Key Verses:

Introduction

To recapitulate our discussion so far, the Messiah was unequivocally identified by God Himself to mankind because the Messiah is the only way and the truth and the life (John 14:6). Long before the coming of the Messiah, God inspired the prophets to write prophecies about the Messiah and His mission. At the birth of the Messiah, God notified the shepherds on duty the night the Messiah was born through angels. Shortly after the birth of the Messiah, the Magi, Simeon and Anna were inspired by God to testify that Jesus would be the King and salvation. When Jesus grew up and began His ministry, God sent John the Baptist as the forerunner witnessing that Jesus is the Messiah who has the authority to baptize with the Holy Spirit (John 1:32-34) and the savior of the world (John 1:29). Even the coming of John the Baptist and his mission were also prophesied by the prophets and announced by the angel to John's father (Luke 1:17). The parents of John the Baptist served as the natural witnesses to identify John as the voice in the desert. In addition, the neighbors of John the Baptist and the people in Judea all witnessed to his miraculous birth by his elderly parents and his ministry in the wilderness.

Even today, God is still actively preaching and inviting people to come to the Messiah through His disciples (Matthew 28:19-20; Romans 10:17). The disciples of the Messiah serve as the light of the world and they themselves are identified by the Spirit of Christ that lives in them (Matthew 5:14; Romans 8:9). It is relevant to add a side note here about authentic disciples of Christ. The disciples of Christ are authenticated by their deeds, by their faith and by their teachings. True disciples are authenticated by the fruits they bear (Matthew 7:15-17), and they acknowledge that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God who was the Word that became flesh living among us (John 1:14; 1 John 2:22; 1 John 4:2-3). True disciples are people who are already saved by faith in the Messiah, born again by the Holy Spirit through the word of God (Titus 3:5; Ephesians 5:26). Therefore, true disciples naturally teach according to the teachings of Christ which are reminded by the indwelling Holy Spirit (John 14:26).

But, the Messiah was not merely identified without substance but thoroughly authenticated to whom He truly was. The substance of authenticating the Messiah are the works He accomplished which He was sent to do such that we may put our faith in Him (John 5:36). Jesus' ministry was chartered and powered by God, foretold by the prophets with John the Baptist witnessing Him as the Messiah by the visible sign of the Holy Spirit like a dove descending on Him (John 1:32-34). Later when John the Baptist was imprisoned by king Herod, he sent two messengers to double check if Jesus was really the Messiah. Jesus answered the messengers with the authenticating evidence by His works that they all witnessed such that John would know for sure He was the Lord (Matthew 11:4-5). Jesus had been preaching the good news of salvation by faith and performing the miraculous signs of opening blind eyes to see, enabling deaf ears to hear, making the lame walk, and even raising of the dead. In other words, Jesus' mission and power unequivocally authenticate that He is the Messiah. The generous and gracious invitation for the spiritually bankrupt sinners to simply come in faith to Him to be saved are prophesied by prophet Isaiah and the Messiah came to fulfill this gracious promise (Isaiah 55:1; Matthew 5:3; John 7:37). The good news is that salvation is a gracious gift of God to sinners who would come to the Messiah to receive. The basis of the good news of salvation is made possible by the Messiah who sacrificed Himself such that sinners who otherwise will perish may have life (Mark 10:45). Therefore, the works foretold by the prophets and fulfilled by the Messiah in the power and unity of the Father and the Holy Spirit serve as His authenticating evidence (John 10:30; Mark 1:8). Let us study the authentication of the Messiah in more details.

1 Authentication By His Mission

Isaiah 61:1-2 serves as the charter of the mission of the Messiah (Isaiah 61:1-2). In fact, Jesus read these verses from the book of Isaiah in a synagogue at the beginning of His earthly ministry to proclaim good news and hope to this dark world which is full of sins and people are bounded by and are afflicted by the consequences of sins without future but waiting for death and judgment. Jesus came to set us free and gave us eternal life (John 8:34, 36). However, Jesus left out in His reading of the Scriptures the "day of vengeance of our God" which is the the second half of the verse of Isaiah 61:2 because His current ministry was about the "year of the Lord's favor".

Note that proclaiming good news to the poor does not mean preaching to the materialistically poor people only. Although materialistic poverty is mentioned in the the Bible, spiritual poverty is even more critical and emphasized because it means a broken relationship with God who is the source of life and blessings. Therefore, the economically rich but lukewarm church in Laodicea was considered pitiful and poor (Revelation 3:17). But, blessed are those who realized their spiritual poverty or bankruptcy such that they tend to be meek, humble and receptive to the gospel (Matthew 5:3). Therefore, it is not being materialistically poor per se the quality pleasing to God but rather the character of meekness and humility that could be brought about by materialistic poverty. But there are many exceptions such that people in dire conditions would not turn to God and there are rich people who are wise enough to realize their spiritual poverty. As an illustration, consider the parable of the prodigal son who wasted all his wealth and becomes deeply afflicted by poverty such that he becomes meek and humble realizing his sins against his father. He then comes home and asks for forgiveness (Luke 15:18-19). Consider also the parable of the self-righteous Pharisee and the repentant tax collector. It is the humility of the tax collector, who is likely rich, God values such that his prayer is accepted (Luke 18:13-14). Prosperity does carry the danger of temptation and masking the true meaning of life and misleading people into corruption. Therefore, rich people tend to be arrogant, and being deceived into thinking that they are blessed but earthly bounded and they believe that they do not need God ( Psalm 49:18-19; Proverbs 30:8-9; Matthew 6:21). That is why Jesus says that the rich are so hard to be saved that it is like a camel going through the eye of a needle ( Mark 10:25).

Jesus knows deeply about the hardships and sufferings in this world (Hebrews 4:15). He is still constantly inviting people who are weary and burdened to come to Him to have rest (Matthew 11:28). Living in this world means being constantly bombarded by problems which cause stresses, anxieties, and even depression. Jesus teaches us to observe living things in nature like birds in the air, flowers and grass in the fields which do not work and know how to provide for themselves yet they live because of the provision and care by God. Mankind are much more valuable than plants and animals and we should understand that if God takes care of these lower living things, how much will He take care of us. Jesus also points out our problem of lacking of faith in facing these daily challenges (Matthew 6:30). Jesus gives believers two great tips to live by. First, we should live with the pursuit of the kingdom of God and His righteousness as our first priority rather than imitating the wants and practice of the pagans in this world. Second, we face challenges one day at a time rather than worrying about tomorrow with the understanding and faith that the heavenly Father knows our needs and He will provide. (Matthew 6:31-34).

Poor health and death cause tremendous pains and feelings of hopelessness to the people who are suffering including their families and friends. During His earthly ministry, Jesus went about healing every disease and sickness (Matthew 4:23), and made well many suffering from all sorts of disabilities (Matthew 15:31). To teach us that death in this world is not really the end and He has the power to give resurrection and life, Jesus raised Lazarus from the death (John 11:25-26). But, we should understand that Jesus does not say He takes away all brokenhearted events in this world right now. For even though Lazarus was raised from the death, he died again. After all, have you heard of anyone who has been living for two thousand years in Palestine? In fact, Jesus says that we will all encounter troubles in this world, but He has demonstrated that He has the power to overcome the world including poor health and death (John 16:33). The best time and place to live for people who trust in Christ is not right here and right now, but the glorious kingdom of God where God will wipe away every tear (Revelation 7:17; Revelation 21:4). Even now in this world, Jesus promises peace to all who trust in Him such that we may have joy and courage in our daily walk with God (John 14:27). Although the Messiah is not physically walking on the earth now, we all can come to Him by faith and prayers. As apostle Paul writes that we should not be anxious about anything but make requests in prayer in every situation with thanksgiving and God will grant us peace beyond our understanding (Philippians 4:6-7). With this understanding and faith, all brokenhearted people should see a bright future and not a future of gloomy hopelessness in this world. Jesus' resurrection power proves that He can make true what He preaches. With this promise, all Christians are commanded to rejoice (Philippians 4:4). But, how does God practically bring joy in the midst of our daily challenges today. Jesus promised peace even in this troubled world and it is brought into reality by the Holy Spirit whom the Father sent after Jesus left the world (John 14:25-27). The Holy Spirit will live in believers' heart to give peace even in difficult time. In fact, one of the fruits of the Holy Spirit is joy who works actively in believers' lives (Galatians 5:22-23). Moreover, God is in charge of everything everywhere at all times and He can work in all circumstances for the good of all who love Him (Romans 8:28) because God is almighty, and trustworthy, full of justice, mercy and love. On the other hand, God uses His people as the solution to the many problems of the world for we are God's workmanship created in Christ Jesus to do good works (Ephesians 2:10). This can mean that we are to bring comforts to brokenhearted people in the world. In fact, Christians, being followers of Christ were delegated with the task to carry on what the Messiah had been doing before He returned to the Father (John 14:12).

Sinners are like prisoners living without freedom. Instead of bounded by physical constraint, sinners are bounded by sins for they cannot overcome the sinful habits, desires and guilts of their lives such that sins are like long chains fastened to their bodies. Some sinners are literally put into prisons because of breakage of laws. Finally, all sinners are awaiting judgement of God for their sins. Therefore, sinners live a life without future and are like prisoners in death row waiting for execution. The Messiah sets all sinners free from the condemnation of God when they repent and trust in Him (Romans 8:1-2). We have all heard and seen the power of sins which traps, captures lives rendering their great potential to a shrinking and useless existence. Some even become members of evil force in the world causing more pains and destruction of others. What about those great kings, generals, noblemen, presidents and business tycoons that have ever lived? Have they not been powerful, prosperous, held with high regard in the world, and even been benevolent to the society with their influence and wealth? Not everything a man does is sinful and some of our acts may even look good. But, we need to understand that a sinner's life is like a sick life decaying day by day to its termination (Isaiah 64:6). When an influential person does not know God, he or she may use their power and means of influence to do great harms to the society by promoting his or her ideologies which tend to be contradictory to the teachings of the scriptures such as homosexuality and abortion. As a result, they do more harm than good to the society. Moreover, people with power and opportunities and talents are considered being given more by God and are rightfully asked for more by His righteous judgement (Luke 12:48). Therefore all people of different social strata in the world are bounded by sins and accountable to the penalty of sins demanded by the justice of God. According to the holy standard of God, we are all captives of sins and need the salvation of the Messiah. Sinners bound to fulfill the sinful desires as slaves serving their master (John 8:34). But, faith in the Messiah set us free from the slavery of sins (John 8:31-32). Instead of living a shrinking and sin stricken life without future, disciples of the Messiah live an abundant life with a bright future (John 10:10).

2 Authentication by His Sacrifice

God is righteous, full of justice and yet rich in love (Psalm 36:5-7). For the demand of justice, wages of sins that we committed have to be settled. But because of love, God desires to forgive us and gives us abundant life. Therefore, God becomes our salvation not by leaving sins unpunished but paying for the penalty of sins for us (Exodus 15:2; Isaiah 12:2). God's grace of salvation is not secretly given to one nation but openly witnessed and available to all nations (Isaiah 52:10). The teachings of substitutional suffering and death for redemption are stressed throughout the Old Testament. However, all the sacrifices performed in the Old Testament are only a shadow of the true sacrifice of the Messiah once and for all (Hebrews 10:9-10). For the sacrifices of animals could never cleanse people from sins but served as reminders of sins (Hebrews 10:3). All these sacrifices point to the ultimate work of the Messiah who sacrificed Himself to redeem sinners. Indeed Jesus came and made an offer for sins of all humans such that whoever accepts His wonderful grace of redemption with faith would be saved from the condemnation of sins for He has settled the penalty in full by His death (Hebrews 13:11-12). In addition to the ceremonies and festivals written and practiced in the Old Testament as the image of the redemptive sacrifice of the Messiah, the Scriptures prophesied in details about the crucifixion of the Messiah such that we know for sure God has fulfilled His promise of salvation through Jesus Christ. Through the writings of prophet Daniel, God said that the Messiah (the Anointed One) would be put to death with precise timing (Daniel 9:25-26). According to scholarly research of Harold Hoehner, Jesus entered Jerusalem and was recognized in public as the Messiah (John 12:13) on March 30th, 33 A.D. commonly called the triumphal entry which was a Monday. But, in my humble opinion, the triumphal entry occurred one day earlier on March 29th, 33 which is a Sunday (see my reasoning in Part 2 ). While prophet Zechariah wrote about the scene of the triumphal entry with Jesus riding on the colt and a large crowd of people shouting and receiving Jesus as the Messiah coming in the name of the Lord (Zechariah 9:9). The event was witnessed by the disciples and was recorded in the gospels (Matthew 21:7-9). Pay attention on the specific details of prophet Zechariah's writing that Jesus would be riding on a donkey and on a colt (a young offspring of a donkey). Indeed, Matthew 21:7 records that the disciples brought a donkey and a colt to Jesus according to His instruction and they put their cloaks on both animals for Jesus to ride on. Due to the strenuous nature of the journey, it was likely that Jesus did not ride on the colt all the way into Jerusalem. Jesus might rode on the mother donkey first and then on the colt into Jerusalem. Skeptics with conspiracy theories (usually are just pure imagination without proof) might say that the donkeys and animals were arranged by Jesus before hand and asked the disciples to take them to Him to make the event a fulfillment of Zechariah's prophecy. But, through an unidentified author, the exact words of praises shouted out by the people were written down in the Psalm (Psalm 118:26). Jesus could not control the behavior and response of the crowd if He was a mere human claiming to be the Messiah. Skeptics might go on arguing that the people were arranged to act shouting to receive Jesus as the Messiah. First, in order to deceive people, common sense tells us that it is not a good idea to collaborate with a large number of people especially people who are not subject to the deceiver's control. Otherwise, the secret of deception will tend to leak out. Though not clearly recorded in the gospels, we know that public opinion is subject to manipulation especially for those who do not have a deep knowledge and understanding on a subject matter, Therefore we cannot eliminate the possibility that some people who shouted "Hosanna" for Jesus might be persuaded a few days later to shout "crucify him" (Matthew 27:20; John 19:15). Notice that no one with a rational mind keeps defending and spreading a lie if Jesus is not the Messiah especially when he or she needs to pay a high cost of being killed. In fact all of the twelve disciples of Jesus died as martyrs except Judas who betrayed Jesus for personal gain and John who was banished to the Island of Patmos for his faith. Second, even the children spontaneously praised the Messiah in the temple courts hailing "Hosanna to the Son of David" (Matthew 21:15) which incidentally fulfilled another prophecy (Psalm 8:2). Third, Jesus performed miraculous signs healing the blind and the lame at the temple which unequivocally authenticated His divinity. In fact, the chief priests and the teachers of the law witnessed these events also. But, instead of praising Jesus the Messiah, they became indignant and more eager to plot killing Jesus (Matthew 21:14-16). According to His own accord of sacrificing Himself for sinners (Luke 7:34; John 15:12-14), Jesus was then crucified on April 3rd, 33 A.D. which was a Friday in the same week of the triumphal entry.

Daniel 9:26 also mentions that Jerusalem and its temple would be destroyed after the Messiah was put to death (Daniel 9:26). Therefore, the event of destruction of Jerusalem and its temple marks the timeline at the point that the Messiah must have been cut off. From history, we know that it was the ruler of the Roman Empire responsible for the destruction of Jerusalem and the second temple built by king Herod in 70 A.D. which was about 4 decades after the crucifixion of Jesus. Therefore. this destructive event serves as an additional evidence to authenticate the suffering and death of Jesus the Messiah. The destruction was executed by the Roman soldiers under the command of General Titus who became cesar later. To extract gold gildings of temple stones, they melted the gold with fire and leveled the temple stones in order to take the gold trapped between stones thus fulfilling also the prophecy told by Jesus that not one stone will be on top another (Luke 21:5-6). General TItus left one wall standing as a monument of his victory and that wall was called the wailing wall today. But the wall was only a retaining wall of the Temple Mount upon which the temple was located and not the wall of the temple. Had it been a temple wall, it would have been demolished by the gold seeking Roman soldiers. During His triumphal entry into Jerusalem, Jesus wept over Jerusalem (Luke 19:41) and prophesied specifically how the city would be surrounded and destroyed (Luke 19:43-44). This was exactly the strategy General Titus used to capture the city. This is yet an additional piece of evidence to authenticate that Jesus is the Messiah by His precise prophecy on the destruction of the city and the temple. To reiterate the authenticating evidence by the sacrifice of the Messiah, first, prophet Daniel wrote that the Anointed One was put to death before the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple in Daniel 9:26 with specific timing. The fact that the book of Daniel was written in between 536 - 530 B.C. establishes the credibility of the book as a prophetic book. Prophet Daniel was a contemporary of prophet Ezekiel and was mentioned in his writing (Ezekiel 14:14). In addition, fragments of the book of Daniel were found among the Dead Sea Scrolls which serve as an undeniable evidence of its authenticity. Second, Jesus was recognized in public as the Messiah in Jerusalem with precise timing. Third, Jesus prophesied the destruction of the city and its temple before He was crucified on April 3rd, 33 A.D. which was almost 4 decades before the siege of Jerusalem and the temple. If Jesus was not the Messiah but an ordinary human, He would not be able to make such a prediction. If Jesus was a charlatan, He would not even make such a specific prediction to expose His falsity later to His believers. May I challenge all skeptics to search for the records of major religions in history to see if similar predictions were made to substantiate the originators of those religions as the prophets or agents of the one true God.

3 Authentication by His Death and Burial

After being arrested, the Messiah went through a long period of tortures and insults from Thursday night until His death before sunset on Friday. Prophet Isaiah wrote that the Messiah as the suffering servant of God was beaten beyond recognition (Isaiah 52:14-15). The tortures and insults inflicted on the Messiah before crucifixion recorded by the gospel of Matthew include flogging, wearing crown of thorns, being spitted on, mocking, striking on the head by a staff repeatedly (Matthew 27:26-31). David, the author of Psalm 22 apparently wrote about his pains and sufferings but the words were inspired by the Holy Spirit to prophesy the scenes of crucifixion of the Messiah as a suffering servant. The Messiah is righteous but he bore the punishment of sin of mankind such that He was forsaken by God on the cross (Psalm 22:1). Jesus quoted directly Psalm 22:1 on the cross such that we know that this Psalm is a prophecy of his crucifixion (Mark 15:34). This can be confirmed by other verses in the same Psalm depicting the imageries in the scene of crucifixion. He was pierced in His hands and feet on the cross naked. The soldiers cast lots for His garment (Psalm 22:16-18). Even the humiliation and insults people hurled at the Messiah at the site of crucifixion were prophesied with the sarcastic remarks against the Messiah. David specifically wrote down the words of humiliation: "He trusts in the Lord, let the Lord rescue him." (Psalm 22:7-8). Then, Matthew wrote down the witnessed accounts at the actual crucifixion scene describing people shaking their heads, mocking the Messiah being crucified with sarcasm that He saved others but could not save Himself. Not understanding the Messiah's mission, they also made an apparently reasonable statement that if He was the beloved one of God then He should be able to escape or be rescued from the cross (Matthew 27:41-42). Remarkably, Matthew also recorded the specific words of humiliation: "He trusts in God. Let God rescue him now if he wants him ..." (Matthew 27:43).

One important regulation in celebrating the Passover in the Old Testament is not to break the bone of the Passover lamb. In fact, this particular requirement is a prophecy to authenticate the death of the Messiah who is the Lamb of God that none of His bone would be broken (Exodus 12:46; Numbers 9:12). Apostle John recorded that the Roman soldiers broke the legs of the two persons crucified along with Jesus in order to hasten their death on the request of the Jewish leaders. But, when the soldiers came to Jesus, they found that Jesus was already dead so that they did not break the legs of Jesus fulfilling this prophecy (John 19:32-33). By the way, on cursory reading of the gospels, it seems that there were only two persons crucified with Jesus, one on the left and one on the right. But, how do you explain the picture painted by John who said that the soldiers came to the first man and broke his legs and then the legs of the other man. But, when the soldiers came to Jesus, they found that Jesus was already dead such that they did not break Jesus' legs. Therefore, it is more reasonable that there were two persons on one side of Jesus and the soldiers visited the persons being crucified one by one. Moreover, Luke recorded that one of the two criminals hurled insults at Jesus while the other one showed a repentant attitude with faith such that he rebuked the other criminal who insulted Jesus and asked Jesus to remember Him (Luke 23:39-44). It is more likely that the repentant criminal was not among those who hurled insults at Jesus as recorded by Matthew (Matthew 27:44). In addition, Luke recorded that the soldiers divided the garments by casting a lot after crucifying Jesus and the evil-doers (Luke 23:33-34). On the other hand, Matthew recorded that the crucifixion of the two robbers happened after dividing the garments of Jesus which suggests that the two robbers were different from the two criminals that were crucified before dividing Jesus' garments as recorded in Luke (Luke 23:33-34; Matthew 27:35-36. 38). Notice that the Young's translation which is the literal translation of the Hebrew and Greek text of the scriptures which includes the word "Then" in verse 38 making it particularly clear the sequence of the events: dividing the garments and crucifixion of the robbers. Moreover, Matthew called the two persons hurling insults thieves (robbers in Young's Literal Translation) while Luke called them criminals (evil-doers in Young's Literal Translation) which suggest that there were two separate groups of two persons each crucified along with Jesus. If it is still not clear, John summarizes it well stating that two persons on each side of Jesus were crucified with Him in the middle in Young's translation (John 19:18).

Instead of breaking His legs, the soldiers pierced the side of Jesus with a spear such that water and blood flowed out suddenly (John 19:34). This was done such that another prophecy in the scriptures was fulfilled which says, "They will look on the one they have pierced." (John 19:37). This prophecy is quoted from the book of Zechariah (Zechariah 12:10). This single verse of scripture written by prophet Zechariah contains a marvelous collection of revelations. This verse contains three prophecies spoken by God as the first person, I and me, grammatically. First, God will pour out the Holy Spirit of grace and supplication on the inhabitants of Jerusalem to bring about a big spiritual revival. Second, they will see God coming and will mourn bitterly. Third, they will mourn because they realize they have rejected and pierced God. This verse does not seem to make sense for how can God be pierced by people for He is almighty and powerful. After all, God is spiritual and invisible. However, when we also read the prophecy in the book of Isaiah, the revelation becomes clearer which mentions the miracle birth of a child by a virgin and He is called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace (Isaiah 9:6). Isaiah also wrote about the suffering servant of God who was pierced for our transgressions (Isaiah 53:5). On reading the fulfillment records in the New Testament, the revelation becomes crystal clear that the Son of God Jesus who is God by nature came to world to save sinners and died on the cross for us (Philippians 2:5-8). Zechariah 12:10 also reveals two advents of God who visits the world in a visible manner. The first advent already happened when Jesus came as a baby in a manger. The second advent has not happened and will happen when the resurrected Jesus is returning in glory on the Mount of Olives (Zechariah 14:4). Moreover, when we study the New Testament records and the religious history of Israel, we understand why the people of Israel will mourn bitterly when they see the truth finally. For even today, the majority of Israel do not accept Jesus as the Messiah. Therefore, the rejection of the Messiah is foreseen by God and was written down in the prophecy. As apostle Paul writes that Israel has experienced blindness in part until the end when Jesus will come to deliver the nation (Romans 11:25-26).

As prophet Isaiah wrote that the suffering servant was sinless and He was punished for the sins of the sinners (Isaiah 53:8). Jesus was crucified like a criminal and His body would have been treated just like a criminal. The Romans who executed the crucifixion would have disposed the body of Jesus in a dishonorable manner. Even if Jesus' family might have claimed the body, they would not have the means to provide a burial privileged by the rich. But, a rich man named Joseph came boldly to claim Jesus' body from Pilate, the Roman officer who gave order to crucify Jesus because of political pressure even though he knew that Jesus was innocent (Mark 15:14). The claim was approved and Joseph and his friend Nicodemus buried Jesus according to Jewish customs in a new tomb Joseph owned. So the prophecy of burial of the suffering servant was fulfilled (Isaiah 53:9; Matthew 27:57-60). Therefore, we see again God is really in control of all things including a relatively minor event of burial when apparently Jesus lost in the battle and died. In fact, God let us know that Jesus is unequivocally the Messiah and the suffering servant. Even the way the Messiah was buried serves as an authentication of who He is. Jesus died according to God's plan of salvation of sinners in the world who trust in Him. Jesus' death is actually a victory for it is the prerequisite of resurrection and life (1 Corinthians 15:55). According to the law, sin has to be condemned and the condemnation results in death (1 Corinthians 15:56). But, God is love and He demonstrates His love by sending His only Son Jesus Christ to pay for the penalty of sin of sinners by His death (Romans 5:8-9). Therefore, there is no condemnation for all who are in Christ Jesus (Romans 8:1).

4 Authentication by His Resurrection

Normally, a deceased body will decay. Psalm 16 prophesied that Jesus the faithful one would not see decay even though He died (Psalm 16:10; Acts 2:29-31). The event that Jonah was swallowed into the belly of a big fish, which was physically like a tomb, for three days and three nights was a prophecy of Jesus' body laid inside a tomb for three days and three nights (Jonah 1:17). These two verses of the Bible are difficult to see connected until Jesus' express declaration shortly before He was arrested for crucifixion that He would be in the heart of the earth for three days and three nights while quoting Jonah's story (Matthew 12:40). Once again we see Jesus' authority and insight in explaining the true meanings of the scriptures which shows that Jesus is God by nature and He is the ultimate author of the scriptures. A mere human would not be able to point out that the story of Jonah being swallowed and trapped in the belly of a big fish three days and three nights is a prophecy of the Messiah being kept in the grave for three days and three nights before His resurrection, let alone fulfilling the prophecy. We need to understand the meaning of three days and three nights when Jesus was kept in the tomb. According to Jewish custom, part of a day is considered a whole day. Jesus died on the cross in the Friday afternoon on April 3rd, 33 A.D. and was buried in a tomb before sunset. Although the time span in the tomb was only a short while, it is considered one day and one night. The second day in the tomb was from Friday sunset to Saturday sunset. The third day was Saturday sunset to early morning on Sunday which was April 5th, 33 A.D. when Jesus was resurrected. Please also note that sunset to sunset day reckoning is used as it was the practice of the Judeans residing in the Southern part of Israel. This is supported by the fact that the Jewish leaders who were watching the crucifixion of Jesus wanted to hasten the death of Jesus and the criminals on the crosses by breaking their legs such that their bodies would not be left on the crosses during the Sabbath which was about to begin at sunset on Friday (John 19:31).

Indeed, the early disciples witnessed this utmost important event of resurrection (Acts 2:32). It was not hallucination. For the resurrected Messiah appeared to many at different times and hallucination which is a personal condition occurs only to a single person at one time (1 Corinthians 15:3-7). Jesus demonstrated that He had a new body of substance and not a facade. During one appearance to the disciples, Jesus asked for something to eat in order to show that He was not a ghost but a resurrected person with flesh and bones. They gave Jesus a piece of broiled fish and He ate it before them (Luke 24:41-43). He was not a Once, apostle Thomas was in doubt when other disciples told him that they had seen the resurrected Jesus. Thomas said that he would not believe unless he could inspect the wounded hands and side of Jesus' body in person (John 20:25). A week later, Jesus appeared again to the disciples to answer especially the doubt of Thomas and asked him to inspect His wounds in His hands and side (John 20:26). Moreover, the resurrected Messiah even served a meal to the disciples (John 21:13-15). Therefore, Jesus proved that death could not hold Him and He resurrected as He said before He died on the cross. Jesus also promised that all who trust in Him will have eternal life. We will also live the eternal life in a new and resurrected body. As Jesus promised that He would drink the fruit of the vine again with us in the kingdom of God which implies that our resurrected bodies will have flesh and bones that may drink the fruit of the vine (Matthew 26:29).

Apostle Paul was a devout Pharisee who was going on a journey to obtain authority to persecute Christians. What made apostle Paul change from being a persecutor of Christians to a zealous Christian himself? Apostle Paul testified that he encountered the resurrected Christ (1 Corinthians 15:8). Paul's testimony was independently verified by another Christian Ananias who was sent by Jesus in a vision to find and to heal Paul who became blind after encountering the resurrected Jesus (Acts 9:15). Paul went on becoming a suffering missionary, establishing Christian churches and even died for preaching the gospel. The willingness of the apostles and early Christians to die for the gospel tell us that they were truly convinced and believe the gospel. In other words, the authenticating evidence of the Messiah as recorded in the Bible which they witnessed is true. As we know, a rational person will not defend and propagate something he or she knows that is a lie especially he or she gains no benefit for doing so but receive penalty of violent death. To understand this point more deeply, let us call the thing being defended and propagated X. If a believer is willing to defend and propagate X at the cost of his or her life, we can infer that the believer's faith is true and he or she truly believe X. But, we cannot conclude that X is true but the believer's faith is true. Therefore, we need to investigate how the believer came to the belief that X is true. In other words, we need to evaluate the set of things (let us call it F) that the believer saw, heard and experienced on which the believer's faith is established. If F is sufficient to prove that X is true, then we can conclude that X is true. If F is not sufficient to prove that X is true, then we cannot conclude that X is true. To illustrate, let us consider two car buying recommendations from person A and person B. Both A and B have just bought their choice cars, namely Car A and Car B respectively. They both recommend buying their cars of choice to you. We cannot conclude which recommendation is really good just by their willingness to commit their hard earned money in the purchases. We need to know how A came to the conclusion to buy Car A and how B came to the conclusion to buy Car B. Suppose A drew the conclusion by reading reputable independent car reviews of Cars. In addition, A has many friends who are happy owners of Car A for a very long time. On the other hand, B drew the conclusion purely by listening to the words of a salesman in the car dealership. Which recommendation is more reliable: Car A or Car B? As a side note, the Messiah warned us that wide is the road that leads to destruction and many people take this road (Matthew 7:13). On the other hand, there is an alternative but narrow road that leads to life, but few find it (Matthew 7:14). Is the narrow way hidden and impossible to find such that most people do not take it? On the contrary, the narrow way that leads to life which is the gospel is revealed to mankind and written in the Bible by the Almighty God. He Himself has transformed into a man like us and lived in the world to demonstrate and fulfill the way of salvation. However, most people follow the popular ways of life by instinct according to the customs and cultures in their communities. In other words, most people make the most important decision about the meanings, direction and eternal destination of life on the basis of their feelings, cultural familiarity and approval while rejecting the gospel revealed by the one and one God and is open for investigation.

5 Authentication by the Fruits of His Work of Salvation

When Jesus died, He had not established a powerful empire on the earth nor a popular religion. In fact, the disciples who had been with Jesus all along were so discouraged that they were ready to go back to their old occupation (John 21:2-3). Moreover, they were slow in believing that Jesus had resurrected from death even though Jesus had told them before His death that He would rise from the death on the third day. In fact, after Jesus' resurrection, the disciples got reports from the women who first saw the resurrected Jesus and the disciples themselves verified that the tomb was empty, they were still not completely convinced. Even the people who persecuted Jesus knew about the prophecy of His resurrection such that they request Roman soldiers from Pilate to guard the tomb lest the disciple stole Jesus' body and spread the lie of resurrection (Matthew 27:62-64). What changed the disciples from being timid, discouraged and unbelieving to the driving force of the early churches that advanced the gospels to the ends of the world with the willingness of forfeiting their lives? They changed because of the following factors. First, the disciples witnessed the resurrection account firsthand because the resurrected Jesus visited and met with them together as a group and proved to them He indeed resurrected with a glorious body (Luke 24:36-43). Second, they understood the Scriptures written about the Messiah who fulfilled the written plan of salvation by God. They finally realized that the suffering of Jesus, the Messiah was not a defeat but a complete success fulfilling the very plan of God to save sinners of the world (Luke 24:44-47). Third, the disciples were empowered by the Holy Spirit who gave them courage, gifts and guidance to do the works of growing the churches and preaching the good news of salvation (Luke 24:48-49). The works that Jesus had been doing were carried on and grown in scale by the disciples and all people of faith after Jesus finished His earthly ministry. This is ordained by Jesus Christ before He returned to the Father (John 14:12). Jesus also pointed out that the source of power to carry on the gospel works was not based on the power and strong will of the disciples but the power of the Holy Spirit as promised by Jesus before His ascendance to heaven (Acts 1:8). The Holy Spirit does not dwell in the disciples in the early church only. Rather, the Holy Spirit is a continuous blessing promised to all who trust in Jesus. Those who trust in Jesus understand and appreciate how much Jesus has done for them such that they are forgiven and have life. The genuine response to Jesus' work is loving Jesus, obedient to His teachings and receive the blessing of the Holy Spirit (John 14:15-17).

Even today, when one trust in Jesus, the Holy Spirit will come in one's life and make one a new creation. This is what it means to be born again by the Holy Spirit as explained by Jesus to Nicodemus (John 3:5). The new lives of disciples throughout generations continuously authenticate the Messiah and His works. For the hearts and souls of believers were bounded by sins, but now salt and light of the world doing good works to the glory of God. The changes in a believer's life is not a relatively minor behavior changes such as quitting smoking, alcohol consumption, drug use and even compulsive gambling, but a revolution from the inside out. People quit smoking or alcoholism because of the adverse effects on their health, career and economic situation such that some are wise enough to quit those habits. Not so for people who trust in Jesus. People with faith in Jesus are blessed deeply and they are filled with the joy of being forgiven and reconciled with God. They live a new life with power to overcome the bondage of sins with changed direction and hope towards the kingdom of God. Of course, there are also many testimonies about the powerful help people of faith receive from God in overcoming those destructive habits such as drugs, alcohol and even criminal behaviors. According to the old human nature, believers also love the world or anything in this world instead of God. The reason is simple. Before being washed and renewed by the Holy Spirit, believers naturally lived like everyone else in the world and were driven and motivated by lusts and pride instead of the words of God (1 John 2:15-17). But now believers live like the master Jesus sacrificially and the world may even think that it is a poor way of living (1 John 4:17; James 2:5). These changed lives authenticate the Messiah who has come to save people from sin. These changed lives throughout generations are the witnesses of the power of God which is manifested in the gospel (Romans 1:16). These changed lives throughout generations serve as the answers to the quest of the German philosopher, Heinrich Heine, "Show me your redeemed life and I might be inclined to believe in your Redeemer."

Conclusion

Indeed, the Bible is the written revelation of God to mankind. The Bible consists of multiple books written by multiple authors in multiple generations. Yet, the same theme is revealed throughout the Bible: God saves mankind from destruction due to sin by His Son and bring them to His Kingdom and have eternal life. The fact that the Bible consists of multiple books written by multiple authors in various times prove that the ultimate author is God Himself. For only God can transcend times and control history which provide the context of His revelation that we can experience, verify and understand. To show that the revelations are His words, God spoke in prophecies. The accuracy of the prophecies proves that God Himself was speaking. For only God, not men, can foretell events with great precision hundreds and even more than a thousand years before they happen, we can be confident that the Bible is indeed inspired by God.

Bible References