as the same reference was in the
book of Deuteronomy about the Jews, saying, "How will we get to heaven to get the information about God after you have died, Moses?" So, he says, "Don't say, 'How will
we get into heaven?" And again, here he is talking about the dwelling place of God. To get into heaven for what purpose? To bring something down ("katago"). "Katago"
means "to remove something" from heaven down to earth. At some point of time, the Jews want to do this. This is their purpose.
What is it that they want to bring? Paul is saying, "Don't worry about bringing down the 'Christos' ('the Christ.)" The One who was promised to Israel Who would provide
salvation for them, was referred to in the Scriptures as "the Christ." The word "Christ" means "the Anointed One." So, the Old Testament kept talking about the Christ.
God kept saying, "I'm going to send 'the Messiah.'" That's the Jewish word for "the Anointed One" (the Christ). So, the Jews were constantly looking to heaven for the
Christ, because they knew that when He came, salvation would then be provided for them.
Now, the Jews, to this day, are still looking for the Christ to come down from heaven to save them. The Jews are still pleading with God to send His Promised Messiah
Savior to them. But the apostle Paul was trying to tell the Jews, "Don't look to heaven to bring Christ down, because He has already come. God's grace has already brought
Christ to the Jews," but they were still trying to bring Him down from heaven.
So, in John 1:12, we have this pointed out: "But as many as received Him (Jesus Christ), to them gave He power to become the children of God, even to them that believe
on His Name;" that is, Jesus Christ has come. He has been given. He is the power of God unto salvation.
In Galatians 4:4, we have this pointed out: "That when the fullness of time was come, God sent forth His Son, made of a woman, made under the Law, to redeem them that
were under the Law, that they might receive the adoption of sons." So, the Bible is very clear that God has already done the work of providing redemption. What are the
Jews doing? They're still trying to bring the Christ down from heaven. How sad! It has already happened, and they're still trying to make it happen. God has set up a
means for our justification which satisfies His justice, and He has told us all about it. That's the important point to remember. We know all about how to be justified.
So Romans 10:7 then goes on and takes another idea out of that passage from Moses in Deuteronomy 30:4. For he says, "Or." He is introducing another question about
securing salvation. This time: "who shall descend?" And that is the word "katabaino." "Katabaino" means "to go down." Now, Paul says, "Why do you ask at some time in the
future?" It is middle voice. It's going to be for your personal benefit. It is a statement of fact here.
"Why are you suggesting that you go down into the deep?" "The deep" is the word "abussos." And it means "abyss." It's a deep place. In Deuteronomy 30, the people were
questioning: "How will we go across the sea?" And here Paul takes that idea of going across the deep sea, and just uses the idea of depth. He says, "Or to go to the deep
place." Here it is referring to the dead (to the place called "Hades" – to the place inside the earth, the place called Hades), and also the grave itself. And Paul
says, "To do this for this purpose;" that is, "now to bring up something ('anago')." That means, simply, "to resurrect from the dead." So, he's talking about bringing up
Christ from the dead – bringing up Christ physically from the dead.
The Jews said, "Where will we go across the sea to get information about God's commandments, so that we can have the blessings He promised?" Paul says, "You are saying,
in effect, as Moses was referring, to going to a deep place to find the truth about God. And here, even if you are to assume that the Christ has come, and that He has
died, you must bring him out of the grave." Why would I have to bring Christ out of the grave if He came and paid for my sins? There is only one reason, and that would
be that if what He did was not enough. And all human works systems are telling you just that. They are saying that what Christ did is not sufficient. You now have to add
your works; your penance; your service; and, your contrition. You must add to what He did to finish the job, in effect, to bring Him back out of the grave. That is because
it is Romans 4:25 that tells us that Jesus Christ was raised from the dead because justification was an accomplished fact. Because it was an accomplished fact, He was
raised from the dead. If our justification was not accomplished, and if His position was not satisfying to the justice of God, He would have still been in that grave.
Hebrews 13:20-21 put it this way: "Now the God of peace that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, that Great Shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the
everlasting covenant, make you perfect in every good work to do His will, working in you that which is well-pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ, to Whom be
glory forever and ever. Amen." It is God the Father who brought up God the Son from the dead, because the Son's provision for salvation was perfect. It covered all
that was needed. It did the job, and therefore he could not be held any longer in the grave. There is no need, Paul is implying to the Jews, for anybody to have to
do anything in order to complete the provision of salvation. You do not have to add your own good works to the work of Christ, as if His were not sufficient to save
us from hell, and to get us into heaven. Paul's point is that salvation comes by faith in God's provision alone, not by His provision and our completion of that by
our own efforts. Salvation provision is completed, and the evidence of that is that Christ has been raised from the dead.
Then we come to the last verse of the section that we are looking at: verse 8. Paul comes now to his point that he has been making, with using this illustration from
Deuteronomy 30. He says, "But what says it?" What this "but" is referring to here is introducing a contrast: "What says it" is referring to the Deuteronomy 30:14 passage.
And he is referring to absolute righteousness again, as if it were a person speaking. So, he says, "What does absolute righteousness really say, as expressed through the
writings of Moses there in Deuteronomy 30?" "But what says this statement of absolute righteousness?" It is "The Word," and it is not "logos." That is our word that we
are normally acquainted with conveying an idea or a thought. This is "hrema" – a significant difference. "Hrema" stands for a statement of truth, or a proposition
of truth.
The liberals say that the Bible does not give you propositions of absolute truth. That's what they hate. They do not like to have us say to them, "The Bible says
something, and that is an absolute statement of truth. Therefore, there is no appeal from it, and it is not optional. When the Bible speaks, God has spoken. These are
statements from God." And the word "hrema" specifically stresses that point – that this is a statement from God. Therefore, it is more than just "logos" (an idea).
The Gospel
What he says is that: "The statements of proposition of truth from God are near." It is the Greek word "eggus." "Eggus" refers to a place. And he says, "This information
about God is very near." Where? It's near. How is it near? Where is it? Very specifically, he says, "It's in your mouth." And he uses the word "stoma," which is the Greek
word for the human organ of the mouth. He says, "It's in your mouth;" that is, the word of the gospel is something that we have been discussing. The word of the
commandments of the Old Testament that would bring blessing to the people was on the mouths of the people. Moses had taught them. They had discussed this. They had the
information.
Furthermore, he says, "It is also in your heart" – your "kardia." And "kardia" refers to the mentality of the soul. The Word of God was also memorized. What they
heard Moses say, they remembered. So, they had the Word of God. It was not over in some other country. It was not in some high place in heaven. It was not in some deep
place under the earth. It was right there where God who delivered it to them. It was delivered in the form of the written Scriptures, it was written down by Moses, and
by the prophets which followed.
So, Paul says, "What does absolute righteousness have to say to us about the information of going to heaven? And he says, "That proposition of truth from God we have in
our mouths. We talk about it. We have it in our minds. We have memorized it." And then Paul becomes very specific. He says, "It is the Word of Faith." And again, he uses
this same word "hrema." It is a proposition of "pistis." This is the word for "trust." This has reference to the word of salvation that Paul has been preaching,
which has been a word based upon trusting Christ. It is a trust salvation method. And this grace way is in contrast to the way of works that the Jews were pursuing.
So, Paul says, "The Word that you have is the propositions of truth concerning a faith way of salvation. And then he points out that that's what he's been
preaching to them. The word "preach: is "kerusso." "Kerusso" means "to proclaim." And it's the message of salvation about faith in Jesus Christ as a means of attaining
eternal life. This is in the present tense, which indicates that Paul was continually explaining this message to these people. It's active. He told them the message that
salvation is through Christ. It's indicative. It's a statement of fact.
So, what verse 8 is telling us is that, for we who live in this age, the information that we need from God is just as available as it was to the Jews in the time of
Moses. We are today not in the dark about going to heaven. If you listen to people out in society, you will get the idea that nobody really knows how to go to heaven.
So, we are not faced with researching and developing a plan of salvation that is acceptable to God. Paul says, "We already have that information, and we have it in the
Bible. We are not trying to get God to speak to us from heaven. We are not trying to reinforce what Jesus Christ did on the cross so that we can get Him up out of the
grave. The information about salvation is on our lips as we recite Scripture, and it is in our minds, with the understanding of the gospel message given to us by God
the Holy Spirit. It is the message of grace salvation which Paul preached to the Jew and to the gentile. And he got it directly from God when he was trained for three
years in the Arabian Desert by the Lord Himself.
Paul's Word of faith message actually won few converts among the intelligentsia on Mars Hill in Athens. But it has won millions of ordinary people who are willing to
believe the Word of God – who are willing to believe the Word of God as it has been inerrantly provided for us in the written Scriptures.
The Incarnation and the Resurrection of Jesus Christ
The doctrine of the incarnation tells us that Christ has already come down from heaven, and we celebrate that at Christmastime. The doctrine of the resurrection tells
us that Christ has already been raised from the dead, and we celebrate that at Easter time. Jesus Christ has come. He has died. He has descended into Hades. He has
risen from the dead. So, He just needs to be trusted for the salvation that He has provided (Ephesians 2:8-10).
The basis of this faith in Christ is the inerrant Bible, which establishes for the believer the reality of these historical events relative to salvation. We believe
these things happened because the Bible tells us that they happened. We believe that there was a place like Calvary because the Bible tells us. We believe there was a
cross because the Bible tells us. We believe this execution took place because the Bible gives us this information. God's Word unto salvation, then, is at hand in the
Bible for the Jew and the gentile to believe and to be saved.
Is the Bible Reliable as God's Word?
That then brings up one final question: what is reliability of the Bible as the Word of God? It all hinges on that. That's the linchpin. If there's any question about
the reliability of the Bible as the Word of God, then we're in trouble. Then the ecclesiastical authorities have a proper claim to be able to speak for God. The only
way we can silence them; the only way we can bypass human opinion; and, the only way we can outflank false prophets is through the Bible, if it is indeed the Word of God.
The Bible Writers Claim to have Received their Information from God
The Bible, as you know, claims to be exactly that. There are two things we should remember. One is that the Bible writers claim to have received their information, that
they recorded in the Bible, from God. 2 Timothy 3:15-17 indicate that. Paul, speaking to Timothy, says, "From a child, you have known the holy Scriptures, which are able
to make you wise unto salvation through faith, which is in Christ Jesus." Paul says to Timothy: "The information about how to go to heaven, you have known, Timothy, from
the time you were a little boy. You were taught this by your mother and your grandmother, because they taught you what the Scriptures had to say about how to go to
heaven."
Inspiration
So, you have that information in the Bible. Aha, but is that good information? Can I trust that information? There's no doubt that the Bible does tell you how to go to
heaven. But how do I know that that is the way, rather than that some Bible writer invented it? Then we have that dramatic and important verse 16: "All Scripture is
given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine; for reproof; for correction; and, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be perfect
(that is, mature), thoroughly furnished unto all good works." Every Scripture is inspired by God.
The word "inspired" is actually an adjective: "theopneustos." "Theo" is "God." "Pneustos" is "breathed." So this word means "God-breathed." Every Scripture is the breath
of God. This is the word that we translate as "inspiration," because the word "inspiration" means to "inspire," or "to breathe in." The message of the Bible was breathed
out from God into the minds of the Bible writers.
So, the Bible, thus, is produced by the creative breath of God, and therefore it has supernatural power. And that's why Hebrews 4:12 says that: "The Word of God is living
and active (powerful), because it is the supernatural Word of God. It is breathed out by God.
So, this passage makes a very clear claim that the information in the Bible was not invented by good, nice men – men of good character who wanted to be inspiring
in some way. They received their information from God. And what they wrote, therefore, is in truth, the Word of God.
The Bible Writers were Guided by God the Holy Spirit
There is a second thing we should remember, and that is in 2 Peter 1:21. It tells us that the Bible writers were guided by the Holy Spirit as they wrote their books. As
they proceeded to put the information that God had breathed into their minds on the parchment, God the Holy Spirit came into action to guide them in that work.
2 Peter 1:21: "For the prophecy." This is speaking about that specific kind of Scripture – prophetic Scripture. But what is true of prophecy is true of all the
rest of Scripture too: "For the prophecy came not at any time by the will of man." They didn't invent it. We've seen already that they received it by God breathing that
information into them: "But holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit."
The context of this passage points out the reliability of Bible prophecy as evidence of its divine origin. Bible prophecy has always been fulfilled in exact detail.
Therefore, in the context, Peter says, "That proves that men did not invent prophecy." But what is true about the reliability about prophecy is also true about the
rest of the Bible. Furthermore, God selected certain men who were then, it says, "moved." The Greek word is "phero." The word "phero" means to be carried along. It is
in the present tense. God constantly carried the writers of the Bible along as they wrote. It is passive. They did not carry themselves. That is a very important point.
He carried them. And it is participle – a spiritual principle is being declared here. As they wrote their manuscripts, God the Holy Spirit superintended what they
did. Oh, he let them talk in their own language. He let them use their natural vocabulary. But the moment they were going to put something that was not true, the Holy
Spirit came and said, "Uh-oh, wait a minute. Not that – that's wrong." Or if they were going to put something that was erroneous: a mistake; a wrong figure; a
wrong piece of historical information; or, a wrong scientific fact, the Holy Spirit said, "Uh-oh, no. That's wrong. Don't do that. Put it this way."
The result was that when they were finished, they had a perfect manuscript. That's why we say that the Bible is inerrant. I'm just showing you what the Bible claims for
itself. It does claim that these men wrote under the guidance of the Holy Spirit. The information came from God, and then God saw to it that it was recorded in a way
that it would not have any mistakes in it.
Now the testimony of Jesus Christ is very clear. John 10:35 says that the Scriptures cannot be broken. The reason Jesus said that is because it was a perfect Word.
The Prophetic Scriptures
So, let's look at a few examples of the Bible's inspiration as the Word of God in the prophetic Scriptures. One of the most dramatic elements of the Bible was telling
things that are going to come about in the future; and, specifically, about those that refer to Jesus Christ. There are many. Let's see how many we can hit today.
Bethlehem
First of all, let's look at Micah 5:2. This was written 700 years before Christ was born. Here's what it says: "But you, Bethlehem Ephratah, though you be little among
the thousands of Judah, yet out of you shall He come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel, whose goings forth had been from of old from everlasting." 700 years
before Jesus Christ was born, the prophet Micah says that the Messiah, the Christ, is going to be born in a little insignificant town called Bethlehem. And the person
who is going to be born there is going to be the King of the Jews. He'll be the ruler of Israel. They didn't let Him do it the first time. They won't keep Him from it
the second time He comes. And the person who comes has been around forever, meaning that the person who comes to be born in Bethlehem is God, taking on human flesh.
Now how on earth can some prophet invent something that dramatic, and hope to get away with it.
700 years later, along comes the book of Matthew. Matthew 2:1 says, "Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came
wise men from the East to Jerusalem." Matthew 2:5: "And they said unto him, 'In Bethlehem of Judea, for thus it is written by the prophet.'" Herod asks, "Where is the
Christ going to be born?" The Rabbi said, "Oh, we know that. Micah 5:2 has told us that. It's going to be the city of Bethlehem." Aha, that's what the Scripture says."
And indeed, Jesus Christ was born exactly there.
Jesus Christ is Eternal
John 8:58 indicates that Jesus Christ was eternal. It is in that passage that Jesus Christ said, "Before Abraham was, I am." That is exactly what Micah 5:2 says: that the
person who is going to be born has never had a beginning. He is eternal. He is God. That is fantastic. How could men write a fortuitous guess like that? It is one of the
grand evidences that, in the Scriptures, we do indeed have the very Word of God.
Miracles
Take a look at Isaiah 35:4-6: "Say to those who are of a fearful heart: be strong. Fear not. Behold, your God will come with vengeance; even God with the recompense. He
will come and save you." The Jews knew that God was going to send someone to save them: "Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the death shall be
stopped. Then shall the lame man leap as a hart, and the tongue of the dumb sing, for in the wilderness shall waters break out in streams in the desert." Isaiah said,
"When the Christ comes." And Isaiah wrote 700 years before Jesus came. He said, "He will evidence that he is the Christ by creating fantastic miracles upon the bodies
of people."
Matthew 11:4-5 confirm this: "Jesus answered and said unto them, 'Go and show John again these things which you do hear and see.'" John said his disciples to say, "Jesus,
are you the Christ? Are you the One that was promised?" Jesus didn't say, "Oh yes, sure. Tell him I am." Jesus instead said, "Give him the evidence – the evidence
that Isaiah 35 said I would give."
Verse 5: "The blind receive their sight; the lame walk; the lepers are cleansed; the deaf hear; the dead are raised up; and, the poor have the gospel preached to them."
This was predicted 700 years before it happened.
Riding on a Donkey
Take a look at Zechariah 9:9: "Rejoice greatly, O Daughter of Zion. Shout, O daughter of Jerusalem. Behold, the King comes unto you. He is just, and having salvation;
lowly; and, riding upon a donkey – upon a colt, the foal of a donkey." Zechariah wrote 500 years before Christ came.
We get down 500 years later to Matthew 21:6-7: "And the disciples went and did as Jesus commanded them, and brought the donkey and the colt, and put on them their
clothes and set Him thereon." Verse 9: "And the multitudes that went before, and that followed, cried, saying, 'Hosanna to the Son of David. Blessed is he that comes
in the name of the Lord – Hosanna in the highest.'" 500 years after Zechariah said that the Christ will come into Jerusalem at a dramatic presentation, which we
call Palm Sunday today, and He will come identified writing upon a donkey: not in a mighty chariot' and, not as a conquering king, but in a very humble fashion. And the
people will recognize Him, and praise Him as Hosanna, Lord, save us. He is here."
Thirty Pieces of Silver
Look at Zechariah 11:12-13: "And I said unto them, 'If you think good, give me my price, and if not, forbear. So, they weighed for my price 30 pieces of silver.'"
Zechariah says, "Somebody is going to double-cross the Messiah, the Christ, and he's going to double-cross him for a certain amount of money:" "And the Lord said unto
me, 'Cast it unto the Potter a lordly price that I was prized at of them.' And I took the 30 pieces of silver, and cast them to the potter in the house of the Lord."
Zechariah writes, 500 years before Christ is born, that somebody is going to betray Jesus Christ – betrayed Him to the authorities. The result will be the death
of Christ. The person who does it is going to change his mind. He's going to take the money that he got, specifically, 30 pieces of silver. He's going to throw the
money back into the temple of God. The priests are going to take it because it's blood money. They don't want to put it back in the treasury. So, they're going to go
out and buy a field that people who make pottery dig in for their clay, a potter's field. And they will take that field; buy it; and, make it a place in which to bury
aliens and non-Jews who come through and die.
Matthew 26:14-15: "Then one of the 12, called Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests, and said unto them, 'What will you give me that I will deliver Him unto you?'
And they bargain with him for 30 pieces of silver.'" You'd think that these people had never read the Word of God? And we are dealing, folks, with the Word of God, as
you can see.
Matthew 27:3-5: "And Judas, who had betrayed Him when he saw that He was condemned, repented, and brought again the 30 pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders,
saying, 'I have sinned, that I have betrayed innocent blood.' And they said, 'What is that to us? See to that.'" Judas did not expect things to go as far as they had.
He didn't expect things to get so out of hand that Jesus was going to be murdered by the authorities. And when he wanted to back off, the leaders said, 'That's your
problem. Do what you want to do." "And he (Judas) cast down the pieces of silver in the temple, and departed, and went and hanged himself." Judas did not change his
mind and repent. He went out as an unbeliever into eternity.
Then verses 6-10 tell us how they had to figure out what to do with these pieces of silver. So, they bought this potter's field in order to use it as a burial ground.
What the Bible predicted, because it is God's Word, was precisely fulfilled.
Abused and Spat upon
Take a look at Isaiah 50:6. This was written 700 years before Christ: "I gave My back to the smiters, and My cheeks to them that plucked off the hair. I hid not My face
from shame and spitting."
Matthew 26:67 gives us the fulfillment of that prediction: "And they spat in His face, and buffeted Him, and others smote Him with the palms of their hands." And from
what Isaiah tells us, we know that they also took hold of His beard and yanked big chunks of it out of His face.
He was Numbered with the Transgressors
Isaiah 53:12 was written 700 years before Christ was born. Isaiah 53:12 Paul says, "Therefore, will I divide Him a portion with the great, and Ge shall divide the
spoil with the strong, because He has poured out His soul unto death, and He was numbered with the transgressors, and He bore the sin of many, and made intercession
for the transgressors." This statement here in Isaiah is a fantastic prediction that when the Christ is put to death, He will find that He is placed with the rich,
for He was in a rich man's tomb – that He has poured out his soul to death itself; and, that He was numbered as a transgressor. He was crucified among
transgressors. He bore the sins of the world, and He makes intercession for those transgressions by His act on the cross.
Come 700 years later, we look at Mark 15:27-28, and we read, "And with Him they crucified two thieves: the one in His right hand; and, the other on His left. And the
Scripture was fulfilled, which said, "He was numbered with the transgressors'" – the Scripture which we just read. Luke 23:34 also refers to this: "Then said
Jesus, "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.' And they parted his raiment and cast lots." That's again exactly what it predicted.
Death by Crucifixion
One of the most awesome evidences that the Bible is the Word of God through its prophetic Scriptures is, of course, Psalm 22. This whole psalm is worth your reading in
detail. It's astounding in what it gives. It tells the very words of Christ on the cross from the very first verse of Psalm 22: "My God, My God, why have You forsaken
Me?" He is addressing the Father and Holy Spirit, when they turned from Him as He bore the sins of the world. It goes through a detailed description of death by
crucifixion: what it does to your shoulders; what it does to your muscles; dehydration; what it does to your capacity to speak; and, what it does to your back muscles
and thigh muscles. It's a painful description of a method of execution which was not Jewish, but Roman. It was a method of execution described in detail 700 years before
the Romans brought it on the scene.
They Cast Lots for Jesus' Clothing
Psalm 22:18 says, "They part my garments among them, and cast lot upon my vesture.
In John 19:23-24, this is described: "Then the soldiers, when they had crucified Jesus, took His garments, and made four parts: to every soldier a part; and, also His
coat. Now the coat was without seam, woven from the top throughout. And they said, therefore, among themselves, 'Let us not tear it, but cast lots for it, whose it
shall be,' that the Scripture might be fulfilled, which said, 'They parted My raiment among them. And for my vesture they did cast lots.' These things, therefore, the
soldiers." These soldiers could not have done anything else. God had predicted that this was the way it was going to be. And a sovereign God saw to it that the soldiers
did exactly that. It is such a clear demonstration that the Bible is not only the Word of God, but it is the inerrant Word of God.
He was Pierced, but His Bones were not Broken
Please look at Psalm 34:20: "He keeps all his bones. Not one of them is broken." Psalm 34, 1,000 years before Christ was born, is speaking about how the Messiah, when
He is executed, will be treated upon the cross. None of His bones will be broken. This is again significant because, until the Roman method of crucifixion came along
as execution, this didn't make any sense. But the Romans found that a person did not die readily from crucifixion. He could go on for days until dehydration did him in.
And very often, they would let them do it that way. But when they had a lot of executions on their docket, and they didn't want to prolong somebody's taking his time to
die, they would hurry it up by going along, and taking a club, and striking him on the bones of his legs, and snap them in two. And they'd go through, breaking his bones.
And, of course, the trauma of that would finish him off immediately. Well, the Scripture says that they're not going to do this to the Savior.
John 19:33: "But when they came to Jesus (the soldiers), and saw that He was dead already, they broke not His legs." They had just finished breaking the legs of the
other two, and finishing them off: "But one of the soldiers with a spear pierced side, and immediately, there came out blood and water. And he that saw it bore witness.
And his witness is true. And he knows that he said truth, that you might believe, for these things were done that the Scripture should be fulfilled: 'A bone of Him shall
not be broken. And again, another Scripture says, "They shall look on Him whom they pierced." You can find that Scripture in Zechariah 12:10, which says, "The Jews,
someday, are going to look upon Jesus Christ, and they're going to realize that the person that their forefathers put to death, who was pierced by that Romans spear, was
indeed the Christ that they are looking for.
His Body would not see Decay
Psalm 16:10, written 1,000 years before Christ, says, "For You will not leave My soul in Sheol; neither will You permit Your Holy One to see corruption." Psalm 16 said
that when the Messiah would come, He would be executed. And His soul would go to Sheol. That's the Hebrew term for Hades – the holding pen of the dead. But it
says, "His body would not see decay." Aha. That means that he's got to be brought back to life pretty quick if there is not to be any decay in that body.
We come 1,000 years later to Matthew 28:5-6: "The angel answered and said unto the women, 'Fear not. For I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. He is not here,
for He is risen.' As he said, 'Come see the place where the Lord lay." This was early Sunday morning before decay began, the body was raised to life, exactly as
Scripture said.
The Blood of Jesus Christ was Sprinkled
Notice Isaiah 52:13-15, written 700 years before Christ: "Behold my servant shall deal prudently. He shall be exalted, and extolled, and be very high. As many were
astounded at You; His visage was so marred, more than any man; and, His form more than the sons of men. So shall He sprinkle many nations. The kings shall shut
their mouths at Him, for that which had been told, they shall see. And that which they had not heard, shall they consider." This passage tells us that when God's
Servant, the Christ, will come, He will be put to death. And He will be put to death in such a process that they will beat Him up so badly that he will be turned to
pulp so that His face will not even look human. In the process, though, it says that, in their doing that to Him, they will have symbolically sprinkled His blood upon
all nations, for the provision of their salvation.
700 years later, in 1 Peter 1:1-2, we read the fulfillment of that very prediction: "Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, to the sojourners scattered throughout Pontus,
Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through sanctification of the Spirit, unto obedience and sprinkling of
the blood of Jesus Christ. Grace unto you and peace be multiplied." Peter uses that very expression from back there in Isaiah 52.
The Crucifixion of Jesus
Psalm 22 was written 1,000 years before Christ. It's a detailed description of the subsequent crucifixion of Jesus Christ. You can read that on your own. You can compare
it with Matthew 27:33-50, which give you the exact fulfillment of everything that Psalm 22 predicted.
So, what shall we say? Paul says, "You don't need to go running all over everyplace to find the Word of God. You have it here in this written Scripture." How do we know
that is true? One of the fundamental, basic ways we know that is true is because of the prophetic portions of Scripture. And that's exactly what Peter says: what God
has said. And he said, "What we saw on the Mount of Transfiguration has been reinforced by the prophetic Scriptures. It shows that we did not make up these things. It
shows that the prophets did not make up these things. For nobody could say such detailed things would come to pass hundreds of years in the future, unless God gave them
the information. And that God claims that, after He gave them the information, He saw to it that it was recorded without error. If you can't trust the Bible to be the
inerrant, genuine, reliable Word of God, you can't trust anything.
Dr. John E. Danish, 1988
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